WASHINGTON — Thousands of people from cities across the country gathered Saturday in front of the White House to protest the Biden administration’s policies toward the war between Israel and Hamas, many dressed in keffiyehs and clothing red to symbolize what they say is a red line that Israel has crossed.
Hundreds of protesters held a red banner that 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,” the demonstrators chanted.
NBC News has contacted the White House for comment.
“The intention is to draw a red line where Biden will not draw one when it comes to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, and to say that we as a people are drawing the red line today to say enough,” said Nas Issa, a protester. . of the Palestinian Youth Movement. “It’s time for an embargo and it’s time to end it.”
Some protesters boarded buses to the demonstration from cities including New York, Philadelphia and Boston, according to one of the organizing groups’ posts on the social media site X.
“Sometimes you feel a little helpless because everyone is talking about the fact that it started in October. 7. In the meantime, there have been decades of prosecutions, illegal detentions, illegal occupations and illegal settlements,” said Ibrahim Dabdoub, who traveled to Washington DC from Nashville, Tennessee.
Dabdoub was present at the demonstration with his two sisters. The three siblings of Palestinian descent came from Canada, Tennessee and North Carolina to participate in the protest.
Dabdoub and his sister Dania voted for Biden in 2020 — their third sister participating in the protest is not a U.S. citizen — but neither plans to support him in November.
“I regret everything,” Dania Dabdoub said of her 2020 vote, adding that she “will never vote for him again.”
Similarly, Qais Musmar, who came from Springfield, Virginia, for the protest, said he voted for Biden in 2020, adding, “I kind of regret it right now.” » He said he would likely vote for an independent candidate in November, even though “there are many.” [Biden] could do” to change your mind.
Ehab Abutavikh came from near Paterson, New Jersey, to participate in this demonstration, the first, with his cousin and aunt. Abutavikh’s family is from Gaza and about a dozen family members died during the war, he said.
He said his message to members of the White House was that they needed to “open their eyes” and “stop what is happening.” Abutavikh was not old enough to vote in 2020 and said he did not yet know how he planned to vote in November.
Organizers and politicians, including Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Socialist Party candidate Claudia De la Cruz, denounced the Biden administration during speeches in the park directly across from the White House.
“Biden can end the genocide currently taking place in Gaza,” De la Cruz said. “He could stop it, but it goes against all his interests.” And so we’re here to say that we are the red line.
Protesters’ messages ranged from the need to end the war and a change in U.S. policy to calls against a two-state solution.
“We don’t want two states, we’re going back to 1948,” some protesters chanted, referring to the 1948 war that led to the creation of the State of Israel.
A group of demonstrators also shouted: “Say it loud, say it clearly, we don’t want Zionists here.” »
Hundreds of signs dotted the crowd, most with messages such as “lift the siege of Gaza now” and “genocide is our red line,” but a few carried controversial messages, including a sign saying “f– – Israel, support Hamas. ” ” Another sign displayed a Star of David surrounded by red handprints.
A handful of protesters wore green headbands that resembled those worn by Hamas members.
One protester wearing the headband said it was “the Hamas one”, although the protester said he did not speak Arabic and was not sure what it said. Asked if he supported Hamas, the protester, who did not want to give his name, replied that he “wouldn’t say supporter, I would say maybe sympathizer.”
Hamas is designated by the United States as a terrorist organization and spearheaded the October 1, 2017, 7 attacks on Israel in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and approximately 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. More than 36,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and it is clear whether they are civilians or militants.
But the vast majority of protesters did not adopt pro-Hamas views.
Rob Stephens, who lives in Washington, said he wanted to join the protest because his mother was a Holocaust survivor.
“I think she would be there too,” he said, adding that she would be “appalled.”
Stephens voted for Biden in 2020 and plans to vote for the president again in November because he doesn’t “want a fascist, wannabe Hitler,” appearing to refer to former President Donald Trump.
Biden campaign spokesman Seth Schuster said the president “believes that raising your voice and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans.”
“He shares the goal of ending violence and establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” the statement continued. “He works tirelessly towards this goal.”
Several statues in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, were vandalized during the protest with spray paint, graffiti and handprints painted red. Protesters attached signs reading slogans such as “Hands off Rafah!” Stop the genocide! to the statues. Some graffitied slogans such as “free gas,” “kill pigs” and “f— pigs” on the statues.
Police said they tried to arrest a person who climbed a statue, but members of the crowd intervened. Police deployed pepper spray and the person fled.
Biden is currently in France, not at the White House.
The president’s rhetoric toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become increasingly critical in recent months.
Just days ago, Biden said in an interview with Time magazine that there was “every reason” to believe Netanyahu was prolonging the war for political gain. Biden has previously said Netanyahu was making a “mistake” in his handling of the war.