Democrats Reject Gaza Protesters' Demand For Palestinian Speaker: 'The Answer Is No'

Demonstrators' demands for a Palestinian speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago have been rejected by party officials. Uncommitted delegates, who oppose US support for Israel's war in Gaza, began a sit-in protest outside the United Center on Wednesday night.

Negotiations between the Uncommitted National Movement and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) broke down late Wednesday when a DNC official told movement leaders that their request had been denied and delivered a firm response: “The answer is no.”

Abbas Alawieh, an Uncommitted delegate and co-founder of the movement, described the response as shocking after weeks of positive talks.

In response, Alawieh and other delegates staged a sit-in outside the convention centre, vowing to remain until their request was granted or the convention ended Thursday night. “When we ran out of options — doing everything we can and working from the inside, when we ran out of options as uncommitted delegates, we just sat down,” Alawieh said in an interview Thursday. 

The news that the DNC had denied the request of a Palestinian American speaker, just a day after featuring the parents of an Israeli American hostage held by Hamas, ignited fresh criticism from some on the left. 

The politically powerful United Auto Workers Union, which has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, said the party “must allow a Palestinian-American speaker to be heard from the DNC stage tonight.”

Tensions over the war in Gaza have at times escalated outside the convention centre this week, as thousands marched through Chicago demanding a cease-fire. A smaller group of activists clashed with police outside the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday night, leading to 56 arrests.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Muslim Democrat, spoke Wednesday at the convention and praised Harris for saying “we need a cease-fire and an end to the loss of innocent lives in Gaza and to bring hostages home." In an interview Thursday, he said that “not only is the content of the message important, the messenger is also important.”

“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 fascism would be powerful,” Ellison said on social media Thursday.

Many other Democratic leaders urged the party to reconsider the request. In a statement, California Rep. Ro Khanna said that “the Democratic Party, which aspires to be the party of human rights, must not in 2024 perpetuate this erasure of the Palestinian story.”

Earlier this week, activists were granted unprecedented space at the convention to hold a forum addressing the plight of Gaza residents, who have been under Israeli bombardment since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack and its taking of hostages, as well as to share deeply personal stories about family members lost in the conflict. The panel was viewed as an olive branch from the Harris campaign, with hopes that other requests might be fulfilled later in the week.

The convention has officially made Harris the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, with the vast majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates enthusiastically casting their votes for her. 

But those calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war — among other demands, such as an arms embargo on Israel — believe they will have an outsized influence in the November election, now just over 70 days away. 

Michigan, one of the key swing states, has the largest percentage of Arab Americans in the country. The UAW, which hosted Harris at a union hall event earlier this month, also has its largest membership base in Michigan. In a statement, the leader of the state Democratic Party, Lavora Barnes, said “a Palestinian American should have a speaking role Thursday night so that their voices can be heard".

(With AP Inputs)