Democrats' biggest rift, Gaza, mostly ignored at convention

The most divisive issue facing the Democratic Party, US support for Israel in the war in Gaza, has gone mostly unaddressed during the four-day convention which ends on Thursday, leaving pro-Palestinian delegates upset with presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Harris is expected to call for an urgent end to the war during her Thursday acceptance speech and for the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, two sources familiar with her remarks said. She will not address US arms sales to Israel, according to the sources.

Muslim delegates and their allies had pushed for a prime-time speaking slot to address the conflict.

A campaign spokesperson declined to explain the decision not to schedule a speech by a Palestinian speaker, or to say whether a last-minute speaker could be added, although sources familiar with Thursday's program said it was essentially locked. The decision was made by DNC organizers in close consultation with the Harris campaign, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Pro-Palestinian advocates on Thursday vowed to keep pressuring Harris to change course on arms sales to Israel. Party insiders fear the Gaza war could cost Harris needed votes in battleground states such as Michigan, which is home to cities with significant Muslim and Arab American populations and college campuses that have been the site of Gaza protests.

The convention is being held in Chicago, home to the United States' largest Palestinian community, according to the Arab American Institute. US Representative Dan Kildee of Michigan said he had been urging the campaign to have Harris address the issue in a separate speech in his state.

The DNC has been faced by pro-Palestinian protests each day in Chicago, including from thousands of demonstrators on Thursday night ahead of Harris' speech. Dozens of arrests were made during the week.

Some protesters said on Thursday their decision on whether to vote for Harris will depend on how quickly a ceasefire is reached in Gaza and whether she supports an arms embargo on Israel. They carried banners that read "No Embargo No Vote" and "No Ceasefire No Vote."

Thousands chanted "ceasefire now," and "long live Palestine" on Thursday evening while carrying Palestinian flags and banners that read "End US aid to Israel" and "DNC silences Palestinian voices," surrounded by a heavy police presence.

About a dozen delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized nearly 750,000 voters to withhold their support for President Joe Biden during the primaries, spent Wednesday night on the sidewalk outside the convention to protest the DNC's rejection of their request for a Palestinian speaker.

They welcomed a call for a ceasefire and the return of hostages by the parents of one U.S. hostage held in Gaza - Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin - on Wednesday night, but said they should also have been given a chance to speak.

 Solidarity protests

The United Auto Workers union and the Movement for Black Lives are among several groups and individuals who have issued statements of support for the demonstrators. Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said on X it would cease operations after the DNC decision.

"Last night, the DNC made clear that it values Palestinian lives and voices less than others. It is unconscionable to silence Palestinian voices as they face US-funded massacre, starvation and ethnic cleansing," said the Movement for Black Lives, a network of over 150 leaders and organizations.

The issue has drawn thousands of protesters to marches throughout the week, with police reporting dozens of arrests.

Ruwa Romman, a Georgia state legislator and delegate who spent the night outside the DNC, said Uncommitted organizers had negotiated with the Harris campaign for weeks and provided a list of possible speakers, only to be rejected.

"At least give us something symbolic," she said, adding she and other Uncommitted delegates wanted to support Harris but needed something tangible to sway skeptical voters.

Rima Mohammad, a Michigan delegate who also took part in the overnight protest, said delegates would keep pressure on Harris in the coming weeks.

"This is just a bad look. You're going to lose Michigan," said Mohammad, who teaches at the University of Michigan's College of Pharmacy in Ann Arbor.

The Uncommitted delegates re-entered the convention center with locked arms on Thursday evening, shortly before Harris was due to speak.

Only a handful of references to the war have been made from the DNC stage. Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Raphael Warnock and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among those who addressed Gaza.

One major Harris campaign donor, who requested anonymity to be candid about their private conversations with the campaign, said they worried that without a near-term ceasefire deal and clear statements from Harris about ending the war and protecting civilians, campus protests could flare again when universities resume classes in coming days.

"We need every vote," the donor said.

Tariq Habash, who in January quit his senior job at the Department of Education in protest at the US role in the war, said keeping the issue off the agenda would not help Democrats as they tried to build a "big tent" party and defeat former President Donald Trump.

"The indignity and the erasure of Palestinians in our country and in this party throughout this entire week will not be forgotten," he said.