‘Shock and disgust’: US protesters decry applause for Israeli PM in Congress
It was quite the juxtaposition.
Just as Benjamin Netanyahu was being given a standing ovation by members of Congress on Capitol Hill, outside thousands of protesters were saying he was not welcome.
And, around exactly the same time, the police started pepper spraying some of the protesters.
There was a general sense of shock and disgust among the protesters.
Not just at the members of Congress who are applauding – whom the protesters say don’t represent them. But the fact that their taxpayers’ money isn’t just going to kill men, women and children in Gaza. It is also being spent on police to pepper spray and violently act towards peaceful protesters outside Capitol Hill.
White House calls protests "disgraceful" after flags burned in DC during Netanyahu's visit
The White House disavowed images outside Union Station in Washington, DC, where anti-war protesters took down and burned American flags earlier Wednesday in protest of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, calling the protests “disgraceful.”
“Identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag, or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another, is disgraceful. Antisemitism and violence are never acceptable. Period,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
“Every American has the right to peaceful protest. But shamefully, not everyone demonstrated peacefulness today,” he said.
Protesters at Union Station in Washington, DC
As Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his speech to Congress Wednesday, protesters at Union Station were seen burning US flags and depictions of Netanyahu. He described protesters as “Iran’s useful idiots in his address.
Protesters burn an effigy depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside Union Station
A demonstrator sprays graffiti, including the word "Hamas," on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station.
A burned US flag and Israeli flag are seen during a pro-Palestinian protest near the US Capitol.
US Park Police officer gestures with pepper spray while other officers carry away a handcuffed demonstrator.
Demonstrators gather around the George Gordon Meade Memorial.
US Park Police arrest 8 protesters in Washington, DC, with charges including assault on police
The US Park Police arrested eight people Wednesday following protests outside of Washington DC’s Union Station that included burning an American flag and destroying property.
Following a speech before Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, protesters spray painted the phrase “Hamas is comin” and climbed the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle, which is outside of Washington’s main train station.
Protesters also flew Palestinian flags on flagpoles in front of the station and burned a papier-mâché effigy of Netanyahu.
Police did not outline the charges. Parks Police Fraternal Order, the union representing officers, said the charges included destruction of government property, assault on police, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, statue climbing, fighting and interfering.
Video of the incident that surfaced online showed a protester pulling a police officer off another protester who was being arrested. It’s unclear if the assault on police charge stems from that incident.
