Love and good cheer permeated opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago save for a small confrontation in the nose-bleed section of the packed United Center. A Muslim delegate holding a sign that read “Stop Arming Israel” during President Biden’s speech was purposely hit by another audience member’s “We Love Joe” sign. The kerfuffle represented a much larger divide within the party.
But it’s not the only internal conflict Dems are experiencing as a result of the Israel-Hamas war. A new wave of joy and an old sense of despair live side by side in Democrats who are energized by the arrival of the Harris-Walz ticket but deeply bothered by the party’s inaction over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The happiness many Harris supporters feel from the new campaign is at odds with the anger and betrayal they’ve felt around U.
S. policy in Israel. Call it the joy conundrum.
For those who want an end to the war, the impulse to celebrate Kamala Harris’ candidacy since Biden stepped out of the race is tempered by the reality that the vice president is likely to follow the same policies in the Middle East as her predecessor should she win in November. Biden has sent billions in military aid to Israel with few (if any) conditions, a move critics say has prolonged the war and the suffering of Palestinians. The situation for Gazans is catastrophic following 10 months of bombardment by Israeli forces, and Hamas is still holding on to 109 Israeli hostages.