The DNC should have allowed a Palestinian speaker to address the convention this week
I was going to write a longer post about this, but I'll keep it short.
In the midst of Israel's ongoing decimation of Gaza, which has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and has been made possible by the flow of billions of dollars worth of weapons transfers from the United States, it's shameful that Democrats could not clear a five minute slot, over the course of four days, for a Palestinian voice to be heard at its convention this week.
I know there has been lots of discussion about the electoral math of it all, especially in Michigan, where a sizable Arab-American population could, in theory, spell the difference between a Harris win or loss in November. But however one sizes up those considerations, there is no plausible argument that allowing a Palestinian to speak would have materially hurt Vice President Harris' chances of winning in November, if we're going to speak in bloodless political terms.
I understand that many Democrats, desperate to see Trump defeated in November, a feeling I obviously share, just want the issue of Gaza and of Palestinian suffering to go away, at least until the election is over. But in yet to be written histories, what is happening in Gaza now, the unrelenting killing of Palestinians and destruction of its society, the consequences of which will reverberate for generations, will be understood to be a monstrous crime that too few people spoke out against. The DNC made time for the convention to hear from Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin about the abduction by Hamas on October 7 of their son, Hersh, and of the depth of their pain. No secondhand account could have matched the power and emotion of Hersh’s parents words. Likewise, Vice President Harris and the DNC had an opportunity this week, as the most basic acknowledgement of the profundity of what is happening in Gaza and of Palestinian humanity, to allow Palestinians to speak for themselves. In this, the party failed to live up to its own professed ideals.
It's a tradition during the Passover Seder, the ritual dinner when the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt is told, to recite the ten plagues that God inflicted upon Egyptians to force them to free the Jews from their enslavement. As the plagues are recounted, a drop of wine is removed from the seder cup for each one. One common explanation for doing so is to acknowledge the Egyptians' suffering, even as Jews rejoice in their freedom. I'm delighted and relieved that Democrats have coalesced around and are so energized by Kamala Harris' candidacy, given the stakes of the election.
But I'm also pained by what Democrats were unwilling to give time and space for this week.
As always, I welcome constructive comments.
Jon.
The reason why Hersch’s parents spoke is because their son is being held hostage and happens to be American. They were speaking as Americans. Not Israelis. They are also both Pro Israel and Pro Palestinian. And if the “Uncommitted” would have found a Palestinian American that stood for peace and recognized Israel’s right to exist and condemned Hamas, I believe they WOULD have been allowed to speak. Unfortunately that was not the case.
I agree that The optics are not good. But it is too obvious a mistake for there not to be a reason. And I believe it is the one that I mentioned .
Political conventions are not a forum for airing grievances or drawing attention to atrocities around the world. They are about mobilizing a coalition to win an election. Those advocating to speak about the conflict in Gaza are harsh critics of the Administration of which the Democratic candidate is Vice President. These critics were officially "uncommitted" and were not pledging to support our candidate in November. They advocate a policy that is directly contrary to that of the candidate. I agree with much of what they say about immorality of how Israel has conducted this war, but by and large they tend to ignore why this war started and Hamas' role in its continuation. I can't think of a possible reason why the totality of their views should have been given a global platform during the DNC.