Aug 26, 2024 by #JamesZogby Dr. Zogby has been personally active in U.S. politics for many years; in 1984 and 1988 he served as Deputy Campaign manager and Senior Advisor to the Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign. In 1988, he led the first ever debate on Palestinian statehood at that year’s Democratic convention in Atlanta, GA. In 2000, 2008, and 2016 he served as an advisor to the Gore, Obama, and Sanders presidential campaigns.
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.
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.
Thirty-six years ago, I was the last Arab American to speak about Palestinian rights at a national party convention when, in 1988, I presented the Jackson campaign’s minority plank on Palestinian rights from the podium in Atlanta. I knew it was a historic moment and in the days that followed I experienced the backlash from pro-Israel forces within the party. They pressured me to resign my post as a member of the Democratic National Committee. It was then that Rev. Jackson taught me two important lessons I’ve not forgotten.
These lessons apply today, with a difference. In 1988, we were able to raise the issue because it was a powerful Jackson-led movement. Today’s movement for justice for Palestinians isn’t riding on the back of a leader. It is a people-powered movement, from the bottom up. This effort has mobilized to pass ceasefire resolutions in over 350 cities and won the support of major unions, Black, Latino, and Asian organizations. It is responsible for demonstrations mobilizing millions of Americans, encampments on over 100 college campuses, and garnering over 750,000 votes in Democratic primaries across the US. Polls show that the majority of Democrats want a ceasefire, conditioning arms to Israel, and securing rights for Palestinians.
