CHICAGO — Israel’s war on Gaza is a prominent focus of many outside the Democratic National Convention this week, with a few thousand demonstrating Monday against President Joe Biden administration’s financial and military support for Israel.
But inside the walls of the convention, more than 200 delegates and attendees of the DNC met for a historic panel discussion Monday titled “From Gaza to Washington: Democrats for Palestinian Human Rights.”
The panel was the first of its kind, an officially sanctioned panel by the DNC on Palestinian human rights, led by the uncommitted movement, which saw Democratic voters refuse to vote for Biden in the primaries due to his administration’s financial support of the Israeli military.
Both before and after the panel, volunteers outside urged delegates to sign on to a petition calling for the Harris-Walz campaign to “pledge to support a permanent ceasefire and an end to supplying weapons for Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians.”
Though the original demand of the uncommitted movement, and the nearly 700,000 votes it represents, was for the DNC to afford two speaking slots to their members during prime time and to discuss an arms embargo face-to-face with Harris’ team, the panelists still made clear the significance of the panel to them.
James Zogby, the founder and president of the Arab American Institute, spoke on the historicity of this moment and the fact that Palestine has only ever been mentioned twice before at a Democratic National Convention. Once was by himself, during Zogby’s nominating speech for Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1984.
“We’ve come a long way,” Zogby said. “People are saying ‘oh you’re just optimistic, you’re seeing the cup as half full.’ I remember when we didn’t have a cup.”
Zogby also praised the Harris campaign for allowing this discussion to take place within the walls of the DNC.
“It’s not the main prize,” he said. “But I do not want to dismiss it for a minute, the message the Harris campaign is sending by saying we want to talk about it.”
Another speaker on the panel was Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric surgeon who served in Gaza as a member of Doctors Without Borders. Her testimony on the children whose wounds she had treated and the colleagues she had lost in the war brought tears to the eyes of some in the room.
“Over 17,000 children have lost one or both parents since October in Gaza,” Haj-Hassan said. “We have treated so many children that have lost their entire family that we have coined a term: WCNSF [Wounded Child, No Surviving Family].”
Haj-Hassan was one of the speakers the uncommitted movement had submitted for a DNC speaking slot, but the request was not granted. Regardless, her testimony was meant, as she said, to “[put] a face to the human justice and values that we claim to stand by.”
While support for Palestinians is often seen as a left-wing position, panelist Hala Hijazi identified herself as a “proud moderate.” Hijazi, who has family in Gaza and has been an organizer in San Francisco for decades, teared up as she described how over 101 members of her family in Palestine have been killed in the past 10 months.
“There are better Halas than me who have been killed, more amazing and talented and educated than me,” Hijazi said. “I'm here in their honor.”
Former Michigan U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, who is Jewish and harshly critical of Israel, also weighed in on the panel. Levin lost his seat in 2022 after AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbyist group, poured $4 million into a negative ad campaign against him, saying AIPAC “can’t stand that I am the clearest, strongest Jewish voice” standing for the “human rights of Palestinian people.”
Levin called for a two-state solution and the end to anti-Palestinian discrimination in Israel during the panel.
“The occupation is toxic,” he said. “It's bad for our people and it’s toxic for the Palestinian people. There is no chance for peace without recognizing the human rights of the Palestinian people.”
Levin suggested that Harris’ campaign should stand in support of the International Court of Justice’s recent ruling that Israeli settlements in Gaza violate international law. The room boomed with applause after the statement.
“I have faith in her, but we need her to do more,” Levin said. “We are here saying that we need a type of leadership from Kamala Harris that we know she is capable of but that we have not seen in a generation.”
Layla Elabed, the founder of the uncommitted movement, echoed Levin’s call for accedence with international law, adding that “if we have an arms embargo, ceasefire and end to war, we may have an opportunity to restore the soul of the Democratic Party and unite us under a big tent.”
Haj-Hassan agreed.
“You came to the Democratic Party because you believe this party is capable of transforming the issue and the world,” she said.
Annika Bereny is a Senior Staff Writer and the former Special Pages Editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written in-depth for state and campus news. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
