Protests look to ratchet up pressure for hostage deal, ceasefire as Netanyahu visits DC
200 arrested as demonstrators from Jewish Voice for Peace removed from rotunda of Capitol office building in zip ties; families of hostages rally on Mall; more protests planned Wed.
WASHINGTON — Protesters against Israel’s conduct in the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza staged a sit-in at a congressional office building Tuesday ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, with Capitol Police making some 200 arrests.
Nearby on the National Mall, families of hostages held in Gaza since being abducted from Israel on October 7 rallied in favor of a deal aimed at freeing their loved ones, and more demonstrations seeking to put pressure on Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden were planned for the coming days.
Netanyahu arrived in Washington Monday for a several-day visit that includes meetings with Biden and a Wednesday speech before a joint session of Congress. Dozens of protesters rallied outside his hotel Monday evening, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators took over the rotunda of the Cannon Building, which houses offices of House of Representatives members.
Organized by the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing identical red T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name” massed in the Cannon Building chanting “Let Gaza Live!”
After the protesters spent about a half-hour of clapping and chanting, officers from the US Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began making arrests — binding the protesters’ hands with zip ties and leading them away one by one.
“Demonstrations are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings,” police said in a statement. “We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested. They did not stop, so we are arresting them.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how many protesters had been detained. Jewish Voice for Peace claimed in a tweet that some 400 had been arrested, including several rabbis.
Arrests are beginning as over 400 American Jews refuse to leave Congress, but we won’t leave until our government STOPS ARMING ISRAEL and ENDS THE GENOCIDE of Palestinians in Gaza! pic.twitter.com/ybVpz7Rgh6
— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) July 23, 2024
“I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors and I know what a Holocaust looks like,” said Jane Hirschmann, a native of Saugerties, New York, who drove down for the protest along with her two daughters — both of whom were arrested. “When we say ‘Never Again,’ we mean never for anybody.”
The demonstrators focused much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding that the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel.
“We’re not focusing on Netanyahu. He’s just a symptom,” Hirschmann said. “But how can [Biden] be calling for a ceasefire when he’s sending them bombs and planes?”
Mitchell Rivard, chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat, said in a statement that his office called for Capitol Police intervention after the demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office.”
Kildee later told The Associated Press that he was confused about why his office was targeted, saying he had voted against a massive supplemental military aid package to Israel earlier this year.
Netanyahu’s visit to the US has touched off a wave of protest activity, with some demonstrations condemning Israel and others expressing support but pressuring Netanyahu to strike a ceasefire deal and bring home the hostages still being held by Hamas.
Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas-led terrorists carried out a ruthless massacre across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251, mostly civilians. It is believed that 116 hostages abducted on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 44 confirmed dead by the IDF. Another four Israelis have been held in Gaza for about a decade, including the remains of two soldiers killed in 2014.
Netanyahu has vowed to press the offensive until Hamas is defeated and all hostages are recovered, but has come under increasing pressure to agree to a deal freeing the hostages even if it means ending the war without fully disarming Hamas.
Hostage deal rally
On the National Mall, families of hostages and others rallied in favor of an agreement, listening to testimonials, chanting “Bring them home now” and holding large signs calling on Netanyahu to “seal the deal now” and “give us hope,” above pictures of those reunited during a weeklong truce in November that saw 105 civilians freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Demonstrators applauded when Biden’s name was mentioned, but several criticized Netanyahu — known by his nickname “Bibi” — on the belief that he was dragging his feet or playing hardball on a proposed ceasefire deal that would free the hostages.
“I’m begging Bibi. There’s a deal on the table and you have to take it,” said Aviva Siegel, 63, who spent 51 days in captivity and whose husband, Keith, remains a hostage. “I want Bibi to look in my eyes and tell me one thing: that Keith is coming home.”
Further putting pressure on the Biden administration to push for a deal, several unions representing millions of workers sent a letter to the White House Tuesday demanding an end to the war and to military aid for Israel, the New York Times reported.
Overlapping protests are planned for Wednesday when Netanyahu is slated to address Congress.
In anticipation, police have significantly boosted security around the Capitol building and closed roads for the entire week.
Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet Thursday, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the White House announcement. Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet with Netanyahu separately that day.
Harris, as Senate president, would normally sit behind foreign leaders addressing Congress, but she’ll be away Wednesday, on an Indianapolis trip scheduled before Biden withdrew his reelection bid and she became the likely Democratic presidential candidate over the weekend.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he would meet with Netanyahu on Friday.
