‘Squad’ Democrat rejects ‘false narrative’ of joy at Harris convention

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) accused her own party of presenting a “false narrative” of Democratic optimism amid a fight over the war in Gaza that has roiled the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The tension comes as the Uncommitted National Movement, a pro-Palestinian group that emerged during the Democratic primaries to vote against candidates unless they backed a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, has requested a speaking slot at the four-day convention — a request it claims has been denied by the Democratic National Committee. Tlaib decried the decision not to allow a pro-Palestinian speaker to take the stage on the pretext it would disrupt the party’s picture of unity it wants to present to voters.

“To hear what we’ve done to generations of families shatters the false narrative of hope and joy,” Tlaib wrote in a post on X.

Group members staged a sit-in outside the United Center over the matter, vowing not to move until Vice President Kamala Harris and convention organizers agreed to a speaking slot. Other uncommitted delegates soon joined the demonstration, and fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) also briefly joined.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also expressed her support for the group on social media, calling on the DNC to “change course and affirm our shared humanity.”

“Just as we must honor the humanity of hostages, so too must we center the humanity of the 40,000 Palestinians killed under Israeli bombardment,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a post on X. “To deny that story is to participate in the dehumanization of Palestinians.”

The demand for a speaking slot comes after the parents of an Israeli American hostage, captured during Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, spoke on the third night of the convention, with the group calling for balance “to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage.”

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“Excluding a Palestinian speaker betrays the party’s commitment in our platform to valuing Israelis and Palestinian lives equally,” the group said in a statement. “Vice President Harris must unite this party with a vision that fights for everyone, including Palestinians.”

The Washington Examiner contacted a spokesperson for the DNC for comment.