Thousands march on the DNC.
A demonstrator carries a sign ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) near the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This is a special edition of the Wire brought to you by our sister organization, JVP Action.
The official death toll of the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza has now officially surpassed 40,000 people. And shamefully, President Biden has approved a $20 billion weapons package to the Israeli government.
As this nightmare continues, the Democratic National Convention has begun in Chicago, with massive and growing pressure on Kamala Harris to call for an immediate arms embargo on the Israeli government.
Thousands of protestors took to the streets yesterday, demanding justice, liberation, and safety for our communities and calling for an arms embargo now to end the genocide in Gaza. Inside the convention, delegates with the Uncommitted National Campaign are representing over 700k voters, echoing the demand to stop arming Israel.
Our movements are making it undeniably clear: Democratic voters want an arms embargo NOW. It is time for the Democratic Party leadership to catch up to their own base and change course on Gaza.
Outside the DNC
Ahead of the DNC, thousands of people of conscience took to the streets in nearly 100 cities across the country, calling for “Not Another Bomb” and demanding an immediate arms embargo on Israel.
From Brooklyn to Oakland, Boston to Atlanta, Jews of conscience and members of JVP Action’s sibling organization, Jewish Voice for Peace, joined marches with the Not Another Bomb coalition to make their voices heard: The people demand an end to the genocide.
Protesters held giant homemade poppies, a symbol of solidarity with Palestine, and carried banners that read “Fund housing, not genocide,” and “Fund schools, not weapons.”
Yesterday in Chicago, thousands of anti-war protesters, including members of JVP chapters from across the country, joined the Palestinian and Black-led March on the DNC to make clear their commitment to liberation for all people, from Chicago to Gaza.
Inside the DNC
While thousands marched in Chicago to protest U.S. support for Israel’s genocide, pro-Palestine delegates are holding Harris’ feet to the fire by pushing to make the people’s demands for an arms embargo front and center at the DNC.
Inside the convention, uncommitted delegates are representing over 700,000 Democratic voters who cast “uncommitted” or similar votes in their state primaries, rather than vote for Biden as his administration armed and funded a genocide. The uncommitted and ceasefire delegates are echoing the demands for a ceasefire and arms embargo now from inside the convention.
The Uncommitted National Movement secured a historic victory when they successfully organized the first-ever panel addressing Palestinian rights at the DNC. Co-chairwoman Layla Elabeld spoke alongside Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, who volunteered to treat Palestinians during the genocide and has spoken out again and again against Israel’s intentional targeting of healthcare workers and infrastructure in Gaza.
These are all critical signs of the growing pressure our movements are building on Harris and the DNC, and a testament to the powers of grassroots organizing and the growing influence of the Palestinian solidarity movement. But it is not enough. We will continue building and pushing for real and concrete policy change: an arms embargo now to save Palestinian lives.
Keep the pressure on
We are continuing to build the pressure on our elected officials, making it increasingly unsustainable for Democratic party leadership to ignore and silence their own base of voters.
For Democrats to win in November — and to defeat the threat of Trump and fascism that would be disastrous for our movements and our ability to keep organizing for Palestinian liberation — they must rapidly shift course. They must stop the flow of bombs and weapons to Israel that are being used to slaughter Palestinians in Gaza.
That’s why we’re doing everything in our power to keep up the pressure on Kamala Harris, President Biden, and Congress to enact an arms embargo. Over 300 days into the genocide, President Biden continues approving billions of dollars in weapons sales to Israel’s genocidal regime. It must end.
It’s time for Democrats to catch up with their base. Cutting off the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel is the only way to reach a permanent ceasefire. It’s also the only way to repair trust with voters that the Democratic Party needs to defeat Trump come November.
Take Action: Demand an arms embargo NOW.
We’re only a few signatures away from our goal. Sign the Not Another Bomb petition telling Kamala Harris to endorse an arms embargo.
Then, use our click-to-email tool to tell your Senators to oppose $20b in additional weapons that Biden just approved for Israel’s genocidal government.
What we’re reading
Even once a ceasefire is reached, it will take years for Gaza to be rebuilt. Calling for a ceasefire isn’t enough — the U.S. must stop arming Israel, period.
An investigation in Bloomberg reveals that Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza has left over 42 million tons of debris — “enough rubble to fill a line of dump trucks stretching from New York to Singapore” — which will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to clear when the bombs stop falling.
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