Harris Will Have to Confront Gaza at the DNC
"Uncommitted" delegates will be looking for how the new nominee will differ from Biden
Riding surging poll numbers, Vice President Kamala Harris will ride into the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago this week with her popular running mate, Minnesota Gov Tim Walz, as a celebrated — and almost transformational — figure in this year’s election.
However, she also will have to confront an issue that’s nagged at her boss, President Biden, for months: that of the civilian carnage in Gaza.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military operations in the region following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Large numbers of those killed, however, have not been militants but rather women and young children.
Under Israel’s bombardment, Gazans also face widespread devastation, famine and disease.
A key segment of the Democratic electorate has been disappointed in Biden’s response to the crisis, which led to some Democrats choosing to vote “uncommitted” in this year’s primaries — especially in battleground states like Michigan.
In particular, they’ve been angry that the violence in Gaza has been carried out with the support of US aid and weapons and what they see as Biden’s insufficient efforts to stand up to Israel’s far-right leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And now, gathering for the party’s quadrennial nominating convention, these “uncommitted” delegates are eager to see how specifically Harris will break from her boss on the issue.
Harris has emphasized her call for a ceasefire in recent days on the campaign trail, as she’s been occasionally interrupted by protesters along the way.
“I am proud to be one of 30 uncommitted delegates here at the Democratic National Convention. We are organizing with cease- fire delegates, Harris delegates who believe like us that we need a new approach to Gaza policy that breaks from the disastrous approach of the last 10 months that has resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, of civilians using U.S. bombs and money,” said Abbas Alawieh, of Dearborn, Mich. “Over 16,000 children have been killed using U.S. taxpayer bombs and money. What we are looking for is to hear from Vice President Harris herself.
“Vice President Harris, how do you plan to support a policy that stops sending bombs that are being used to kill civilians?” Alawieh asked during an interview with MSNBC. “This is an issue that is central to our Democratic Party, most Democratic voters support a ceasefire and a stop to the unconditional flow of weapons to Benjamin Netanyahu’s murderous campaign, and we are hoping Vice President Harris will articulate a policy that begins the essential process of stopping the killing.”
Democratic Sen Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, believes that Harris will rise to the challenge.
“I think we need to work hard on getting the ceasefire agreement, and I think what she can push for is to talk about making sure we get the humanitarian aid into Gaza, and I think she will lean more heavily towards the humanitarian side of things and, in fact, we have issues right now where at different times, different sides have opposed the deal,” said Duckworth. “We’re very close to getting a ceasefire agreement on both sides, but I think you’re going to see Kamala talking more about humanitarian aid.”
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