Gaza protesters who once “Abandoned Biden” could now abandon Harris after DNC snubs – National & International News – THU 22Aug2024
Gaza protesters who once “Abandoned Biden” could now abandon Harris after DNC snubs.
Second Sikh leader survives assassination attempt on US soil in less than a year.
Gaza protesters who once “Abandoned Biden” could now abandon Harris after DNC snubs
Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and a just resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict have tried to make their voices heard at the Democratic National Convention this week. Now, the movement that once vowed to “Abandon Biden” seems set to abandon VP Kamala Harris after a series of snubs.
Dozens of protesters were arrested in front of the Israeli consulate in Chicago on Tuesday. Outside the DNC, protesters have peacefully assembled, but have been kept at arm’s length. During President Biden’s speech on Monday night, a group of Michigan delegates representing over 700,000 “uncommitted” protest voters unfurled a banner calling on Biden to “Stop arming Israel”. A brief scuffle followed involving delegates seated in front of and behind the uncommitted delegates. At least one uncommitted delegate was assaulted, and another later had their credentials revoked.
Uncommitted delegates from several states are now holding a sit-in outside the venue after the DNC rejected their request for a Thursday-night speaker slot for a Palestinian-American. Jewish leaders, Democratic elected officials and union leaders (who’ve been a major presence at the DNC) have all called on the DNC to honor the group’s request for a Palestinian speaker, to no avail. Layla Elabed, a leader of the uncommitted national movement, said the request for a speaker was the “bare minimum” for the group’s expectations. Co-chair Lexis Zeidan says the DNC’s rejection means the group will have to consider “what comes next for this movement”.
Earlier this week, the parents of an Israeli hostage being held in Gaza addressed the convention, with the full support of the uncommitted delegates. In fact, a group called Muslim Women for Harris/Walz has disbanded and withdrawn its support for Harris, saying in a statement that the hostage’s family showed “more empathy towards Palestinian Americans and Palestinians than [Harris] or the DNC has”.
Why it matters
Michigan is a must-win state for Democrats, and the state’s large Arab and Muslim-American minority is a must-win voting bloc. These groups, and likeminded voters in other states, withheld their support from Biden when he was the candidate in hopes of pressuring him to change course and stop arming Israel. However, their cries fell on deaf ears.
Since Kamala Harris became the Democratic candidate, these groups have extended her some grace in hopes she would be more receptive. The uncommitted delegates pledged their support to Harris, but now see the DNC snub as “an embarrassment for those of us who had faith in the Democratic party that we still had voices here”.
Independent presidential candidate RFK, Jr., is expected to drop out this week and endorse Trump. If he does, Harris’ previously favorable odds could become razor-thin in many key states, and those “uncommitted” Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan and elsewhere could make all the difference. However, given their sidelining at the convention snubs and the fact there’s no end in sight to the carnage in Gaza, those voters could be gone for good.
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Second Sikh leader survives assassination attempt on US soil in less than a year
Earlier this month, Satinder Pal Singh Raju was travelling on a freeway near Sacramento, CA, when a gunman opened fire. It’s not clear at this point what if any injuries Raju suffered, but a video online shows four bullet holes in his driver’s side window. Raju is a Sikh spiritual leader and separatist, who campaigns for a Sikh homeland in northern India. This has made Raju and others in his movement a target of the Indian government.
Last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced there were “credible allegations” linking “agents of the Indian government” to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India’s government rejected these allegations as absurd. Then in November, the US announced charges against an Indian national for plotting to assassinate another Sikh separatist leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who lives in New York. Federal agents were able to thwart that plot and Pannun came to no harm. However, US officials said that an Indian government official was also involved in the plot against Pannun, but that official was not arrested or charged.
India is an important ally of the United States, though their relationship has sometimes been tested in recent years. So far there has been little in the way of diplomatic consequences for India by either the US or Canada, despite the fact their agents have been implicated in these assassinations.
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