On Friday June 24th, The Democratic Party Platform committee met in St. Louis to debate a draft of the party’s platform. The committee’s 15 members were made up of 6 appointees from Secretary Hillary Clinton, 5 appointees from Senator Bernie Sanders and 4 appointees from Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (including herself). Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings presided over the proceedings as chairman of the committee.
One of the more contentious issues that was debated was the party’s position on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Dr. James Zogby, a Sanders surrogate, proposed an amendment specifically calling for the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and condemning the illegal Israeli settlements. The amendment also removed derogatory references to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement which were in the draft. This amendment was rebuffed on an 8-5 vote with only the Sanders appointees voting for it (Cummings and Wasserman-Schultz didn’t vote).
The draft platform will now head to Orlando for another markup session and then to the floor of the Democratic Presidential Convention in Philadelphia at the end of July where more Democrats may get to weigh in on Palestinian human rights.
Prior to Friday’s session, we tried unsuccessfully to arrange a meeting with Congressman Cummings to urge him to support the Sanders position vis-a-vis Israel/Palestine. We now urge him to support the language of Zogby’s amendment in upcoming party meetings.
For too long, the Democratic Party Platform has been silent -- or worse hypocritical -- on the human rights of Palestinians. It’s time to end this hypocrisy. In 2012, the party’s platform contained a statement proclaiming Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital” -- even though President Obama’s own State Department (headed by then-Secretary Clinton) didn’t recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and insisted it must be divided between Israel and Palestine. What sense does it make for the Democratic Platform to contradict the official policy of the Democratic President who wrote it?
Such duplicity at the expense of Palestinian rights is no longer acceptable to many Democrats. Surveys show that self-described American liberals now sympathize with Palestinians more than they do with Israelis. Black Lives Matter activists routinely draw a parallel between their struggle and the fight for Palestinian freedom. Undoubtedly this is due to the decades of occupation and apartheid-like conditions that the Israeli government has imposed on the Palestinian people. During the Presidential debates, Senator Sanders received widespread praise when he criticized Israel’s “disproportionate” use of force during the 2014 war with Gaza. The non-violent movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel is gaining steam because people rightfully see it as an analog to the movement that helped end apartheid in South Africa.
Congressman Cummings likely already knows about the dehumanization that the occupation inflicts on Palestinians. They live as non-citizens in their own land. In East Jerusalem their homes are subject to demolition because as non-Jews they cannot get construction permits. In the West Bank they can’t dig wells to irrigate their crops and feed their livestock. In Gaza, they aren’t permitted to travel outside the tiny enclave -- even to visit family in Europe or America. Palestinians in the diaspora are not allowed to resettle in the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile Jewish people from all over the world are encouraged to emigrate, instantly get Israeli citizenship and take up residence in illegal Israeli settlements built on West Bank land land illegally taken from Palestinians. Knowing all this, it is disappointing that Congressman Cummings didn’t vote for Zogby’s amendment. He missed an opportunity to change the course of the Democratic Party which for too long has favored the occupier instead of the occupied.
If language from Zogby’s amendment isn’t inserted into the platform, Mr. Cummings might find himself on the floor of the Democratic Convention faced with a revolt from assembled delegates. Memorably, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa found himself in this position in 2012 when he gaveled through the united-Jerusalem amendment on a voice-vote over the overwhelming boos of the rank-and-file.
Congressman Cummings is uniquely positioned to advocate for Palestinians long suffering under military occupation. Will he take this opportunity to make a bold statement for justice? Or will he tow the line on stale party orthodoxy?
Saqib Ali,
Chairman, Marylanders For BDS
Sammy Al-Qassem,
Founding Member, Baltimore Palestine Solidarity
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