Progressives calls have flooded in for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) as even its speakers have demanded that a Palestinian-American be given a chance to speak on the last night of programming.
The DNC has denied pro-Gaza activists their request for a Palestinian-American to get a chance to spread their message on the main stage – and invited in a sea of outcry from progressives up to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
‘Just as we must honor the humanity of hostages, so too must we center the humanity of the 40,000 Palestinians killed under Israeli bombardment. To deny that story is to participate in the dehumanization of Palestinians. The [DNC] must change course and affirm our shared humanity,’ the progressive New Yorker wrote on X.
But during her primetime address on Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez had told the crowd of Vice President Kamala Harris: ‘She is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing the hostages home.’
The demands for a Palestinian voice reached a fever pitch on Thursday ahead of Harris’ headline address.
Progressives had wanted Palestinian Georgia state lawmaker Ruwa Romman to represent their cause in front of the cameras.
The DNC on Tuesday heard from Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Polin, and they paid lip service to the Palestinian cause as they begged for a hostage deal in a heart-wrenching call for action.
‘At this moment, 109 treasured human beings are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza,’ Goldberg said.
‘They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. They are from 23 different countries. The youngest hostage is a 1-year-old red-headed baby boy and the oldest is an 86-year-old mustachioed grandpa. Among the hostages are eight American citizens. One of those Americans is our only son. His name is Hersh.’
‘In our Jewish tradition, we say every person is an entire universe,’ said Polin.
‘We must save all these universes. In an inflamed Middle East, we now the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring hope to the entire region, a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza. The time is now.’
‘Rachel and Jon deserved every second on that stage. I also believe a Palestinian American voice deserves to be heard on that stage. I’d love to hear from [Romman] and I hope the DNC will give her the chance to be heard,’ said Israeli-American Alana Zeitchik, who had six family members taken hostage on October 7, said on X.
‘Rep. Ruwa is a Democratic leader who has been working to keep Georgia blue and elect VP Harris. She would be a unifying speaker for peace,’ said Rep. Maxwell Frost, 27-year-old Democrat from Florida who will make his main stage debut on Thursday evening.
‘I’ve had some pretty crushing days, but to be honest today took the cake. I do not understand how there’s room for an anti choice Republican but not me in our party. I need someone to explain to me what to do now,’ Romman posted on X after she confirmed she would not be speaking at the DNC, with a reference to Georgia’s pro-life ex-Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who spoke on stage.
The Chicago metro area is home to the largest Palestinian-American community in the country. Throughout the week, some DNC attendees have been holding up signs with names of those who have died in Gaza.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson replied ‘yes, of course’ when asked if a Palestinian-American should be given speaking time at the DNC.
‘We’re talking about thousands of babies, elderly being brutalized by an act of war.’
The Palestinian cause has been mentioned, though no one has directly blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the 10-month-long conflict. Doing so would likely mean going rogue and ignoring the teleprompter: no speech that would portray the top of the Democratic ticket in an unfavorable light would get approved by the DNC.
But some have noted that the vocal calls for a Palestinian-American to be included in the schedule have only picked up after the convention began, and the tentative schedule has long been set.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry posits that some 40,000 have died in the region since the outbreak of war after the October 7 attack.
‘The vast majority of Americans want to see an end to the bombing, the hostages returned, and long-term peace. Palestinian Americans deserve to share their stories on the #DNC stage. And we should listen and take action for human rights. #Notanotherbomb,’ Rep. Greg Casar, progressive caucus whip and Texas Democrat, wrote on X.
‘When a majority of voters are demanding a ceasefire & an end to the genocide, it is completely out of touch & disgraceful for the DNC to deny Palestinian Americans a voice at the convention,’ said Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who recently lost a primary to a challenger more friendly to Israel.
She also took a shot at Michelle Obama’s call for leftist critics of the Democratic ticket to quiet down.
‘Michelle Obama implored us all to do something. I’m imploring our party to do better,’ said Bush.
‘The minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, folks, we cannot start wringing our hands,’ Michelle Obama had said. ‘We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right.’
‘So folks, we cannot be our own worst enemies,’ she concluded.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a Palestinian-American congresswoman, said that all of the talk of ‘hope’ and ‘joy’ around Harris at the top of the ticket should be ‘shattered’ by the plight of the Palestinians.
‘To hear what we’ve done to generations of families shatters the false narrative of hope and joy,’ she said.
During a news conference of the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted National Movement outside the DNC perimeters, Tlaib cried out through FaceTime, ‘we shouldn’t have to beg.’
‘A Palestinian-American sharing his or her story, calling for cease fire and release of all hostages, and calling everyone to support the ticket against facism would be powerful,’ Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who also got a slot on the main stage, wrote on X.
Even the United Auto Workers union weighed in on X:
‘If we want the war in Gaza to end, we can’t put our heads in the sand or ignore the voices of the Palestinian Americans in the Democratic Party. If we want peace, if we want real democracy, and if we want to win this election, the Democratic Party must allow a Palestinian American speaker to be heard from the DNC stage tonight.’
‘The Palestinian right to self determination was erased by the British with the Balfour declaration which mentioned civil & religious but not political rights. The Dem party is making a tragic mistake in 2024 perpetuating this erasure of the Palestinian story & voice,’ added Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California.
‘Seeing Rachel and Jon Goldberg Polin on stage last night was powerful and heartbreaking. It was important because it was not about politics, it was about empathy and humanity. I cried as they shared their story and their grief with the world,’ said Haddar Susskind, an Israeli-American and former IDF soldier, on X.
‘But grief and humanity are not limited to Israelis, and neither should empathy be so. I stand with my Palestinian friends in their call to have their voices and their humanity recognized and valued in the same way … I hope that the DNC will reconsider and put a Palestinian-American on the stage tonight.’
The Uncommitted group has been hosting regular press conferences outside of the convention, they were granted one DNC-sanctioned panel on Palestinian human rights. The panel included the group’s co-founders and doctors who had worked in Gaza.
The group saw it as a win to be included in the DNC after working against the Biden-Harris ticket in states where they encouraged Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in protest of Biden’s relationship with Israel.
‘This is a historic moment that the DNC has called a panel to discuss the human rights of Palestinians but I also recognize it’s not enough … a policy shift is the only thing that will accomplish a cease-fire,’ said Uncommitted co-founder Layla Elabed.
Advocates have begun to wonder whether Harris will eschew Biden’s approach to the Middle East conflict, though she’s shown no daylight policy-wise between the current administration.
Still, co-founder Abbas Alawieh struck a hopeful note: ‘Vice President Harris is engaging with us on this issue.’
‘We do view that as a step in the right direction,’ he told the press.