ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
All right. Now let's talk about another group of voters the Harris-Walz campaign needs to make inroads with, especially after this convention. Millions of Democrats voted uncommitted in protest of the Biden administration's support for Israel's war in Gaza. The delegates who represent the uncommitted movement have been demanding for months that a Palestinian American speak at the DNC, and they've been told no. Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters is here with me in Chicago to explain what's going on. Hi, Clay.
CLAY MASTERS, BYLINE: Hello.
SHAPIRO: What does the uncommitted movement want here?
MASTERS: Right now they want to be heard. This movement began, really, in Michigan, home to the largest Arab American population in the country. It was a campaign to demand the Biden administration call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and an end to military aid to Israel - all this, of course, as the conflict there continues. As a reminder, the conflict began last October, when a Hamas attack inside Israel killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel's response in Gaza has killed 40,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. So the uncommitted movement spread to other states, including Minnesota, where I report, which has the largest number of uncommitted delegates, including Hassan Saffouri, who says he was excited to come to the DNC and support Kamala Harris. But as the convention has continued, he's just grown more disappointed. He talked about feeling happy just two nights ago.
HASSAN SAFFOURI: And then I went back to my hotel room, and I looked at media and saw that, once again, you know, 50 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza. And I actually felt guilty for having been that happy earlier in that night.
SHAPIRO: Well, here at the convention, a sit-in started last night and stretched into today. Tell us about it.
MASTERS: Yeah. They're sitting outside the convention center, waiting for basically a call that the DNC has changed their minds. The sit-in is modeled after the 1964 Democratic convention, when Black delegates from Mississippi demanded to be seated and were denied. And just for some context here, Ari, uncommitted delegates held a virtual roll call where they said the name of a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces. That's how they said that they were going to vote in this convention. The only option other than Kamala Harris was present on those ballots. So that's how they voted - present. It was a sign they were still not feeling committed to Harris just because she took President Biden's place at the top of the ticket. I had a chance to talk to James Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute. And he said he was the last Arab American to speak at a DNC convention, and it was in 1988.
JAMES ZOGBY: Knowing this is my 11th convention and knowing - having, you know, every ethnic group, every religious community represented and no one from the Arab community other than me 36 years ago - it's insulting.
MASTERS: And I do want to note, unlike the anti-war protest movement in the '60s, this is a move for change within the party. They're trying to use the system to change minds.
SHAPIRO: Here we are on the last day of the convention. Are they holding out hope that they'll still get a speaking slot?
MASTERS: Well, there's been a groundswell of support for the activities everywhere from - for the activists - everywhere from Black church groups to lawmakers like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the UAW, who have called on the party to allow the Palestinian Americans to talk. They point out that last night, a Jewish American family whose son is in a - is a Hamas hostage got a chance to talk and note that a Palestinian American should be able to speak as well. Many of the activists came here optimistic, wanting to support Harris. But they're now being denied a chance to speak, and they're unsure how to take that message.
SHAPIRO: That's Clay Masters of Minnesota Public Radio - good to see you. Thanks.
MASTERS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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