‘Uncommitted’ delegates bring message of Gaza war to Democratic convention

Gaza: It started at the last minute in February: Organizers in Michigan hoped to use the state’s Democratic primary to send a message to President Joe Biden to end his support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Six months later, Biden is no longer the Democratic presidential nominee. But America’s “unwavering” support for the war continues. And so does the “uncommitted” movement, born in Michigan. The protest effort continues. Initially, it was aimed at encouraging primary voters across the country to cast their “uncommitted” votes in opposition to the war. But now that primary season is over, the “uncommitted movement” has set its sights on a new stage: the Democratic National Convention. Next week, 30 delegates from eight states, representing about 700,000 voters who cast “uncommitted” votes, will head to the convention in Chicago. Though they have been denied an official platform to speak in the proceedings, they hope their presence will still send a strong message.

“We are the first delegation to represent Palestinian human rights. And I think that’s really important. We are a small but powerful group,” said Asma Mohammed, who organized the “Uncommitted” movement ahead of Minnesota’s primary election. Mohammed acknowledged that the “uncommitted” delegates would be a minority at the conference. Still, she stressed that the voter base they represent could be decisive in the November general election. “We are 30, and there are more than 4,000 delegates nationally. So we are less than 1 percent of the delegates,” she told Al Jazeera. “But inside the conference hall, we will represent Palestinians who were massacred, representing almost a million voters across the country who said they want a ceasefire right now and they want an arms embargo.” Mohammed, who has worked in Gaza, to speak at the conference. Mohammed said her appeal was rejected. Nevertheless, delegates under the banner of the Uncommitted National Movement will hold a number of events during the conference. There, they will meet with various caucuses and try to rally other delegates pledged to Kamala Harris, the new Democratic presidential nominee.