TUCSON, Ariz. — A Democratic field office opening celebration in Arizona Friday afternoon featuring high-profile politicians was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters — four separate times.
The third and fourth interruptions occurred while Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democratic candidate for Senate, spoke on stage. The fourth protester stood inches away from the parliamentarian, pointing her finger at him and shouting: “You accept money from AIPAC”.
The protester then appeared to fall onto an employee after being pushed by a woman in the front row and was forcibly removed from the scene.
After the commotion subsided, Gallego apologized.
“We have work to do here,” said the parliamentarian. “Let’s remember: As Democrats, we have a big tent. And we all want a big solution, and a solution for the Middle East,” said Gallego, a Marine veteran who deployed to Iraq.
“I’m sorry, we’re not there. But you have the party that is really looking for something,” he said.
Kirsten Engel, a former state representative running for Congress in Arizona, and Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, were also interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and former Rep. Gabby Giffords also made comments, but their speeches were not interrupted.
All interruptions were drowned out by chants of “four more years” as about 200 Arizonans packed the Democratic office to celebrate its inauguration.
Ori Green, 52, an Israeli-American protester at the event, told NBC News that the protest was the only way she felt heard.
“I’ve been making calls to Kelly’s office and Gallego’s office every day for months and months and months, begging them to advocate for a permanent cease-fire,” said Green, who told NBC News he served in Defense of Israel. Forces.
“I am an Israeli citizen. I am Jewish. My mother is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. We care about Israel,” said the Tucson accountant. “A lot of my family members are there. I love Israel, and what they are doing is bad for Israel. That’s it. It’s bad for Israel, and murdering children is never, ever, ever justifiable.”
Green, like the protester who shouted at Gallego, also cited contributions he and Sen. Mark Kelly received from the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby, as a reason for his frustration with his lawmakers.
Federal Election Commission campaign finance disclosures do not appear to show AIPAC donations to Gallego or Kelly’s campaigns this year or last year. Recent campaign donations in recent weeks, however, are not yet reflected in FEC data.
AIPAC donated $5,000 to Kelly’s 2022 campaign, the year he defeated Republican Blake Masters. That same year, AIPAC donated more than $26,000 to Gallego’s campaign, according to FEC records.
Despite Green’s displeasure with the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, she still plans to vote for president in November.
“I’ll probably be a baby and a coward and safely vote for Biden, but I won’t feel good about it,” she said of her plans to vote in November.
Hours before the field event, Biden announced that Israel had proposed a three-part plan that would ultimately lead to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Asked to comment on the disruptions during the opening of the local office, a Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson in Arizona told NBC News: “The president shares the goal of ending violence and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. He is working tirelessly toward that end.”
Democrats have faced demonstrations by pro-Palestinian protesters in Arizona before. First lady Jill Biden was interrupted multiple times during remarks in Tucson in March, and Vice President Kamala Harris was interrupted by a protester during a stop on her “Fight For Reproductive Freedoms” tour about a week later. Earlier this month, eight teachers walked out during the first lady’s remarks to the National Education Association in Phoenix in a silent protest against the war in Gaza.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
