Standing for Justice: Why we raised a “Stop Arming Israel” banner on Day 1 of the DNC Convention

As President Biden delivered his speech on Day 1 at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), we—took an uncompromising stand. We spoke truth to power. We told President Biden and the world that the United States needs to Stop Arming Israel by enforcing our laws. The prosecutor, the law enforcement officer, needs to do her job and enforce the Leahy laws. And President Biden needs to do his job and authorize that enforcement. President Reagan knew how to handle an Israel gone too far. President Biden does not know when it’s long past time to Stop Arming Israel.

When we held up our banner, we were speaking necessary truths to power. We did not disrupt the proceedings. We did not chant, or make any kind of ruckus at all. We held up a banner that said “Stop Arming Israel”, in the colors of the Palestinian flag. The response of our fellow Democrats around us was to attack us, beat the hijabi-wearing one of us on the head with a “We <3 Joe” sign, and pull another one of us over – twice – as we fought with them over our sign. Eventually, they succeeded in ripping the banner from our hands. All the while, DNC operatives, and event staff, encouraged everyone to raise their signs to conceal ours and even turned off the lights in the section where we were seated.

Our dollars are being used to fund the mass murder of children and the genocide of their families and communities, and our fellow Democrats do not recognize one of the men most responsible for the slaughter must be made aware of our objections. We are delegates to the National Convention, not serfs or slaves to be ignored as unimportant. So dedicated were these Democrats to ensuring the powerful would not be inconvenienced by a banner, that they did everything they could to hide our message behind their signs.

This is violence used to silence political speech. This is a modern form of Nazi Brownshirts. A modern, milder form of the same idea: if the public can’t hear about it, the public won’t care about it, and the powerful don’t have to consider it, or even be aware of it. 

Only Party-Authorized messages were allowed in the arena, and the ‘Blueshirts’ were on hand to enforce the edicts of the Party. Most of the rank and file do not look enthusiastic about it in the video, but Party operatives were on hand to encourage covering over genocide and the mass murder of children enabled and funded by Joe Biden – with “We <3 Joe” signs. Effectively, “We <3 Genocide Joe” signs were used to silence speech about Biden’s support for genocide.

The event was a political party convention, where we were all engaged in political speech. We were delegates to the convention, with the right to be on the floor and the right to express our political views, and hold up a sign, including a sign that was not approved by any campaign. The DNC even acknowledged these facts in a statement to the Intercept released after the attack. The floor of the convention belongs to the people, the delegates, and the Party cannot dictate what we are allowed to express, so long as we do it peacefully.

This action was a necessary escalation, a refusal to let the oppression of the Palestinian people go unchallenged. While the leadership of our “progressive” party offers little more than empty rhetoric and hollow platitudes, we chose to take a stand. Our banner was a stark reminder of the reality that many seem content to ignore. It was a call to action, a demand for accountability, and a plea for humanity. The Democratic Party’s failure to address this crisis with the urgency it deserves is even more than an overwhelming moral failure, it is a political failure, a cultural failure, a social failure. It is the failure of governments and the people running them to recognize all people have the right to live, and the right to live in peace and security. 

We ask: How many more lives must be lost before our leaders summon the courage to act? Our presence at the DNC was about changing the narrative that allows such atrocities to continue unchecked. We stood for justice, for human rights, and for the innocent lives caught in the crossfire of geopolitics.

For too long, the Democratic establishment has hidden behind the veneer of diplomacy while tacitly endorsing the apartheid state of Israel. The Biden administration’s support for Israel is disappointing and disgraceful to the point it is a betrayal of the very values the Democratic Party claims to uphold—human rights, equality, and justice. These values mean nothing when the party continues to bankroll a regime that systematically murders Palestinians and erases their existence.

Our action was not just about making noise. It was about forcing a reckoning within the Democratic Party, a party that has grown too comfortable in its hypocrisy. We raised our banner at Biden’s speech because we refuse to be part of a party that funds genocide with one hand while pretending to support human rights with the other. We were not just delegates that night; we were the voice of conscience, a conscience that the Democratic Party has long ignored in its pursuit of political expediency.

When we took to the floor, we knew the risks. We knew we would be silenced, removed, and attacked. And we were. But we also knew that inaction was not an option. How many petitions have we signed? How many letters have we sent? How many meetings have we attended, only to be met with polite nods and empty promises? The time for politeness has passed. We raised our banner in front of Biden because our protest was the only weapon we had left, and we wielded it like a hammer.

We have been told to “be patient,” to “work within the system.” But the system is rotten. It is a system that prioritizes Israeli lives over Palestinian lives, American dollars over Arab blood, and political power over morality and systemic slaughter of children, their families, and communities. This system has failed, and it is time to dismantle it.

The Democratic Party must choose: Will it continue to support an apartheid state that commits war crimes with impunity, or will it finally stand on the right side of history? There is no middle ground, no compromise. Every dollar that goes to Israel is a dollar spent on killing Palestinian children. Every moment of inaction is complicity in genocide. And we will not allow the Democratic Party to continue this blood-soaked status quo without a fight.

We raised our banner during Biden’s speech because nothing else has worked. The time for diplomacy and decorum is over. Our protest was an act of narrative guerilla warfare and defiance, born out of the unbearable reality that our government is funding the annihilation of a people. We raised our banner because the Democratic Party, our party, has lost its way, and we will not stand by as it becomes a partner in genocide.

If our banner makes you uncomfortable, good. It should. If it makes you angry, even better. But do not mistake our actions for recklessness. We acted out of necessity, out of a moral obligation to stand up against an administration that is on the wrong side of history, and leading our new candidate to defeat. We raised our banner to Biden because we believe in a Democratic Party that should stand for justice, not just in rhetoric but in action. And we will not stop until that vision is realized.

We will not apologize for our banner. We will not back down. We will not be silenced. The Democratic Party must choose: justice or genocide. There is no room for compromise when lives are at stake. The time for action is now.

Nadia B. Ahmad
Nadia B. Ahmad is a DNC national delegate from Orlando, Florida. She is a law professor and the co-founder of Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition.

Liano Sharon
Liano Sharon is a long-time progressive activist, involved in pro-democracy, environmental, human rights, and anti-war movements since the 1980s. He currently serves as Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) Progressive Caucus Rules Committee, on the MDP State Central Committee (SCC), MDP SCC Executive Committee, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Esam Boraey
Esam Boraey is an at-large DNC delegate from Connecticut. He studies and teaches Political science at Cornell University. He is of Egyptian origin and has more than 10 years of experience in campaign, election, and grassroots organizing in the US and the Middle East.