DNC muffles anti-Israel outcry

CHICAGO—On Wednesday evening, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters amassed for the third day at Union Park near the site of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. They chanted, “Killer Kamala,” and, “Every time Harris lies, a neighborhood in Gaza dies.” Activists have daily yelled at delegates through megaphones while they stand in line at the security checkpoints around the United Center, where the convention’s main sessions are being held.

Democratic presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has met privately with several activists and leaders from the Uncommitted Movement, a group urging Democrats to withhold their votes from Harris until there is a cease-fire in Gaza and an arms embargo to Israel. But her outreach has not been enough to satisfy the protesters.

Beginning Wednesday evening, a group of about 25 pro-Palestinian protesters began a sit-in on a sidewalk in front of the United Center to demand that the DNC allow a Palestinian American speaker on the main stage. Few noticed the crowd of seated activists. At 6 p.m. on Thursday, they linked arms and marched into the building for the final session of the convention. During her speech, Harris affirmed Israel’s right to exist and promised to counter the terrorist organization Hamas. This elicited a few scattered protest yells of “free Palestine” that were drowned out by thunderous applause.

Sana Wazwaz traveled from Minnesota to protest at the DNC. She argued that threatening even small numbers of votes in narrowly divided districts in a close election year was an effective form of protest. She also accused Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, of canceling meetings with Palestinian activists and using taxpayer funds for investments with Israeli-connected companies.

“My disconcerted feelings with President Biden just extended to Kamala Harris because I don’t really see any difference with their policies on Gaza,” said Wazwaz, a member of the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine. “Harris also has a long history of affirming Israel's right to defend itself, right to exist. And just a few days ago, her campaign said pretty openly that an arms embargo is not part of their platform. She may boast about a cease-fire, but as long as she’s going to try to play firemen and arsonist, it’s not going to mean anything.”

Chicago police warned as many as 100,000 protesters could descend on the city this week, but numbers from Monday to Wednesday appear to have fallen far short of that estimate. Some activists waving antifa flags briefly tore down perimeter fencing around the United Center on Monday night, and riot police arrested 14 people. On Tuesday night, 56 more were arrested outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago, where demonstrators fought with police lines. Ahead of the convention, many in Chicago worried about a repeat of riots in 1968 when anti-Vietnam War protests turned violent. But delegates who witnessed that unrest said the two scenarios are vastly different.

“I was around for 1968,” volunteer and Chicago-area native David Wilson recalled. “I was not involved, except that I went down just to see what was going on as a curious 18-year-old. This is like a Sunday school picnic compared to what happened back then. The protesters have the right to demonstrate how they feel, but they should know that the other side feels just as strongly.”

Speakers on the main stage of the convention expressed support for Jewish delegates but avoided addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff also said on Tuesday that while Harris does not share his Jewish faith, she has encouraged him to speak out against anti-Semitism. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday night said, “As the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never face discrimination because of who they are.” In a voice vote on Monday night, delegates passed the party platform, which describes the U.S.-Israel relationship as “ironclad.”

Of the 4,700 delegates at the convention this year, only 36 represent voters who chose “uncommitted” on their primary ballots rather than President Joe Biden. On Monday, the DNC held a panel on Palestinian human rights, the first of its kind in convention history. But pro-Palestinian protesters wanted the panel to take place on the main stage and include family members of Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Arab American Institute founder and former Democratic National Committee executive member James Zogby has participated in pro-Palestinian activism since the 1980s. Speaking on the panel, he credited Jesse Jackson, a prominent civil rights activist and left-wing Democrat, with helping raise the profile of the issue within the party. A pediatric surgeon who worked with Doctors Without Borders in Gaza shared graphic stories of children wounded and refugee families shuffled around the region. Tanya Haj-Hassan accused the Israeli Defense Forces of war crimes.

Layla Elabed is the co-chairwoman of the Uncommitted National Movement. She likened anti-Israel activism to the civil rights movement.

“If we stand up and demand action, an arms embargo, a cease-fire, an end to war, we may have an opportunity to restore the soul of the Democratic Party and unite us under a big tent,” Elabed told delegates and attendees. “We aren’t that different from any other movement, from unions, civil rights, gay marriage, reproductive rights, or climate justice. We are fighting to be recognized, to be part of this party.”

During Biden’s speech on Monday night, Michigan uncommitted delegate Liano Sharon was escorted off the convention floor when he and others displayed a “stop arming Israel” sign. Delegates around him blocked the view of his sign with “We love Joe” posters and told him to pipe down so they could listen. Jewish caucus and council events at the DNC have been held at undisclosed locations and require additional RSVP procedures. Nevertheless, some activists disrupted an event on Monday and were forcibly removed from the room.

Solona Sisco was an uncommitted delegate at Washington’s state party convention earlier this year. Sisco said the other delegates seem less focused on Palestine in the surge of excitement about Harris’ candidacy.

“I still think this is huge progress that we have Kamala Harris on the ticket instead of Biden,” Sisco told WORLD. After Biden dropped out of the race, Sisco was torn over whether to vote for Harris or remain uncommitted. After Harris passed over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who condemned campus protests earlier this year as anti-Semitic, Sisco decided, reluctantly, to fall in line.

“The protesters are doing good work,” Sisco said. “That visibility is important for those issues. I think that people should feel like they can vote their conscience, but at the same time, at least in swing states, it’s very important to not get Trump elected.”

Monday’s protests delayed hundreds of delegates by hours getting to the convention center, but few said the display swayed them. When asked about the demonstrations, several delegates rolled their eyes but declined to answer questions from WORLD. Others said all segments of the party have the right to demonstrate, but the theme of the week is unified support for Harris and opposition to former President Donald Trump.

“I feel like maybe the actual protesters are a smaller part of the party,” Louisiana delegate Dustin Granger said. “But we all want a solution in the Middle East, and we just really believe Kamala, when she becomes president, is the best person to find that solution.”

Fellow Louisianan Eric Paul Broussard-Bueno agreed: “I believe in her leadership. I believe in her focus. If we’re going to have a resolution and a solution to problems that have been going on for decades in the new era of Israel and millennia in the old, Biblical era of Israel, I think that she’s going to be as prepared as anybody to come to the table effectively and figure it out.”

On Wednesday night, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg spoke about their son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen who has been in Hamas captivity for nearly a year. Rachel sobbed on the podium while the crowd applauded and demanded, “Bring them home,” delaying the speech by several minutes. Hersh, 23, was reportedly wounded in attacks on a music festival on Oct. 7.

“This is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Polin said. “Both Biden and Harris are working tirelessly on a hostage and cease-fire deal that will bring our precious children, mothers, fathers, spouses, grandparents, and grandchildren home and will stop the despair in Gaza. There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners.”

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting with more information about a pro-Palestinian sit-in at the DNC.