LONDON: US President Joe Biden faced unexpected interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters during a campaign rally focused on abortion rights in Virginia last week.
“Genocide Joe!” a protester carrying a Palestinian flag shouted from the back of the hall. “How many children have you killed in Gaza? How many women have you killed in Gaza?”
The Guardian reported that there were about 30 protesters inside the hall and another 50 outside.
The disruptions, which occurred at least 13 times during Biden’s speech, were part of a broader campaign by a decentralized network of pro-Palestinian groups. The coalition includes Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, and antiwar groups. They are protesting Biden’s support for Israel. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 26,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations in the Gaza conflict.
Mohammad Habeh, who attended the Virginia event, told the Guardian: “Our communities will continue to take active steps in small and large ways until this genocide ends and a permanent ceasefire is achieved. Deaf,” he said.
Palestinian American organizers said these protests would continue throughout Biden’s campaign. “Every time the president does an event, no matter where it is, no matter what state or city, there will be Americans who oppose the president’s stance on Gaza.”
The turmoil in Virginia was not an isolated event.
The next day, protesters disrupted a similarly carefully planned event to recruit union members in Washington, D.C., and Mr. Biden accepted the support of the United Auto Workers union. New York Times reporter Katie Rogers captured video footage of people being dragged from the event.
A few weeks ago, Biden’s appeal to some black voters came to an abrupt halt at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, when several demonstrators began chanting “ceasefire now!” Ta.
Mehdi Benjamin, co-founder of the feminist peace group Code Pink, said such protests are becoming increasingly common and target not just Biden but other senior politicians.
“I expect there will be protests at every big event that Biden holds, and even smaller ones,” Benjamin told the Guardian. “People are very angry and are taking out their frustration and hatred against the man who is now being called Genocide Joe and who is working for this conspiratorial regime.”
Meanwhile, Code Pink and other groups are targeting senators attending Congressional hearings. They also staged sit-ins at the offices of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnell.
Demonstrations also occur regularly at the entrances of the White House, the U.S. State Department and other federal government offices, believed to be in support of the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Such confusion could cast a shadow over the development of Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign. Biden and his team had hoped the rally would generate media coverage highlighting the president’s record fighting for women’s rights, racial equality and worker rights, but instead headlines about the protests.
There are already signs that key demographic groups that strongly supported Biden in 2020 may split this time over disagreements over his policies on the Gaza war. A 2020 Associated Press analysis found that 64 percent of American Muslims voted for Biden, compared to 35 percent for Donald Trump.
Mr. Biden will seek to repeat a similar result in November, especially in key battleground states with large Muslim voters. These include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
But polls conducted after Israel’s attack on Gaza show support for Biden plummeting among Arab Americans. This trend is particularly concerning for the White House in Michigan, which has the largest Arab-American population.
Michigan’s leading figures have harshly criticized the Biden administration. “I can say with confidence that Biden will not win the Arab-American and Muslim-American vote in November,” said the Dearborn-based Arab American, the largest Arab-American newspaper in the United States. News publisher Osama Shibulani told the Guardian.
He added: “Our community is extremely angry at a president who has unrestricted and unconditional support for Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. We stand behind Biden’s actions. Remember, I’m going to get my message where it really matters – I’m not voting for Biden.”
Similar alarming signs show that support for the Democratic president is declining among young voters disappointed by the destruction of the Gaza Strip. A recent YouGov poll found that almost half of young people aged 18 to 29 believe that Israel is committing genocide.
In response to concerns about a loss of support among Arab Americans, Biden cited his administration’s actions, including reversing President Trump’s Muslim travel ban.
Biden supporters told demonstrators that the president’s stance on the Middle East was not the most important issue in the presidential election, and urged caution.
Eva Borgward, national spokeswoman for If Not Now, a Jewish American group that opposes unconditional U.S. support for Israel, said protesters were supporting President Trump in attacking Biden. Asked how he reacted to the accusations, he said, “Young Jews are afraid of Trump’s inauguration.” ”
But she said it was “ridiculous” to blame “young voters who are rightly furious at Biden for supporting the Israeli government, which has left tens of thousands of people dead, rather than the commander-in-chief of the world’s most powerful military.” ” he said. ”