CHICAGO — A few thousand protesters gathered near the Democratic National Convention to protest President Joe Biden’s administration and the Democratic Party’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Protesters also called for stronger abortion rights and immigration protections.
Just over one hundred protesters bused in from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to join the March on DNC, according to Heba Mohhamed, co-chair of the Wisconsin pro-Palestine group Listen to Wisconsin. In the last two presidential elections, the key swing state was decided by about 20,000 votes.
“We're sending billions of dollars annually to Israel to kill Palestinians, and we're not able to fund the things at home that help our communities thrive, like schools and healthcare,” Mohhamed told The Daily Cardinal. “All these issues are connected, and at the end of the day, I think they're all united behind the fact that life is sacred.”
In April, about 48,000 Wisconsinites voted “uninstructed” in the presidential primary, a protest vote over the Biden administration’s financial support of Israel. Although the movement failed to meet the 15% threshold statewide to send delegates to the DNC, one in three voters near or on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus voted “uninstructed.”
Inside the convention, 30 “uncommitted” delegates held a panel Monday afternoon, even as protesters continued to march outside. They called for the Democratic Party to recognize the human rights of Palestinians, obey international law and stop what they call a genocide in Gaza.
“It’s historic that the Democratic Party has held a panel to discuss the Palestinian human rights, but it's not enough,” Layla Elabed, co-founder of the uncommitted movement, said. “If we have an arms embargo, ceasefire and an end to war, we may have an opportunity to restore the soul of the Democratic Party and unite us under a big tent.”
Elabed highlighted the significant Muslim and Arab American population in her home state of Michigan, another important battleground state for the Harris campaign, and the strength of that community as a voting bloc.
Outside at the March on the DNC, protesters held the same sentiment.
“I think the reality is that if the Democratic Party doesn't pay attention to majority of Americans who want to see it now, and the margin of voters in Wisconsin that say that they will not vote for genocide, no matter who you are or who you're running against they will have some trouble,” said Halah Ahmad, an organizer with Listen to Wisconsin and Ceasefire First, Vote Next.
Mohhamed said Democratic politicians, including Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, know what actions they need to take to gain the votes of the approximately 48,000 “uninstructed” voters in the state.
“We've given the Democrats a roadmap,” Mohhamed said. “Many, many people who voted uninstructed are willing to consider voting for the Democrats if they follow through on the demand that we listed out for them today.”
Demands include an immediate ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel. Harris has advocated for negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas but did not back an arms embargo — a decision Mohhamed said makes her support for a ceasefire a “hollow statement.”
Although protest turnout was lower than expected, Mohhamed and Ahmad said their message to the Democratic Party was clear.
“It's part of a broader call for accountability that the Democrats need to hear, especially when they're going to decide on the party platform just a few blocks away,” Ahmad said.
Senior staff writer Annika Bereny contributed reporting to this article.
Noe Goldhaber is the college news editor and former copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She is a Statistics and Journalism major and has specialized on a wide range of campus topics including protests, campus labor, student housing, free speech and campus administration. She has done data analysis and visualization for the Cardinal on a number of stories. Follow her on Twitter at @noegoldhaber.
