DNC protests might be underwhelming — but Democrats can’t ignore them

That doesn’t mean the horrific civilian death toll in the war between Israel and Hamas is any less fraught for the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, or her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. But the party dearly wants the convention to leave voters with an image of celebration, not conflict.

Here at Union Park, the officially designated gathering place for protests, there has been no shortage of outrage or passion. But, so far, there have been far fewer protesters than organizers had hoped for and expected.

The park is just blocks from the United Center, where the convention is taking place, and protest organizers had predicted “tens of thousands” would gather on Monday for a rally, followed by a march through the neighborhood along a preapproved route. But the crowd was much smaller — roughly 2,000, according to the Chicago Tribune’s generous estimate. Piles of preprinted placards, made to be held aloft by demonstrators, lay unclaimed and unused.

One of the organizers, Kobi Guillory, said the protest, known as March on the DNC 2024, resulted from collaboration by some 270 Chicago-area organizations. Indeed, it was an eclectic crowd.

Chicago is home to large Palestinian American population, and protesters waved both Palestinian and U.S. flags. There was an immigrants’ rights group with a banner demanding legal status for those in the United States without documents. There was a band of six people wielding a drum and a bullhorn and calling for the destruction of “the whole system.” There were people holding up signs advocating better health care. There were three men in what appeared to be Orthodox Jewish garb who said they represented “Judaism Against Zionism.”

Most common, by far, were signs demanding an end to U.S. aid for Israel. That is the primary message the protest wanted to send, and it is a message Democrats will surely hear throughout the rest of the campaign.

Sara Mahmoud, one of the emcees of the rally, gestured toward the United Center. “There is nothing to celebrate in that meeting,” she roared. “That meeting represents genocide and war.” Mahmoud, who described herself as a proud Palestinian, led the crowd in a “from the river to the sea” chant that Israelis hear as a denial of their nation’s right to exist — and that Palestinians hear, when invoked by far-right Israelis, as a call for ethnic cleansing.

During his speech, Guillory referred to Biden and Harris as “Genocide Joe” and “Killer Kamala.” Pointing toward the United Center, he asked, “After more than 300 days of genocide, what is there to celebrate?”

After the rally, the main protest march proceeded without incident. Later in the afternoon, a small group of demonstrators briefly pushed through the barriers forming the United Center’s outer perimeter. A phalanx of police forced them back, and no one got anywhere near the convention hall.

The issue did make it past security on Monday night, though. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) mentioned Gaza’s suffering during her fiery speech on the convention stage. A delegate from Michigan tried to unfurl a banner saying “Stop Arming Israel.” Biden has always been a staunch supporter of Israel, but in his speech he acknowledged, “Those protesters out in the street, they have a point, a lot of innocent people are being killed, both sides.”

The Harris-Walz campaign should consider itself on notice. With no agreement yet reached on a cease-fire, and with college students returning soon to their campuses, Democrats are not going to be given any sort of free pass on Gaza. Many who care passionately about Palestinian suffering believe that “Donald Trump would be worse” sounds like an excuse, not a policy.