The “Uncommitted” movement, which has threatened to withhold its vote for Vice President Kamala Harris unless she promises to end U.S. support for Israel, is furious with Democrats for allowing Israelis to speak but not Palestinians.
The Democratic National Convention featured an emotional speech Wednesday night from Ron Polin and Rachel Goldberg, the American-Israeli parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin, 23. Just as delegates heard the parents of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra speak at the Republican National Convention in July, Democrats welcomed the hostage family with a standing ovation, chanting, “Bring them home! Bring them home!”
But while the “No Detention” campaign supported the attendance of hostage families, it was infuriated that the Democratic National Convention did not allow a Palestinian speaker to speak about the ongoing war in Gaza.
Common Dreams Reported:
While the Israeli-American parents of a young man kidnapped by Hamas militants in Israel on Oct. 7 welcomed a planned speech at the Democratic National Convention, the co-founders of the Unfettered Citizens Movement on Wednesday pleaded with the DNC to ensure Palestinian voices are also heard on the event’s main stage.
…
In a statement on Wednesday, Abbas Alawie and Laila Ellabed, co-founders of the Unrestricted National Movement, said the 30 unrestricted delegates to the Democratic National Convention “urge the Democratic Party to reject the hierarchy of human values by ensuring that Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage.”
“We have been informed that the families of the Israeli hostages will be speaking on the main stage, and we strongly support that decision and hope that the Palestinians will also be heard, as they have suffered the largest civilian casualties since 1948,” they continued, the year the modern state of Israel was founded amid the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Arabs from Palestine, an event known among Palestinians as the “Nakba,” or “Catastrophe.”
STATEMENT: Undecided delegates call on the Democratic Party to reject the hierarchy of human values by ensuring that Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We have heard that families of Israeli hostages will speak on the main stage. We strongly support that decision and…
— Uncommitted National Movement (@uncommittedmvmt) August 21, 2024
Later, on Wednesday evening, after the parents of Hirsch Goldberg Pollin spoke, the Uncommitted Movement issued a new statement, calling on other “Uncommitted” representatives who support a ceasefire in Gaza to protest.
— Uncommitted National Movement (@uncommittedmvmt) August 22, 2024
The group is calling on all ceasefire delegates to gather in front of the United Center and not leave until a Palestinian-American speaks on the main stage.
— Alex Sammon (@alex_sammon) August 22, 2024
Abbas said he had received a call after his earlier press conference saying no Palestinian speakers would be taking the stage. https://t.co/0O6s7cRlTi pic.twitter.com/MmpK2K6mEG
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) August 22, 2024
Harris has been trying publicly and privately to woo “independents” and voters who could form a group large enough to influence the outcome of the 2024 election in Michigan and other battleground states.
She did so despite the fact that pro-Palestinian protests at the Democratic National Convention and elsewhere have included participants who openly supported Hamas terrorism, made anti-Semitic rhetoric, and burned American flags.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
