Sharon Zhang
Truthout / August 23, 2024
A DNC spokesperson reportedly said without evidence that the movement rejected an offer for a Palestinian speaker.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) is slamming leaders of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) after they rejected the demands of the pro-Palestine uncommitted movement to have visibility at the convention — and are now lying about their meetings with campaign leaders.
This week, DNC leaders denied the uncommitted campaign’s request for a Palestinian American to speak on the main stage of the convention — something leaders and delegates of the campaign have been negotiating with DNC organizers for weeks.
On Thursday night, as the window for a Palestinian speaker was closing, DNC spokespeople told reporters that they had made offers for a speaker that the uncommitted movement had denied. As reporters and Tlaib pointed out, basic reporting shows that this claim is untrue.
“I know for a fact that the DNC did not act in good faith and continue to lie about the negotiations,” Tlaib said on social media on Thursday, in response to the DNC’s claims. “They are exposing themselves.”
According to The Intercept’s Akela Lacy, uncommitted campaign leader Layla Elabed said that the DNC and Harris campaign told the movement that they knew the claim is untrue, while Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan also said the DNC is denying the claim. But confusion remains as to where the claim originated — a claim that was already circulated to reporters hours before the clarification. The DNC, meanwhile, has seemingly not produced a public statement refuting the claim.
Meanwhile, frustration over the Democratic Party’s refusal to grant a Palestinian American time on stage has peaked.
Movement organizers have said that they gave DNC leaders nearly full power over the circumstances of the speech, having submitted a list of names and knowing that all speeches on the main stages are vetted. On Thursday, they published a copy of the speech that the group wanted state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American Democrat in the crucial swing state of Georgia, to give.
The speech is relatively tame, not straying from things Harris has already said about the genocide. It endorses Harris, criticizes Trump, and strikes a similar tone to the Harris campaign when it is, in rhetoric, at its most compassionate toward Palestinians. Like Harris’s acceptance speech on Thursday night, it even avoids naming Israel as the aggressor in Gaza, and simply tells the story of Romman’s family roots as a Palestinian.
The speech emphasizes that the uncommitted delegation is there because of the hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters who wish for an end the genocide: “That’s why we are here — members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all.”
But Democratic leaders denied the movement even this symbolic victory, leading many pro-Palestine advocates to conclude that they didn’t want a Palestinian to even have basic visibility at the event — as Vice President Kamala Harris feigns concern about Israel’s genocide of Gaza that the U.S. is sponsoring.
The Democratic Party’s refusal to give a Palestinian American just a few minutes of stage time, even after uncommitted leaders did everything within the rules set by the party for the convention, is a show of how far Democrats are willing to go to shut down discourse over ending the genocide.
Meanwhile, Democratic officials are continuing to provide Israel with everything it needs to carry out its genocide.
On the heels of the convention on Friday, the Biden administration filled a new role that will guide policy on Israel and Palestine within the State Department with someone who is likely to continue the flow of weapons to Israel, HuffPost reported.
The tapping of Mira Resnick, who formerly worked within a bureau of the agency that has approved billions in military support for Israel amid the genocide, for the role is a “doubling down on the administration’s determination to continue to provide unconditional material support for Israel’s genocidal campaign against civilians in Gaza,” former State Department official Annelle Sheline told HuffPost. Sheline was one of several officials who has quit over the administration’s support of Israel’s genocide.
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labor
