Hundreds of US Jewish activists arrested for Gaza war protests ahead of Netanyahu visit

Hundreds of American Jewish activists were arrested by police on Tuesday after protesting against US military support for Israel and calling for a Gaza ceasefire on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, a day ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.

US Capitol Police said around 200 people were arrested for demonstrating inside a Congressional Building and that people had been warned that protesting inside a government building was against US law.

The demonstration was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist advocacy organization which calls for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and for "Judaism beyond Zionism".

Hundreds of protestors wore red or white t-shirts emblazoned with "Jews say stop arming Israel" and "not in our name". Some carried banners reading "Ceasefire now" and "Let Gaza live".

Protests are planned to coincide with Netanyahu's visit, during which he will meet President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"For the past 9 months, we've witnessed countless horrors in Gaza, committed in our names and funded by our government," Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) wrote on social media.

"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. We’re here as Jews to refuse to be complicit and say never again, for anyone," the group wrote.

JVP said over 250 protesters were arrested and 400 people took part in the demonstration. Many of the protestors said that as descendants of Holocaust survivors they felt compelled to ensure that a genocide does not happen again.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ 300+ ARRESTS HAPPENING NOW INSIDE CONGRESS: HUNDREDS OF JEWS AND ALLIES ARE GETTING ARRESTED FOR DEMANDING OUR GOVERNMENT STOP ARMING ISRAEL. CEASEFIRE NOW — END THE PALESTINIAN GENOCIDE. pic.twitter.com/PvthT4vfCu

— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) July 23, 2024

The group have staged regular protests since October, including at Capitol Hill and in New York City and have faced pushback from police and right-wing politicians. The US has the largest Jewish diaspora outside Israel and Washington is its oldest and closest ally.

While relations have strained over the course of the war in the wake of the extraordinarily high Palestinian death toll and destruction in Gaza, the US has not made any major policy shifts towards Israel and has continued to send millions of dollars worth of weapons.

More protests are planned for Wednesday when Netanyahu will make a speech to a joint session of Congress.

He is expected to say that his nine-month-long war in Gaza has successfully depleted Hamas's reserves while drawing up support for a potential expansion of the conflict along Israel's northern frontier with Lebanon where Israeli forces have been engaged in clashes with Hezbollah.

Netanyahu is also facing pressure to end the war and sign off on a hostage exchange deal from American-Israeli families of captives in Gaza who he met with on Tuesday.

The Israeli military recently announced the deaths of two men in captivity, while they believe there are some 120 people still held by Palestinian armed groups in the besieged enclave.

Agencies contributed to this report.