Jewish activists rallied within a congressional establishment to voice their opposition against the US military aiding Israel; however, the demonstration led to a number of arrests by the US Capitol police on the day prior to Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, giving a speech to Congress. The protest, arranged by the activist organisation Jewish Voice for Peace, saw participants donning crimson apparel brandishing the sentiments “not in our name” and “Jews say stop arming Israel”. Added to that, some protesters bore signs advocating for a cease in hostilities and to allow Gaza to thrive.
Simultaneous demonstrations are predicted to occur during Mr. Netanyahu’s upcoming meetings with the US President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump. As per a social media post by Jewish Voice for Peace, they expressed their witness to numerous atrocities in Gaza over the past 9 months, atrocities they claim are perpetrated in their name and funded by their government.
During these protests, approximately 250 Jewish activists were detained inside the US Congress building rallying against the Gaza war. According to the activist group, the protest saw the participation of 400 individuals. Conversely, the police claim that around 200 were apprehended. They explained those legally entering were cautioned that failure to cease their demonstration would result in their arrest due to the illegality of protests within Congressional Buildings.
Mr. Netanyahu maintained subtlety since his arrival in Washington this week and spent his initial day conducting private meetings with families of individuals abducted by Hamas on October 7th. During these engagements, he indicated progress in the negotiation for a prisoner swap for the remaining 120 hostages in exchange for better ceasefire terms.
As of the first day of his visit, Mr Netanyahu has not publicly met any US officials. His engagement with Biden, who is recuperating from Covid-19, has been deferred to Thursday; and Trump confirmed a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister at his resort, Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Friday. Meeting times with Vice-President Harris remain undisclosed.