Facing protests on the streets outside of the United Center in Chicago, the Democratic National Convention’s 92-page platform reaffirmed the party’s support for Israel, taking note of the ongoing war against Hamas in the statement.
“The United States strongly supports Israel in the fight against Hamas. And the hard work of diplomacy under the President’s leadership has made real progress on a way forward that will free the hostages, establish a durable ceasefire, ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza, and make possible normalization between Israel and key Arab states, together with meaningful progress and a political horizon for the Palestinian people,” the platform noted in its introduction concerning the Middle East.
Concerning the October 7 attack on Israel, the outgoing incumbent and party nominee spoke of maintaining Israel’s advantage in the war.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to the interests of the United States. Their commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad.”
Hamas is mentioned eight times in the document, with its “gruesome violence,” wishing to see it defeated, and working with international partners to rebuild Gaza “in a manner that does not allow Hamas to re-arm.”
Giving respect to one of the few presidents who is leaving office after one term, the platform notes that Biden is the first president to visit Israel in a time of war, having “defended Israel at the UN,” working with Congress to pass a $14-billion aid package for Israel, and promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Republican critics argued that the platform may not reflect changing views of the Democrats as the document references Biden’s “second term” multiple times, clearly written prior to his July 21 announcement in which he abandoned his reelection run in favor of Harris.
Concerning the Palestinians, the platform mentioned them nine times, noting the humanitarian assistance, ceasefire negotiations, condemnation of “extreme settler violence,” and the party’s contrast from Republican nominee Donald Trump, who “refuses to endorse the political aspirations of the Palestinian people.”
Trump’s administration recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and declared the West Bank as disputed rather than occupied. As president, Biden kept the embassy at its new location and in the 2024 platform, his administration “believes that while Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations, it should remain the capital of Israel, an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”
In previous Democratic conventions, the status of Jerusalem was among the controversial items in which each word and punctuation was carefully worded, with the result offering support for the embassy in the Israeli capital, which each president would not implement once in office.
Recognition of Palestinian aspirations has been debated as far back as the 1988 convention, each time returning with more supporters. With Michigan as a battleground state, the party’s uncommitted delegates are keeping up the pressure on Kamala Harris to be more outspoken or risk losing that state. In a first of its kind, one of the panels that met on Monday at the DNC was Democrats for Palestinian Human Rights, which included former Rep. Andy Levin.
“We must have justice for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and the citizens of Israel, because it’s right and in their diaspora; and also for political reasons, we need the Vice President to keep pushing the envelope,” he said.
“We look at this room, we are here saying we need a kind of leadership from Kamala Harris that I know she’s capable of, that we have not seen in a generation.” Levin lost his seat in a primary in 2022, in which pro-Israel voters mobilized to elect his colleague Rep. Haley Stevens. He blamed AIPAC for his defeat.
The party-approved panel also included James Zogby of the Arab American Institute and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Israel supporters attending the DNC had their own panel on the sidelines hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, in which former ambassador to Israel Tom Nides argued that Harris’ message of support for Israel is vital in reaching younger audiences.
“She’s not Joe Biden for all the apparent reasons. She’s an African American, Indian woman who is saying, ‘It’s good to support the security of the State of Israel.’ She’s a different voice, and if we hope to have a bridge to the future, we’ve got to have these voices,” he said.
On the floor of the convention’s first night, much of the messaging related to the historic nature of its first woman nominee. The party’s main focus on the first night of the convention was on domestic matters with the war in Gaza as an afterthought.
“She is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing the hostages home,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in her seven-minute pitch for Harris, most of which focused on economic matters.
Biden spoke for nearly an hour to close the first night of the convention. He noted his administration’s efforts to secure a ceasefire, release of hostages, and humanitarian aid to Gaza. But Republicans seized on his recognition of the crowds outside the United Center.
“Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides,” Biden said.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, the recent Harvard University graduate who is suing his school for its failure to confront anti-Semitism, slammed the president for recognizing these activists.
“These protesters out on the street have, in the last 12 hours alone, harassed Chicago cops, waved Hezbollah flags, held signs reading ‘we stand with Hamas,’ and threatened to beat up Jews,” he tweeted.
When one convention goer unfurled a banner reading “Stop arming Israel,” thousands in the audience shouted, “We love Joe!” to counter its message.
At the time, there were family members of American and Israeli hostages on the sidelines of the convention hoping to receive as much support from the Democrats as they had at last month’s Republican National Convention, in which the parents of Omer Neutra spoke on stage and prayers were delivered for his release.
The Israeli American Council set up an outdoor display with the names of American citizens held captive by Hamas. Denied a permit by Chicago to hold a pro-Israel rally, its display was on private property a few blocks from the Democratic convention.
By Sergey Kadinsky
