CHICAGO — The roll call vote at last week’s Democratic National Convention was a ceremonial formality to reaffirm Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee, and it reflected the support she had already shored up from Connecticut’s delegates.
But there was one “present” vote that belonged to West Hartford resident Essam Boraey.
Boraey decided to use his vote to signal dissatisfaction with U.S. military aid to Israel, which has become a central demand in protests around the country and at last week’s Democratic convention in Chicago. Boraey’s position on military aid to Israel stems from personal experience.
“I’m a firsthand victim of [U.S. military aid],” said the Egyptian-born Democrat. In 2011, “the Egyptian military government raided my office, arrested me. I attended funerals more than I attended weddings at that time.”
Recalling his time in Egypt, Boraey said, “I was begging, and my friends on my behalf were begging the American government to stop sending weapons and money, because the Egyptian military was using that money to literally put me behind bars, to literally punish my friends, to literally kill us.”
Boraey joined “Delegates Against Genocide” after he was approached by organizer Nadia Ahmad. The group’s unrolling of a banner reading “Stop arming Israel” received international coverage on the first night of the convention.
The Biden administration is set to release another $3.5 billion to arm Israel with American-made weapons as part of a $15 billion deal signed in April.
“I truly, totally support immediate ceasefire, and my opposition to Biden and Harris comes from that idea: if we really support a ceasefire, why are we sending weapons?” Boraey said.
Boraey’s stance was not well-received by all after last week’s roll call vote. He said some of the other Connecticut delegates disapproved of his vote, while a few sent him positive messages privately.
More importantly, he said, he received messages from people who both agreed and disagreed with his actions but still appreciated the conversation his vote initiated within the party.
“It’s a healthy discussion to talk about these issues. And we’re discussing it internally,” said Boraey. “If this is not the place where we talk about politics and fight over policies, where?”
In the biggest speech of her political career, Harris directly addressed the war between Israel and Gaza for one of the first times as a presidential nominee. Her highly anticipated remarks on the subject got a largely warm reception inside the convention hall. Outside, protesters staged two sit-ins in the 24 hours leading to her speech, demanding a time slot on the main stage for a Palestinian speaker.
Those tensions were on display during convention week — a microcosm of the rift within the Democratic Party over the conflict in the Middle East. And it comes at a critical time, with a ceasefire and hostage release deal still in flux, and political implications for the party ahead of November.
Democratic voters and party officials were looking to see how the vice president would talk about this issue from the biggest stage yet and whether she would try to distinguish herself from Biden on the issue.
“Over the past few days of the convention, anytime this issue of ceasefire is brought up, there’s the highest level of applause for it. But we’re just seeing a lot of lip service,” said Ahmad.
Boraey’s demand for the U.S. to stop arming Israel was shared by others in Chicago last week, where rallies and marches took place on each day of the convention to protest the U.S. role in Israel’s campaign in Gaza that has killed well over 40,000 Palestinians. Several marches were visible and audible within parts of the perimeter.
While the handling of U.S.-Israel relations and Israel’s conduct in the war has divided the party, the convention reflected the general consensus among the various factions in achieving a deal to end the violence in the Middle East and release those who still remain in captivity in Gaza — a push made from the DNC’s main stage by the parents of an Israeli-American hostage.
“In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region: a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza,” said Jon Polin, whose son Hersh has been held hostage since Oct. 7, 2023. His family has Chicago roots and later moved from the U.S. to Israel.
As the top of the ticket started transitioning to Harris, pro-Palestinian protesters appeared more open to her candidacy with the hopes of her speaking out more forcefully in condemning the violence in Gaza compared to Biden.
And some of Connecticut’s delegates, like John McNamara, were curious to see if Harris would create some daylight between her and Biden on the issue.
McNamara, an alderman and majority leader of New Britain’s common council, said his city recently passed a ceasefire resolution unanimously. He said it was modeled after ones passed in other towns stating that the U.S. must uphold international law on foreign assistance. He pointed to a push earlier this year from a handful of Democratic senators for Biden to enforce the Foreign Assistance Act, which says countries like Israel must expand access to humanitarian aid to still receive military aid from the U.S.
On the final night of the convention as she accepted the nomination, Harris said the administration was still working on a ceasefire and hostage deal. She tried to strike a balance on the issue: vowing to remain an ardent defender of Israel while seeking peace in Gaza.
“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7,” Harris said to loud applause.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she continued to more applause and periodic shouts from the crowd of “Free Palestine.” “President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security and freedom to self-determination.”
In her first televised interview as the party’s nominee that aired Thursday night, Harris was pressed by CNN on whether there would be a change in U.S. policy or a withholding of some arms to Israel. The vice president said no, reiterating the need for securing a ceasefire deal.
The Israel-Gaza war had a few acknowledgements from the convention’s main stage, while much of the debate about it unfolded from the sidelines of the convention and around Chicago.
Chicago Police helicopters and drones surveilled the protesters from the sky throughout the week of the Democratic convention. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror
The push to get a primetime slot for a Palestinian speaker was denied after delegates of the “uncommitted” movement sought negotiations with the Harris campaign. They secured a DNC-sanctioned forum during the afternoon hours to highlight the toll of Israel’s war in Gaza, featuring an American doctor who has treated patients in Gaza.
New Haven resident Francesca Maria drove to Chicago to join the protests. As co-chair of Connecticut’s Democratic Socialists for America, she has organized numerous protests in support of Palestinians over the years.
“Activists have identified [the party] as a primary target, because these are the politicians who are signing off on the military aid and the weapon sales that are facilitating the genocide of Palestinians,” Maria said. “The vast, vast majority of the weapons being used in Gaza come from the U.S., and in fact, many of them come from Connecticut.”
Various defense contracting companies, like Sikorsky, hold multimillion-dollar deals with Israel. Over the past few months, protesters in Connecticut have targeted Pratt & Whitney in Middletown and Colt in West Hartford due to their significant contributions to Israel’s military. Some of these companies’ ties to Israel can be traced back decades.
On protesting Harris specifically, Maria said, “people don’t just want to vote against something. They also need something to vote for.” She believes the constituency who feels ostracized “is really looking for a reason to be able to vote for Harris-Walz.”
Protesters and police officers filled the streets for five consecutive days, beginning on the Sunday before the convention even began.
Protests on Monday and Thursday were organized by March on the DNC, a coalition of over 200 local and national groups. Thousands of protestors filled Union Park before taking up a route bordering the DNC perimeter.
Tuesday’s protest in front of the Israeli embassy, which had not obtained a permit, resulted in dozens of arrests, including at least three credentialed journalists.
Rally attendees of all backgrounds walked the heavily guarded streets as local residents occasionally peered out of their homes to observe the procession.
Among these marches’ attendees were political figures like third-party presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West, who expressed their support for the Palestinian cause. Many had direct ties to Gaza, including 7-year-old Baraa Hadi Abu Alroos. He arrived in Chicago just months ago after losing his father and grandmother, as well as his right foot, to an Israeli bombing in Rafah, and joined the crowd on Wednesday’s March on the DNC protest.
For those whose loved ones have either been killed or held in captivity since Oct. 7, they argued a resolution to the conflict should transcend politics.
Speaking at the DNC last Wednesday, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin delivered an emotional speech to a near-silent arena about how the 23-year-old American was kidnapped by Hamas during a music festival on Oct. 7 and has been held hostage since.
They both wore yellow ribbon pins in honor of the hostages and a sticker with 320 to represent the number of days their son has been held in captivity. They commended the Biden-Harris administration for working to release the remaining hostages.
“This is a political convention. But needing our only son — and all of the cherished hostages — home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” his father Jon Polin said on the third night of the convention. “There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners.”
More than 100 hostages from Israel, the U.S. and other countries remain in captivity.
One of those is the son of Jonathan Dekel-Chen, who grew up in Bloomfield and has been living in Israel. His son Sagui was at the kibbutz where they lived when Hamas attacked.
Dekel-Chen stopped by Connecticut’s breakfast on the first day of the DNC. He was initially connected by one of the state’s delegates, Melissa Kane, and said he was in Chicago to continue to advocate for the release of the hostages and raise awareness.
Since Oct. 7, Dekel-Chen has played an active role in a group of families who have been consistently meeting with the Biden administration and its National Security Council on securing a hostage release deal and with the hopes of ending violence “on both sides.”
“One of the few issues that is a consensus in Congress is the need to get the hostages home – all of them – not just the U.S. hostages, and to stop the madness between Israel and Hamas,” Dekel-Chen said.
“I understand that there are many opinions about Israel’s conduct in this war. And there is no doubt there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza right now. It would be impossible and unjust to deny that,” he continued. “That being said, the reason that all of this is happening and the spark to this horrible inferno was Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7.”
Andrea Weinstein, who is from the New Haven area, attended the same breakfast last Monday. Her sister, Judith, and her brother-in-law, Gadi, were on a morning walk on Oct. 7 and were killed in the attack on their kibbutz.
Weinstein recounted her sister’s passion for teaching, making puppets and writing haikus.
“We want everyone to understand it’s a humanitarian crisis, it’s not a political crisis. I mean, it’s become political, but it’s a humanitarian crisis,” Weinstein said. “We want to see it stay on the forefront. We don’t want to see anymore deaths, the families of the hostages and innocent civilians in Gaza. It’s enough — we need to find peace.”
But since the conclusion of the convention, a deal has yet to be struck between Israel and Hamas. And for those who were hoping Palestinian-Americans would also get more of a seat at the table during the DNC, they left Chicago feeling unheard and frustrated.
For Harris to earn the voters of Democratic voters like Boraey, he said, “it’s very easy and very simple: supporting an immediate ceasefire with actual steps using the leverage that we have, and stop sending weapons to Israel.”