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In the days leading up to the Democratic National Convention, many party leaders shared a fear: Would protests against the war in Gaza upend the entire week?
Now with the DNC comfortably in the rearview mirror, top Democrats and the Harris campaign can breathe a sigh of relief — protests outside of the Union Center remained relatively calm and separate efforts by 30 uncommitted delegates didn't jeopardize the proceedings.
But the uncommitted movement itself, based in Dearborn, Michigan, is figuring out where to go from here, now that delegates have cast their protest votes and Harris officially became the nominee without altering her policy stance on Israel.
Though Layla Elabed, a founder of Uncommitted National, previously told Business Insider that Vice President Kamala Harris is "slightly more sympathetic and empathetic to the plight of Palestinians" compared to President Joe Biden, her policies largely mirror the president's. Both advocate for a cease fire and have called for an arms embargo.
At the convention, the uncommitted delegates represented nearly 700,000 people who voted "uncommitted" during the Democratic primaries to protest the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza. They organized sit-ins, panels, and pushed unsuccessfully to have a Palestinian-American speaker.
"I thought that was a moment that was lost in the party, a missed opportunity," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of the decision not to allow a Palestinian American to speak. A Democrat, he's been in close contact with the leaders of the uncommitted movement, as well as other organizing groups.
Recently, fissures have emerged among activists, with some arguing that leaders of Uncommitted National are too tolerant of Harris. One former supporter told Notus that organizers are "missing the mark" and "getting played." For its part, Uncommitted National has always sought to work from within the Democratic party.
"Since the beginning, we've been clear that this is a movement of Democrats who are wanting to unite the party in the best way possible to defeat Trump," Waleed Shahid, a senior advisor to Uncommitted National, told Business Insider. "We've been very clear that Donald Trump and third parties are not the route to go. That's been true since when we launched."
One of the movement's co-founders, Abbas Alawieh, recently told the Washington Post that he will vote for Harris in November. Despite Uncommitted National's clear message about working with the party, both Shahid and Hammoud recognize that there is disagreement between organizing groups — the Abandon Harris Campaign, for example, advocates operating outside of the Democratic party altogether.
"These are obviously delegates within the Democratic party using the tools at their disposal as Democratic delegates to advocate for change. So it's certainly an inter-party play to move the needle," Hammoud said before drawing an analogy to the Civil Rights Movement. "What you need is a multitude of fronts — you need those who believe in the Martin method, where you're working within the system to try to advocate for change, as well as the Malcolm method, those trying to disrupt the system and protest the system."
Shahid told Business Insider that Uncommitted National will meet in the coming weeks to discuss future steps, but shared that leaders have requested a meeting with Harris to discuss the use of American weapons in Gaza. They hope to sit down with the Vice President before September 15.
In the meantime, Shahid said that the movement is "focused on realigning the Democratic Party by organizing political pressure to reduce AIPAC's influence in the party." He emphasized that organizers have built relationships throughout the Democratic Party, which they plan to mobilize to change policy.
As Uncommitted National charts its next steps, Hammoud said that leaders across organizations tend to agree on the importance of voting, just not on the candidates themselves.
"All organizers are advocating that people vote," he said. "Ultimately you still want to document your vote, register your vote in order that you register your vote, even if it is a protest vote."
