Democrats Are United In Their Silence On Gaza

Progressives and moderates came together to support Kamala Harris by largely ignoring the most pressing moral issue of our time.

By Natasha Lennard, The Intercept

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.”

Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez speak about the importance of a Green New Deal at a town hall organized by the Sunrise Movement.

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 against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The fact that tens of thousands of anti-war protesters gathered in solidarity with Palestinians this week 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.