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(JNS) U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday arrested some 200 people protesting against U.S. military aid for Israel inside the congressional Cannon House Office Building.
Police said protesters violated a law against “crowding, obstructing, or incommoding,” adding that “demonstrations are not allowed inside the Congressional Buildings.”
“We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested. They did not stop, so we are arresting them,” added police.
Jewish Voice for Peace organized the protest.
“For 75 years, the Israeli government has illegally occupied Palestinian land and ethnically cleansed their communities. Now, Gaza is facing genocide with full support from the U.S.,” tweeted JVP about the protest. “We’re here as Jews to refuse to be complicit and say never again, for anyone. STOP ARMING ISRAEL!”
Mitchell Rivard, chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), said he called for intervention after the protesters “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office.”
Kildee told the Associated Press he was confused by his office being targeted as he voted against a supplemental military aid package to Israel earlier this year.
Capitol Police have increased security measures in Washington ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled address to Congress on Wednesday afternoon.
The plan includes “adding more officers—including from several outside agencies” and “ensuring that we have enough resources for our teams,” according to a Capitol Police statement cited by U.S. media.
“We anticipate a large number of demonstrators to show up. We respect everyone’s First Amendment rights, however all demonstrations must be done peacefully and legally,” the statement added, per Axios.
Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress at 2 p.m. per the invitation of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The speech will mark the fourth time the Israeli premier has addressed the legislatures, a record for a foreign leader.
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), an organization that coordinates the efforts of over 300 anti-Israel groups, has warned that “tens of thousands of people from across the U.S.” will gather at the Capitol during the speech to demand a “citizen’s arrest” of Netanyahu.
Last month, JVP described Israel’s rescue of four hostages during a complex operation as part of an ongoing “genocide” in Gaza.
“The acceleration of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians was on full display today, as Israeli soldiers and drones massacred hundreds of Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, supported and enabled by the U.S. government,” tweeted the anti-Israel NGO.
During the operation in a crowded residential neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli forces recovered from Hamas captivity Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. The hostages were all abducted by Hamas from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im during the Oct. 7 massacre.
In May, JVP was widely criticized on social media for claiming that Israel scheduled its Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day to eclipse the nakba. (The word refers to the “catastrophe” of Israel’s founding.)
“Yesterday, the Israeli government ended its yearly cycle of state holidays that sequentially commemorates the Holocaust, Israeli militarism and the creation of the State of Israel,” JVP wrote. “The sequencing of these holidays was intentionally designed to conclude and obscure May 15, the day Palestinians mark the ongoing Nakba.”
JVP, which describes itself as “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world,” has been at the forefront of anti-Israel protests across the United States since Oct. 7.
The Anti-Defamation League describes JVP as “a radical anti-Israel activist group that advocates for a complete economic, cultural and academic boycott of the State of Israel,” while noting the organization “does not represent the mainstream Jewish community.”
The organization “rejects the view that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a tragic dispute over land which has been perpetuated by a cycle of violence, fear and distrust on both sides, in favor of the belief that Israeli policies and actions are motivated by deeply rooted Jewish racial chauvinism and religious supremacism.”
