Talking Palestine at the DNC

posted on: Jul 27, 2016

BY: Eugene Smith/Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA: On Monday, July 25 the American Friends Service Committee held a panel discussion on the U.S. response to issues surrounding Palestine. The panel came as a response to the failed attempt to include Israel’s illegal settlement expansion and occupation of Palestinians into the Democratic platform drafting committee. The absence of these key points came as a disappointment for Bernie Sanders’ handpicked platform delegates, as well as members of the Palestinian rights movement that had embedded themselves into the Sanders campaign.

The Panelists

Panelists from left to right: Rep. Kieth Ellison, Linda Sarsour, Dr. Jim Zogby, and Josh Ruebner

Prominent Sanders advocates led the panel discussion in an effort to move forward.

Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) focused on momentum in his videotaped introduction to the event. The Minnesota congressman and ardent Bernie Sanders supporter praised the fact that the Palestinian question had risen to such levels of discourse within the U.S. policy community. Perceptions of the Palestinian question had completely reversed. Now, issues of Palestinian rights were spoken of more frequently than questions of Israeli security.

Well versed in the language of Palestinian advocacy, Dr. Jim Zogby of the Arab American Institute made it clear that maintaining the current level of debate and focus on the Palestinian issue was integral. While it was Bernie Sanders’ campaign that had provided the “qualitative boost forward” needed to bring the issue to the national podium, it was now the task of the movement to continue the dialogue and pressure Democrats on Palestinian issues.

“Do not let it go, the conversation is just beginning again . . . it cannot be . . . put [on hold] for another 20 years,” Zogby said referring to past failures. Many feared that crises such as those in Syria and Libya threatened to push voices for a resolution to the side, as had happened in the past. Zogby dismissed this, saying there could be a focus on both issues. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Zogby joked.

Also present was Hank Anderson (D-GA), an ardent voice in the battle for police accountability. Johnson guided the audience through recollections of his travels to Palestine, focusing on the shocking mechanisms of oppression that he witnessed firsthand. “Justice is Justice,” became the topic of his speech. To Anderson, the Black Lives Matter movement and the push for Palestinian rights went hand in hand in the larger pursuit of justice.

But it was Linda Sarsour, a DNC delegate and longtime Sanders supporter, who offered the most salient road forward in the battle for Palestinian rights. She touched on a variety of subjects in a half hour speech filled with insights and ideas.

To Sarsour, the movement is out organized, not outnumbered. It was necessary for Palestinian rights movements to consolidate their political advocacy in order to increase the firepower of their grassroots message.

Advocacy

The Palestinian flag was held high at the DNC – image source: onlysimchas.com

Sarsour then spoke of BDS. “What I want the American public to understand. . . is that we are in a fight for the constitution in this country.”

Recent anti-BDS legislation amounted to an assault on American constitutional rights to organize and engage in nonviolent protest and free speech.

Next, Sarsour moved on to progressiveness, criticizing what she called “PEP: progressive except for Palestine.” To be progressive meant one had to be pro-Palestine. To Sarsour, people can only be progressive if they maintain certain principles in every aspect of political life, with liberty and freedom being core amongst them.

Sarsour then proposed future action, claiming it was time to engage in local politics.

“Let’s remember that most of the issues that we had when it comes to military aid to Israel, when we talk of resolutions about Israel’s right to defend itself without even mentioning the Palestinian people. . . where does that happen? That happens in Congress. . . stop being distracted by the top ticket. Understand that your responsibility as a local citizen lies in local politics,” Sarsour said to the audience.

Sarsour seems to indicate that the grassroots-establishment barrier is best broken through the ground floor. The Tea Party made its debut through firebrand congressional elects. From that point on, its drastic effect on politics has had repercussions leading to seismic shifts in the GOP that Americans see today.

Progressives can learn from its success. While the Bernie Sanders campaign provided the soapbox for the progressive cause, the next step is bolstering enough local representation to provide a voice in congress and on a local level.

Controversy

image source: nypost.com

Unfettered and impassioned, the panelists demonstrated the courageous efforts put forward in the struggle for Palestinian rights. The upset following Bernie’s defeat had no effect on the potential of the movement.

The panel was also indicative of the deep divisions within the Democratic Party, as well as the troubled road ahead for Clinton’s election after the convention. When Hank Johnson appealed to the crowd to support Clinton, members of the audience erupted in unrest. Some exited the room. Later in the night this reaction was mirrored on the DNC stage as “Bernie or Bust” crowds repeatedly interrupted speakers.

The flared tempers came after the 16,000 recently leaked DNC emails, whose contents fortified public suspicions of campaign finance misconduct and led to damaging allegations that DNC members had strategized against the Sanders campaign.

The controversy comes at a critical point for the Clinton campaign, which risks further alienating staunch Bernie supporters.

Inversely, Donald Trump has wasted no time in courting the most indignant Bernie advocates, sympathizing with their perceptions of a “rigged system.” The risk is that a sizeable portion of Bernie’s demographic stays at home, or worse decides to vote for a different outsider- Trump himself.

The Next Step Forward

Bernie supporters should follow in the footsteps of their candidate and take the outstretched hand offered by Hillary’s campaign. In coalition, there is more opportunity to enact the changes that the Bernie followers desire, if it is indeed the policy that drives their passion. There is no road forward for the Palestinian movement in Trump’s agenda and surely not in the GOP-platform.

Linda Sarsour’s suggestion can put hope back into the election process:

“Never put your power in the hands of anyone . . . I used Bernie Sanders as a tactic, leveraging his platform for the issues that I care about. . . use and leverage the political process . . . to talk about the issues you care about.”