About 100 opponents of Israeli military action suddenly staged a protest at the US Congress building that paralysed the US parliament.
The demonstrators were members of Jewish anti-Israeli organisations. Men in traditional dress and women in black T-shirts with slogans demanded an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas and staged a sit-in in the centre of the hall.
Some media outlets wrote that the demonstrators “forced their way” into the congressional building. However, live footage showed some of them travelling in wheelchairs. The U.S. Congress building is not a government building closed to all but staff. Children, for example, can sometimes be seen in the hall of the US House of Representatives.
Nevertheless, the anti-Israel protest was the first rally in the Capitol building since the events of 6 January 2021, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed Capitol Hill.
“When if not now.”
The rally lasted about three hours and appeared peaceful. Activists allowed themselves to be detained by police and escorted out of the Congressional building one at a time.
On the street outside the building, an anti-Israel rally continued during this time. Those gathered shouted the slogan From the River to the Sea Palestine Will be Free, i.e. “From the River (Jordan) to the Sea Palestine Will be Free”.
According to the American edition of the New York Post, the action was organised by two organisations. One of them, called “When If Not Now,” describes itself as a group of “American Jews advocating an end to U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system and equality for all.” The other of the activists, calling itself Jewish Voices for Peace, claimed to represent Jews uniting for the liberation of Palestine and “Judaism beyond Zionism.”
Lawmakers did not go down to the protesters and watched them from the second-floor gallery. Some of them sought to express their dissent.
Interim Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Patrick McGenry walked out with an Israeli flag to the protesters.
“The divide in the US is growing.”
The protest at the Capitol took place amid failed attempts by parliamentarians to elect a new speaker of the US House of Representatives. The previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was earlier prematurely resigned. As a result of Wednesday’s vote, congressmen again failed to choose a new speaker.
Contrary to predictions, Republican Jim Jordan, a fierce opponent of military aid to Ukraine, did not receive the necessary number of votes. Only 199 people voted for him. The representative of the Democratic Party Hakeem Jeffries received the majority (212 votes). However, this was not enough to win – another 22 people voted for other candidates. The next round of voting will take place on Thursday.
The event in the Capitol commented on the Russian Senator, Chairman of the Commission on Information Policy and Media Relations Alexei Pushkov.
“The split in the US on foreign policy issues is growing and taking new forms. The split over Ukraine led, at least in part, to the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the virtual temporary blocking of the work of the lower house of Congress. Now the split over the acute crisis in the Middle East has led to American supporters of Palestine breaking into the Capitol,” the Russian politician wrote in his Telegram channel.
Dmitry Sokolov, AiF