Pro-Palestinian delegates denied a speaker at NDC

Leaders of a group protesting the Israel-Hamas war, say they've been told they cannot have a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention this week.

Negotiations stalled when leaders with the Uncommitted National Movement say a Democratic National Committee official called and delivered a firm response: "The answer is no."

The leader, Abbas Alawieh, an "Uncommitted" delegate to the convention and co-founder of the movement, described the call as shocking after weeks of talks.

In response, he and other delegates have staged a sit-in outside Chicago's United Centre, where the convention is being held. They spent the night on the footpath, and vowed to remain until their request was granted or the convention ended.

The Harris campaign declined to comment.

The sit-in outside the United Centre has exposed cracks in a Democratic Party that otherwise has rallied around the Harris campaign.

The news that the DNC had denied the request for a Palestinian American speaker, just a day after featuring the parents of an Israeli American hostage held by Hamas, ignited fresh criticism from some on the left.

The politically powerful United Autoworkers Union, which has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, said the party "must allow a Palestinian American speaker to be heard from the DNC stage tonight."

Cook County, where Chicago and the convention is located, holds the largest population of Palestinian Americans in the country.

Tensions over the war in Gaza have at times escalated outside the convention centre this week, as thousands marched through Chicago demanding a ceasefire. A smaller group of activists clashed with police outside the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday night, leading to 56 arrests.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Muslim Democrat, spoke on Wednesday at the convention and praised Harris for saying "we need a ceasefire and an end to the loss of innocent lives in Gaza and to bring hostages home." In an interview Thursday, he said that "not only is the content of the message important, the messenger is also important."

"A Palestinian-American sharing his or her story, calling for ceasefire and release of all hostages, and calling everyone to support the ticket against fascism would be powerful," Ellison said on social media Thursday.

Many other Democratic leaders urged the party to reconsider the request. California representative Ro Khanna said that "the Democratic Party, which aspires to be the party of human rights, must not in 2024 perpetuate this erasure of the Palestinian story."

According to Alawieh, the "Uncommitted" movement provided a number of potential Palestinian Americans who could speak at the convention, including Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman.

Romman on Thursday released a draft of the speech she said she planned to deliver if asked. In it, she calls for electing Harris, defeating Donald Trump — and outlines demands for a ceasefire and to "end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages."

Earlier this week, activists were granted unprecedented space at the convention to hold a forum addressing the plight of Gaza residents, who have been under Israeli bombardment since Hamas' October 7 attack and its taking of hostages, as well as to share deeply personal stories about family members lost in the conflict.

The panel was viewed as an olive branch from the Harris campaign, with hopes that other requests might be fulfilled later in the week.