The Democratic Party Convention, which began in Chicago on Monday and will end tonight, has drawn strong reactions from pro-Palestine leaders and civil society organizations. It has been noteworthy that since the first day of the convention, the Democratic Party leadership has turned a deaf ear to calls to “allow a Palestinian-American delegate to speak at the convention” and even some members of Congress have ignored these demands.
The “non-committed” Democratic delegates from various states of the country, who stated that they may not vote for President Biden due to his Gaza policy, held a press conference right next to the United Center where the convention was held. These delegates stated that there are approximately 800 thousand party members in the country and that they may not support the Democratic candidate, and emphasized that “our main demand today is for a Palestinian American delegate to come on stage and give a short speech about what is.” “happening in Gaza.”
Delegates stated that the Democratic Party administration had not responded positively to these demands to date and noted that they were expecting a response from the party by 18:00 local time on Thursday.
Demands of Palestinian American Delegates
Co-chair of the “non-committed” delegates movement, who expressed concern because they could not bear to listen to a Palestinian American delegate Layla Alabed, criticized the party they have been members of for many years for not being able to tolerate listening to a Palestinian delegate for only 5 minutes on such an important day. Alabed said, “We, as Democrat delegates, do not want the US to send more bombs to Israel. We are here to voice this.”
Delegate from Michigan Abbas AlawiehAlawieh stated that they slept on the sidewalk outside the United Center throughout the night and did not leave the area they were in despite the cold weather, and that he was proud of this. “We are asking President Biden to stop sending weapons to Israel. Today, we have requested that a Palestinian friend of ours give a speech at this congress,” he said.
A Jewish delegate June RoseHe said, “Why should my life be more valuable than the life of a Palestinian?” and emphasized that he would support his friends who are struggling regarding Palestine and Gaza until the end.
The delegates, who dispersed after the statements, reconvened at 18:00 local time and stated that the Democratic Party administration had not responded positively to them and that this situation was a great disappointment for them.
