āIt feels like Iām in an alternate world,ā Rima Mohammad, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan, told me of her experience at the Democratic National Convention. She described entering the United Center in Chicago for the convention and encountering giddy attendees after she attended a forum where Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American pediatric intensive care doctor, recounted harrowing details from her medical mission in Gaza. āI was literally bawling at the panel, and then going into the convention where people are excited and celebratingāit was the weirdest feeling,ā Mohammad said.
Mohammad is wearing a black-and-white kaffiyeh imprinted with āDemocrats for Palestinian Rightsā every day that she attends the convention. While almost all other attendees are in full Harris gear, celebrating with āWe heart Joeā signs, the uncommitted delegatesāaround 30 in total, representing some 700,000 votersāclearly stand out among other convention-goers, some of whom have seem wary or guarded around them. Mohammad described a brief encounter with Michiganās Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as āmostly a photo op.ā She said the governor was sympathetic but didnāt have much to say.
Mohammad is the grandchild of Palestinian Nakba survivors who remain refugees, she said; she is also an outspoken Democrat. She is on the public school board in Ann Arbor, and recently ran for Michigan state representative. Sheās been stunned by the partyās response to the war in Gaza so far, and was feeling intense whiplash at the DNC. āItās disappointing that itās taking the uncommitted delegates to advocate for something so simple and humane,ā she said. āThe bar is really low. People just want to feel like theyāre being taken seriously. This isnāt just about a Muslim or Arab vote; itās about decency.ā
Or just āafter we beat trumpā cuz of we donāt Palestine Is completely fucked.
Do you honestly think Biden or Harris will do much of anything other than the current lip service toward opposing Israel even after Trump loses?
Sure we will. Like we did with the minimum wage and revisiting the public option.