Barack Obama makes no mention of Gaza war in DNC speech
Former US President Barack Obama gave a half-hour-long speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday night, where he promoted a message of unity but made no mention of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, an issue that has embroiled the Democratic Party for months.
The decision for Obama, a leading voice in the Democratic Party, not to mention Gaza or the war that has enraged large swathes of American voters, comes as thousands of pro-Palestinian voters from around the country are demonstrating outside the DNC convention at the United Center.
Unlike other Democratic politicians who talked about the need to end the war, including US President Joe Biden who spoke on Monday, Obama chose to make vague comments about human rights and global peace, while making substantive remarks on several domestic policy issues such as affordable housing, reproductive rights, and immigration.
"We shouldn't be the world's policeman. And we can't eradicate every cruelty and injustice in the world. But America can be and must be a force for good," Obama said during his speech.
"Discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change, defending freedom, brokering peace. That's what Kamala Harris believes."
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Israel's war on the besieged Palestinian enclave has been raging for 10 months, and in addition to Israeli forces killing more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza, Israel's military has targeted and killed journalists, healthcare workers, and foreign aid workers.
Throughout the conflict, the US has fast-tracked weapons and armaments to Israel's military and provided a diplomatic shield for Israel at the United Nations, where Washington blocked several early attempts to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
The US also provides Israel with $3.8bn in military aid each year.
Outrage over US support for the war has poured out onto the streets of many major American cities, including in Chicago where the DNC is being held this week.
Thousands of protesters from around the country have gathered outside the convention, demanding that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, call for Israel to accept a ceasefire in Gaza and that the US stop sending arms to Israel over its killing of Palestinian civilians.
Inside the convention, there have been several attempts to protest against the war on Gaza and call for an arms embargo on Israel. One such attempt was met with the forced removal of delegates who held up a banner reading: "Stop Arming Israel" during Biden's speech.
Other leading politicians including US Senator Bernie Sanders and Biden spoke about the war on Gaza, saying there was a need for the war to end.
Since the war began in October, Obama has made little public comment on the conflict. On 23 October, he published a statement on the platform Medium, in which he affirmed Israel's "right to defend itself" while also warning the country about how it conducts its war.
In May, Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal presented by mediators that Israel responded to with rejection and an invasion of Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah.
Several weeks later, Biden publicly announced a ceasefire proposal and the administration laid blame on Hamas for not accepting a deal. The Biden proposal appeared identical to the proposal accepted by Hamas. Obama released a statement on 31 May promoting Biden's ceasefire proposal.
While some have called for a ceasefire, there has been no comment from Democrat politicians about imposing an arms embargo on Israel, which has become the leading demand of protesters as well as many pro-Palestinian voter outreach groups.
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