Muslim Women for Harris-Walz disbands after Palestinian speaker denied a slot at DNC
The group Muslim Women for Harris-Walz announced it is disbanding after the campaign refused a request from the uncommitted movement to give a Palestinian American a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention.
“We cannot in good conscience continue Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, in light of this new information from the uncommitted movement, that VP Harris’ team declined their request to have a Palestinian American speaker take the stage at the DNC,” the group said in a statement following Wednesday night's convention program.
The uncommitted movement has for months pushed Democratic leaders to implement an arms embargo to Israel and work toward a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. The group formed during the Democratic primaries earlier this year urging progressives to vote “uncommitted” to deny then-Democratic candidate President Joe Biden their support.
The mounting pressure from protesters and renewed tensions among party officials come as the Democratic Party has for days sought to convey a message of unity and hope at its conventions. And they could serve as a warning for the Harris campaign about what's to come if it does not appease the party's left flank.
Delegates from movement on Wednesday night organized a sit-in outside of the convention in Chicago, saying that they would stay put until Harris' campaign allowed a Palestinian speaker on stage. There are approximately 30 uncommitted delegates attending the convention this week. The protest was one of many pro-Palestine gatherings organized on the streets of Chicago, where the convention is taking place, this week to urge for an end to the war.
Waleed Shahid, one of the movement's founders, said during a news conference on Thursday that the Democratic Party had made several offers to the group, including meetings with senior campaign officials, but not a speaking slot. He told reporters that the Harris campaign had said the group could not "define the biggest moment of the vice president's political life."
"What happened at the DNC last night (when the Harris campaign said no to a speaker) was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life," Shahid said.
The convention on Wednesday night featured speeches by Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is a hostage in Gaza, and the parents of the Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. In their speech, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg echoed the sentiment of the protesters outside the walls of the arena, calling for a cease-fire deal and an end to “the suffering of the innocent people in Gaza.”
“The family of the Israeli Hostage that was on the stage tonight, has shown more empathy towards Palestinian Americans and Palestinians, than our candidate or the DNC,” the group Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said in its statement.
“We pray that the DNC and VP Harris’ team makes the right decision before this convention is over. For the sake of each of us.”
Democrats divided over support for Palestinian speaker
Democratic leaders appeared divided Thursday over whether a Palestinian speaker should be allowed on stage at the convention.
Among those in support: the United Auto Workers Union and members of the progressive group of House lawmakers known as “the Squad."
"If we want the war in Gaza to end, we can’t put our heads in the sand or ignore the voices of the Palestinian Americans in the Democratic Party," the UAW said in a statement. "If we want to win this election, the Democratic Party must allow a Palestinian American speaker to be heard from the DNC stage tonight.
U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts. and Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, who have long supported the uncommitted movement, also pushed back against the Harris' campaign's decision.
"We shouldn't have to beg our own party … to be heard," Tlaib told reporters, joining Thursday's news conference from the sit-in outside the convention.
Other Democrats have urged the Harris campaign against allowing members of the uncommitted movement a chance to speak at the convention. Brianna Wu, executive director of the progressive Rebellion political action committee, which is focused on correcting wealth inequality, argued that the group wanted "disrupt this event."
"Not giving them a platform to hijack our convention is so obviously the correct play," Wu said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Welcome to politics. We do what we have to do to win."
The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Contributing: Tamia Fowlkes
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Muslim Women for Harris disbands after DNC speaking slot denial