Even as the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week shows signs of joy and confidence, there is a sore issue separating the Democratic establishment from its left wing: Israel’s war on Gaza, The New York Times reported on the eve of the convention that will nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee to face former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election, instead of President Joe Biden as was originally supposed to.

By many estimates, the specter of protests that threatened the conference and hovered around President Biden’s rally has receded somewhat with the rise of a new candidate in Kamala Harris, who is seen as more sympathetic to Palestinian rights activists. But tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of protesters are still expected to gather outside the conference’s security perimeter, and the potential for major unrest remains real.

Emphasizing the theme of unity, the conference organizers tried to appease both American Muslims and Jews.

The conference will continue in Chicago from August 19-22.

While speaking slots have been reserved for the families of American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, one of the most prominent Muslims in national politics, Keith Ellison, the progressive attorney general of Minnesota, will be given time on stage to speak about the suffering of Palestinians. “Ms. Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to speak proudly of his Jewishness. The Democratic platform highlights America’s commitment to Israel’s security,” according to the New York Times.

Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, held a series of meetings last week to hear the concerns of Arab Americans and some delegates representing Democratic primary voters who cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Democratic primaries to protest President Biden’s unabashed pro-Israel policy.

Despite these efforts, the conference will be overshadowed by large protests against the Biden-Harris administration's approach to the war, which Gaza health authorities say has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and wounded 90,000, most of them women and children.

The key question for Democrats this week is whether the protesters represent a meaningful group of voters who can change the outcome of the election in November, or whether they are left-wing extremists who will have little impact.

Either way, the war is sure to be a central issue throughout the conference, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told the newspaper in a brief interview.

“It’s a reality, and it can’t be ignored,” Murphy said. “There’s a lot of tragedy, there’s a lot of loss of innocent life, and by the way, there’s still a lot of — at a very high level — geopolitical risk, and that’s not going away, unfortunately, anytime soon.”

Protests against the war, led by Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and young progressives, swept through college campuses and cities across the country last spring and disrupted Biden’s campaign. Protesters have also made their presence known, albeit on a smaller scale, at some of Harris’s rallies since she became the de facto nominee.

For their part, Jewish voters who support Israel no matter what it does, and some political moderates, demanded a stronger signal from Harris that she would stand with Israel no matter what.

The political consequences of Harris’s efforts to appease both constituencies are less clear. Beyond inflation, housing costs and abortion, the war in Gaza is not a major motivator for most Democratic voters, even young voters. New polling data from the University of Chicago and Jane Forward to be released Monday (August 19, 2024) shows that voters under 40 are mixed: 36% disapprove of military aid to Israel, 33% approve and 29% have no opinion. More significantly, the poll shows that the Gaza war is the last concern among young voters, behind immigration, economic growth and income inequality.

The Harris campaign, despite its youth, has tried to find some semblance of unity among Democrats on the issue. On Thursday, Harris campaign manager Chavez Rodriguez traveled to Detroit to meet with Abbas Alawiya, a Michigan delegate to the convention who represents “uncommitted” voters in the primary. She also met with Arab American and Jewish leaders. Senior officials from the Democratic National Committee held meetings Thursday with other “uncommitted” delegates in Chicago, and plan to hold daytime discussions during the convention with Palestinian Americans, including “uncommitted” delegates, and with Jewish Americans.

Still, there are signs of conflict in the coming week. Convention delegates representing “uncommitted” voters plan to hold press conferences each morning in the Fulton Market area, a short walk from the United Center, where the convention speeches will be delivered in prime time. Inside the arena, these delegates plan to hold a vigil for those killed since Oct. 7, both Israelis and Palestinians. Uncommitted organizers say pins (and buttons) being distributed to “uncommitted” delegates and some Harris supporters will identify them as “ceasefire delegates.”

Large-scale protests are planned outside the Israeli consulate in downtown Chicago and in streets and parks near the convention on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, pro-Israel groups such as the Democratic Majority for Israel, the Jewish Democratic Council of America and the liberal pro-Israel organization J Street will hold events to try to address their constituents’ concerns.

Some Jewish Democrats say it is imperative for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to show voters that they will not be intimidated by their left flank and that the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security is unassailable. Much has been made of a brief meeting Harris had with Alawiya and Leila al-Abed, a Palestinian American in Michigan who are both founders of a protest group, the National Nonconformist Movement. When al-Abed suggested that Harris was open to the group’s demand for an immediate arms embargo on Israel, the vice president’s national security adviser, Phil Gordon, was quick to say that she was not.

Pro-Israel Democrats are trying to argue that protesters for Palestinian rights cannot be appeased. They point out that demands like an arms embargo are unlikely to be met, and they say that by cozying up to such groups, Harris risks alienating the pro-Israel community without winning over skeptical Arab-American and Muslim voters.

But pro-Palestinian voters have a key leverage point: They are concentrated in Michigan, a crucial battleground state. The state’s Democratic Party, led by chairwoman Lavora Barnes, has been working for more than a year to ease the concerns of Michigan’s Arab-American and Muslim population, hiring three people in the past month to step up the effort.

Palestinian rights organizers say requests by “non-committal” delegates to speak at prime time at the conference have been denied, as have their demands for credentials to bring activists to the United Center.

The protest group Abandon Biden plans to hold a news conference Monday in Chicago with two non-party candidates for president, Jill Stein of the Green Party and independent Cornel West, to announce its plans for the fall, said Huzaifa Ahmed, a spokesman for the group.