In D.C. and countrywide, protests demand Netanyahu’s arrest

By Martha Grevatt
July 30, 2024

When one of the bloodiest Zionists in history speaks in the U.S. Congress, in front of the politicians who provided the war criminal with the arms he has used to commit the outright murder of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people in Gaza, protests are more than necessary.  They are required.

Tens of thousands of people came to Washington, D.C., on July 24,  to protest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Watergate Hotel where he stayed and inside the Capitol rotunda. They rallied and marched along Constitution Avenue. and even withstood some pepper spray deployed by police at times to justifiably demand Netanyahu’s immediate arrest for crimes against humanity.

Netanyahu is the Israeli leader responsible for the bombing and starvation of the Palestinians in Gaza, facilitated by tens of billions of dollars in military aid from the U.S. government. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed a foreign funding bill on April 24 that included $17 billion for Israel. (Al Jazeera, April 24)

Lee Siu Hin, National Coordinator of the China-U.S. Solidarity Network, who marched in Washington, stated: “The energy of the activists from across the country is enormous! Despite our protests, the attack on Gaza has been nonstop for the past 10 months.

“We are very angry to see that ‘Genocide Joe’ and the U.S. war machine are determined to continue to support the Israel Occupied Forces and protect Natenyahu, the war criminal, by sending tens of thousands of militarized police, from as far from New York City, against activists. [They were kept inside] miles of large area fencing to block us out, far away from the Capitol.

“They are just cowards, with pepper spray or bombs, hiding behind their fences from the voices of people across the world.”

The day before Netanyahu’s speech, there were numerous small creative actions. Maggots and mealworms were spread across the already-set dinner tables at the Watergate Hotel, site of a banquet for Netanyahu. Piles of crickets and numerous crawling and flying insects were spread throughout the Watergate. Fire alarms were triggered throughout the huge hotel complex all night.

Demonstrators in the hundreds, with Palestinian flags, drums, pans and noise-makers gathered most of the night in front of the Watergate. Videos were projected onto the hotel and other buildings demanding Netanyahu’s arrest as a “war criminal.” Multiple fountains near the Capitol were dyed blood red. There were numerous banner drops on buildings.

A participant in the July 23 action by Jewish Voice for Peace told Workers World: “Probably between 400-500 JVP activists, not all but most of them Jewish, converged on the rotunda at once wearing shirts that read ‘Not In Our Name’ on the front and ‘Jews Say Stop Arming Israel’ on the back. Non-Jews had slightly different shirts that also called to stop arming Israel

“We sat down, some of us holding banners above our heads, and rabbis led us in a series of chants and songs, some incorporating Hebrew prayers,  Capital police arrived on the scene rapidly. They started to aggressively rip the banners out of our hands right away, then started arresting us. Over 300 of us were arrested and taken to a warehouse in D.C., where some comrades waited over 12 hours, sitting on chairs with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, before being cut loose.”

Solidarity actions in other cities call for Netanyahu’s arrest

Many events were held on July 24 in solidarity with the mass demonstrations against Netanyahu’s appearance in Washington.

In Denver, 500 protesters from many local organizations that support the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people held an action. Angry at the invitation for Netanyahu to speak to the U.S. Congress, they gathered at the local office of Colorado Senator Michael Bennet. The group then marched through downtown during rush hour, demanding an end to U.S. arms to Israel, a halt to the genocide, immediate entry of food and medical supplies to Gaza and freedom for the 10,000 Palestinian prisoners.

In Salt Lake City, protesters gathered at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in downtown and held signs visible to pedestrian and vehicle traffic along the busy State Street corridor. The signs called for the arrest of Netanyahu, who is at the helm of the genocide in Palestine.

The demonstration was held on a state holiday, “Pioneer Day,” that brought hundreds of visitors to the capital from all over Utah to view the nearby parade. This gave broader exposure to the small, but highly visible, protest.

The Portland, Oregon, chapter of Workers World Party demonstrated in solidarity with local Palestinian groups, health care workers, veterans, Indigenous activists and other members of the community in an action against the Zionist entity.

After listening to speakers and staging a symbolic die-in, the crowd took to the streets to march against the apartheid state of Israel. Marchers with flags, signs and banners made their way through downtown Portland, chanting slogans in support of Palestine, the Yemeni Armed Forces and all resistance against the Zionist government, its U.S. backers and the ongoing genocide in occupied Palestine.

As the Zionist entity escalates its campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people with the full support of the U.S. government, it is more important than ever to continue to resist through all available means.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a July 24 statement that reads in part: “The established reality on the ground, the legendary steadfastness of our Palestinian people, the painful and qualitative strikes by the resistance and the global rallying around the Palestinian cause confirm beyond any doubt that the inevitable and decisive victory for our people and the imminent defeat of the Zionists is near.”

End the occupation! Stop the bombing! Free, Free Palestine!

Sara Flounders, Joe Piette, Evan Reif, Joanna Straughn and Vivian Weinstein contributed to this article.