Delegates affiliated with the „uncommitted“ movement have requested that a doctor who has been on the ground in Gaza be given a speaking slot at Chicago’s Democratic convention in August.
During the Democratic primary, nearly 1 million voters to voice their discontent with President Biden’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
With Mr. Biden now out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris set to be in the coming days, the 30 Democratic delegates affiliated with those „uncommitted“ voters are seeking to make their influence known at the party’s convention in Chicago later this month.
According to details first shared with CBS News, pro-Gaza organizers say they’re looking to have language in the party’s platform explicitly supporting a permanent cease-fire and an „immediate arms embargo on Israel’s assault and occupation against Palestinians.“ They’re also seeking to engage with Harris, her campaign, Mr. Biden and White House administrative staff working on Gaza-related policy.
But the group’s primary focus is getting a five-minute speaking slot at the convention for Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a humanitarian doctor with Doctors without Borders who has worked on the ground in Gaza. They are also looking for a similar speaking slot for one of their delegates.
„I am not a politician but am hoping to provide moral witness to the delegates of the Democratic National Convention because an end to this military campaign [by Israel] is the only way to protect and preserve civilian life“, Haj-Hassan said in a statement. „It is vital that the most powerful decision-makers in the world hear firsthand accounts of the impact of our foreign policy decisions on civilians.“
„Uncommitted“ organizers say they’re using a social media campaign to pressure Democratic National Convention organizers to let Haj-Hassan speak. They’re also looking to draw a parallel between Haj-Hassan’s potential convention speech and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech at the 1964 Democratic convention about racism in Mississippi, and her push for further Black representation in the state’s party delegation.
Bart Dame, an uncommitted delegate from Hawaii who said he was a teenager during the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, said the party must „learn from the sins of our past.
