Tlaib criticizes Democrats for not wanting to ‘hear’ from Palestinian voices

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) slammed the Democratic National Convention for not featuring a Palestinian American speaker, stating it is “hard not to feel invisible.”

“It’s hard not to feel invisible as a Palestinian American. Our trauma and pain feel unseen and ignored by both parties. One party uses our identity as a slur, and the other refuses to hear from us. Where is the shared humanity? Ignoring us won’t stop the genocide,” Tlaib said in an interview published Monday with Zeteo, the news organization founded by former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan.

Tlaib was among a group of Democrats, specifically progressive lawmakers, to publicly criticize the convention for not having a Palestinian speak or be represented at the event last week in Chicago.

For weeks ahead of the convention, the Uncommitted National Movement called for a Palestinian convention speaker, stating it would send a clear message that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Harris was shifting away from President Biden’s stances on the Israel-Hamas war.

When this did not happen, the uncommitted delegates and their pro-Palestinian allies said they were deeply upset, with some particularly angered after the parents of an American hostage held by Hamas were given time to speak at the convention.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, told Zeteo the convention “made it clear with their speakers that they value Israeli children more than Palestinian children.”

It follows progressive colleague Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), who said Sunday the convention “missed an opportunity” by denying a Palestinian American speaker.

Lee said she feels some think it is “taboo” to discuss Palestinians and their experiences, even before Oct. 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and taking about 250 others hostage in Gaza.

“I think that, like all people, when you are experiencing something, you want to be able to tell your own story. And a lot of the people who [are] Palestinian, Palestinian American, Arabs and Muslims, were asking for that opportunity,” she said.

During her speech, Harris pledged the U.S. would always defend Israel and help it defend itself, saying Israel “must never again face the horror” that Hamas brought in its Oct. 7 attacks. But she also expressed her concern about the death toll in Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have been killed in Israel’s response.

“What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,” she said to a round of applause. “The scale of suffering heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security and freedom to self-determination.”

Some pro-Palestinian activists, however, said they wished for a more direct condemnation of the conflict from Harris, along with a more nuanced perspective than Biden has given.

While there was no Palestinian speaker during the DNC’s primetime event, the convention offered a forum last week where panelists could discuss the situation in Gaza and the continued discontent over the party’s handling of the war, the Associated Press reported. The forum came after negotiations between the Harris campaign and members of the “Uncommitted” movement, the news wire added. 

The DNC also allowed access to space for a vigil for delegates to honor those killed – both Israeli and Palestinian – since the Oct. 7 attacks. 

The Democratic Party 2024 platform, approved by the delegates last week, states Israel’s right to defend itself is “ironclad” while endorsing the Biden administration’s efforts to hammer out a cease-fire deal that could temporarily pause fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and initiate the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. 

This story was updated at 5:24 p.m.