在芝加哥联合中心外，当前总统比尔·克林顿在民主党全国代表大会的第三个晚上登上舞台时，来自未承诺运动的代表们，他们对副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯的支持取决于她对武器禁运的支持以色列向记者宣布，民主党全国委员会已经拒绝了他们的要求，有一个巴勒斯坦裔美国人在主舞台上发言。
“我们满怀希望，因为副总统哈里斯的团队一直在与我们接触。他们一直在打电话，他们一直在进行对话，我们告诉他们我们的政策要求是什么。在我们早些时候的新闻发布会后不久，我接到一个电话，电话说，'阿巴斯，答案是否定的。'我说，'你是什么意思?我们只是要求我们的声音被听到。"
大约40名代表和支持者在外面举行了24小时的“静坐”，告诉记者，除非哈里斯或她的团队有人叫他们不要，否则他们不会起床。
“我们必须被听到。这种程度的压制是不可接受的。“我坐在这里，哪儿也不去，罗杰，我哪儿也不去。你们所有人，你们所有人，你们都需要改变主意。我希望你改变主意。如果你改变主意了，给我打电话。”
哈里斯竞选沟通主任迈克尔·泰勒在周四的早间新闻发布会上回应了ABC新闻的弗里茨·法罗。
“本周有很多关于团结的讨论。那么，为什么你们都不允许一个巴勒斯坦裔美国人在大会上发言?”有人问泰勒。“简单地说特朗普对阿拉伯裔美国人来说会更糟——这怎么不是竞选团队把他们的选票视为理所当然?”
“不，我们绝对不会认为他们的投票是理所当然的，”泰勒回答道。“我认为，对于这次大会上未表态的代表们，我们感到骄傲和高兴，因为他们在这里。在整个大会期间，我们一直努力让他们参与进来。我们感到自豪的是，我们与非承诺运动的成员进行了小组讨论，”他说。
“我们感到自豪的是，副总统本人在几周前参与了密歇根州不寻常运动的领导。这就是为什么竞选团队在整个大会期间继续与无党派运动的领导层接触。“已经很清楚的是，他们将继续在这场运动中看到进展，副总统将致力于结束暴力，结束冲突，确保我们通过永久停火来解决这场冲突，让以色列充分保障自己的安全，继续确保我们获得充分的人道主义援助，同时确保加沙人能够在加沙和平生活和繁荣。”
民主党众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥·科尔特斯(Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)早些时候在X上的一篇帖子中敦促民主党全国委员会让一名巴勒斯坦裔美国人上台。
“正如我们必须尊重人质的人性，我们也必须关注在以色列轰炸中丧生的4万名巴勒斯坦人的人性，”她写道。“否认这个故事就是参与对巴勒斯坦人的非人化。@DNC必须改变路线，肯定我们共有的人性。”
在周三民主党全国代表大会期间的一个激动人心的时刻，赫什·戈德堡的父母——波林——乔恩·波林和雷切尔·戈德堡——自10月7日以来一直被哈马斯在加沙作为人质，向观众讲述了他们在过去10个半月中的悲痛。1200多名以色列人在那天的恐怖袭击中丧生，数百人被劫为人质。
未表态的代表们希望，曾在加沙为非营利组织无国界医生(Doctors Without Borders)工作过的儿科重症监护医生坦尼娅·哈吉-哈桑(Tanya Haj-Hassan)也能在主舞台上讲述自己的经历。
民主党全国委员会给了该运动在民主党全国委员会的几次“小组对话”上发言的空间，这些对话没有进行电视转播，但该党拒绝满足未承诺运动的更大要求。
“我不需要确信特朗普有多危险，”阿拉维说。“我们知道我们在共和党内不能被听到。甚至没有一个共和党联邦官员支持停火，但我们是民主党人。我们到了。我们正在利用这个系统。”
据加沙哈马斯控制的卫生部称，加沙的死亡人数已经超过40，000人。
“你可以试着压制我们。11月前我们哪儿也不去。我们是动员人们的人。我们是运动的人，”阿拉维说。“四年后我们哪儿也不会去。八年后我们哪儿也不会去。我们是订婚的人。你不会摆脱我们，我们会在体制内参与进来。”
哈里斯显然试图在加沙战争上穿针引线，试图弥合党内在以色列-哈马斯战争问题上的重大分歧。
尽管她与拜登一道誓言坚定不移地支持以色列，但在7月25日与以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡会晤后，她特别指出，“以色列有权自卫，以及如何自卫——这很重要”——特别是在保护平民方面。
哈里斯竞选团队的决定可能会危及这一微妙的地位。周一，在美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)发表讲话期间，一面巴勒斯坦旗帜在会议大厅里飘扬，但集会内部没有发生任何其他重大抗议活动。
DNC refuses to put Palestinian American speaker on convention stage, advocates say
Outside the United Center in Chicago, while former President Bill Clinton had taken the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, delegates from the uncommitted movement, whose support of Vice President Kamala Harris is contingent on her support of an arms embargo onIsrael, announced to reporters that the DNC had denied their request to have a Palestinian American speaker on the main stage.
"We were hopeful because Vice President Harris' team has been engaging with us. They've been calling, they've been having conversations, and we told them what our policy ask is," delegate Abbas Alawieh told reporters on Wednesday. "I got a call shortly after our press conference earlier, the call said, 'Abbas, the answer is no.' I said, 'What do you mean? We're just asking for our voices to be heard.'"
The group of about 40 delegates and supporters outside staged a 24-hour "sit in," telling reporters they would not get up until Harris or someone from her team called them with an answer other than no.
"We must be heard. This level of suppression is unacceptable," said Alawieh. "I'm sitting here and I'm not going anywhere, Roger, I'm not going anywhere. You all, you all, you all need to change your mind. I hope you change your mind. Call me if you change your mind."
Harris campaign Communication Director Michael Tyler responded to ABC News' Fritz Farrow at Thursday's morning briefing.
"There’s been a lot of talk about unity this week. So, why won’t you all allow a Palestinian American speaker address the convention?" Tyler was asked. "And simply saying Trump would be worse for Arab Americans—how is that not the campaign taking their votes for granted?"
"No, we're absolutely not taking their votes for granted," Tyler answered. "I think, as it relates to uncommitted delegates at this convention, we're proud, glad that they are here. We've worked to engage them throughout the convention. We're proud of the fact that we held a panel conversations with members of the uncommitted movement," he said.
"We're proud that the Vice President herself engaged with leadership in the uncommon movement in Michigan a couple of weeks ago. That's why the campaign has continued to engage with leadership of the uncommitted movement throughout this convention," he continued. "What has already been clear that they'll continue to see progress in this campaign, is a vice president who's committed to ending the violence, ending the conflict, making sure that we resolve this conflict with a permanent cease-fire that allows Israel to fully secure itself, that fully continues to make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, but also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza."
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earlier urged the DNC in a post on X to put a Palestinian American speaker on stage.
"Just as we must honor the humanity of hostages, so too must we center the humanity of the 40,000 Palestinians killed under Israeli bombardment," she wrote. "To deny that story is to participate in the dehumanization of Palestinians. The @DNC must change course and affirm our shared humanity."
In an emotional moment during the DNC on Wednesday, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin -- Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg -- who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, spoke to the audience about their grief during the past 10 and a half months. More than 1,200 Israelis were killed in the surprise terror attack that day and hundreds taken hostage.
The uncommitted delegates were hoping to have Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care physician who had spent time in Gaza working with the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, also speak on the main stage about what she had experienced.
The DNC gave the movement space to speak at several "panel conversations" at the DNC that weren't televised but the party refused to meet the uncommitted movement's larger requests.
"I don't need to be convinced how dangerous Trump is," said Alawieh. "We know we can't be heard in the Republican Party. There isn't a single Republican federal official who supports a ceasefire even, but we're Democrats. We're here. We're engaging the system."
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed more than 40,000, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry.
"You can try to suppress us. We're not going anywhere before November. We're people who mobilize people. We're movement people," Alawieh said. "We're not going anywhere in four years. We're not going anywhere in eight years. We're people who are engaged. You're not going to get rid of us, and we're going to engage within the system."
Harris has noticeably tried to thread the needle on the war in Gaza in an attempt to bridge a major divide in the party over the Israel-Hamas war.
While she has been aligned with Biden in vowing unwavering support for Israel, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 25, she notably said, "Israel has a right to defend itself and how it does so -- matters" -- specifically with regard to protecting civilians.
The decision by the Harris campaign threatens to put that delicate position in jeopardy. While a Palestinian flag was unfurled inside the convention hall on Monday during President Joe Biden's remarks, there haven't been any other significant protests inside the gathering.
