The US Democratic party on Sunday unveiled its platform for November’s presidential race – but nowhere in the 92-page document does it mention an arms embargo on Israel, a key demand by uncommitted delegates at the party’s four-day convention in Chicago and a central demand by Gaza war protesters gathering in the city.
The platform, which was to be voted on on Monday, instead described a wishlist of domestic Democrat objectives, among them growing the economy, combatting inequality and the protection of reproductive rights.
Reportedly, the document was finalized before Joe Biden stepped away from his White House re-election bid. And it contains both a focus on the achievements of the US president’s four years in the Oval Office and the now-discarded plans for a second term, including “healing the soul of America”.
The curbing of arms to Israel is the motivating issue for millions of younger voters whose support Kamala Harris hopes to secure after replacing Biden at the top of the party’s ticket for November. Meanwhile, Harris and the rest of the Democratic party are convening as US diplomats scour the Middle East for an elusive ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been waging war in retaliation for Hamas’s 7 October attack.
The issue of a ceasefire, which has divided moderate and progressive members of the party, was not formally discussed in committee hearings when the document was being drafted, according to the Washington Post.
The platform “makes a strong statement about the historic work that President Biden and Vice-President Harris have accomplished hand-in-hand, and offers a vision for a progressive agenda that we can build on as a nation and as a party as we head into the next four years”, the Democratic national committee said in a press release.
Gaza protests in Chicago are planned by more than 200 groups, with organizers expecting tens of thousands to join. On Sunday, the city received a possibly early taste of what some fear could be a repeat of the party’s 1968 convention in Chicago that was characterized by a police riot targeting anti-Vietnam protesters.
A rally against the Israel-Hamas war and restrictions on reproductive rights was met by a larger showing of Chicago police when it set off down the city’s Michigan Avenue. A far larger protest focusing exclusively on US-support for Israel is set to begin at noon on Monday at Union Park.
Organizers of Sunday’s protest steered marchers to the Gen John Logan Monument in Grant Park, which was also a focal point for protesters in 1968 and featured in photos of the riots.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Gaza protesters who have promised to deliver a “week of justice” attempted to disturb a delegate party. An organizer identified by the outlet as Jinan said protesters were committed to confronting the party over the war.
“Welcome to hell week,” Jinan added. Another grabbed a microphone at the event to accuse the party of “funding a genocide”.
Nadine Naber, an activist with the UIC Arab American Cultural Center, said Democratic politicians were “hiding” behind women and LGBTQ+ rights as a cover for support of Israel.
“We are here to fight for our bodies and our hearts,” she told the Sun-Times. “Any movement guided by radical collective love is like fire, it’s inextinguishable, so free Palestine and free them all.”
The combative mood is unlikely to be soothed by the absence of the arms issue from the Democrats’ manifesto of pledges. Instead, the party calls on members to recommit to support for Israel in the fight against Hamas.
It also calls for support for a two-state solution that “upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own” that many anti-war protesters view as fig leaf for continued US military aid toward a goal that has shows scant signs of being achieved.
But the document does call for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire deal” that secures the release of all hostages taken by Hamas fighters in the cross-border 7 October raid as well as aims to protect against the additional displacement and death of Gazans.
The four-day convention kicks off on Monday night with Biden and the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, delivering speeches. Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are expected to speak on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Harris’s running mate and Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, also takes the stage on Wednesday to accept the vice-presidential nomination, and Harris will take the spotlight on Thursday.
