CHICAGO: Although many Arab and Muslim Americans believe Vice President Kamala Harris failed to stop the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, the leader of an influential political organization has cautioned Arab voters to not lose sight of what the presidential hopeful achieved at the Democratic National Convention.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, which was founded in 1985 to strengthen Arab American voter awareness and influence, said community voters were wrong to focus on what was not achieved at the convention, including the DNC鈥檚 decision to prevent Palestinian delegates from speaking.

During a taping of 鈥淭he Ray Hanania Radio Show鈥� this week, Zogby, a Democrat party delegate at the convention, said Harris did what no other president had done since the 1980s, which was to say the word 鈥楶alestine鈥� in a convention acceptance speech and force the media and country to see the issue more clearly.

He said that Harris鈥� comments were 鈥渟ignificant鈥� and that 鈥淧alestine won at the convention.鈥�

鈥淕o back in history and look at past presidents, and no one has ever actually mentioned the word 鈥楶alestine鈥� or talked about self-determination. Her words about suffering were quite extraordinary.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not in a sprint, we鈥檙e in a marathon and the progress that gets made is slow. But it鈥檚 a step forward,鈥� he said.

Efforts to silence pro-Palestinian voices at the DNC had actually made their voices louder, Zogby said.

鈥淲hen you reach a certain threshold, even when you鈥檙e ignored, you win. Even when you鈥檙e shunted aside, you win. Because they didn鈥檛 let a Palestinian speak. Guess what happened? It became the news story for two, three, four days running.鈥�

Zogby, who serves as chair of the DNC Ethnic Council, an umbrella organization of Democratic Party leaders of European and Mediterranean descent, said: 鈥淚 think the (Harris) campaign made a strategic error. But what they did was they elevated Palestinian voices. By denying them a voice, they elevated the voice.鈥�

Zogby, who co-organized public forums on Gaza and Palestinian rights that ran parallel to the convention, said Arab Americans could not act like 鈥減etulant teenagers who stomp their feet when they are mad and don鈥檛 get what they want, throwing everything that they do have away.鈥�

鈥淪o, it鈥檚 a question of do we approach this as petulant teenagers who get mad because they didn鈥檛 let anybody speak or do we approach it as serious political folk who say they blew it and we鈥檙e taking advantage of their mistake?鈥�

The decision to prevent Palestinian delegates from speaking after the Israelis was a 鈥渂oneheaded mistake and we benefited from it,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t may not be the election you want but it鈥檚 the election you鈥檝e got. And if we want people to support us, and we do, then we鈥檝e got to support them,鈥� Zogby said of the need for Arab American voters to stay focused on the bigger picture and not surrender to their emotions.

Arab Americans must be loyal to the American people who speak out and support them, including minority and ethnic groups like African Americans who have always stood for Palestinian justice, he said.

鈥淥ur allies are in the civil rights movement. Our allies are in the women鈥檚 movement. Our allies are in the folks who鈥檝e marched against guns. Look at the marches that have taken place over the last eight years. It鈥檚 the same people in those marches that are in the marches for Palestine now.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 expect them to march for us and with us and we not march for and with them. It may not be perfect and may not be all that we want but we build allies by being allies,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e have a right to be angry but we don鈥檛 have the luxury of being angry.鈥�

You can listen to the entire interview with James Zogby on Thursday at 5 p.m. EST and again on Monday on WNZK AM 690 radio in Michigan, or by visiting ArabNews.com/RayRadioShow.