As Kamala Harris closed her acceptance speech on Thursday night to roaring applause and Beyoncé’s “Freedom” blaring from the speakers and balloons falling from the ceiling, the elation on the arena floor could not be separated from the ways the Democratic Party engaged with its pro-Palestinian factions this week.
The party had gone to lengths to silence and sideline those who spoke up about the administration’s unconditional military aid to Israel and its hollow warnings about protecting civilian lives in the Gaza Strip. Delegates who unfurled a banner that said “Stop Arming Israel” were drowned out by chants of “We love Joe” and booted from the floor, The Associated Press reported. Other than a single panel on Palestinian human rights on Monday afternoon, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza received little attention. There was scant mention of the issue in speeches during the main programming, and when it came up, the horrors in Gaza were described in passive terms, as if Israel’s military conduct and America’s material support for it were unrelated. Harris herself spoke about the “heartbreaking” suffering in Gaza without mentioning who was responsible for the deliberate starvation of civilians, the bombings of refugee camps and schools and mosques, the fatal sniper shots to children’s heads and chests attested to by multiple doctors.
The party also refused to grant the Uncommitted delegates’ request for a Palestinian American to deliver remarks onstage, despite pressure from Democratic lawmakers and other outside groups. Members of the Uncommitted movement — a group within the party that aims to pressure Harris to endorse an arms embargo against Israel and a permanent cease-fire in Gaza — staged a sit-in from Wednesday evening, hoping until the eleventh hour that party leaders would change their minds.
They did not. The exclusion of a Palestinian speaker from the main stage was not only a glaring political misstep, but also a moral one, and made it appear that Democrats hoped that sweeping the humanitarian crisis in Gaza under the rug would avoid putting a damper on their celebrations. (One immediate consequence was the announcement that the group Muslim Women for Harris was rescinding its support and disbanding.)
This convention was an opportunity for Harris to walk the talk about Democrats as the party of inclusion and decency. It was also a chance for the party to show that supporters of Palestinian rights belonged under its big tent. In her speech on Thursday, Harris vowed to be a president “who leads and listens.” But when her party’s pro-Palestinian bloc said loud and clear that they wanted a platform this week, Democrats failed them.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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