by Farrukh Abadi
The Democratic National Convention kicked off on Monday in Chicago, bringing together thousands of Democratic delegates and politicians to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s bid for president. Speakers for the week include a list of the imperialists’ most loyal representatives, including the Clintons and Obamas; Bernie Sanders; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; President Biden, who will be giving a farewell speech; and of course, Harris and her vice-presidential nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who will be giving their acceptance speeches.
Throughout the week, at least 6 major pro-Palestine protests will also take place in Chicago, each expected to draw thousands from across the country. The protests are organized and led by a coalition of hundreds of organizations that represent a broad political spectrum, which have united around ending US support for Israel. Protest leaders have promised that the marches will be peaceful and in accordance with their protest permits. To that end, they have circulated internal instructions for protest security to link arms to bar anyone who leaves their march and breaks the law to re-enter.
Several dozen protesters briefly broke through a portion of the security perimeter erected by the police around the DNC, which includes an anti-scaling wall, before a handful were arrested.
During his speech, Biden commented on the protesters and conflated the just resistance of Palestinians with the US-Israel genocide: “Those protesters out in the streets, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”
Inside the DNC, 30 “uncommitted” delegates—out of the over 4,500 pro-Harris delegates—are planning on “engaging with Democratic leaders… asking them to unite the party, win a ceasefire, and save Palestinian lives by no longer arming Israel.” The uncommitted delegates include veteran Democratic Party members representing the hundreds of thousands of “uncommitted” votes cast during the primary elections to signal voters’ opposition to Democrat support for Israel. So far, the movement’s delegations have been using the slight differences in rhetoric from Harris to signify the possibility that she will back an arms embargo on Israel, preparing the ground for pushing the movement to back Harris in November regardless of any shift in policy.
The group’s co-founders said in a statement released earlier this month: “When we told Vice President Harris that members of our community in Michigan are losing dozens and hundreds of their family members to Israel’s assault in Gaza, she said back: ‘It’s horrific.’ It’s clear to us that Vice President Harris can lead our country’s Gaza policy to a more humane place.”
Many demonstrators outside the DNC in various interviews have pointed out that regardless of the differences in rhetoric between Harris and Biden, their policies remain the same.
A 90-page policy platform for Harris-Walz released on Sunday ahead of the DNC was written and voted on by the DNC’s Platform Committee originally for Biden while he was still in the race. The platform, which is expected to be passed at the convention unchanged, includes a statement of strong support for Israel.
Harris has reiterated that her position on Israel is the same as Biden’s, with a campaign spokesperson telling POLITICO: “Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for the release of hostages.” Her national security adviser also stated earlier in the month that Harris “does not support an arms embargo on Israel.”
This was also expressed during an American Jewish Committee (AJC) panel on the sideline of the DNC, where Harris’s former national security adviser in the Senate and current CEO of the Zionist lobby group Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), Halie Soifer, emphasized that Harris is the best option for US support for Israel and that she would not cut or condition support for Israel. She pointed to the fact that the Biden-Harris administration provided more “aid” to Israel in the last 6 months alone than any previous administration ever has. JDCA’s website tracks Harris’s and Walz’s history of support for Israel.
Just last week, the Biden-Harris administration approved a $20 billion sale in military equipment to Israel.
