The pro-Palestinian ‘uncommitted’ movement is at a standstill with top Democrats as the DNC begins

The United Center undergoes preparation ahead of the Democratic National Convention on August 17, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 18 August 2024
Follow

The pro-Palestinian ‘uncommitted’ movement is at a standstill with top Democrats as the DNC begins

  • Talks between pro-Palestinian activists and the Harris campaign have yielded progress in some areas, but their core policy demands remain unmet
  • While some Arab American fear another Trump administration would be a disaster, they also worry that Kamala Harris has no plan to stop Israel's genocidal war

DEARBORN, Michigan: Of the thousands of delegates expected to gather Monday at the Democratic National Convention, just 36 will belong to the “uncommitted” movement sparked by dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
But that small core has outsized influence.
Anger over US backing for Israel’s offensive in Gaza could generate unwelcome images for convention organizers, with raucous protests expected outside and potentially inside the Chicago arena where Harris will accept the nomination Thursday.
Top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with “uncommitted” voters and their allies — including a previously unreported sit-down between Vice President Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan — in an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.

Weeks of meetings and calls between pro-Palestinian activists and the Harris campaign have yielded progress in some areas, but their core policy demands remain unmet. The activists want Harris to endorse an arms embargo to Israel and a permanent ceasefire. Harris has supported Biden’s negotiations for a ceasefire but rejected an arms embargo.
Rima Mohammad, one of Michigan’s two “uncommitted” delegates, said she sees the convention as a chance to share their movement’s concerns with the party leadership.
“It is a way for protesters outside to be able to share their frustration with the party,” she said.
The Democratic nominee meets a key Arab American mayor
Questions remain about the leverage “uncommitted” voters hold now that Biden has stepped aside and Harris has taken his place. Democrats have seen a significant surge in enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign and concerns about voter apathy in key areas, such as Detroit’s large Black population, appear to have diminished.
But Harris and her team have still made communication with Arab American leaders a priority.
During a campaign trip to Michigan last week, Harris met with Abdullah Hammoud, the 34-year-old mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has the largest number of Arab Americans of any city in the United States. The meeting was disclosed by a person who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.




This picture taken on March 3, 2024 shows Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud speaking during an interfaith prayer vigil for Aaron Bushnell, a former US airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on February 26, 2024 in protest over the war in Gaza. (AFP)

The person familiar with the meeting did not provide specific details but said the focus was on Harris’ potential policy, if elected, on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hammoud declined to comment.
“Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for the release of hostages,” her campaign said in a statement. “She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency.”
According to a source familiar with convention planning, two panel discussions will take place during the convention in Chicago: one addressing Arab and Palestinian issues with leaders from the “Uncommitted” movement, and another focused on Jewish American issues, including the rise in antisemitism and hate speech.
Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Thursday held separate one-on-one meetings with leaders in the Arab American community and “uncommitted” movement in metro Detroit.
“They are listening and we are talking,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who met with Chavez Rodriguez. “But none of us can garner votes in the community without public statements from Harris. She doesn’t need us; she can win over votes by saying and doing the right thing.”
According to Siblani, Chavez Rodriguez agreed that “the killing has to stop.” In response, Siblani said he pressed: “How? There is no plan.”
Lavora Barnes, the Democratic chair in Michigan, said the party would “continue working toward our goal of coming together to defeat Donald Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot.”
“We are committed to continuing these conversations with community leaders, activists and organizations because we want to ensure that everyone in the Michigan Democratic Party has a seat at the table,” Barnes said in a statement.
No agreement on an arms embargo
Some on the Democratic Party’s left have called for including a moratorium on the use of US-made weapons by Israel in the platform of policy goals that will be approved during next week’s convention. But such language isn’t included in a draft platform party officials released earlier this summer, and it’s unlikely that those close to Harris’ campaign would endorse including it.
The Uncommitted National Movement has also requested a speaking slot at the convention for a doctor who has worked on the frontlines in Gaza, along with a leader of the movement. And they have asked for a meeting with Harris “to discuss updating the Gaza policy in hopes of stopping the flow of unconditional weapons and bombs” to Israel, said Abbas Alawieh, another “uncommitted” delegate from Michigan and one of the founders of the movement.




Abbas Alawieh, spokesperson for Listen to Michigan, speaks during a press conference in Dearborn, Michigan, on Feb. 28, 2024. Behind him are Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and Layla Elabed, campaign manager for Listen to Michigan. (AFP)

Before a Harris rally just outside Detroit last week, Alawieh and Layla Elabed, co-founders of the movement, briefly met with the vice president. They requested a formal meeting with Harris and urged her to support an embargo on weapons shipments to Israel. According to them, Harris seemed open to the idea of meeting.
However, shortly after news of the meeting became public, Harris’ national security adviser Phil Gordon reaffirmed that she does not support an arms embargo. Alawieh mentioned Wednesday that the group has not received any further response from Harris’ team or the DNC regarding their requests ahead of the convention.
Since then, leaders of the “Uncommitted” movement have met with senior staff from the DNC and the Harris campaign to discuss their requests.
“I hope she doesn’t miss the opportunity to unite the party,” said Alawieh.
The Trump campaign continues its outreach
Elsewhere in metro Detroit this week, Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s youngest daughter and now a leader in his Arab American outreach, was holding meetings with various community groups. Boulos has come to Michigan often for the outreach, along with Arab Americans for Trump chair Bishara Bahbah.




Bishara Bahbah, national chairman for Arab Americans for Trump, answers questions during an interview on Aug. 14, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan. (AP Photo)

According to Bahbah, their pitch highlights the situation in Gaza under Biden’s administration and a promise from Trump’s team to give the community a seat at the table if he wins.
“We have been told by the Trump circle, which is not part of the campaign, that in return for our votes, there would be a seat at the table and a voice to be heard,” said Bahbah.
But any apparent political opportunity for Trump in the Arab American community or the “uncommitted” movement may be limited by his past remarks and policies.
Many Arabs remain offended by Trump’s ban, while in office, on immigration from several majority Muslim countries as well as remarks they consider insulting. Trump also has criticized Biden for not being a strong enough supporter of Israel.
Speaking to an audience of Jewish supporters Thursday, Trump painted the protesters expected in Chicago as antisemitic and invoked an Arabic term that is sometimes used by Muslims to mean war or struggle.
“There will be no jihad coming to America under Trump,” he said.
But Bahbah acknowledges that his and Boulos’ strategy isn’t necessarily aimed at converting voters to support Trump — but to stop them from voting for Harris.
“If I can’t convince people to vote for Trump, having them sit at home is better,” said Bahbah.
 


Iran’s Paris-based opposition head says time for Khamenei to go, after US hits nuclear sites

Updated 58 min 3 sec ago
Follow

Iran’s Paris-based opposition head says time for Khamenei to go, after US hits nuclear sites

PARIS: Maryam Rajavi, head of the Paris-based opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran said on Sunday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was responsible for the nuclear program that had now “gone up in smoke” and needed to go.
“Now Khamenei must go. The Iranian people welcome the end of the war and seek peace and freedom,” she said in a statement, following unprecedented US strikes that President Donald Trump said had “obliterated” its key nuclear facilities.
“Khamenei is responsible for an unpatriotic project that, in addition to costing countless lives, has cost the Iranian people at least $2 trillion— and now, it has all gone up in smoke.”


Japan spots Chinese ships near disputed isles for record 216 straight days

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

Japan spots Chinese ships near disputed isles for record 216 straight days

  • The Tokyo-administered islands, known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, have long been a sore point between the neighbors

TOKYO: Japan spotted Chinese vessels sailing near disputed islets in the East China Sea for a record 216 consecutive days, Tokyo’s coast guard said Sunday.
The Tokyo-administered islands, known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, have long been a sore point between the neighbors.
On Sunday, Japan said it observed four Chinese coast guard vessels sailing in the “contiguous” zone, referring to a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond Japan’s territorial waters.
Last year, Chinese vessels sailed near the Tokyo-administered island chain a record 355 times, including for a period of 215 consecutive days, a Japanese coast guard spokesman told AFP.
Japanese officials regularly protest the presence of the Chinese coast guard and other vessels in the waters surrounding the remote, disputed islands.
Relations between Japan and China were strained by Tokyo’s decision to “nationalize” some of the islands in 2012.
On Friday, Japan’s coast guard and its US and Filipino counterparts staged joint training drills off Japan’s southwest shore — the second time the countries’ coast guards have held training drills together, and the first in Japan.
Territorial disputes with China have pushed Japan to forge deeper ties with the Philippines and the United States.
Earlier this month, Tokyo and Beijing traded barbs over close encounters between their military planes over the Pacific high seas.


UN watchdog says no increase in radiation off sites that the US hit

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

UN watchdog says no increase in radiation off sites that the US hit

  • The UN nuclear watchdog says there's 'no increase in off-site radiation levels' after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites.

TEL AVIV: The International Atomic Energy Agency said Sunday that there has been “no increase in off-site radiation levels” after US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The UN nuclear watchdog sent the message via the social platform X on Sunday.
“The IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time,” it said. The “IAEA will provide further assessments on situation in Iran as more information becomes available.”


Surging travel in Europe spikes concerns over tourism’s drawbacks

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

Surging travel in Europe spikes concerns over tourism’s drawbacks

  • Despite popular backlash against the crowds, some tourism officials believe they can be managed with the right infrastructure in place

MADRID: Suitcases rattle against cobblestones. Selfie-snappers jostle for the same shot. Ice cream shops are everywhere. Europe has been called the world’s museum, but its record numbers of visitors have also made it ground zero for concerns about overtourism.
Last year, 747 million international travelers visited the continent, far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the UN’s World Tourism Barometer. Southern and Western Europe welcomed more than 70 percent of them.
As the growing tide of travelers strains housing, water and the most Instagrammable hotspots in the region, protests and measures to lessen the effects of overtourism have proliferated.
Here’s a look at the issue in some of Europe’s most visited destinations.
What’s causing overtourism
Among factors driving the record numbers are cheap flights, social media, the ease of travel planning using artificial intelligence and what UN tourism officials call a strong economic outlook for many rich countries that send tourists despite some geopolitical and economic tensions.
Citizens of countries like the US, Japan, China and the UK generate the most international trips, especially to popular destinations, such as Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy. They swarm these places seasonally, creating uneven demand for housing and resources such as water.
Despite popular backlash against the crowds, some tourism officials believe they can be managed with the right infrastructure in place.
Italy’s Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè said she thinks tourism flows at crowded sites such Florence’s Uffizi Galleries that house some of the world’s most famous artworks could be better managed with AI, with tourists able to buy their tickets when they book their travel, even months in advance, to prevent surges.
She pushed back against the idea that Italy — which like all of its Southern European neighbors, welcomed more international visitors in 2024 than its entire population — has a problem with too many tourists, adding that most visits are within just 4 percent of the country’s territory.
“It’s a phenomenon that can absolutely be managed,” Santanchè told The Associated Press in an interview in her office on Friday. “Tourism must be an opportunity, not a threat — even for local communities. That’s why we are focusing on organizing flows.”
Where overtourism is most intense

Countries on the Mediterranean are at the forefront. Olympics-host France, the biggest international destination, last year received 100 million international visitors, while second-place Spain received almost 94 million — nearly double its own population.
Protests have erupted across Spain over the past two years. In Barcelona, the water gun has become a symbol of the city’s anti-tourism movement after marching protests have spritzed unsuspecting tourists while carrying signs saying: “One more tourist, one less resident!”
The pressure on infrastructure has been particularly acute on Spain’s Canary and Balearic Islands, which have a combined population of less than 5 million people. Each archipelago saw upwards of 15 million visitors last year.
Elsewhere in Europe, tourism overcrowding has vexed Italy’s most popular sites including Venice, Rome, Capri and Verona, where Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” was set. On the popular Amalfi Coast, ride-hailing app Uber offers private helicopter and boat rides in the summer to beat the crowds.
Greece, which saw nearly four times as many tourists as its own population last year, has struggled with the strain on water, housing and energy in the summer months, especially on popular islands such as Santorini, Mykonos and others.
The impact of overtourism
In Spain, anti-tourism activists, academics, and the government say that overtourism is driving up housing costs in city centers and other popular locations due to the proliferation of short-term rentals that cater to visitors.
Others bemoan changes to the very character of city neighborhoods that drew tourists in the first place.
In Barcelona and elsewhere, activists and academics have said that neighborhoods popular with tourists have seen local shops replaced with souvenir vendors, international chains and trendy eateries.
On some of Greece’s most-visited islands, tourism has overlapped with water scarcity as drought grips the Mediterranean country of 10.4 million.
In France, the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, shut down this week when its staff went on strike warning that the facility was crumbling beneath the weight of overtourism, stranding thousands of ticketed visitors lined up under the baking sun.
Angelos Varvarousis, a Barcelona- and Athens-based academic and urban planner who studies the industry, said overtourism risks imposing a “monoculture” on many of Europe’s hotspots.
“It is combined with the gradual loss and displacement of other social and economic activities,” Varvarousis said.
What authorities are doing to cope
Spain’s government wants to tackle what officials call the country’s biggest governance challenge: its housing crunch.
Last month, Spain’s government ordered Airbnb to take down almost 66,000 properties it said had violated local rules — while Barcelona announced a plan last year to phase out all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028. Officials said the measure was to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents.
Elsewhere, authorities have tried to regulate tourist flows by cracking down on overnight stays or imposing fees for those visiting via cruises.
In Greece, starting July 1, a cruise tax will be levied on island visitors at 20 euros ($23) for popular destinations like Mykonos and 5 euros ($5.70) for less-visited islands like Samos.
The government has also encouraged visitors to seek quieter locations.
To alleviate water problems, water tankers from mainland Greece have helped parched islands, and the islands have also used desalination technology, which separates salts from ocean water to make it drinkable, to boost their drinking water.
Other measures have included staggered visiting hours at the Acropolis.
Meanwhile, Venice brought back an entry fee this year that was piloted last year on day-trippers who will have to pay between 5 and 10 euros (roughly $6 to $12) to enter the city during the peak season.


Transcript of Trump’s speech on US attack on Iranian nuclear sites

Updated 22 June 2025
Follow

Transcript of Trump’s speech on US attack on Iranian nuclear sites

  • ‘There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days’

WASHINGTON: A transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech on US airstrikes on Iran on Saturday as transcribed by The Associated Press:

Thank you very much.

A short time ago, the US military carried out massive, precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime. Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise.

Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.

Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not. Future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.

For 40 years, Iran has been saying. Death to America, death to Israel. They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs, with roadside bombs. That was their specialty. We lost over 1,000 people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East, and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular. So many were killed by their general, Qassim Soleimani. I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue.

I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they’ve done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight, and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.

Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that’s so. I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine, spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.

With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.

Tomorrow, General Caine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will have a press conference at 8 a.m. at the Pentagon. And I want to just thank everybody. And, in particular, God. I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.