The 2024 Democratic National Convention was an exhausting roller coaster ride for Arab Americans and supporters of Palestinian rights. It was a messy affair, with highs and lows, some small victories and some setbacks. But on balance, the naysayers are wrong, because Palestine and supporters of Palestinian rights were big winners during the four days in Chicago.

We didn’t get language on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict changed in the party platform, nor did we get a Palestinian American speaker in prime time from the convention’s main stage. But the issue of Palestine was front and center from Monday through Thursday, and in the days that followed. They were little wins, to be sure, but they were victories, nonetheless.

On Monday, the convention agreed to host a panel on Palestinian suffering at an official site. It was co-chaired by Minnesota Attorney General (former Congressman) Keith Ellison and myself. It featured the compelling testimonies of: Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan who told harrowing stories of children and medical workers who were victims of the genocidal war on Gaza; Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American leader of the national Uncommitted Movement that garnered 750,000 voters, protesting the administration’s complicity in the war; former Congressman Andy Levin, who lost his reelection due to AIPAC spending millions to defeat him; and Hala Hijazi, a Palestinian American Democratic Party fundraiser who had lost scores of family members in Gaza.

There had been over 30 of these official side panels hosted by the campaign. Most had been sparsely attended by delegates and party members; for example, the one on the war in Ukraine had less than one hundred participants. This session on Palestine had well over 300 attendees, with most deeply moved by what they heard. There were many tears shed as well as a number of standing ovations in support of the speakers and issues raised.

Now isn’t the time to withdraw in defeatist anger. Instead, it’s imperative to recognize the victories won and continue to engage with allies in the political process, because change will come...

It was understood that securing the official sponsorship for the panel wasn’t the victory we sought. Our goal remains a change in U.S. policy. But recognition of Palestinian suffering and Israel and the U.S.’s responsibility for producing this genocidal war was important and could not be dismissed.

News that an Israeli American family would take the convention’s main stage to tell about their son who was a Hamas-held hostage upped the ante and led us to insist that a Palestinian American also be invited to tell the story of their family in Gaza. Days of negotiations followed. When the decision was made to not extend an invitation, Abbas Alawieh, another of the leaders of the National Uncommitted Movement, led a protest walkout from the arena and a sit-in in front of the convention.

I called this campaign decision a “bone-headed, unforced error.” It was deeply hurtful to Palestinian Americans who felt their humanity wasn’t being recognized. It threatened to erase the positives gained by the campaign’s........

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