Pro-Hamas Protesters Disrupt Confirmation Hearing For US Ambassador To Israel Nominee
Lillian Tweten on October 18, 2023
Three pro-Hamas protesters disrupted a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee for an ambassador to Israel on Wednesday, a video recording of the hearing showed.
The protesters began shouting during the opening statements of committee Chairman Democratic Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin and Republican Idaho Sen. Jim Risch before capitol police escorted them out of the hearing chambers and arrested them, according to a video recording from C-Span. The protesters, who began shouting within minutes of each other, demanded a “ceasefire” from Israel and claimed that the terrorist attacks on the nation were Palestinians “fighting back” against “Israeli genocide.”
“Let me make it clear, we will not tolerate interruptions in our hearing,” Cardin said after the third protester was escorted out of the room. “You see what’s going to be happening. We ask that those who have strong views, there’s a place to express it, but it’s not to disrupt this hearing. I will not tolerate that.”
WATCH:
A protest on Monday in Washington, D.C., also resulted in several arrests after a few protesters attempted to scale the outer barrier surrounding the White House. Antisemitic protests have appeared across the U.S. since Hamas launched a brutal terrorist attack on Oct. 7 against Israel.
Reports of antisemitic incidents have increased globally by 1200% since Oct. 8, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that there is “no question” that antisemitism has been on the rise since the Hamas attacks on Israel.
“As I said, now is not the time to play political games,” Cardin said in the hearing. “We need to make sure that other nations and terrorist groups do not exploit the crisis.”
The Capitol Police did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].