Undecided delegates receive a no to their request for a Palestinian congress speaker

CHICAGO – Unaffiliated delegates to the Democratic National Convention announced Wednesday night that their most important request from Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign – to have a Palestinian American speak here at the convention – had been rejected.

Delegates elected to the Democratic primary earlier this year to protest President Joe Biden's support of Israel's war on Gaza have signaled they would back Harris if a Palestinian American were allowed to speak at the convention.

In press conferences held twice a day throughout the week, they reiterated their demand for a few minutes on stage and confirmed their willingness to cooperate with the organizers in preparing the speeches and selecting a speaker acceptable to both sides.

They said they were “encouraged” by the signals they received from Harris and DNC organizers, but did not receive a definitive answer until the third night of the convention.

“I was waiting for a call,” said Abbas Alawieh, a delegate from Michigan and former congressional chief of staff who served as spokesman for the delegates, holding up his cellphone as a prop. “They didn't get back to us, they didn't get back to us, they didn't get back to us.”

Then, Alawieh said, a call came in on Wednesday evening from an official whom he wished to keep anonymous.

“The call said, 'Abbas, the answer is no,'” he said.

Delegates said they planned to stay and sit outside the convention hall in the hope that organizers would change their minds.

Spokespeople for the convention and the Harris campaign did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

Of the nearly 4,700 delegates gathered at the United Center, only 30 are unaffiliated, but they said another 250 Harris delegates signed a letter supporting their call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo against Israel.

Before announcing the news, the delegates hugged each other in tears.

The decision could mark a turning point for delegates, who have so far kept their distance from protesters outside the security perimeter and from occasional disruptions by non-delegate protesters in the arena.