Meet the ‘uncommitted’: How Gaza hangs over Democratic National Convention

The “uncommitted” delegates at the Democratic National Convention in the United States have a message for their party: “Help us help you.”

Approximately 30 such delegates earned a spot at the convention in Chicago after hundreds of thousands of people voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries, in protest of President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Since then, Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race, and Vice President Kamala Harris has replaced him on the Democratic ticket.

Still, the war in Gaza remains a flashpoint dividing the Democratic Party. Many of the “uncommitted” delegates say they want Harris to win — but they also want her to listen to the antiwar voters who elected them to the convention.

Only with their support can she succeed on election day, several delegates told Al Jazeera.

The “uncommitted” movement started with the Listen to Michigan campaign in February. A grassroots protest movement, Listen to Michigan encouraged the state’s primary voters to cast protest votes — and its push exceeded expectations, winning more than 13 percent of the vote.

Then the movement went national. Voters across the country cast enough “uncommitted” ballots to send delegates from states like Hawaii, Washington and Minnesota to the convention.

Those delegates are using their presence at the convention to demand a commitment to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians over the past 10 months.

To make their case, the delegates are arguing that, without a meaningful change in policy, large parts of the party base — including young voters, Arabs, Muslims and progressives — will not be energised to elect Harris in November.

At the convention this week, uncommitted delegates and their allies are making themselves visible with keffiyehs and lapel pins calling for an end to weapon transfers to Israel.

Yaz Kader: ‘We just need to apply’ US laws

Kader, a delegate from Washington state, says the “uncommitted” movement has allowed people to use a “powerful” civic tool — voting — to protest the atrocities in Gaza.

“We have to work within the system that we have. And we are showing right now that political pressure can be applied from within,” Kader told Al Jazeera.

“And furthermore, the Democratic base here is in agreement with us. We can make those changes. We’ve already seen some of the changes in language. We need to make changes with policy.”