Democratic Party Unites Under Banner of Silence on Gaza Genocide

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks onstage during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The performances on the first night of the Democratic National Convention were impeccable. Responses to the speeches on the convention floor and throughout liberal corners of social media were ecstatic.

To chants of “We love Joe,” President Joe Biden gave a statesmanly blessing to his would-be successor, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Hillary Clinton spoke of shattering the “glass ceiling.” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., a pastor, delivered a soaring oratory that “a vote is a kind of prayer.” And Rep. Alexandria Ocasia Cortez, D-N.Y., lambasted Donald Trump as a “two-bit union-buster” to cheers of “AOC, AOC.”

The display of Democratic Party unity was as pitch perfect as it was tone deaf to what is arguably the most pressing moral issue of our time.

Blink, and you would have missed any mention of the U.S.-backed genocidal war Israel continues to carry out.

Blink, and you would have missed any mention of the U.S.-backed genocidal war Israel continues to carry out against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The fact that tens of thousands of anti-war protesters gathered in solidarity with Palestinians this week in barely registered on the convention floor Monday night. The silence persisted despite a possibility that Harris’s campaign could pay a price of over half a million votes in key swing states, particularly Michigan, for refusing to stop the arms flow to Israel.

As Biden spoke, one small group of audience members silently unfurled a white banner, which read “Stop Arming Israel.” Zeteo’s Prem Thakker reported from Chicago’s United Center that chants of “We Love Joe” from surrounding spectators grew louder.........

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