Dear John,

The DNC wrapped up yesterday, during which Democrats reaffirmed their values and committed to defeating Donald Trump.

This was a broad tent, across race and gender, on every issue from healthcare and abortion to voting rights and racial justice.

But one set of voices were kept notably absent from the DNC floor: Palestinians, who have been facing a nearly yearlong genocide in Gaza, at the hands of the far-right Netanyahu regime.

Despite the support of swing state voters for an arms embargo, 90 #NotAnotherBomb rallies across 35 states (including Minnesota), 40 elected Uncommitted delegates representing 700,000+ voters, another 300 Harris delegates who joined the Uncommitted demand for an arms embargo, and a sit-in outside the DNC, the DNC continued to reject all Palestinian American speakers, including Georgia's first ever Palestinian American elected official.

However, since the DNC would not platform her remarks, we will, as well as those of many other uncommitted organizers and delegates.*

1. Georgia State Rep Ruwa Romman’s planned DNC remarks

My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention.

This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of [my grandfather], wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind. 

But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.

Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.

Full remarks available here.

2. Palestinian Rights Panel

At the beginning of the week, the Uncommitted movement held an unprecedented Palestinian rights panel, led by Uncommitted organizers and delegates. That panel included James Zogby, a DNC member and president of the Arab-American Institute, Dr. Tanya Haj Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor who has volunteered in Gaza, Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Attorney General, and Layla Elabed, a co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement

3. Ilhan Omar, AOC, and others join Uncommitted sit-in

It’s important to reflect on the allies we have elected. Not only did Keith Ellison speak on the DNC panel, but Ilhan Omar as well as other members of The Squad joined the Uncommitted sit-in. 

4. Jeremiah Ellison represents Uncommitted delegates

Jeremiah Ellison - Minneapolis City Councilmember and Uncommitted delegate - spoke on the convention floor.

5. The movement for peace is growing

Many more elected officials, unions, and political organizations have spoken out, including organizations which have already endorsed Kamala Harris. And in her own speech, Kamala’s remarks in support of the Palestinian people drew loud applause.

Ultimately, we are not organizing to get a speaker at the DNC. We are organizing that not another bomb be sent to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza; that fight continues with increased momentum.

Let us be clear: this does not change the need to secure victories for every progressive candidate we can. And while not every Democrat shares our progressive vision for the future, not a single elected Republican does.

We are organizing for a better, more inclusive Democratic Party, and one even more capable of beating back the fascism and chaos a Republican presidency would herald.

The bombs have not stopped yet, but make no mistake: this movement for peace is winning. Coverage of the DNC throughout the week went hand in hand with coverage for the movement demand for an arms embargo and a ceasefire.

Until next time,

Mattias Lehman (he/him)
Narrative and Communications Director