In just under 2 months, the 2024 US presidential election will commence. As anyone who’s been keeping up with the race for the White House knows, there’s a lot at stake in this election, whether it be abortion, immigration, foreign policy, or even what American “democracy” will look like. President Biden has dropped his bid for re-election, and Vice President Kamala Harris has been chosen to run as the Democratic Nominee in his place. Now is the time when the Trump and Harris campaigns are supposed to be galvanizing support among prospective voters. However, while the Trump campaign continues to gain ground (receiving an endorsement from the most well-known third-party candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), the Democrats have instead opted to ignore, alienate, and even antagonize some of their potential Uncommitted and Progressive voters. Nothing made this disappointment more clear than last month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Before mentioning what was said and done by people there, let’s talk about who wasn’t there: a Palestinian-American voice. For context, the death toll in Gaza has already surpassed 40,000 people, almost 2 million have been forcibly displaced, and 70% of Gaza’s housing stock has been deemed unlivable amid the relentless and indiscriminate Israeli bombing and offensive in Gaza. In the West Bank, the illegal colonization, displacement, and settler attacks against local Palestinians continue to happen under the watchful eye of the Israeli Occupation.
This is all happening with the tacit approval of the current Biden-Harris administration, who have been more than happy to supply millions of dollars in equipment and military aid to the Israeli government, and even allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress (despite him being currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity). This has led many previously loyal Democrats to join the “Uncommitted” movement and condition their votes on ending U.S. support to Israel’s atrocities.
Even after all this and the Convention being held in Cook County, which holds the largest population of Palestinian-Americans in the country, the DNC still refused to allow a Palestinian-American to speak. This was despite repeated requests from the Uncommitted delegates, while the relatives of afflicted Israelis were allowed a voice. Even Ana Navarro, the daughter of a Nicaraguan death squad member, was allowed to take the stage instead (so much for being “anti-terrorism”).
Being denied a voice in the largest Democratic Party event in the country, some delegates took to silent, peaceful protest. This led to conflict with DNC loyalists at the Convention, with one incident involving a man with a “We Love Joe” sign beating a hijab-wearing woman over the head for quietly holding up a “Stop Arming Israel” banner during President Biden’s speech. When Vice President Harris took the stage, she promised to make sure the US military remained the “most lethal fighting force,” drawing uneasy reactions even from her own family members in the crowd. She also refused to budge on ending aid to Israel or even imposing an arms embargo, while only paying minor lip service to the idea of a ceasefire. This echoes back to the 2016 election, when the Democrats, rather than engaging with the growing progressive movement under Bernie Sanders, instead opted to court the establishment loyalists with Hillary Clinton. This led to a widespread issue of voter apathy and ultimately handed the 2016 election to Trump. And now, it’s happening again.
The Republican campaign under Trump has been even more hostile towards progressives and pro-Palestinian advocates. Republican representative Max Miller, during his criticism of Rashida Tlaib having a Palestinian flag outside her office, stated: “I don’t even want to call it the Palestinian flag because they’re not a state, they’re a territory, that’s about to probably get eviscerated and go away here shortly, as we’re going to turn that into a parking lot.” Trump himself expressed his desire to deport pro-Palestinian demonstrators and even called President Biden a “Palestinian” as an insult during the first Presidential Debate back in June. Yikes. Despite this, an increasing number of dissatisfied voters are now abandoning the Democrats and giving support to third parties who have campaigned on ending the onslaught and destruction of Palestinians. But let’s make one thing abundantly clear: If this causes Harris to lose and we get a second Trump administration, the blame won’t be on these voters, but rather on the Party that refused to heed their calls to respect even the basic human rights of a devastated people.
