Thousands of protesters gathered at the intersection of 4th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. near the nation’s Capitol on the morning of July 24 ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Their unity was impenetrable and their message was one of emphatic certainty: Do not cordially embrace this war criminal. Arrest him.
The rally was organized by a coalition of pro-Palestine grassroots and nonprofit organizations across the U.S. including the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), the Palestinian Feminist Collective, ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, and American Muslims for Palestine.
U.S. media reported that the level of security surrounding Congress and the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu was staying during his visit, was “on par with the [presidential] inauguration in 2021.”
Capitol Hill was fortified with 10-foot-high double-ring metal fencing. Routine access points were blocked across the district and marked distinctly by bright neon-orange signs. Shorter metal fencing, concrete barricades, and Capitol Police vehicles defined an expanded perimeter stretching from the National Mall to the Library of Congress. At the same time, hundreds of U.S. Capitol police units were joined by over 200 NYPD officers, armed with guns, batons, pepper spray, and tear gas masks.
Protesters at the gather on Pennsylvania Ave. on Wednesday July 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Hoda Sherif)
Netanyahu’s visit was intended to showcase the ironclad relationship between the U.S. and Israel. It came at a time of mounting pressure from the Israeli public to “seal the [hostage] deal.” All over the world, however, people of conscious have been taking to the streets for months demanding a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians on record, possibly more than 186,000 according to The Lancet.
“It's important that Israel's enemies know that America and Israel stand together. Today, tomorrow, and always,” Netanyahu told cameras before flying to Washington. He emphasized that Israel will continue to be the United States’ “indispensable and strong'' ally in the Middle East, irrespective of the outcome of the November presidential election.
The invitation to address a joint meeting of Congress is considered an honor reserved only for the closest of U.S. allies and was a rare show of national unity amid partisan divides over U.S. support for Israel's campaign in Gaza. The invitation letter was instigated by Republican House speaker Mike Johnson and the Senate leadership back in May and was also endorsed and signed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Arrest Netanyahu!
At the protest, several speakers addressed the crowd from a stage set up by the organizers, adorned with large “WANTED: War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu” banners on both sides. Many expressed their dismay at their elected representatives for welcoming a war criminal. Among the speakers were Zeina Hutchinson of the Anti-Arab Discrimination Committee; Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations; and Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist, who said: “The reason Joe Biden is not at the top of the nomination of the Democratic party is because of you, my friends. The reason why dozens of members of Congress are boycotting the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu is because of you. Don’t let anyone take your small victories from you.”
Mark Diamondstein, the president of the American Postal Workers Union, also spoke at the rally affirming his Union’s support to the “suffering people, workers and unions of Gaza.”
“[We call] for a long overdue ceasefire and massive humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million people of Gaza while they’re displaced, homeless, bombed, killed, injured, diseased, and starving [because of] the war crimes of the Netanyahu Israeli government, fully backed by U.S. military aid.”
Diamonstein also mentioned a vote his Union partook in demanding that the U.S. government halt all military aid to Israel and “stop using our tax dollars for more war.”
Layan Fuleihan, an organizer with The People’s Forum, pointed to the Capitol building behind her describing it as “‘Fort’ Netanyahu.”
“This government that claims to be an upholder of democratic and First Amendment freedom has instead converted itself to a 100 percent fortress for a war criminal who deserves to be arrested,” Fuleihan told the crowd. “Instead of arresting Netanyahu, the United States’ government has kept over two million working and oppressed people behind bars.”
Ibtihal, a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement, was the last speaker on stage.
“Here we are, [10] months later, reeling from the somehow even more gut-wrenching violence of the last couple of weeks,” Ibtihal said. “The massacres that have taken place in refugee camps and schools and hospitals show us the true depravity of the Zionist project and the nature of this U.S.-funded-and-orchestrated Israeli genocide of our people in Gaza.”
Commenting on the unconditional military aid reserved annually to Israel, some speakers cited the increased need for public funding of education, health care, and communities, including the need to address pervasive homelessness across the U.S., as well as systematic police brutality and violence against Black communities.
Ahmad Abuznaid, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told the crowd that American taxpayers are being “bamboozled.”
“We are told there’s not enough money for our schools or teacher’s salaries, there’s not enough funding for health care, there’s not enough funding for the houseless members of our communities,” Abuznaid said. “Instead they expand police budgets while building cop city theme parks to continue to militarize our neighborhoods.”
The crowd began marching around 1:30 p.m. Protesters were met with violent police officers who attacked at least 10 peaceful demonstrators and members of the press with pepper spray. Moments later, U.S. Capitol Police justified their act on X, noting that protesters turned “violent” and “failed to obey the order to move back from the police line,” forcing officers to spray “anyone trying to break the law and cross that line.” Trailing behind the march, clusters of volunteer medics and bystanders tended to the affected protesters and journalists, flushing their eyes out with water bottles and offering a change of clothes.
Kaleem Hawa, a Palestinian writer and organizer with the PYM, told Palestine Square about his reaction to the invitation extended to the Israeli Prime Minister.
“[Israel] bombed every school, every hospital, every district of Gaza,’’ Hawa said. “It's incredibly disgusting but perhaps unsurprising that all the parties, all the politicians are basically rallying around this war criminal.’’
Hawa said that a lot of Arab youths in the U.S. have become politically committed.
“This struggle is animating their lives... This is all they've been doing since October. They're channeling that anger and grief into organizing our communities," Hawa said. “I think it’s clear people are also suffering in our community. There's a real grief. There's a real spiritual need for more space and people to gather together. I think that's what's powerful about mobilizations like this.’’
He added that it's important to show that there is a progressive coalition of Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, and anti-Zionists who “represent the majority of this country who want to see the siege lifted and the Occupation ended.”
Ingrid Whitman is a registered Democrat and one of the protest attendees. She held a large sign that said, “Kamala, earn my vote. Free Palestine.” She said that she joined the solidarity movement because the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians has long been an imperial project born of bipartisan consensus. Along with many other protesters present at the demonstration, Whitman expressed concern with Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in lieu of the official nomination vote set for Aug. 1.
“We have to keep the pressure on [Kamala] so that she does right by Palestine... She will only get our vote if she [makes a change] for Palestine.”
Whitman is not alone. Among the protesters was Hasan Abuoun, a Palestinian American who attended the protest. He said that he doesn't think that any ”Republican or Democrat will be good for the Palestinians.”
Harris, who has secured sufficient Democratic delegates to become her party's Presidential nominee against Republican Donald Trump, did not preside over Netanyahu's address to Congress. Instead, she met with him in private the following day and made certain her position on the protests was indisputable. In a statement released on July 25, Kamala characterized the protesters as "unpatriotic" condemning their actions as employing "dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric."
Protesters carry signs at the 'Arrest Netanyahu!' protest on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Hoda Sherif)
Netanyahu’s speech
At 2 p.m. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson introduced Washington’s distinguished guest as “His-Excellency,” before Congress members erupted into obtrusive applause. Netanyahu — who is accused of war crimes by the ICC, the highest criminal court in the world — delivered a 52-minute address to members of Congress, defending the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship and its vitality in “finishing and winning the war,” which he framed as a proxy fight against Iran that had to be won at any cost. Around half of both Democratic House and Senate caucuses were absent from the address including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech only to express opposition to his political personality, not to the actions of the Israeli regime.
As Netanyahu spoke, he echoed jingoistic arguments that garnered him only increased praise and applause. For nearly an hour, the Israeli Prime Minister defended the spearheaded massacre of the Palestinian people describing the genocide as a “clash between barbarism and civilization [and] a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life,” before demanding that the U.S. give “the tools faster,” so that Israel could “finish the job faster.”
Netanyahu also lauded President Biden for his “half a century of friendship with Israel,” and noted that the President identifies as a “proud Zionist,” before likening the Hamas assault in Israel on Oct. 7 to the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11.
“Like December 7th, 1941, and September 11th, 2001,” Netanyahu said. "October 7th is a day that will forever live in infamy.” Earlier in his speech, he said, “For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.”
During Netanyahu’s address, six individuals with direct ties to Israeli hostages, wearing yellow shirts with the words ‘Seal the Deal Now!’ in black and red, were removed from the House gallery and arrested. Police said that they were “disruptive” and stood up during the speech; demonstrations are prohibited inside the Capitol building. Netanyahu had also invited a former Israeli hostage and their family to join the audience in the chamber during his address. At the end of his speech, Netanyahu received a lengthy standing ovation.
Hawa described the presence of a former hostage in the House gallery as “political theater” stating that nearly 10,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned in Israeli jails since Oct. 7.
“Fundamentally, bringing the hostage [and families of hostages] here [is] to suggest that the Israeli war of aggression is about the release of the hostages or about dismantling the Hamas infrastructure when it's a war of extermination,” Hawa said. “They're happy to use these people as pawns in that narrative battle.”
Hawa added that the reason why the prisoner exchange deal has not been“inked” is because “Netanyahu's administration is not interested in it [but rather] they're interested in seizing this opportunity to kill as many Palestinians as possible in Gaza.”
A sign reads: "Fund care, not killing" appears in the crowd. (Photo: Hoda Sherif).
Mobilizing against a genocide
Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian activist and founder of Within Our Lifetime (WOL), could not attend the protest but told Palestine Square in a phone call that Congress is displaying its complicity in the genocide in Gaza by inviting Netanyahu to speak.
"This is not a departure from U.S. policy on Palestine," Kiswani said. "The U.S. has been consistently supporting Israel, not just since October but for decades. I think that was on full display with the architect of the genocide receiving a standing ovation every five minutes. It shows that genocide is a bipartisan issue."
Kiswani likened the speech to an SNL skit.
“Netanyahu has always been theatrical with how he addresses things.”
“He spent 10 minutes talking about protests in the U.S.," Kiswani said. “They want us to feel weak and powerless. They want us to feel like our protests are meaningless and don't contribute to anything. If that [were] the case, why would they spend so much money and work so hard to repress us?
“That should just be a sign for us to continue forward... At the very least, to let our people, our brothers and sisters in Gaza, know that [they're] not alone. This definitely reaffirms our commitment to mobilizing our community against this genocide.”
Malak Shalabi is a Palestinian immigration lawyer based in New York. She handles humanitarian cases; from family-based petitions, green card, and citizenship applications, to helping newly arrived migrants apply for asylum.
Though Shalabi was also unable to attend the protest, but shared sentiment about the solidarity movement from an article she wrote on her Medium page: “The people — the world — are abandoning outdated and unfounded views on my people. It will be only a matter of time and continued advocacy until that is reflected in our representation and government.‘‘
In the article, published in 2020, Shalabi wrote that she planned to cast a “protest ballot” to express her opposition against the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. She told Palestine Square in an email that this year is the same.
“I am expressing dissent against the archaic bipartisan political system that coerces voters to opt for the ‘lesser evil,’” Shalabi wrote then.
Netanyahu’s visit, facilitated under the Biden-Harris administration, was the mere culmination of countless moves by the American political establishment to affirm their unconditional relationship with the Israeli regime.
Outside of Capitol chambers, protesters carried makeshift sculptures and effigies of President Biden with the words “Genocide Joe” plastered on them, alluding to the legacy of the incumbent American president. The Democratic Party has sidelined its Arab American constituency, estimated to be over 3.5 million in the U.S., many of whom believe Harris will continue Biden’s legacy. Others are holding onto their votes until they see a starkly different position on Gaza, as reported by The National. With the leadership of both major political parties continuing to back Israel, the pro-Palestine movement marches on undeterred.
“Our families from Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Yemen — killed by U.S. attacks authorized by Trump, Biden, and Kamala — did not die in vain. I refuse to co-sign my name and my work in support of any individual who has personally established such injustice at a national and global scale to pursue a legacy of racism and imperialism,” Shalabi wrote in 2020, words she still upholds today. “This election, I will be casting my vote on behalf of the victims of evil, not its propagators.”