By Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor
(c) 2024 , The Washington Post
The lineup at next week’s Democratic National Convention is starting to come into focus, but uncommitted delegates concerned about the war in Gaza are unlikely to be among the speakers over four nights of programming.
The group representing uncommitted delegates, the Uncommitted National Movement, put in requests with the Democratic National Committee. But with just a few days until Monday’s convention start, it hasn’t been given an answer, and representatives of the group said members are increasingly pessimistic that the request will be accepted.
Three-quarters of a million people in the Democratic presidential primary voted “uncommitted” rather than for President Joe Biden or another candidate. The ballot option offered in some states became a prominent avenue for many Democrats who did not like Biden’s handling of the war and support for Israel to protest.
As a result, there are 30 uncommitted delegates to next week’s convention out of about 4,600, adding some potential for drama to the proceedings. Uncommitted delegates want two speaking slots at the convention: one for a doctor who has worked in Gaza since the war began and one for one of the 30 delegates.
“Is the DNC interested in [engaging] or is it better to sweep it under the rug?” said Abbas Alawieh, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan and director of the Uncommitted National Movement. “We think it’s better to acknowledge” the concerns of the movement.
Representatives of uncommitted delegates say it would send a strong signal to unite the party and turn those uncommitted delegates into Harris delegates by giving them a speaking role to raise concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
A spokesperson for the Harris campaign did not say that an uncommitted delegate would receive a speaking slot.
“Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages. She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency,” a spokeswoman said.
Some advocates say it would be unfortunate if there is no Palestinian American represented at the convention, especially if it features the families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks that sparked the war.
“The reason people are taking the postures that they’re taking is because folks still have family members that are still alive in Gaza that they are trying them keep alive,” said Ruwa Romman, a Democratic state representative of Georgia and a Palestinian American.
Some Democrats argue that “uncommitted” voters are just a small fraction of the party and because they didn’t vote for the Biden-Harris ticket they shouldn’t have a public role at the convention. They also argue that Harris is generally seen as more receptive to their concerns than Biden was, so her nomination is itself a win for the movement.
Alewieh agrees that Harris is doing the right things. He says that the Harris campaign’s level of engagement with the uncommitted movement is “night and day” compared with the Biden campaign, which refused to entertain their outreach. But he also says it will take more concrete actions to persuade angry, uncommitted voters that Harris is different from Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
They want a meeting with Harris and for her to denounce Trump’s position on Israel, including building settlements in the West Bank and deporting protesters.
“The sort of nuances of how much worse Trump is for Gaza is not registering with uncommitted voters,” Alawieh said.
Additionally, they are calling on Harris to commit to placing conditions on any offensive weapons transfers to Israel, something the Biden administration has resisted. The administration said it would halt sending weapons to Israel if it invades the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, but the State Department announced earlier this week that it would commit $20 billion of military aid to Israel amid escalating threats of a broader regional war.
Uncommitted delegates say they want Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor who works in the United States but also does humanitarian work in conflict zones with Doctors Without Borders, to speak at the convention. She says it is imperative to have someone at the convention who has witnessed what has happened in Gaza.
“We are witnessing something unprecedented, and we want the U.S. to do everything in its power to preserve human life,” said Haj-Hassan. “It’s important to provide testimony.”
Even if they do not get a speaking slot, uncommitted delegates can attend the convention like every other delegate. They are not organizing the prescheduled protests outside the convention perimeter and have no plans to join the anti-Israel protests either, Alawieh said.