WASHINGTON — Thousands of people from cities across the country gathered outside the White House on Saturday to protest Biden government policy towards the war between Israel and Hamas, many dressed in keffiyehs and red clothing to symbolize what they believe is a red line that Israel has crossed.
Hundreds of protesters held a red flag stretching around the White House and urged President Joe Biden to change his approach to the war in Gaza.
“Biden, Biden, you can’t hide, we are your red line,” 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 Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and to say that today we as a people draw the red line to say enough is enough,” said Nas Issa, a protester. of the Palestinian Youth Movement. “It’s time for an arms embargo, and it’s time to put an end to this.”
Some demonstrators boarded buses to the protest from cities including New York City, Philadelphia and Boston, according to a post from the organizing group on the social media site X.
“Sometimes it feels a bit helpless because everyone is talking about the fact that it started on October 7th. Meanwhile, there have been decades of oppression, illegal detentions, illegal occupations, illegal settlements,” said Ibrahim Dabdoub, who drove to DC from Nashville, Tennessee. .
Dabdoub attended the protest with his two sisters. The three siblings of Palestinian descent had traveled from Canada, Tennessee and North Carolina for the protest.
Dabdoub and his sister Dania voted for Biden in 2020 — their third sister to attend the protest is not a U.S. citizen — but neither plans to support him in November.
“I regret everything,” Dania Dabdoub said of her vote in 2020, adding that she will “never vote for him again.”
Similarly, Qais Musmar, who traveled from Springfield, Virginia, for the protest, said he voted for Biden in 2020, adding: “I kind of regret it now.” He said he would likely vote for an independent candidate in November, although “that’s a big deal [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 relatives have been killed in the war, he said.
He said his message to those in the White House was to “open their eyes” and “stop what is happening.” Abutavikh was not old enough to vote in 2020 and said he does not yet know how he will vote in November.
Organizers and politicians, including Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Socialist Party candidate Claudia De la Cruz, railed against the Biden administration during speeches in the park directly across from the White House.
“Biden can stop 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 are here to say that we are the red line.”
The demonstrators’ messages ranged from calling for an end to the war and a change in U.S. policy to calls against a two-state solution.
“We don’t want two states, we’re taking back ’48,” some demonstrators chanted, referring to the 1948 war that led to the creation of the state of Israel.
A group of protesters also shouted: “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want Zionists here.”
Hundreds of signs spread among the crowd, many with messages such as “Lift the siege of Gaza now” and “Genocide is our red line,” but a few had controversial messages, including a sign that read “F—Israel, stand with Hamas. ” Another sign featured a Star of David with red handprints surrounding it.
A handful of protesters wore green headbands that resembled those worn by members of Hamas.
One protester wearing the headband said it was “from Hamas,” although the protester said he did not speak Arabic and was unsure what it said. When asked if he supported Hamas, the protester, who did not want to give his name, said he “wouldn’t say supporter, but maybe sympathizer.”
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and spearheaded the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage, according to Israeli officials. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 36,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, and it is unclear how many are civilians versus militants.
But the vast majority of protesters did not embrace pro-Hamas views.
Rob Stephens, who lives in DC, said he wanted to join the protest because his mother was a Holocaust survivor.
“I think she would be here too,” he said, adding that she would be “shocked.”
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 making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans.”
“He shares the goal of an end to violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East,” the statement continued. “He is working tirelessly toward that goal.”
Several statues in Lafayette Square across from the White House were vandalized with spray paint, graffiti and painted red handprints during the protest. Protesters mounted signs with slogans such as “Hands off Rafah! Stop the genocide!” to statues. Some graffiti slogans such as “free Gaza,” “kill pigs” and “f— pigs” appear on the images.
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 ran off.
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 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 made a “mistake” in his handling of the war.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
