Why aren’t I speaking at the DNC?

I’m deeply flattered and gratified by many of the folks who’ve tagged me in things or emailed me over the past couple of days with some version of “You should speak for Palestinians at the DNC!”

Thank you!

But

(a) I wasn’t asked

and

(b) I promise no one wants that because I would undoubtedly piss off EVERYBODY.

I would, ironically, manage the impossible by uniting both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine Democrats, albeit only in a shared hatred of me.

Because what I’d have to say is not what folks want to hear.

Part I: In which I piss off pro-Israel people

This country and this party value Palestinian lives less.

You’d have to be willfully blind or astonishingly dense to miss it.

Look at the bullshit equivalencies that equalize the admitted horrors of October 7th with the relentless and ongoing slaughter in Gaza…

Or the comparisons that equate the few hundred hostages with the tens of thousands of Palestinian dead.

The US market equates hundreds of Arab lives with one Israeli life.

It’s profoundly sickening and shockingly racist.

Moreover, the Israeli government, cheered on by a disturbingly large segment of its citizens, is fine with what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank.

There are Israelis critiquing Netanyahu for not hitting back hard enough!

And there’s prima facie evidence that the Israeli government is committing war crimes against the civilian population of Gaza and continually violating international law in the West Bank.

So now I’ve pissed off all the pro-Israel people…

Not done!!!!

Part II: In which I piss off pro-Palestine people

As for the pro-Palestinian side… they aren’t exactly wearing halos either.

Many folks protesting ARE focused on the right issues, but let’s not pretend there isn’t a vile undercurrent of antisemitism swirling around, mirroring the toxic anti-Arab racism on the Israeli side.

And some of the demands being made are based on delusional, magical thinking grounded in selective, tortured readings of history that conveniently gloss over decades of failures and self-inflicted wounds.

And Hamas? Skip me with this shit.

Hamas is not, and should never be, the face of the Palestinian people — and the execrable, morally bankrupt Palestinian Authority is (for different reasons) similarly disgraceful.

And Hamas, just like the Israeli government, has committed and continues to commit atrocities and war crimes.

And when you get down to it, the Palestinians are as morally compromised as the Israelis when it comes to the monstrous behavior and beliefs of their leaderships.

So now I’ve pissed off the pro-Palestine people…

The torch-wielding village mobs will be coming at me from all the villages in every direction…

Can I increase my unpopularity?

Hell to the yes, I can….

Who’s left to piss off?

Neither so-called “leadership” deserves support.

Both the Israelis and Palestinians are led by corrupt, venal, cynical death merchants who’ve happily driven their people into the ground while filling their pockets with blood money.

They are, to put it plainly, a bunch of soulless, self-serving assholes. I refuse to stand for either of them.

And both societies are to some extent captured by those leaderships and it will take brave work from each group to move past this shit.

I stand with the people — the everyday folks, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Atheists, Arabs, Israelis, Druze, Circassians, Armenians… ‘boring’ average people…

People who just want to live their fucking lives without the constant fear of bombs, bullets, or boots on their necks.

I mourn every innocent, and I don’t give a flying fuck what their religion, ethnicity, or politics are.

Dead kids are dead kids.

The only good number of dead kids is zero.

I won’t keep score in a Victim Olympics.

What do I want?

I want my country to do the same.

I don’t want VP Harris to be pro-Israel OR pro-Palestine.

I want her to be pro-humanity, pro-peace, pro-dialogue.

I want her to be pro-ceasefire, pro-hostage release (including Palestinian administrative detainees), pro-civilian, pro-international law, and pro-children-not-dying.

I want her to be pro-resolution and pro-de-escalation.

I want her to be pro-American values (our aspirational ones).

And I also want her to be President.

Not because she’s perfect on this issue… there hasn’t been a perfect candidate on this issue… because tribalisms are strong, and candidates and parties reflect us (in a lagging indicator kind of way)

Will she do everything I want? Almost certainly not.

Do I care?

Not even a little.

She’s inspiring… she is decent… she is smart… she is ethical… she is good… and she is (like most) trying to work through complicated realities.

And now that I’ve pissed everyone off, you, like me, now know why me speaking at the DNC ain’t the good thing you might imagine.

I will piss off everyone.

I nonetheless remain deeply flattered and grateful you even thought so.

Much love to you all.