‘Uncommitted’ Activists Slam Democrats Over Not Allowing Palestinian to Speak at DNC

Anti-Israel activists are lashing out at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) for allegedly refusing their request to allow a speech from a Palestinian speaker. 

The Uncommitted National Movement — an initiative which sought to encourage voters to abstain from voting first for US President Joe Biden and then for his vice president, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, unless they adopted anti-Israel policies — lamented on Wednesday night that the DNC would not platform a Palestinian on the mainstage. The group urged the Democratic Party to reverse its decision. 

The group’s demand for stage time appeared to come after the DNC announced the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin — a duel US-Israeli citizen currently being held captive by Hamas in Gaza — would deliver a speech. 

“Uncommitted delegates urge the Democratic Party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We are learning that Israeli hostages’ families will be speaking from the main stage. We strongly support that decision and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians who’ve endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948,” the group posted on X/Twitter. 

The group called on the Democrats to exhibit a commitment to “valuing Israelis and Palestinian lives equally” by allowing someone impacted by the war in Gaza to share their perspective. 

“The difficulty in approving even a single Palestinian American speaker among the dozens of speakers on the convention stage sends a troubling message to our anti-war voters, suggesting they aren’t truly included in this party,” the group wrote. 

“Uncommitted” pitched Palestinian American Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman as a speaker. 

“My speech urged us to unite behind Harris, criticized [Republican presidential nominee Donald] Trump, and spoke about the promise of this moment,” Romman posted on X/Twitter. “The only reason we’re doing this is to save the soul of our party and prevent bad actors from using our pain in an ongoing voter suppression campaign.”

Romman has repeatedly accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza. 

A constellation of anti-Israel organizations vowed to wreak havoc at the 2024 DNC. However, only a few thousand of their supporters showed up to protest the convention, falling far short of their expectation of 30,000-40,000 participants. Amid a disappointing protest turnout, pro-Palestinian organizers struck a notably different tone, encouraging their supporters to work alongside the Democratic Party instead of trying to “fight” it. 

Some observers have speculated that the DNC does not trust anti-Israel speakers to follow agreed-to talking points, fearing they might use the platform to bash the Biden administration for supporting a so-called “genocide” in Gaza or calling for an “arms embargo” against the Jewish state.

The Harris campaign has made efforts to appease Arab American voters angry at the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Harris met with Uncommitted members prior to holding a campaign rally in Michigan. Harris also held a secret meeting with Abdullah Hammoud, the anti-Israel mayor of Dearborn, Michigan. Following a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris also vowed to “not be silent” about civilian casualties in Gaza.  

However, the Harris campaign has attempted to mollify concerns with pro-Israel voters that she would abandon the Jewish state if elected president in November. The incumbent vice president denied rumors that she would consider implementing an arms embargo against Israel, emphasizing that she maintains an ironclad commitment to the Jewish state’s security. 

Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, spoke about his Jewish faith and the need to combat antisemitism during his DNC speech on Tuesday.

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