Biden Believes Gaza Protestors 'Have A Point' After Hundreds Gather At The DNC
On the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), thousands of demonstrators marched to the streets, generally peacefully, to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US support for Israel.
However, some activists were arrested after hundreds of them smashed past a security fence surrounding the Chicago location.
The turnout appeared to be significantly lower than the tens of thousands that organizers had hoped for, as well as lower than the 15,000 that they said had attended.
Later in the evening, in his primetime convention farewell speech, President Joe Biden admitted that the protesters “out on the street have a point.”.
“A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides,” he said, emphasizing the importance of a US-brokered ceasefire, which has thus far proven elusive.
Protests in Chicago have exposed gaps among Democrats over one of the most controversial issues on the left in American politics: US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
During Monday’s protest, a small group of pro-Palestinian activists broke down a fence surrounding the convention security perimeter and rushed through.
According to Chicago Police, the demonstrators did not breach an interior security fence, and the situation was immediately resolved. At least four individuals were apprehended.
Many Gaza war protesters argued there was little difference between Mr. Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, who is formally taking the Democratic White House candidacy this week after the president pulled out of the campaign last month and supported her.
“The Democratic Party may have a new face, but its support for Israeli repression has not changed,” said Omar Younes, co-founder of Jisoor, a Palestinian youth organization in Chicago.
Tallis George Munro, another demonstrator, said he would vote for Ms Harris and her running companion, Tim Walz, but would not give them a “free pass” for supporting Israel’s attack in Gaza.
Mr Munro, from Cleveland, Ohio, said he was more concerned about what he called a “bigger threat”: Republican contender Donald Trump’s policies.
“We are close to white Christian nationalism with Trump,” he indicated. “That is the biggest problem in this country now.”
Other demonstrators told the BBC that they would vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein or not vote at all.
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West, a philosophy professor and left-wing activist, also spoke at the rally.
“This is not about some Machiavellian politics or some utilitarian calculation about an election,” he told the gathering. “This is about morality.”
Following months of legal wrangling over the route, protesters marched 1.1 miles (1.8 kilometers) around the DNC site, chanting slogans such as “No justice, no peace, US out of the
Middle East” and “Kamala Harris is a cop, all this violence has to stop” – a reference to the vice president’s career as a prosecutor and California attorney general.
Demonstrators also sang, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
This refers to the land between the Jordan River, which borders the occupied West Bank and Israel to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Anti-semitism monitors claim it calls for Israel’s annihilation, but pro-Palestinian parties deny the slogan is hateful.
Earlier in the day, a tiny group of pro-Israeli counter-protesters briefly gathered on the outskirts of Union Park, where the pro-Palestinian march began and concluded.
The march attracted individuals from neighboring states and beyond afield. Karyna Lemus attended as a representative of the Colorado Springs People’s Coalition.
She claims she has been participating in the Palestinian rights movement for decades.
“I hope they hear us inside,” she added of the DNC representatives.
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Protests will continue throughout the week of the convention.
In response to an extraordinary strike on southern Israel on October 7, the Israeli military launched an operation in Gaza to crush Hamas, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
More than 40,000 people have died in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
