CAIR Action Lambasts the DNC for Blatant Erasure of Palestinian Suffering, Calls on Harris-Walz Campaign to Heed Voters’ Desire for Change

(CHICAGO, IL – August 22, 2024) – CAIR Action, one of the nation’s leading Muslim 501(c)4 political organizations, expressed profound dismay at the decision by the DNC and the Harris-Walz campaign to exclude Palestinian voices from the main stage during the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) programming. 

More than 150 pro-ceasefire DNC delegates from across the country have been advocating for an immediate ceasefire, an arms embargo, and an end to the genocide in Gaza, objectives supported by many voters according to recent polls.

In a statement, CAIR Action Executive Director Basim Elkarra said:

Despite the willingness of many Palestinian Democrats to speak and share their personal experiences and their hope for the Democratic Party, the Harris-Walz campaign is choosing to shut out their voices at the Democratic National Convention, an event which is supposedly designed to unite Democrats of all backgrounds.

We are told they are working ‘around the clock’ to get a ceasefire deal but the reality is President Biden and Vice President Harris have actively armed and funded the genocide of Palestinians for over ten months and continue to do so. Our ask continues to be clear: an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza, an end to foreign military aid to Israel, and an investment in our local communities at home, particularly communities of color.

If the Democratic Party is serious about winning the Presidential election this fall, they will listen to voters of conscience. The billions of tax-payer dollars spent on weapons sent to Israel used to kill and maim thousands of innocent Palestinian men, women, and children in Gaza should be spent here in our communities on education, housing, and other domestic policies at a time when so many Americans are struggling.”

CAIR Action Advisory Board member Ahmed Rehab said: 

“Both the symbolism and ramifications of this tone deaf decision cannot be overstated. In Chicago, a city with the nation’s  highest concentration of Palestinians, the DNC is going out of their way to exclude Palestinian voices as their families cry helplessly against an unfolding genocide. It’s a blatant double standard to only create a platform for an Israeli hostage family when numerous Palestinians have lost over 100 members of their family.”

By silencing Palestinian voices, it is as if the leveling of Gaza, the innumerable massacres of civilians, the dozens of encampments, the hundreds of thousands protesting both domestically and internationally, and numerous meetings with elected officials, all didn’t happen and were just swept under the rug.

Despite ten months of this nightmare, the DNC sees it fit to only recognize the angst of Israeli hostage families as if to say to Palestinians, ‘you just don’t exist, your lives don’t count, your dead don’t count, your pleas don’t count…you who shall not be named or seen. But, oh yeah, we expect you to vote for us.’ This is not politics, this is cruelty doused in mind-boggling foppery.”

Recent polling in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania found that over a third of voters are more likely to support a Democratic nominee who pledges to withhold weapons from Israel. 


SEE: New Poll Suggests Gaza Ceasefire and Arms Embargo Would Help Dems with Swing State Voters

Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the genocide, with some estimates surpassing 186,000.

SEE: Gaza toll could exceed 186,000, Lancet study says

CAIR Action is a 501(c)4 organization. Our mission is to engage, educate, and mobilize Muslim voters, train emerging leaders, and champion policy priorities that enhance the well-being and representation of Muslim communities. Through our work, we aim to foster a more equitable and inclusive democratic society where the rights and voices of Muslims are acknowledged and respected.

END

CONTACT: 

Basim Elkarra, Executive Director, CAIR Action, belkarra@cairaction.org

CAIR Action Communications, media@cairaction.org; 

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR Action Advisory Board Director, 202-870-0166, arehab@cairaction.org 

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