Gaza Critics Are Bringing Their Advocacy To The DNC. Loudly.

LOADING ERROR LOADING The Democratic National Convention opens on Monday on what is also Day 318 of the U.S.-backed Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip — with at least 40,000 Palestinians dead, and hopes fading for a cease-fire and the release of the eight Americans and more than 100 Israelis held hostage by Gaza-based militants. Biden has approved billions of dollars’ worth of additional U.S. weaponry for the Israeli military, despite repeated allegations that it has used American munitions to commit war crimes, while declining to sanction Israeli forces found guilty of human rights violations or heed calls from dozens of Democratic lawmakers to cut off particular equipment for the country over their use and Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid for Palestinians. Layla Elabed Elabed is the co-chair of the “Uncommitted” movement, which earlier this year rallied tens of thousands of voters in Michigan and other states to vote as “uncommitted” — denying their votes to Biden — during the Democratic presidential primaries, to signal dissatisfaction with the administration’s Gaza policy and indicate they will not back the Democratic ticket without a shift. We’ve made demands to the DNC besides our movement’s demands to Vice President Harris and the Biden administration on a policy shift … We’ve petitioned to have at least two speakers: Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, who has served on the frontlines in Gaza treating men, women and children who have been victims of Netanyahu’s assault on Palestinians, and also an Uncommitted leader who can speak to this dissent in the Democratic Party. Even if you go and sit with children and ask them, “What do you want?” My nephew had his birthday and said, “I don’t want birthday candles, I don’t want cake, I don’t want anything — I want this war to end.” Everybody says the word cease-fire in his own words: some people say, “I want this war to end because I want to go back to my home” or “I want to go back to my school” or “I want to go back to see my parents and grandparents who are in north Gaza.” We’ve lived through many wars before.