Hundreds of Police Smother Palestine Solidarity Protests Outside DNC

Part of the Series

Struggle and Solidarity: Writing Toward Palestinian Liberation

Israel’s assault on Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis is not getting much airtime on the main stage of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Inside the convention hall, Democratic leaders act as if the death toll of 40,000 Palestinians is an uncomfortable fact to avoid during a celebration of party unity.

But outside the convention, where protesters gather alongside the long columns of police guarding a massive security perimeter, Palestinian liberation is center stage — at least until riot cops intervene.

With only a few fleeting references to Gaza in speeches at the convention, some Democratic leaders have attempted to placate the thousands of protesters outside by declaring support for a ceasefire deal that remains elusive after months of negotiation. Protesters say calling for a ceasefire is meaningless while the Biden administration continues to arm Israel with bombs used to wipe out entire families, mosques, schools, universities and neighborhoods. Two-thirds of buildings in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed.

Activists demand Democrats support an embargo on U.S. weapons transfers to Israel and acknowledge the depth of Palestinian suffering instead of sweeping U.S. complicity with alleged Israeli war crimes under the rug. Democrats and the powers-that-be in Chicago have responded by refusing to allow Palestinian speakers on the convention’s main stage and smothering the Palestine solidarity marches with huge numbers of police. Police have made roughly 72 arrests during minor clashes with protesters so far, according to reports and legal observers.

Everywhere there are protesters in Chicago, there are also massive caravans of cops watching their every move. The police presence is overwhelming, with officers often outnumbering protesters in the streets after months of handwringing over security in the corporate media. Anyone who steps out of line by leaving a designated march route or disobeying police orders is quickly detained.

Marches large and small have been largely peaceful besides isolated confrontations with police, which became heated outside the Israeli consulate about two miles away from the DNC on Tuesday night. At least 50 protesters and journalists were corralled by police and arrested as thick lines of riot cops prevented a march from moving forward and dispersing, according to legal observers at the Chicago National Lawyers Guild. It was the first and only mass arrest during the convention protests so far.

Tariq Habash, a Palestinian-American activist who was the first Biden administration appointee to resign over the war on Gaza, is one of many advocates attending the DNC to practically beg Democrats for a change in policy toward Israel. Habash said the U.S. is clearly flouting its own laws against arming war criminals, but the dissonance between the conversations about Palestine inside and outside of the convention is palpable.

“You can see the dissonance, you can almost see the repression within the convention … it’s frustrating, I don’t think we are seeing a shift in policy yet,” Habash told supporters in a video call from inside the DNC on Wednesday. Indeed, the Democrats inside the convention hall voted to adopt a 2024 platform that makes no reference to an arms embargo. It does, however, reiterate “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel” while boasting of the $14 billion foreign assistance package passed by Congress.

Without a shift in policy, organizers are preparing for a final mass march against the DNC on Thursday that is expected to draw the biggest crowd yet.

So far, there are no fireworks popping off at the marches in Chicago, no smashed windows, and no major acts of vandalism. However, the protests are emotionally charged as activists rage against the mass killing and displacement of Palestinians funded by U.S. taxpayers. The protest will only grow louder unless Vice President Kamala Harris signals a clear change in policy toward Israel, but fences, barricades, and cops ensure that demonstrations are held at a comfortable distance from Democratic leadership.

Eli Newell, a field organizer with IfNotNow, a Jewish anti-war group, said the crackdown on Palestine solidarity activism began months before the convention, with specific activists singled out by police.

Now, the presence of hundreds of police at every protest outside a heavily guarded DNC is a stark reminder of what Palestinians face while simply moving through the Israeli checkpoints in the Occupied Territories.

“We know from our Palestinian partners and allies that this is something they experience every single day under the apartheid system in Israel and Palestine, and something that many Palestinian Americans experience here in the United States,” Newell said in an interview.

As activists are quick to point out, brief public statements by Chicago police have emphasized safety of “protectees” inside the heavily guarded convention, rather than the safety of demonstrators outside exercising their First Amendment rights.

“We are the marginalized and vulnerable people the Democrats are pretending to represent,” said Kristi Keorkunian-Rivers, a Chicago-based activist with Strop Trans Genocide, in an interview. “But our lived experience will show — especially those of us who are BIPOC, unhoused, detained — that’s ridiculously untrue.”

The Chicago National Lawyers Guild reports that at least one protester was hospitalized after suffering “police abuse” on Sunday. Then, on Monday, a small group of protesters broke off from a main march and temporarily moved a piece of fencing at the outer edge of a security perimeter. One protester told legal observers that her hands and feet were shackled to a wall so tightly that she suffered swelling in the joints.

The dynamic was on display again on Tuesday night, when a rowdy bloc of protesters arrived for a demonstration outside a large building complex housing the Israeli consulate in Chicago. Police had already closed off entrances into the building, forcing workers from the offices to sidestep armed cops as they left for the day.

It was immediately obvious that the bloc of protesters was outnumbered by police, who had them surrounded. Police were also aggressive with journalists during the demonstration, threatening to “pull off” press tags and make arrests.

The Chicago National Lawyers Guild reported on Wednesday that at least two journalists were arrested as police provoked confrontations and indiscriminately arrested people on the sidewalk. Police appeared to use the “kettling” tactic, which involves corralling demonstrators into smaller and smaller spaces until arrests are made. According to reports, some of the protesters were arrested as they were trying to go home.

Ben Meyer, a member of the Chicago National Lawyers Guild, said the heavy police presence outside the Israeli consulate building appeared to be “preplanned and designed to stifle free expression during the Democratic National Convention.”

“Assurances that the City would respect people’s First Amendment rights during the convention rings hollow next to this brazenly aggressive approach to free expression,” Meyer said in a statement on Wednesday.

After the protest, Chicago police denied using the “kettling” tactic, which has been a major source of contention between police and the city’s activist community for years. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling accused the bloc of showing up with “the intention of committing acts of violence, vandalism.”

However, there was no evidence that the demonstrators had plans for violence or vandalism. Instead, the protesters appeared to put to the test the embattled Chicago Police Department’s new protocols for protecting free speech while making mass arrests.

Hatem Abudayyeh, a co-founder of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, was not at Tuesday night’s action but is participating in major DNC marches. He said police only have one responsibility when responding to Palestine solidarity protests besides keeping people safe.

“They have the responsibility of not infringing on our First Amendment rights,” Abudayyeh told the Associated Press.