The Democratic National Convention will hold its first ever panel discussion on Palestinian human rights on Monday, the result of months of effort from activists advocating for an end to U.S. support for Israel’s deadly military onslaught in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 people.
Panelists will include Layla Elabed, one of the founders of the Uncommitted Movement, which organized massive “uncommitted” votes during the Democratic primaries, as well as Hala Hajazi , a Democratic donor and fundraiser who has lost several family members to Israel’s ongoing military campaign. Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a Palestinian-American pediatric physician who has been working in Gaza throughout Israel’s assault, will speak, as well.
The panel will also include Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, former U.S. Representative Andy Levin of Michigan, and Jim Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute.
Elabed and her Uncommitted Movement co-chair Abbas Alawieh, who is also a DNC delegate, released an official statement from the group, thanking the DNC for working with them on the panel.
“This is an important step toward recognizing the rightful place of human rights advocates for Palestinian rights within the Democratic Party. With this panel and throughout our current engagement at the DNC, we will use our platform to announce the cries of the majority of Democratic voters who want an end to the unconditional flow of U.S. weapons that Netanyahu is using to kill Palestinian families,” the statement said.
The group reiterated a previous request that Dr. Haj-Hassan should be invited to speak during the convention itself.
Harris’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez-Rodriguez, met privately with Alawieh in Detroit on Thursday, ahead of the convention. When Harris appeared in Detroit earlier this month, Alawieh and Elabed were invited to greet her, and they spoke candidly about the need for an arms embargo to Israel.
While Harris indicated that she was open to meeting with them to discuss an arms embargo, her national security adviser has insisted that the vice president does not support an arms embargo, a position that is in line with the Biden administration’s policy.
This week, 30 delegates from the Uncommitted Movement, representing the more than 730,000 Democratic voters who voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries, will attempt to engage with Democratic leaders at the DNC, pushing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and arguing for a U.S. arms embargo to Israel. Elsewhere in Chicago, massive protests are planned for the week, as activists hope to reignite dialogue around the mass killing in Gaza, which has stretched on for nearly 11 months.
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