CHICAGO — In a speech on the Democratic convention floor, President Joe Biden vowed to “end this war” in Gaza and free hostages. But he did not mention Israel by name and gave a nod to protesters outside the convention hall, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators had gathered.
“We’ll keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza, and bring peace and security to the Middle East,” he said. “We’re working around the clock — my secretary of state — to prevent a wider war and reunite hostages with their families, and surge humanitarian health and food assistance into Gaza now to end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally, finally, finally deliver a ceasefire and end this war.”
His message was the same one he’s been delivering for months — that Israel and Hamas must reach a ceasefire that frees the hostages held by the terror group and ends the war that Hamas started on Oct. 7 — but the tone was different in this speech.
For decades, Biden has spoken of his commitment to and support for Israel, even calling himself a Zionist, and he has rebuffed pressure to soften that support since Oct. 7. But on Monday night, as his party prepares to anoint a new leader, he spoke explicitly of the importance of ending Palestinian suffering while referencing Israel only implicitly.
He added, presumably referring to pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside the convention, “Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides.”
Biden’s speech came as the first day of a convention meant to showcase Democratic Party unity was marked with only rare moments of discord over the Israel-Hamas war. Pro-Palestinian protests drew a much smaller crowd than expected, and the adoption of the party platform, including a statement of “ironclad” support for Israel, proceeded without incident.
The crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters who demonstrated outside the Democratic National Convention was far smaller than organizers said they expected, Aug. 19, 2024. (Ron Kampeas)
When a protester inside the Democratic National Convention unfurled a banner reading “Stop Arming Israel” during Biden’s address, the crowd’s reaction was immediate. “We love Joe,” the cheers went up, and attendees held placards bearing that message in front of the banner.
And in speeches preceding Biden’s, a handful of progressive lawmakers made only oblique references to the war, without showing favor for one side.
Ahead of the convention, tens of thousands were expected to turn out for a pro-Palestinian march. But the rally that pro-Palestinian activists organized outside the convention headquarters drew several thousand participants, far fewer than the 20,000 people that organizers had said they thought would attend. A handful of demonstrators were arrested after breaching a security barrier, but an effort to establish an encampment of the type that popped up on college campuses around the country this spring was abandoned under threat of arrest. At the spot where protesters gathered, piles of placards bearing slogans like “Resistance is Justified” lay untouched.
Also on Monday, pro-Palestinian activists convened the first-ever Democratic Party-approved session focused on Palestinian human rights. The event drew a packed room in the convention’s satellite location and had to be moved to a larger space. Panelists related harrowing stories of death and destruction in Gaza and also spoke of the agonies of families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas, as well as the rise of antisemitism since Oct. 7.
Inside the United Center, there was little sign that Israel’s war in Gaza is seen as dividing the Democratic Party. The convention’s unity theme was on full display as speakers — including Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president and his replacement on the Democratic ticket, in a surprise appearance; Hillary Clinton; and South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn — exhorted attendees and Americans to work hard to prevent Republican Donald Trump from retaking the presidency.
Until Biden’s speech, the only mentions of the Israel-Hamas war were oblique and brief. The first person to mention the Israel-Hamas war was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been a critic of Israel’s conduct in the war. Among the many contributions she credited to Harris was “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bring hostages home.” She did not mention Israel or the Palestinians by name.
A Palestinian supporter attends the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Aug. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Later in the night, when speaking of how neighbors are dependent on each other for their well-being, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock listed “the poor children of Israel and the poor children of Gaza … Israelis and Palestinians” among those who “are all God’s children.” The groups had not been in the prepared comments distributed to press earlier in the evening.
Biden’s speech, the climactic event of the night, reiterated themes from his campaign four years ago and recounted his accomplishments as president.
He repeated that he decided to run for president in 2020 due to the far-right rally in Charlottesville three years earlier and President Donald Trump’s response to it. He recalled the rally-goers “carrying Nazi swastikas and chanting the same exact antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the early thirties” and said the far-right activists were “emboldened by a president then in the White House that they saw as an ally.”
He also repeated a line from “American Anthem,” a 1998 song by the Jewish librettist Gene Scheer that Biden popularized when he cited it during his inauguration.
“America,” Biden said, “I gave my best to you.”
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