“It feels like I’m in an alternate world,” Rima Mohammad, an uncommitted delegate from Michigan, told me of her experience at the Democratic National Convention. She described entering the United Center in Chicago for the convention and encountering giddy attendees after she attended a forum where Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American pediatric intensive care doctor, recounted harrowing details from her medical mission in Gaza. “I was literally bawling at the panel, and then going into the convention where people are excited and celebrating—it was the weirdest feeling,” Mohammad said.
Mohammad is wearing a black-and-white kaffiyeh imprinted with “Democrats for Palestinian Rights” every day that she attends the convention. While almost all other attendees are in full Harris gear, celebrating with “We heart Joe” signs, the uncommitted delegates—around 30 in total, representing some 700,000 voters—clearly stand out among other convention-goers, some of whom have seem wary or guarded around them. Mohammad described a brief encounter with Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as “mostly a photo op.” She said the governor was sympathetic but didn’t have much to say.
Mohammad is the grandchild of Palestinian Nakba survivors who remain refugees, she said; she is also an outspoken Democrat. She is on the public school board in Ann Arbor, and recently ran for Michigan state representative. She’s been stunned by the party’s response to the war in Gaza so far, and was feeling intense whiplash at the DNC. “It’s disappointing that it’s taking the uncommitted delegates to advocate for something so simple and humane,” she said. “The bar is really low. People just want to feel like they’re being taken seriously. This isn’t just about a Muslim or Arab vote; it’s about decency.”