Chicago, Illinois – The “uncommitted” delegates at the Democratic National Convention in the United States have a message for their party: “Help us help you.”
About 30 of those delegates earned a spot at the convention in Chicago after hundreds of thousands of people voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary, protesting President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Biden has since withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race and has been replaced on the Democratic ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Still, the Gaza war remains a flashpoint that divides the Democratic Party. Many of the “uncommitted” delegates say they want Harris to win, but they also want her to listen to the anti-war voters who elected them to the convention.
Only with their support can he succeed on election day, several delegates told Al Jazeera.
The “uncommitted” movement began with the Listen to Michigan campaign in February. Listen to Michigan, a grassroots protest movement, encouraged primary voters in the state to cast protest ballots, and its momentum exceeded expectations, garnering more than 13 percent of the vote.
The movement then went national. Voters across the country cast enough “uncommitted” votes to send delegates from states like Hawaii, Washington and Minnesota to the convention.
Those delegates are using their presence at the convention to demand a commitment to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in the past 10 months.
In their case, the delegates argue that without a significant change in policy, large sections of the party's base — including young voters, Arabs, Muslims and progressives — will not be motivated to elect Harris in November.
At this week's convention, uncommitted delegates and their allies are making themselves visible in keffiyehs and lapel pins calling for an end to arms transfers to Israel.
Al Jazeera spoke to several uncommitted delegates in Chicago. Here's what they had to say.
Yaz Kader: “We just have to apply” the laws of the United States
Kader, a delegate from Washington state, says the “uncommitted” movement has allowed people to use a “powerful” civic tool – the vote – to protest atrocities in Gaza.
“We have to work within the system we have. And now we are showing that political pressure can be exerted from within,” Kader told Al Jazeera.
“Plus, the Democratic base here agrees with us. We can make those changes. We’ve already seen some of the changes in language. We need to make changes in policy.”
The 35-year-old Palestinian-American doctor arrived at the convention wearing a keffiyeh decorated with a pin. “Not one more bomb,” he said.
Kader added that it has been “very hard” to see what Palestinians in Gaza are enduring.
“There are U.S. and international laws that are already in place. We just need to enforce them and make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
“Our laws do not allow 16,000 children to be killed in Palestine. An exception has been made for the Israeli government and the Israeli army, and that is not right.”
Abbas Alawieh: “A great responsibility”
Alawieh, a Michigan delegate and one of the leaders of the “uncommitted” movement, says he hasn’t been sleeping much as he works to advance campaign goals.
“I feel I have a huge responsibility towards the voters who sent us here and who sent me here,” Alawieh told Al Jazeera.
“I also feel a great responsibility towards our Palestinian community members, who are counting on us to do everything we can for Palestinian human rights. I also feel a responsibility towards my own family in South Lebanon, who want to know when the bombings that are taking place around them will stop. I feel a great weight on my shoulders and I try to remember to drink water.”
Sabrene Odeh: “We just need the violence to stop”
Odeh, a delegate from Washington state, says it has been “incredibly depressing” to be a Palestinian American during the war in Gaza.
At the same time, he said it was a “great honor” to represent Palestinian rights advocates at the Chicago convention.
“Our messages are very clear: we want a permanent and immediate ceasefire and we want an arms embargo. Everything else comes later. We just need an end to the violence and the killing of the Palestinian people,” he told Al Jazeera.
Jeremiah Ellison: Pushing Democrats to adopt “popular policies”
Ellison, a Minneapolis City Council member, said the war in Gaza is affecting people across Minnesota, not just Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.
He dismissed criticism that the “uncommitted” movement helps Republican candidate Donald Trump by dividing the Democratic base, calling the idea “silly.”
“We are here as delegates of the party,” Ellison told Al Jazeera, explaining that he and other delegates are “participating in the process that the party built” to make themselves heard.
“If we had any interest in helping Donald Trump win, we wouldn’t have become DNC delegates. We would have saved money, saved time, and told people how to vote in November,” she said.
“We’re here at the DNC now, trying to get this party to adopt policies that are really popular across the Democratic Party.”
Ellison stressed that the uncommitted delegates “are not doing this alone,” saying many voters care about the issue and want an end to atrocities in Gaza.
Shay Chan Hodges: Harris should listen to young people
Chan Hodges, an unpledged delegate from Hawaii, says she wants Harris to win, but the “only way” the vice president can beat Trump is by listening to the concerns of voters, particularly young ones.
One of those main concerns, he added, is the war in Gaza.
“I’m 61 years old. My kids are 26 and 27. My friends and my peers, we all have kids the same age, and we’re all hearing the same thing: those kids who are raised in progressive homes, who are super smart and super engaged, they’re not necessarily going to go out and vote,” Chan Hodges told Al Jazeera.
“Of course, it’s not just the voters. It’s the organizers. It’s the next generation. And we need every vote we can get.”
Chan Hodges said his keffiyeh-patterned scarf, emblazoned with the phrase “Democrats for Palestinian Rights,” has been well received by delegates and supporters at the convention.
“This scarf is very popular,” he said. “I think it reflects what we already know: that 80 percent of Democrats want a ceasefire and the majority want an arms embargo.”
Rima Mohammad: Kamala Harris could lose Michigan over Gaza
Mohammad, a delegate from Michigan, says the “uncommitted” movement brought people together to reject the war in Gaza.
Mohammad, who serves as a school board member in Ann Arbor, highlighted the movement's strong results in his home state.
For example, during the February Democratic primary, Washtenaw County — a liberal stronghold that is home to the University of Michigan — saw 17 percent of voters back the “uncommitted” campaign.
While the key Midwestern state is home to large Arab and Muslim communities, Mohammad said people of all backgrounds are unhappy with Washington's support for Israel.
He added that Michigan is “crucial” to Harris’ electoral chances.
“I am concerned that if there is not a strong statement from Vice President Harris calling for a permanent and immediate ceasefire and arms embargo, she will lose Michigan,” Mohammad told Al Jazeera.
