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On DNC Day 2, Police Arrest Dozens of Anti-Israel Agitators at Protest Organized by Terror-Tied Group

Radicals clash with cops outside Israeli consulate in Chicago

Anti-Israel agitators burn an American flag outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Jessica Costescu
August 20, 2024

CHICAGO—Anti-Israel agitators clashed with police at an illegal protest organized by pro-terrorist groups outside of the Israeli consulate on day two of the Democratic National Convention. Hundreds of radicals used keffiyehs and masks to cover their faces, and dozens resisted as officers in riot gear arrested them.

 

Protesters descended upon the consulate—about two miles east of the United Center, where top Democrats delivered speeches—around 8 p.m. Eastern, blocking its entrance. They burned an American flag, chanted for an "intifada revolution," and clashed with law enforcement, prompting police intervention.

"This is an unlawful assembly. You are being dispersed now," one officer said over a bullhorn.

"Shut the f— up, pig!" protesters yelled back.

The agitators, surrounded by police in riot gear, broke into smaller groups and began to chant, "There is only one solution, intifada revolution." Officers moved in, funneling demonstrators who refused to leave into tighter areas and making arrests. They maintained a heavy law enforcement presence even before the protest began.

Several seasoned pro-terrorist groups organized the demonstration, including Samidoun, Palestine Action U.S., and Behind Enemy Lines. They promised a more aggressive rally than the march on the DNC that occurred Monday, which saw participants destroy portions of a Secret Service security fence and stand off with police. 

Samidoun, an Israeli-designated terror group, is banned in Germany over its affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated terror group. It’s also part of an American dark money network funded by progressive billionaires, including George Soros.

Still, the Associated Press described the demonstrators as "Jewish protesters and allies." The corresponding photo showed a keffiyeh-clad agitator pushing a Chicago police officer.

Prior to the protest, another organizer, Behind Enemy Lines—a violent activist group that touts its "militant" approach—celebrated the "brave" rioters who broke through the first of two Secret Service fences surrounding the United Center on Monday. It also chastised organizers for encouraging participants to continue marching rather than push forward through the dismantled fence and promised a more aggressive approach on Tuesday.

"If you are satisfied with what happened yesterday, if you believe that a message was sent to the DNC by this city-approved and peace-policed march, then stay home tonight," the group posted ahead of the protest. "If you think the people of Palestine require more, be at the Israeli consulate tonight. 7PM."

Samidoun works to secure the release of all Palestinian prisoners. That includes convicted terrorists like Ahmad Sa’adat, the secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was imprisoned for his role in the assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001.

A third organizer, Palestine Action U.S., has railed against "colonizing Israeli scum" and has defaced various buildings tied to Israeli organizations. It spray painted "Death to Israel" and "Glory to our Martyrs" outside the embassy in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, for example. "Resistance will win. Israel will fall. Palestine will be free," it wrote in an X post at the time.

Tuesday’s protest was titled, "Make It Great Like ‘68," a reference to the Chicago riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Vietnam protesters clashed with the police, leading to more than 600 arrests and hundreds of injuries.

DNC protest organizers have taken inspiration from those events.

"This is the Vietnam War of our era," U.S. Palestinian Community Network national chairman Hatem Abudayyah told the BBC. "The attacks on our movement, our organizations are similar to the attacks on the movement that was trying to stop 1968." 

The Democratic Party's anti-Israel faction has made clear it won’t vote for the Harris-Walz ticket as long as it supports Israel in the Jewish state's war against Hamas. At a Monday DNC panel, the co-chairwoman of the Uncommitted National Movement, Layla Elabed, called on presidential nominee Kamala Harris to unite the party by endorsing an arms embargo on Israel. Elabed, the sister of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), urged delegates to defect and join the uncommitted movement.

"If we stand up and demand action—an arms embargo, a ceasefire, an end to war—we may have an opportunity to restore the soul of the Democratic Party and unite us under a big tent," Elabed said. "Listen to Michigan and the uncommitted movement."

"We have to stop voting for these genocidal Democrats," one protester said Tuesday. 

Additional convention protests are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

Published under: Anti-Semitism , Chicago , DNC , Hamas , Israel

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