{"id":75729,"date":"2024-08-17T19:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cd3e647f7b18f7d6afce044f61d65f04"},"modified":"2024-08-17T19:00:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T19:00:08","slug":"as-dnc-approaches-party-remains-at-impasse-with-with-anti-israel-uncommitted-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/as-dnc-approaches-party-remains-at-impasse-with-with-anti-israel-uncommitted-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"As DNC approaches, party remains at impasse with with anti-Israel &#8216;uncommitted&#8217; movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><strong>As the Democratic National Convention approaches, some Democrats remain concerned about a potential lack of support from &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; voters, who are angry about U.S. backing for Israel\u2019s offensive in Gaza.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It is unclear how much leverage the &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; movement has following the surge in enthusiasm for Harris\u2019 campaign as compared to Biden&#8217;s, making voter apathy less of a threat. Nonetheless, Harris and her team have prioritized communication with Arab American leaders.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Trump campaign continues its own Arab American outreach with a pitch highlighting the situation in Gaza under Biden\u2019s administration and a promise from Trump\u2019s team to give the community a seat at the table if he wins.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Of the thousands of delegates expected to gather Monday at <span class=\"waslinkname\">the Democratic National Convention<\/span>, just 36 will belong to the &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; movement sparked by dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden&#8217;s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">But that small core has outsized influence.<\/p>\n<p>Anger over U.S. backing for Israel\u2019s offensive in Gaza could generate unwelcome images for convention organizers, with raucous protests expected outside and potentially inside the Chicago arena where Harris will accept the nomination Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"waslinkname\"><strong>CHAOS ERUPTS AT KAMALA HARRIS NYC EVENT AS DNC BRACES FOR CHICAGO UNREST<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; voters and their allies \u2014 including a previously unreported sit-down between Vice President Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan \u2014 in an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.<\/p>\n<p>Months of meetings and phone calls between pro-Palestinian activists and the Harris campaign have fallen into an effective impasse. The activists want Harris to endorse an arms embargo on Israel and a permanent cease-fire. Harris has supported Biden&#8217;s negotiations for a cease-fire but rejected an arms embargo.<\/p>\n<p>Rima Mohammad, one of Michigan\u2019s two &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; delegates, said she sees the convention as a chance to share their movement&#8217;s concerns with the party leadership.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is a way for protesters outside to be able to share their frustration with the party,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/343\/192\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/686\/384\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/672\/378\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1344\/756\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/931\/523\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1862\/1046\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/720\/405\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1440\/810\/Election-2024-DNC-Uncommitted.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/as-dnc-approaches-party-remains-at-impasse-with-with-anti-israel-uncommitted-movement.jpg\" alt=\"Abbas Alawieh\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><span>Uncommitted delegate to the Democratic National Convention Abbas Alawieh answers questions during an interview on Aug. 14, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan.<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Jose Juarez)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Democratic nominee meets a key Arab American mayor<\/h2>\n<p>Questions remain about the leverage &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; voters hold now that Biden has stepped aside and Harris has taken his place. Democrats have seen a significant surge in enthusiasm for Harris\u2019 campaign and concerns about voter apathy in key areas, such as Detroit\u2019s large Black population, appear to have diminished.<\/p>\n<p>But <span class=\"waslinkname\">Harris and her team<\/span> have still made communication with Arab American leaders a priority.<\/p>\n<p>During a campaign trip to Michigan last week, Harris met with Abdullah Hammoud, the 34-year-old mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has the largest number of Arab Americans of any city in the United States. The meeting was disclosed by a person who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n<p>The person familiar with the meeting did not provide specific details but said the focus was on Harris\u2019 potential policy, if elected, on <span class=\"waslinkname\">the Israel-Hamas conflict<\/span>. Hammoud declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages,&#8221; her campaign said in a statement. &#8220;She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Thursday held separate one-on-one meetings with leaders in the Arab American community and &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; movement in metro Detroit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are listening, and we are talking,&#8221; said Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who met with Chavez Rodriguez. &#8220;But none of us can garner votes in the community without public statements from Harris. She doesn\u2019t need us; she can win over votes by saying and doing the right thing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to Siblani, Chavez Rodriguez agreed that &#8220;the killing has to stop.&#8221; In response, Siblani said he pressed: &#8220;How? There is no plan.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lavora Barnes, the Democratic chair in Michigan, said the party would &#8220;continue working toward our goal of coming together to defeat Donald Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are committed to continuing these conversations with community leaders, activists and organizations because we want to ensure that everyone in the Michigan Democratic Party has a seat at the table,&#8221; Barnes said in a statement.<\/p>\n<h2>No agreement on an arms embargo<\/h2>\n<p>Some on the Democratic Party\u2019s left have called for including a moratorium on the use of U.S.-made weapons by Israel in the platform of policy goals that will be approved during next week\u2019s convention. But such language isn\u2019t included in a draft platform party officials released earlier this summer, and it\u2019s unlikely that those close to Harris\u2019 campaign would endorse including it.<\/p>\n<p>The Uncommitted National Movement has also requested a speaking slot at the convention for a doctor who has worked on the frontlines in Gaza, along with a leader of the movement. And they have asked for a meeting with Harris &#8220;to discuss updating the Gaza policy in hopes of stopping the flow of unconditional weapons and bombs&#8221; to Israel, said Abbas Alawieh, another &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; <span class=\"waslinkname\">delegate from Michigan<\/span> and one of the founders of the movement.<\/p>\n<p>Before a Harris rally just outside Detroit last week, Alawieh and Layla Elabed, co-founders of the movement, briefly met with the vice president. They requested a formal meeting with Harris and urged her to support an embargo on weapons shipments to Israel. According to them, Harris seemed open to the idea of meeting.<\/p>\n<p>However, shortly after news of the meeting became public, Harris\u2019 national security adviser Phil Gordon reaffirmed that she does not support an arms embargo. Alawieh mentioned Wednesday that the group has not received any further response from Harris\u2019 team or the DNC regarding their requests ahead of the convention.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I hope she doesn\u2019t miss the opportunity to unite the party,&#8221; said Alawieh.<\/p>\n<h2>The Trump campaign continues its outreach<\/h2>\n<p>Elsewhere in metro Detroit this week, Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump\u2019s youngest daughter and now a leader in his Arab American outreach, was holding meetings with various community groups. Boulos has come to Michigan often for the outreach, along with Arab Americans for Trump chair Bishara Bahbah.<\/p>\n<p>According to Bahbah, their pitch highlights the situation in Gaza under Biden\u2019s administration and a promise from Trump\u2019s team to give the community a seat at the table if he wins.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have been told by the Trump circle, which is not part of the campaign, that in return for our votes, there would be a seat at the table and a voice to be heard,&#8221; said Bahbah.<\/p>\n<p>But any apparent political opportunity for Trump in the Arab American community or the &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; movement may be limited by his past remarks and policies.<\/p>\n<p>Many Arabs remain offended by Trump\u2019s ban, while in office, on immigration from several majority Muslim countries as well as remarks they consider insulting. Trump also has criticized Biden for not being a strong enough supporter of Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to an audience of Jewish supporters Thursday, Trump painted the protesters expected in Chicago as antisemitic and invoked an Arabic term that is sometimes used by Muslims to mean war or struggle.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"waslinkname\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There will be no jihad coming to America under Trump,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>But Bahbah acknowledges that his and Boulos\u2019 strategy isn\u2019t necessarily aimed at converting voters to support Trump \u2014 but to stop them from voting for Harris.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If I can\u2019t convince people to vote for Trump, having them sit at home is better,&#8221; said Bahbah.<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Democratic National Convention approaches, some Democrats remain concerned about a potential lack of support from &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; voters, who are angry about U.S. backing for Israel\u2019s offensive in Gaza. It is unclear how much leverage the &#8220;uncommitted&#8221; movement has following the surge in enthusiasm for Harris\u2019 campaign as compared to Biden&#8217;s, making voter apathy &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","has-thumb","has-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75729"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}