‘They want to erase us:’ How DNC rejected demand for Palestinian speaker

Critics say the decision excludes Palestinians from the ‘big tent’ coalition Democrats say they are building.

Chicago, Illinois – Abbas Alawieh sat cross-legged on the ground outside the Democratic National Convention in an almost meditative posture.

Stretched out on the concrete in front of him were signs that read “Not another bomb” and “Arms embargo now”, their four corners pinned down by water bottles.

The searing August sun glared against his forehead. But Alawieh did not move, even as the concrete around him grew hot.

He and other delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement are staging a sit-in to protest the Democrats’ refusal to allow a Palestinian American speaker on the convention’s main stage at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

“This Palestinian speaker situation is a mistake on the party’s end, and I think that’s why we’re seeing an outpouring of support for the idea,” he told Al Jazeera on Thursday.