On a chilly Wednesday night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, President Joe Biden was greeted by thousands of protesters in the streets demanding that “Genocide Joe” immediately enact a ceasefire and stop the ongoing US-NATO backed Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people.
Biden was visiting the city as part of the start of a fundraising tour. Attendees at the “Biden Victory Fund” reception “were expected to donate a minimum of $1,000,” according to an invitation reviewed by MPR (Minnesota Public Radio).
Outside the venue, videos posted on social media showed thousands of people peacefully marching to the events center where Biden was speaking. Protesters carried signs demanding a ceasefire and accusing Biden of committing a genocide. “Abandon Biden, no more votes, cease fire now,” “Stop bombing children,” and “Free Palestine” were among the hundreds of signs carried by demonstrators.
It does not appear the march was organized by any official Democratic Party organizations. On October 31, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) issued a call to protest Biden the following day. The evening protest was organized by MN Antiwar, American Muslims for Palestine and other groups, including Jewish, Christian and human rights organizations.
As the march moved closer to the venue where Biden was speaking, dozens of police and barriers formed a line to prevent protesters from crossing the bridge and protesting outside the event. Staff from MPR confirmed that while police kept Biden’s motorcade out of line of sight of the protesters, the bullhorns and chants from the crowd were heard inside the venue as Biden was speaking.
Inside the building, as Biden was stuttering through his remarks, a courageous rabbi with Jewish Voice for Peace, Jessica Rosenberg, interrupted Biden: “Mr. Biden, if you care about Jewish people, as a rabbi I need you to call for a ceasefire right now.”
In a video of the encounter posted by Jewish Voice for Peace, an angry woman is heard yelling “Get out!” as Rosenberg makes her humane plea, which was greeted by hisses and boos by the Democratic Party boosters in attendance.
While the select audience inside the private event was hostile to Rosenberg, video of the encounter has spread around the world accumulating millions of views in less than a day, a reflection of the overwhelming support among broad sections of the population for an end to the massacre.
The Associated Press reported that Biden responded by saying “I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out,” but he did not endorse a ceasefire. Instead, Biden doubled down on his denunciations of Hamas, “[t]he fact is (sic) the matter that Hamas is a terrorist organization. A flat-out terrorist organization.”