Unmoved by Harris replacing Biden at top of ticket, pro-Palestinian protesters plan to march on DNC
Pro-Palestinian voices both inside and outside the Democratic National Convention plan to make sure their complaints are heard at this week's gathering in Chicago, starting with a major march on Monday.
In addition to the tens of thousands who plan to protest near the site, 30 delegates elected to represent the "uncommitted" movement will be inside the convention advocating an anti-war agenda. They will not endorse Harris without assurances that her administration will embrace an arms embargo on Israel.
According to a source familiar the matter, Harris-Walz campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, as well as other top campaign officials, met with local Arab American and Jewish American leaders in Michigan this past week, including Deputy Wayne County Executive Assad Turfe. He described the meeting as "incredibly productive," noting that "these meetings underscored the Harris team's commitment to ensuring that our community has a meaningful seat at the table."
March on DNC, the group leading multiple organizations in the protests, said it has not been swayed by Vice President Kamala Harris' rise to the top of the Democratic ticket. The group, which adamantly disagreed with President Joe Biden's handling of the U.S. response to the war against Hamas in Gaza -- and the deaths of Palestinian civilians -- sees Harris' and Biden's rhetoric as one and the same.
"Some folks thought that it would change things a tiny bit, but not one organization said they were going to leave the coalition," Hatem Abudayyeh, the national chair of March on DNC, told ABC News. "Everyone said she is representative of the administration; that there's no reason to believe that any policies would change under her leadership of the ticket."
That will likely be clear when the coalition of some 200 social justice organizations from across the county move ahead with marches on Monday and Thursday.
Inside the convention hall, uncommitted delegates will hail from states such as Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota and Washington state. They say they will take a different approach from those outside of the convention in that their sole focus is to fulfill their "duty as a delegate."
"The Uncommitted National Movement is not involved in the March on the DNC," Michigan uncommitted delegate Abbas Alawieh said of the protest effort.
"I'm there to participate in the proceedings of the convention. I'm there to lift up the voices of the voters who want to see our government stop sending money and bombs to kill Palestinian children."
Alawieh -- along with Layla Elabed, the sister of Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib -- was able to briefly speak with Harris before her Detroit rally last week. According to the group, the two asked to meet with her about an arms embargo on Israel, and they said she indicated that she was open to it and introduced the two leaders to members of her staff.
They've put in several requests with both the campaign and the DNC to have a Palestinian speaker on the schedule. The group remains hopeful that Harris will "do the right thing" and unite their party around what they call "a more humane Gaza policy."
"We think putting someone from the Palestinian-American community on stage is critical and an important opportunity to begin to repair a deeply strained relationship with Americans who feel deeply betrayed by the Democratic Party," Alawieh told ABC News.
ABC News has reached out to both the Harris-Walz campaign and the DNC for comment.
On Tuesday. the protest groups will also hold a memorial outside the United Center for the both Palestinians and Israelis who have been killed since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. A spokesperson told ABC News they see it as an "opportunity to get a moment of mourning for all the people who have been impacted by this past years violence."
The death toll in Gaza passed a grim milestone this past week with more than 40,000 dead, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Harris has noticeably tried to thread the needle on the war in Gaza in an attempt to bridge divides within 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.
Pro-Palestinian protesters were present at the Harris-Walz rally in Detroit. They chanted "Kamala, Kamala you can't hide, we won't vote for genocide." The crowd booed and drowned out the protesters with chants of "Kamala."
She quipped, "I'm here because we believe in democracy. Everyone's voice matters, but I am speaking now. I am speaking now," but added a more blunt reply: "You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking."
Members of the uncommitted movement have indicated to ABC News that Harris' language regarding Gaza in the coming months is crucial to gaining their support, something they've said they would not have been able to give to Biden.
Alawieh said he will not be participating in the protests outside of the DNC.
The march on Monday will include groups like Code Pink, a feminist grassroots organization, and Climate Defiance, which focuses on climate change.
After initially being denied a permit in March to hold a pair of protest marches within blocks of the DNC, on Thursday the city of Chicago relented after months in court -- but with restrictions. The permit didn't allow them to put up any stages or platforms or use sound equipment and they weren't allowed to bring any portable toilets.
Without proper permits many feared a repeat of the violence and unrest seen at 1968's Chicago's Democratic convention, but Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Prtizker wrote off those comparisons to CNN on Sunday, saying that it's a "different situation." Pritzker surmised that the protests would by-in-large be "peaceful."
"The protesters are protesting something that is very far away from here," said Pritzker. "It's not about people getting drafted from here, going abroad. So it's a whole different situation. And honestly, I expect that we're going to have peaceful protests. We're going to protect the protesters."
Chicago's Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson assured ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday that Chicago police along with the U.S. Secret Service have worked to "ensure a safe, peaceful yet vibrant, exciting convention."
"We're ready for this convention. Look, our local police department has worked with the Secret Service as well as other local agencies to ensure a safe, peaceful yet vibrant, exciting convention," Johnson said. "The city of Chicago has been rated number one as it relates to convention centers and how we make sure that we protect people, while also providing an opportunity to see the beauty and the soul of who we are."
On Friday, the court agreed the protesters could assemble a stage and sound system for speeches in Union Park prior to their marches on the United Center opening a path for protesters, like Abudayyeh, who feared that although they had been given a permit to protest within sight and sound of the convention, they wouldn't be heard.
"[They] knew it wouldn't hold up in court, but they also knew that we have been organizing day and night to line up important supporters in Chicago who helped advocate for us too," said Abudayyeh.
Now the group is looking to extend the 1.1 mile route they've been granted to march on to 2.4 miles. They told ABC News, they'll be working with Chicago officials up until they start marching to get their request approved.
ABC News' Beatrice Peterson and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
