WASHINGTON – Thousands of people from cities across the country gathered in front of the White House on Saturday to protest the Biden government policies regarding the Israel-Hamas war, many dressed in keffiyehs and red clothing to symbolize what they say is a red line that Israel has crossed.
Hundreds of protesters held a red banner stretched around the White House, urging President Joe Biden to change his approach to the war in Gaza.
“Biden, Biden, you can’t hide, we are your red line,” protesters shouted.
NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
“The intention is to draw a red line where Biden will not draw one when it comes to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and to say that we as a people are drawing the red line today to say enough is enough,” said Nas Issa, a protester with the Movement Palestinian Youth. “It’s time for an arms embargo and it’s time to end it.”
Some of the protesters boarded buses for the protest from cities including New York, Philadelphia and Boston, according to one of the organizing groups’ posts on the social media site X.
“Sometimes it feels a little helpless because everyone talks about the fact that it all started on October 7th. Meanwhile, there have been decades of oppression, illegal detentions, illegal occupations, illegal settlements,” said Ibrahim Dabdoub, who drove from Nashville, Tennessee to DC. .
Dabdoub participated in the protest with her two sisters. The three brothers of Palestinian descent traveled from Canada, Tennessee and North Carolina for the protest.
Dabdoub and her sister Dania voted for Biden in 2020 – her third sister present at the protest is not a US citizen – but neither of them plan to support him in November.
“I regret everything,” said Dania Dabdoub about her vote in 2020, adding that she “will never vote for him again.”
Similarly, Qais Musmar, who traveled from Springfield, Virginia, to the protest, said he voted for Biden in 2020, adding, “I regret it now.” He said he would probably vote for an independent candidate in November, although “there is a lot that [Biden] could do” to change your mind.
Ehab Abutavikh traveled from near Paterson, New Jersey, to participate in this protest, his first, with his cousin and aunt. Abutavikh’s family is from Gaza and about a dozen family members died in the war, he said.
He said his message to those in the White House was that they needed to “open their eyes” and “put an end to what is happening.” Abutavikh was not old enough to vote in 2020 and said he does not yet know how he intends to vote in November.
Organizers and politicians, including Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Socialist Party candidate Claudia De la Cruz, criticized the Biden administration during speeches in the park across from the White House.
“Biden can stop the genocide currently happening in Gaza,” said De la Cruz. “He could stop it, but it goes against all his interests. And that’s why we’re here to say that we are the red line.”
Protesters’ messages ranged from pushing for an end to the war and a change in US policy to calls against a two-state solution.
“We don’t want two states, let’s go back to 1948”, some protesters shouted, referring to the 1948 war that led to the establishment of the State of Israel.
A group of protesters also shouted: “Say it loud, say it clearly, we don’t want Zionists here.”
Hundreds of signs dotted the crowds, many with messages like “lift the siege on Gaza now” and “genocide is our red line,” but some had controversial messages, including one sign that said “fuck Israel, stand with Hamas . ” Another sign displayed a Star of David with red handprints around it.
Some protesters wore green bandanas that appeared similar to those worn by Hamas members.
One protester wearing the headband said he was “from Hamas,” although the protester said he did not speak Arabic and was not sure what he was saying. When asked if he supported Hamas, the protester, who did not want to reveal his name, said he “wouldn’t say supporter, I would say maybe sympathizer”.
Hamas is designated by the US as a terrorist organization and led the October 7 attack in Israel, where around 1,200 people were killed and around 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. More than 36,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and it is unclear how many are civilians versus militants.
But the vast majority of protesters did not support pro-Hamas views.
Rob Stephens, who lives in D.C., said he wanted to participate in the protest because his mother was a Holocaust survivor.
“I think she would be here too,” he said, adding that she would be “horrified.”
Stephens voted for Biden in 2020 and plans to vote for the president again this November because he doesn’t “want a fascist Hitler wannabe,” appearing to refer to former President Donald Trump.
Biden campaign spokesman Seth Schuster said the president “believes that making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans.”
“He shares the goal of ending violence and achieving just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” the statement continues. “He is working tirelessly toward that end.”
Several statues in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, were vandalized during the protest with spray paint, graffiti and red painted handprints. Protesters attached posters with slogans such as “Hands off Rafah! Stop the genocide!” to statues. Some graffiti slogans such as “Free Gaza”, “kill pigs” and “damn pigs” on the statues.
Police said they tried to arrest a person who climbed a statue, but members of the crowd intervened. The police used pepper spray and the person fled.
Biden is currently in France, not in the White House.
The president’s rhetoric toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become increasingly critical in recent months.
Just a few days ago, Biden said in an interview with Time magazine that there was “every reason” to believe that Netanyahu was prolonging the war for political gain. Biden has said previously that Netanyahu was making a “mistake” in his handling of the war.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
