Chicago: Around the same time Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz were confirmed as the official nominees of the Democratic Party at its National Convention in Chicago Tuesday, a number of pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police outside the Israeli consulate here, leading to at least half a dozen arrests, as the party continues to face challenges due to its position on the war in Gaza.
The Democratic National Convention (DNC), which has seen the party leadership sidestepping concerns over the war in Gaza, continues to face heat from activists converging at Chicago to confront President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Harris on their administration’s support for Israel.
“That’s [the war in Gaza] is [Joe] Biden’s baby, he made a big mistake getting involved. [Benjamin] Netanyahu took advantage of the situation, and he took the situation way too far, and Biden chickened out,” one protester who did not wish to be named told ThePrint.
The protester added, “He [Biden] really screwed up getting involved with Netanyahu and Netanyahu is killing kids with our money… I do not like hospitals, schools [and] kids murdered with American money.”
Organised by the group “Behind Enemy Lines”, the protests saw demonstrators raising slogans against the Democratic Party, comparing it to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) – a white supremacist, far-Right hate group – and chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a slogan some quarters have termed anti-semitic.
The protests which started out peacefully, eventually saw protesters march towards the police lines in an attempt to cross the street, before they were pushed back by officers in riot gear, with some individuals detained. One American flag was burned by the protesters, while another that seemed to be the US flag with a Star of David on it was also set aflame.
Demonstrators demanded withdrawal of US support to Israel over its actions in Gaza. On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an offensive that killed around 1,150 Israelis and about 250 people were taken hostage.
Tel Aviv’s retaliation has killed over 40,000 Palestinians and laid waste to large swathes of Gaza. Israel’s response has seen protests break out all across the US in the last ten months, with marches in favour of Palestine seen across all major cities.
American universities became the centre of protests, after police were called in by Columbia University to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampments in May this year. Those actions set the stage for numerous college campuses to follow suit with similar protests. Over 1,000 demonstrators were detained at the time.
The protests and surge in public support for the Palestinian cause has divided the Democratic Party.
Protesters have labelled Biden as “Genocide Joe” and Harris as “Killer Kamala”, over the US’s continued military support to Tel Aviv. The protests have also seen a myriad of groups from the Left – pro-labour, racial justice and anti-war – add their support to the protest marches.
Over 3,000 people turned out in support of ending the war in Gaza in a march Monday, near the site of the Democratic National Convention. The challenges to the party in control of the White House and the US Senate not only comes from the Left, but also from pro-Israel groups.
‘Support for Israel should not become partisan’
Earlier Tuesday, a pop-up art exhibit by the Israeli-American Council (IAC) was held close to the venue of the Democratic National Convention, not far from the Consulate of Israel, to bring to focus the hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
The IAC was the only pro-Israel group to file a formal application to publicly assemble near the Democratic National Convention, but was denied by the city authorities.
“We had Israeli and American artists create art installations inspired by October 7th and the hostages still being held… we originally applied for a permit to assemble near the United Center [DNC venue] but our application was denied saying it would interfere with other planned activities around the arena,” Aya Shechter, chief programming officer at the IAC, told ThePrint.
Shechter added, “Obviously our concern is that Israel will become a partisan issue and we do not want that. We want the Republican Party to stand with Israel, we want the Democratic Party to stand with Israel.”
The pop-art exhibit saw over 1,000 people visit it Tuesday and was held in a private space leased by the IAC. It was called the “Hostages Square”, similar to art installations found in Tel Aviv.
The worry amongst pro-Israel groups of support for the long-standing alliance becoming a partisan issue indicates larger divisions within the Democratic Party and raises the question: can the Harris-Walz campaign unify behind both sides of the war in Gaza?
In recent days, the Biden administration has been frantically trying to ensure its ceasefire deal, first proclaimed by the President in May, comes to fruition in the next few days. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken wrapped his ninth visit to the region Tuesday, to showcase Washington D.C.’s urgency to arrive at a ceasefire deal as soon as possible.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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All pro-Palestine protestors must be deported to Palestine. They can be a part of Palestinian society and witness how progressive and liberal it is for themselves.
Am sure their love and passion for Palestine will increase manifold once they experience first hand how beautiful and peaceful Palestinian society is.