REPAIRING THE BREACH AND FORGING AHEAD

 

©Wendell Griffen, 2024

Little Rock, Arkansas

 

Vice President Kamala Harris had a brilliant week during the Democratic National Convention. She and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, were nominated and celebrated with enthusiastic fanfare. Even right-wing media outlets such as Fox News acknowledged as much.

However, Harris and Democratic leaders committed an unforced error by refusing pleas from Palestinian-American delegates to the Convention to speak briefly – five minutes – concerning the ongoing genocide Israel is committing against Palestinians in Gaza, with U.S. funding, weapons, and diplomatic support. I’m not alone in holding that view. Prominent national newspaper columnists friendly to Harris - Jamelle Bouie and E. J. Dionne come to mind - said so as well.

That unforced error pained Palestinian-Americans who grieve the Biden Administration’s full-throated support for Israel as Israeli Defense Forces slaughtered more than 40,000 people in Gaza – including more than 14,000 children – since October 7, 2023. They are not going to support Donald Trump’s bid to return to power. However, they wanted to be treated  similar to the parents of an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas who were allowed to speak during the Democratic National Convention.

Harris can repair the pain from that unforced error. She should confer with Palestinian American leaders such as Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and James Zogby (founder, and president of the Arab American Institute), and then meet with them publicly as they speak about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza because of Israeli military actions. Then her campaign can engage Arab American voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and other battleground states and appeal to them to support Harris’ presidential aspirations.

The point is for Harris, Tlaib, and Zogby to lead Democratic activists and pro-Palestinian activists in fence-mending, breach repairing, and coalition-building efforts. Doing so is more advantageous than continuing the current postures of suspicion, resentment, and grievance that Harris supporters and pro-Palestinian activists hold towards one another. The feelings of suspicion, resentment, and grievance do not help Palestinians or Harris. They only benefit Donald Trump and Benjami Netanyahu (the current prime minister of Israel), political leaders whose hostility towards Palestine and Palestinians is well-known.

I hope my suggestion is well-received by Harris, Tlaib, Zogby, and others who want to prevent Trump and Netanyahu from acting out their racist, anti-democratic, and authoritarian agendas. We need one another. We need to hear one another. And we need to show grace and humility towards one another when we err.

I hope Harris, Tlaib, and Zogby get together to help heal the wound caused by the “unforced error” in Chicago. I hope they decide to work together. And I hope they can lead others to defeat Donald Trump in November.

Spread the word.