President Joe Biden is increasingly contending with protests inside and outside his events from progressives upset about U.S. support for Israel in its offensive in Gaza.

It was President Joe Biden’s first big campaign rally of the year, a chance to spotlight the issue of protecting abortion rights. Instead, at least a dozen times during Biden’s 22-minute speech, demonstrators scattered throughout the audience rose to shout out demands for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Demonstrators disrupted Biden’s speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina earlier this month as the president spoke out against racism, and they turned up at a United Auto Workers gathering this past week in Washington where Biden accepted the powerful union’s endorsement, and at a political event in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday.

“For most people, you get very few chances in this life to confront the president of the United States,” said Niki Thomas, a 29-year-old UAW member who yelled for a cease-fire and was dragged from the room during Biden’s speech to the union. “There was no way that we weren’t going to take that opportunity to speak up for for ourselves, for our members, to get a chance to let the president know how we feel.”

During a visit to Tel Aviv, Biden warned the Israelis not to be “consumed by rage.” But Biden has also said he believes Israel has the right to defend itself and he has asked Congress for billions to help Israel in its war effort.

  • tacosanonymous@lemm.ee
    423·
    1 year ago

    It’s always so easy to put sanctions on countries that start genociding. Yet he keeps finding ways to support it in this instance. It feels like the very thing we could change with protest, especially during an election year.

    • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
      124·
      1 year ago

      It feels like the very thing we could change with protest, especially during an election year.

      You ain’t changing shit in regards to President Joe “I am a Zionist” Biden’s support for Israel. In fact you ain’t changing shit about America’s support for Israel. AIPAC has spent tens to hundreds of millions of dollars a year for decades supporting both Democrat *and Republican politicians in order to keep it that way.

      If anyone tries to change tunes AIPAC will crush them. It’s that simple.

      Most people have NO idea just how much political power AIPAC has in this country. I documented some of it in a comment three months ago.