Outcry over lack of Palestinian-American voice at DNC

'Uncommitted' movement leader says he is shocked Democratic Party and Harris leadership declined to allocate speaking time at convention

Members of the uncommitted movement gathered in Chicago to call for their views to be heard at the Democratic National Convention. AP

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Arab-American organisers on Thursday are "shocked" that Democratic Party leadership rejected its request for a Palestinian-American speaker at the Democratic National Convention amid Israel's war in Gaza.

"We're shocked by the decision not to include a Palestinian American from the stage," Michigan "uncommitted" delegate Abbas Alawieh told The National.

The uncommitted voter movement began during the Democratic primary season, out of frustration with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris's stance after a deadly Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel and amid a growing civilian death toll in Gaza.

The movement requested that Democrats vote uncommitted or leave their ballots blank to show support for a ceasefire. More than 30 delegates went to the convention in Chicago, Illinois, to represent 700,000 people who voted uncommitted.

Those delegates asked the DNC to have a Palestinian-American voice, uncommitted delegate, Arab-American community member or doctor who worked in Gaza speak on stage to highlight the issue.

On Wednesday evening, Mr Alawieh said he was told by DNC organisers that it would not be allowed. He and other members held an overnight sit-in to press for the decision to be reversed.

"Of course, that request of ours, we felt was a very reasonable request, and it was actually our secondary request. Our primary request is for the Vice President and the President to stop sending weapons that are killing civilians," he said.

After the decision was announced, Democratic elected leaders, political organisations, actors and labour groups, as well as people who have family as hostages held in Gaza, issued calls for a Palestinian-American voice to be included on stage.

The parents of an American hostage held by militant groups in Gaza spoke on Wednesday, demanding the release of captives and an end to the war in Gaza.

Uncommitted delegates and Democrats said that in addition to the hostage parents, there should be a Palestinian American to speak on suffering and humanity.

"The scandal is that there are forces within Democratic Party leadership who do not want us to talk about Palestinian human rights, but that's not sustainable," Mr Alawieh said to reporters. "This is a watershed moment."

Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Greg Cesar, Ayanna Pressley were among those to express support for the movement after the DNC decision.

"I think that we've given them a lot of opportunities to engage in this process at the convention," Ian Sams, a senior campaign adviser for Ms Harris, told CNN. There was a Palestinians for Human Rights panel on Monday.

The decision frustrated many because Chicago is home to what is estimated as the largest Palestinian population in the US, and the city saw a young Palestinian-American boy murdered in an Islamophobic assault weeks after the Hamas attack.

"This has been a disastrous decision by the Democratic leadership to deny a bare minimum ask that we asked for weeks ago before the convention," organiser Layla Elabed said during the final night of the convention.

Georgia state representative Ruwa Romman, the first Muslim and Palestinian woman elected for office in the south-eastern state, was often named as a possible speaker. She has endorsed Ms Harris.

Mother Jones published a prepared text of what would have been Ms Romman's speech, had the DNC accepted the request. Ms Romman read her speech to a crowd outside the United Centre arena.

"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," the text read.

More than 40,200 people in Gaza have been killed, health officials say, as Israeli military operations continue and a humanitarian crisis worsens in the Palestinian enclave. "That's how we achieve a ceasefire," Mr Alawieh said to The National.

"We support a ceasefire, and we think the way to achieve a ceasefire is to stop sending weapons, and so that's where we are now," he said, referring to the group's demand for a US arms embargo on Israel.

Polls since December have shown a high majority of Democrats support a ceasefire. It is yet to be seen if the Harris campaign and DNC's decision could endanger voter support among Arab Americans.

The uncommitted movement has insisted that it is against Republican candidate Donald Trump but wants to meet Ms Harris or hear a plan from her about how she would handle Gaza.

"We're, of course, continuing to engage with the group and make sure that the Vice President's position on this issue is heard and that their voices are heard," Mr Sams said to CNN.

Organisers announced they set a deadline for Ms Harris to meet with them by September 15.