CHICAGO - For the duration of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, pro-Palestinian advocates have attempted to set the narrative that the week's proceedings were important steps in the party's historic shift toward recognizing their cause.
The DNC's refusal to grant convention speaking time to a Palestinian American – despite weeks of negotiations combined with public and private lobbying efforts – marked a harsh reality check for many about the Democratic Party's prioritization of their voices.
With Uncommitted delegates now holding a sit-in outside the United Center, where the convention is being held, (provoking a comparison to the 1964 convention in which delegates of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party tried to gain a seat at the table and push the party of civil rights within the official Democratic National Convention) the whole affair demonstrates just how far there is to go before Palestinians and Israelis are offered something resembling equal ground to stand, both rhetorically and in action.
The Uncommitted National Movement, represented throughout the DNC by 30 delegates who are themselves representing 700,000 protest votes against the Biden administration's Israel policy, had much at stake heading into the week.
Cooperating with both the convention and the Harris-Walz campaign, the pro-Palestinian officials began with a lofty ask – an immediate arms embargo on Israel over the dramatically high civilian casualty count in Gaza – that had zero chance of coming into effect.
Uncommitted leaders have been encouraged by the possibility of a tone shift now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic nominee, recognizing subtle rhetorical differences and more apparent empathy for Palestinian victims than Biden as a possible pathway toward a policy shift. While they recognized that Harris does not support an arms embargo, they demanded clarity on her policies and insisted she abide by existing U.S. law.
After meetings with the campaign and the convention in the days leading up to the week's events, Uncommitted made several requests – most of which were granted. This notably includes the first-ever event under the auspices of the DNC dedicated to Palestinian human rights as well as a space inside the McCormick Center (where many of the DNC events are being held) to hold a vigil.
Pro-Palestinian advocates promoted these as huge wins, with delegates hearing from humanitarian aid workers who spent time in Gaza and Palestinian Democratic officials who have lost dozens of family members, all while placing increasingly high stakes on the still-unanswered bid for a speaker slot on the convention's main stage. For these advocates, the speech on Wednesday calling for a cease-fire delivered by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a prominent Muslim-American well respected throughout the Democratic Party, did not meet their demands.
Several names were submitted to the DNC for consideration, including Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, Illinois state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, Colorado state Rep. Iman Jodeh and Virginia delegate Sam Rasoul. Also submitted were Hala Hijazi, a Democratic Party leader who has had several family members killed in Gaza, Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, who is not Palestinian but has been the premier voice throughout the week detailing her work in Gaza hospitals, and several additional Palestinian-American individuals whose family members were killed in Gaza.
Liberal Zionist organizations like J Street and Americans for Peace Now both lent support to the Uncommitted National Movement's efforts to push the DNC to provide speaking time to a Palestinian American.
Beyond this, Uncommited's powerful allies within the higher ranks of the Democratic Party also made their case – including Sen. Elizabeth Warren sending names of Palestinian Americans from Massachusetts separately.
Despite the growing attention cast on Uncommitted, thanks to their daily press conferences and sideline events, they still failed to secure an answer from the DNC. When news that the parents of an American-Israeli hostage were granted speaking time emerged, Uncommitted leadership publicly insisted they supported this, and simply demanded equal representation for Palestinians to share their experiences.
The DNC didn't publish Wednesday's schedule until several minutes after the night's proceedings began. Present on the speaker list was Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a prominent Muslim-American well respected throughout the Democratic Party and frequent critic of Israeli conduct. But the activists insisted that Ellison did not meet their demands for a speaker, and said they were still waiting for the call from the DNC.
When Uncommitted finally received word that their demands would not be met, the sense of progress supposedly made for Palestinian advocacy within the official Democratic Party during the past four days was turned upside-down.
The DNC made its judgement call, clearly weighing the political consequences of such a move over the compassion it would have conveyed. It remains to be seen if the decision has any consequence in November's general election.