SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Protests are a feature of any national party convention.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: We want justice. You say how.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: We want justice. You say how.
SIMON: And at the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago this week, several groups held protests around the city, asking for a cease-fire in Gaza. But inside the convention, there were roughly 30 uncommitted delegates who demanded the U.S. government halt what they see as an unconditional supply of weapons to Israel and an immediate cease-fire and end to the killing of civilians. It also asked to have a doctor who's worked in Gaza speak from the stage at the convention. That request was denied after weeks of talks with convention organizers.
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, did address the convention. We spoke with Abbas Alawieh of Michigan, one of the leaders of the uncommitted, and asked if he felt that he'd been strung along by his party.
ABBAS ALAWIEH: I believe the DNC officials and the Harris staff that we've been engaging with have been engaging in good faith. It is my understanding that we were very close to getting a Palestinian American to speak from this stage. But for whatever reason, I do not know what happened.
SIMON: What do you say to people who say, look, there are lots of people who say they're in favor of a cease-fire and even an arms embargo, who really don't want Israel to exist anyway?
ALAWIEH: The existence of the state of Israel is clear. The existence of the state of Israel is like saying the sky is blue. The state of Israel exists. What our country's relationship is with that state and the activities of that state - that is my focus as an American. I am not here to talk about what do you think the solution should be - two states versus one state? I want our government to divest from the deeply destructive manners that we have been engaged in so that we can create the conditions for Palestinians and Israelis to have the diplomatic conversations necessary to figure out how to move forward.
SIMON: How does all of this make you feel about supporting the Democratic ticket in the fall? Will you?
ALAWIEH: I'm a Democrat through and through. I was a congressional staffer on January 6. I could have been harmed or even killed by the white supremacist mob that Donald Trump sent. I do not need to be convinced of how dangerous Donald Trump is. And I think that the average voter isn't really aware of how dangerous and destructive Donald Trump's agenda is as it relates to Israel and Palestine. I want to help Vice President Harris beat Donald Trump. And if we're going to succeed at helping Vice President Harris beat Donald Trump, we need her help reengaging the voters with whom the Uncommitted Movement has built trust.
SIMON: I mean, reading between the lines, it sounds as if your support is conditional upon some of your demands being met or reassessing your position.
ALAWIEH: I am an individual. As an individual faced with a binary choice between Trump and Kamala Harris on a ticket, I will circle Kamala Harris. But I'm also a movement leader...
SIMON: Yeah.
ALAWIEH: ...Among movement leaders here. I can't go to those folks and say, hey, I think Vice President Harris will feel differently. They need to see a plan because in this moment, saying thoughts and prayers, saying feelings, does not cut it. I'm a survivor of those bombs myself. I was a child in Lebanon in 2006, who survived those bombs, and I'm going to have the conversations.
SIMON: As we stand here tonight, do you worry about Michigan?
ALAWIEH: Of course, I worry about Michigan. In three short weeks, we contacted over 1.5 million voter contacts and mobilized over 101,000 votes in a state where the last time Donald Trump won, it was by 10,700 votes. And so I was hoping to come back from the convention and say, I'm happy to report that the vice president and her team and Democratic Party officials are listening.
This little mistake that was made when the party refused to allow us the honor - delegates - us the honor to hear from a Palestinian American from that stage, that's going to be hard to explain. You know, we've been asking for a meeting with Vice President Harris. We formally requested that that meeting happen before September 15. We'll be in Michigan. She and her team know how to reach us. And we want at that meeting to connect her with our Palestinian American community members who've lost family in Gaza. I think she needs to sit down. I think she needs to hear their stories. We need a breakthrough in this moment that will help us move the needle on this.
SIMON: Abbas Alawieh, the uncommitted delegate from Michigan, and we spoke with him at a sit-in outside the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHNNY BLUE SKIES SONG, "ONE FOR THE ROAD") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
