Democratic Convention protesters to Harris: Israel arms embargo or no vote

Rich Barnes says that opposing Israel’s war in Gaza is not a complicated issue.

“Are we for mass murdering babies, or are we against it? To me, it’s a pretty simple equation,” he said, holding Palestinian and Irish flags near the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Monday.

Barnes was one of thousands of protesters who blanketed the grass of Union Park, blocks away from the Democratic National Convention, to demand an end to United States support for Israel’s war.

As the Democrats gathered at the convention to present Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee, several Palestinian rights advocates told Al Jazeera that they will not vote for Harris unless she agrees to an arms embargo against Israel.

The demonstration, dubbed the “March on the DNC”, also demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

“I’m worried because I feel like there’s not going to be any big, major change with her,” Barnes said. “We’re trying to put as much pressure on from the left to say: ‘Listen, you can’t expect our vote.”

The protesters held signs linking Harris and President Joe Biden to the atrocities in Gaza, which they describe as a genocide: an effort to destroy the Palestinian people through bombing and starvation.

“Both Democrats & Republicans have blood on their hands,” one poster read. Another one said: “No votes 4 Kamala until arms embargo 4 Israel.”

‘We need to see action’

The convention kicked off on Monday as thousands of Democratic officials, operatives and supporters descended on Chicago to celebrate Harris’s candidacy ahead of the presidential election in November.

But the convention protests had been organised with the assumption that Biden — a staunch Israel advocate who led support for the war on Gaza — would be the nominee. He withdrew from the race on July 21 amid concerns about his age and ability to lead.

For many protesters, however, the new Democratic nominee makes little difference. Their message to the Democratic Party remains the same: that it must listen to the millions of voters who want to end US-backed human rights abuses against Palestinians.

While Harris has acknowledged Palestinian suffering in Gaza, the Democratic nominee has not promised any actual policy changes on the issue.

Amal Jaber, a teacher who drove from Wisconsin to join Monday’s protest, dismissed Harris’s professed empathy for Palestinians as “lip service”.

“We need to see action,” Jaber told Al Jazeera. “Palestinians are still being killed today. Unless we see real change, I don’t see the Muslim community in Wisconsin supporting Kamala Harris right now. Enough is enough.”

The US has provided Israel with military support and billions of dollars in aid to back the war on Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

Biden, a self-proclaimed Zionist, has been an unflinching supporter of Israel.

Vice presidents usually do not dictate foreign policy, but the White House has said that Harris has been a “full partner” in overseeing the US approach to Gaza.

But last month, after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris called the war “devastating”.

“We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent,” she told the press.

Still, the vice president has said through her aides that she does not support an arms embargo against Israel, disappointing the hopes of many antiwar demonstrators.

At the protest in Chicago on Thursday, one protester held a sign that said, “DNC = Decades No Change.”

“There’s been no change. There’s no reform by the murderous system. And the answer is to abandon the empire,” Tina, who chose to be identified by her first name only, said.

She added that Harris’s expression of sympathy for Palestinians does not make any difference without a change in policy – “none whatsoever”.