A Sit-in for Peace in Gaza at the Democratic National Convention

Breaking the Sound Barrier by Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan This week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago has been a four-sday event designed to build momentum to propel Vice President Kamala Harris to the presidency. Many of the delegates at the convention from throughout the Democratic Party’s “Big Tent,” from Arab Americans to African Americans to Jewish Americans to union members to youth support a ceasefire in Gaza. Many delegates wear a keffiyeh sash that reads “Democrats for Palestinian Rights,” and a number wear buttons calling for an arms embargo against Israel, reading, “Not Another Bomb.” A clear majority of Democrats support a ceasefire in Gaza and a return of all the hostages held there. In February, as the death toll in Gaza mounted, activists began building the Uncommitted Movement, casting their votes for “uncommitted” instead of for Joe Biden. As a result, there are more than 30 “Uncommitted” delegates in attendance at the DNC. A key demand of the movement is for a Palestinian American to speak from the convention podium. After party leaders rejected their demand on Wednesday, Uncommitted delegates began a peaceful sit-in outside the United Center, the convention site. Delegates inside the convention heard Stevie Wonder singing one of his signature songs, “Higher Ground,” with the lyrics, “Powers keep on lying, While your people keep on dying,” followed by speeches from Oprah Winfrey, President Bill Clinton, and from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’s Vice Presidential nominee. Outside, Uncommitted activists from around the country spoke out: “My name is Ruwa Romman. I am a Georgia state representative. I am an elected Democrat…We are not here to create any divisions. As my colleagues have said over and over and over again, the only reason we are here — the only reason we are here — is to ensure that Donald Trump will never make it to the White House, and save the lives of the people that we love. It’s about the fact that today I watched my party say, ‘Our tent can fit anti-choice Republicans,’ but it can’t fit an elected official like me?” Addressing the issue of a Palestinian American speaker, Romman continued, “This would have truly and sincerely been a beautiful gesture to show this party cares about the cries of an Israeli child the same way they care about the cries of a Palestinian child. We are not asking for too much.” Sabrene Odeh spoke next, a Palestinian American delegate from Washington State, “How many more Palestinians need to die until the American government stops sending arms to kill them? What more do we have to do?” As delegates exited the United Center following Walz’s acceptance speech, more visited the sit-in. Among them was Muslim Minnesota Congressmember Ilhan Omar, herself a former war refugee from Somalia. “I love you all,” Omar said. “This is not about just winning votes. It’s about living up to the words that we say about caring for our neighbors, for having a heart, for being compassionate. If that is who we are as Democrats, there is no compassion in continuing to fund this genocidal war. There is no compassion in turning our heads away from the piles of dead bodies that have been going on for the last 10 years. There is no compassion and care in simply keeping this the status quo. There is compassion and care in saying we know that a ceasefire is only possible if we use every leverage that we have. And the biggest leverage that we have is to stop sending bombs.” A number of Jewish Democrats visited or participated in the sit-in as well, including Lily Greenberg Call. She was the first Jewish Biden appointee to resign over Gaza: “I resigned in protest of the president’s unconditional support for Israel’s assault on Gaza….We, as Jewish people, know what it is like to be persecuted, know what it is like to be victims of state-sponsored violence, know what it is like to have an entire country dedicate itself to your extermination. That is what I learned about being Jewish, that because of that obligation, you stand up for other people.” As this column goes to press, the Democratic National Committee still refuses to allow a Palestinian American to speak from the podium, and the sit-in continues. As the Uncommitted delegates continue the painful task of counting the bodies of friends and relatives in Gaza, Democratic party leaders at the DNC are counting votes.