When Vice President Kamala Harris flies to Chicago next week to accept her party’s nomination for the presidency, she will be met head-on with voters protesting against Biden administration’s aid to Israel.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, on her visit to Chicago next week, will encounter protesting voters. This will be one of her thorniest electoral issues: the Biden administration’s aid to Israel. She will be flying to Chicago to accept her party’s nomination for presidency.
A coalition of around 200 social justice organisations will be going forward with their plan to march at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 20, despite their demands being met. The main focus of their ire was to make current US President Joe Biden step down from presidential nomination.
The Biden administration has received resentment from pro-Palestinian activists for funding Israel during its war again Hamas. The Israel-Hamas has killed around 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, since October. Israel launched an offensive after it was attacked on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants. Israel tallies suggest that Hamas killed 1,200 people and held over 250 hostages.
After Biden’s withdrawal from the race, Harris has surged in opinion polls. Her popularity has helped in closing the gap with Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris’ Israel Policy
Harris has surged in opinion polls since Biden’s July 21 withdrawal from the race, closing the gap with Republican nominee Donald Trump. However, activists hold her responsible for the Biden administration’s Israel policy. The upcoming protest next week will pressurise her to unite a discontented voter base before elections.
Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the March on the DNC coalition, said dozens of coalition group leaders met to discuss if their approach should change, if Harris becomes the nominee.
“There was absolute consensus,” he recalled. “She represents the policies of the administration and it’s full steam ahead.”
The DNC march will represent a set of historical Democratic voters who refuse to vote for the party unless the White House decides to puts conditions on its support for Israel.
Around 44% of Democratic registered voters disapproved of Biden’s handling of the war, a Reuters poll suggested in May.
Some pro-Palestinian leaders are hopeful that Harris may act differently than Biden on the Israel citation, as she was the first within the administration to call for a ceasefire.
Although a pro-Palestinian campaign called “Abandon Biden” was founded to mobilize voters against Biden, no such campaigns have been create for Harris yet. They believe that Harris bears responsibility for Gaza crisis and will be watching for changes to the Democratic party’s position, spokesperson Hudhayfah Ahmad said.
“We’re going to give (Harris) a lot more grace than we gave Joe Biden,” Ahmad said. “However, I will emphasize, the clock is ticking and our patience is running out.”
Protestors Flocking
Organisers have said the DNC march will be family-friendly. However, the combination of a heavy police presence, throngs of protesters and potential ill-intentioned agitators could combust, as it did on college campuses in the spring.
“It’s going to be a mess in Chicago starting Sunday,” said Emad Salem, a Harris delegate from Texas and part of a group called “Delegates Against Genocide” that is urging the DNC to call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo against Israel.
“This is not just Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims. We’re talking about tens of thousands of Gen Zers participating, African Americans, Latinos, anti-war protesters from all over the place.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has called on Chicago police to hold bad actors accountable at the protests. He said that his pro-Israel organization was “deeply concerned” about the increased intensity of recent U.S. protests.
Abudayyeh said the crowds are expected to peak in the tens of thousands on Monday and Thursday. Biden and Harris will be speaking on these days. Most people in the protests are expected from Palestinian and Arab communities in Illinois and neighbouring states. The coalition includes groups advocating for a range of causes, including reproductive rights and racial justice.
Long Route Denied For March
Organizers have been in conflict with city officials, trying to get a permit for the rally and their desired route. This week the coalition lost a bid for a longer march route. They have access to a rally site close to the United Center, where the DNC will be hosted. The city has barred them from using stages, portable toilets, tents or sound equipment.
Chicago police superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters that he did not want to “tie up additional resources” by lengthening the protest route, but police would ensure demonstrators could exercise their free speech rights and that they and the surrounding community would be safe.
A spokesperson for the nonprofit Israeli-American Council said it had struggled to get a permit from the city of Chicago to demonstrate outside the DNC, and was instead installing an art exhibit nearby to honour the hostages held by Hamas and support Israel.
(With inputs from Reuters)
