Rep. Summer Lee says Democrats ‘missed an opportunity’ to give voice to Palestinians

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) on Sunday said the Democratic National Convention “missed an opportunity” by not having a Palestinian speak or be represented at the four-day event.

Lee, speaking with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” argued there should have been space for both the convention’s central focus — defeating former President Trump — and giving a platform for marginalized communities.

“I think that whether it’s the Black Lives movement or the movement for Palestinian rights, there’s always this rush to say that their movement, the ways that they protest, the tactics, the strategies, are inconvenient, and I think that that’s just the way that we’ve done it, especially when we’re nervous about a presidential election that we all know is incredibly important,” she said. “Defeating Trump is the top concern. But we can do that, and we can also give space, create space for people’s voices that are marginalized.”

“We missed an opportunity to do that here and in doing so, what we are essentially saying is that every Palestinian thinks the exact same way, that all folks who are protesting, who are voicing their concerns are one group and not individuals, not all folks who are coming with different perspectives,” she added. “I think that there was room and space to say that there was room in the Democratic Party for that particular perspective.”

Lee was among several elected Democrats pushing for Vice President Harris’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee to allow a person of Palestinian heritage to speak on the final night of the convention. 

The Uncommitted National Movement called for a Palestinian convention speaker for weeks, stating it would send a clear message by Harris that she was shifting away from President Biden’s stances on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Lee and other progressive lawmakers joined Abbas Alawieh, one of the leaders of the 30 uncommitted delegates at the convention, for a sit-in last Wednesday.

The uncommitted delegates and their pro-Palestinian allies were deeply upset by the denial of a Palestinian American speaker at the convention, with some particularly upset because the parents of an American hostage held by Hamas were given time to speak at the convention.

Lee said she feels some think it is “taboo” to discuss Palestinians and their experiences, even before Oct. 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage in Gaza.

“I think that, like all people, when you are experiencing something, you want to be able to tell your own story. And a lot of the people who [are] Palestinian, Palestinian American, Arabs and Muslims, were asking for that opportunity,” she said.

“There’s going to be a lot more work that we have to do to show to this demographic that the Democratic Party includes them … includes them in our foreign policy considerations, and also includes them in our conversations around humanity and human rights.”

During her speech, Harris vowed to always defend Israel against terrorist attacks, calling out Hamas for the deadly Oct. 7 attacks, while also expressing her concern about the toll in Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have died.

“What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,” she said to a round of applause. “The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security and freedom to self-determination.”