Uncommitted Delegates Stage Sit-In After DNC Says No to Palestinian Speaker Despite Vetted Speech

"I intend to stay here until I get a call from the DNC telling me...that they will accept our very humble request," Abbas Alawieh, a delegate and leader of the Uncommitted movement, told reporters. Rep. Ilhan Omar joined the sit-in.

By Kylie Cheung  |  August 22, 2024 | 1:08am
Politics Democratic National Convention
Uncommitted Delegates Stage Sit-In After DNC Says No to Palestinian Speaker Despite Vetted Speech

CHICAGO — On Wednesday night, as the Democratic National Convention continued, the Uncommitted movement announced that, after several days of negotiations, both the Harris campaign and DNC denied their request for a Palestinian-American speaker. “We got word from the DNC that they will not allow a Palestinian-American speaker on the main stage, even though they created space for plenty of others—like a border patrol officer and the family members of an Israeli hostage,” the delegates said in a statement.

Specifically, uncommitted delegates asked the Harris campaign and DNC officials to allow Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan to speak and give voice to the Palestinian children she’s treated in Gaza. On Tuesday, Haj-Hassan told reporters about the daily atrocities they face under Israeli bombardment, and that Palestinians asked only one thing of her: to share what she witnessed with the world. Earlier on Wednesday, the Uncommitted movement said they “provided the Democratic Party with a list of names” of potential speakers “and stand ready to provide more if needed. There is no reason not to get this done.”

But on Wednesday evening, at a press conference-turned-sit-in outside the United Center, Abbas Alawieh, a delegate and leader of the Uncommitted movement, told reporters that the Harris campaign turned them down. “The vice president made a decision, she and her team, and the answer is no.”

“We were hopeful because Vice President Harris’ team has been engaging with us,” Alawieh continued. “They’ve been calling, they’ve been having conversations, and we told them what our ask is.” He stressed that this particular ask—for a Palestinian voice on stage—doesn’t concern a policy change (though they are still very much demanding that), and they’re only asking to be heard. Ahead of the convention, uncommitted delegates pledged to withhold their votes to nominate Kamala Harris until her campaign pledges to back a ceasefire and arms embargo to Israel.

Alawieh, a veteran Democratic staffer who’s worked for both Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), stressed that he’s tried everything he could “working on the inside” to move the Democratic Party, speaking to and pleading with members of Congress, delegates, and party leaders. After exhausting these options, Alawieh declared at the press conference that he was staging a sit-in outside the United Center and invited delegates who felt so inclined to join him. “I just intend to stay here until I get a call from the DNC telling me that they won’t suppress the voices of Palestinian children, that they will accept our very humble request,” he said. The sit-in began at around 8:30 pm local time and continued through the night.

A spokesperson for the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Jezebel on the extent of the campaign’s involvement in negotiations for a Palestinian speaker, or someone who could speak to Palestinians’ experiences in Gaza.

In a series of impassioned and, at times, tearful remarks to reporters, Alawieh recounted being a child and surviving the bombing during the Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, before eventually coming to the U.S. “I could have been one of those children. … President Biden, Vice President Harris, we’re talking about babies,” Alawieh said, pointing to the over 16,000 Palestinian children in Gaza killed by Israeli forces since October. “I’m leaning into my lived experience because that experience lends me some level of expertise. I know that our country’s policy of sending bombs to kill kids is wrong because I’m human, and also because I’ve survived those bombs myself.” Over the last 10 months, Israeli forces have killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with significant help from U.S. funding and weapons.

Over a dozen Uncommitted delegates have since joined Alawieh, and more continue to join. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) stopped by after the third night of the convention concluded to express her support and embrace Alawieh. HuffPost reports that Lily Greenberg Call, a former Biden administration official who resigned over its Gaza policy, also joined delegates and accused the president of weaponizing Jewish identity to justify the war machine.

Earlier Wednesday, the Uncommitted movement shared a statement after learning Israeli hostages’ families would speak on the main stage that night. “We strongly support that decision,” the statement said, “and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians who’ve endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948.” The delegates said they “urge the Democratic Party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage.” The statement continued, “Excluding a Palestinian speaker betrays the party’s commitment in our platform to valuing Israelis and Palestinian lives equally. 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.”

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