As U.S. Democrats kicked off their national convention in Chicago on Monday newly energized by Vice-President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, thousands of protesters vowed to put pressure on the party to change its stance on the crisis in Gaza and focus on Americans’ needs at home.
Demonstrators gathered in Union Park holding Palestinian flags and signs calling for an end to U.S. military aid for Israel and decrying what they called a “genocide” in Gaza. The rally culminated in a march of a few thousand people toward the United Center that is hosting the convention less than a kilometre away from the park.
Dozens of the protesters managed to take down the perimeter fencing surrounding the arena, but police quickly restored it and there was no widespread violence, though at least two arrests were reported. Officers put on gas masks as some members of the crowd tried to bring down a second fence set up in front of police, who yelled at protesters to get back.
Although Democratic officials and many voters quickly rallied around Harris after she replaced U.S. President Joe Biden as the nominee last month, those taking part in the protest in Chicago — many of them young progressives — made it clear they aren’t ready to do the same.
“If you want our vote, you need to earn it,” Chicago resident Amy Chiang told Global News at Union Park. “We’re not just going to get on board with you just because there’s another person after Joe Biden.”
Organizers said they hoped the turnout for Monday’s rally and march would be at least 20,000 people, but only a few thousand were there at the start of the march. City officials declined to give a crowd estimate, and police haven’t yet released their figures.
Democratic conventions are no stranger to protests, but the ones in Chicago this week have been seen as an echo of the ones outside the 1968 convention — also in Chicago — over the Vietnam War.
The 1968 protests turned violent when police and protesters clashed in the streets, with the images broadcast on live television across the country. There were mass arrests and some 300 injuries.
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As they did 56 years ago, members of Monday’s crowd chanted, “The whole world is watching!” as portions of the fence were torn down, along with “end the occupation now!”
Chicago police have said they are prepared to handle any unrest if it arises, noting a protest march through downtown Chicago on Sunday remained peaceful.
A small group of counter-protesters carrying Israeli flags showed up at Union Park on Monday, but there were no reported clashes between the two sides.
The Chicago area has one of the largest Palestinian communities in the nation, and buses were bringing activists from all over the country.
Nijma Mustafa traveled from her home in Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the protests, which she said were meant to ensure Democrats are “for the people.”
“I think protesting is a way for our people to see in America that we can make a change, but it has to start with the people first,” she told Global News.
“Take care of our people and our health care and our housing, and stuff like that.”
Biden and his administration have been criticized for continuing to support Israel during its months-long military offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Israel says the Hamas attack killed 1,200 people and militants took around 250 hostages, while the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says at least 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since then. Officials in Gaza do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their tallies. A week-long ceasefire in November saw the release of more than 100 hostages from Gaza.
Negotiations were ongoing as of Monday to secure a permanent ceasefire agreement that will allow the return of the remaining hostages, a third of whom Israeli officials believe to be dead. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel had accepted a U.S.-backed proposal to bridge differences holding up the deal, calling on Hamas to do the same.
Pro-Palestinian activists have said the Biden administration is complicit in the deaths of civilians in Gaza by continuing arms sales to Israel, and have called for an embargo.
As a candidate for re-election in the Democratic primaries early this year, Biden faced a significant protest movement that saw between 10 and 20 per cent of voters in critical battleground states write in “uncommitted” to show their opposition to his support for Israel. In Michigan, which has the largest concentration of Arab-Americans in the U.S., about 15 per cent of primary voters marked their ballot “uncommitted.”
Those voters “could really tip the balance” of the election, said Todd Belt, director of the political management program at George Washington University.
“We know the last couple of elections have been won by just tens of thousands of votes,” he said in an interview. “This is not nothing.”
Biden resisted calls for a ceasefire for months, saying Israel had a right to defend itself from Hamas and other groups listed by countries like the U.S. and Canada as terrorist entities. He later shifted his stance and has accused Israel of “indiscriminate” bombing that harmed civilians, and has been advocating for a ceasefire deal.
Harris has been seen by some as slightly more critical of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict. She skipped Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July — which her office said was due to a scheduling conflict — but held a meeting with the Israeli leader the following day that she called “frank and constructive,” where she said she urged him to reach a ceasefire deal.
Harris has also reportedly met with organizers behind the “uncommitted” movement and expressed interest in a more formal sit-down with them.
But Belt warned the vice-president also needs to keep Democrats who support Israel and its fight against Hamas on her side, or else risk losing their vote too.
“Harris has really got to walk a tightrope on this,” he said.
In Chicago, protesters were split on whether they saw Harris as an extension of Biden’s approach to Gaza or a shift toward a more progressive, anti-war stance.
One woman who did not give her name to Global News said it “remains to be determined” if Harris will be different from Biden.
Others were more unequivocal.
“She’s been vice-president for how many years?” Chiang said. “I don’t expect anything different. (It will be) more of the same.”
Chiang said the protests don’t necessarily mean Harris is facing uncommitted voters the same way Biden was just a month ago, but warned there will be some who either stay home in November or vote for a third-party candidate.
“You can certainly be a Democrat and vote for her and still come here and protest the things that they’re supporting,” she said.
—with additional files from Global’s Reggie Cecchini and the Associated Press
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