Thousands protest Netanyahu’s D.C. visit and Israel-Gaza war
Several thousand Palestinian supporters and critics of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war descended on Washington on Wednesday in opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress.
Protesters gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol holding signs calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and others with photos of Netanyahu under the words “WANTED.”
Tables were set up nearby providing water as well as red shirts and kaffiyehs for protesters to wear during the demonstrations. Hundreds of signs attached to wooden stakes were distributed to rallygoers who have said they plan to march after the event. Small Palestinian flags had been attached to lampposts and street signs up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
In anticipation of the protests, bike racks and fencing were set up around the Capitol, and a Capitol Police spokesperson said the agency planned to add more officers, including those from outside agencies. New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry posted on X that more than 200 officers from his agency will be assisting Capitol Police.
Hasan Isham, 34, held his 3-month-old daughter Amelia as he gathered with other protesters. Amelia was dressed in a onesie covered in watermelons, a symbol for Palestinian liberation.
“Little kids are being killed in Gaza,” said Isham. “Little kids like mine.”
The resident of Silver Spring, Md., came to the protest because he “had to do something to register his anger,” especially because he felt his tax dollars were supporting the deaths.
“Over the past 10 months, many Hasans have been killed in Gaza along with their entire family,” he said. “Every time I pick up my daughter, I can’t help but think: ‘That’s something that could happen to me. That’s happening to people who look like me.’”
Sereen Haddad has lost more than 130 members of her family living in Gaza since the onset of the war. Relatives have been displaced. Family members are living on the streets, searching for any shelter, including a cousin who gave birth to twins in November.
These are the people Haddad, 19, will keep in mind when she joins the protests.
“Netanyahu has decided that he’s apparently welcome in D.C., and we’re making it clear to him that he’s not,” she said.
Maryland residents David Reed, 76, and Mark Harrison, 73, listened to the speeches as the crowd around them grew. The longtime friends said they were outraged by Netanyahu’s presence in the city and U.S. support of Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, but heartened by the feeling that protest movements were making a difference.
“The movement is now beginning to influence formal U.S. policy,” said Reed, “[evidenced] by the boycott of many congressional leaders from [Netanyahu’s] speech.”
“I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t think I was making a difference,” added Harrison.
The largest planned demonstration Wednesday was organized by several groups, including the ANSWER Coalition, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the People’s Forum and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, among others.
Additional protests against Netanyahu’s handling of the war took place Wednesday including demonstrators blocking traffic on downtown streets.
At noon, close to a hundred people rallied in a park near Union Station. Some waved Israeli flags and others stood behind a banner that read “Save Israel from Bibi.” The gathering was organized by UnXeptable, an activist group of Israeli expatriates, and speakers, including Rabbi Jill Jacobs, who urged political leaders to save the hostages but also to “save Israel and its democracy.”
“We’re here today to say we refuse to let a small number of zealots, including Benjamin Netanyahu, destroy the state of Israel,” Jacobs said to the crowd. “We’re here to tell Netanyahu that he and his fascist politics are not welcome here in the United States or in Israel.” Participants punctuated the remarks with chants of “Shame, shame, shame” and “Seal the deal” to bring hostages home.
Although demonstrators at the day’s protests expressed varying political beliefs on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, they have voiced similar messages: The human suffering from this war has continued far too long, and it is past time for Netanyahu to sign a cease-fire deal. Others have demanded the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
Pro-Palestinian protesters rallying on the National Mall demanded Netanyahu be arrested as a “war criminal,” citing the chief International Criminal Court prosecutor’s announcement in May that he was seeking to charge Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A little before noon, a few dozen protesters blocked traffic at 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, hoping to disrupt Netanyahu’s motorcade route. They chanted: “Not another nickel, not another dime. No more money for Israel’s crimes,” as cars stuck on Independence Avenue SW honked.
After four minutes, two black SUVs flashing police lights tried to pass, but protesters did not move and they drove away. Protesters also held up a large papier-mâché depiction of Netanyahu wearing handcuffs.
“So long as this genocide happens, we the people are going to take things into our hands,” said Reel Assil, an organizer who traveled to the protests from Oakland and who was part of the group in the crosswalk.
Assil said she has family in Gaza, where more than 40 of her relatives have died since the start of the war.
Closer to the Capitol, a bagpiper, dressed in a green plaid kilt, played “Amazing Grace” as he marched from Union Station among about 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The group applauded at his finish, before he joined the crowd to shout, “Free, free Palestine!”
On Tuesday, Capitol Police arrested about 200 people protesting U.S. weapons sales to Israel inside the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building. And dozens of relatives of hostages traveled from Israel to meet with lawmakers and hold a rally Tuesday night to share their stories of loved ones and demand Netanyahu sign a deal.
The morning protest against Netanyahu’s handling of the war is one of several planned for Wednesday. Although demonstrators this week have varying political beliefs on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, they have voiced similar messages: The human suffering from this war has continued far too long, and it is past time for Netanyahu to sign a cease-fire deal. Others have demanded the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
The largest planned demonstration Wednesday was organized by several groups, including the ANSWER Coalition, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the People’s Forum and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, among others.