We attended a protest hosted by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) on July 28th. They called for a rally in front of the White House to “welcome” Benjamin Netanyahu to DC — his eighth visit to Washington since Trump began his second term. Officially, the Israeli Prime Minister was there to meet with President Trump, with the agenda dominated by Iran: the fate of Tehran’s nuclear program, tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, and a new long-term defense pact between the US and Israel. Gaza’s devastated reconstruction was also expected to come up, though diplomatic efforts there remain, by most accounts, at a standstill. For those of us gathering outside the White House, the substance of the closed-door meeting almost didn’t matter. What mattered was that the man responsible for two years of slaughter in Gaza was, once again, being welcomed onto American soil like a head of state instead of a fugitive from international law.
Angry and disgusted by two years of genocide, a large crowd gathered outside the gated Lafayette Park next to the White House, each one of us — myself included — wanting to confront the unspeakable evil that Netanyahu is and represents. Similar demonstrations had already broken out the night before at Blair House, where protesters carried signs reading “Stop US/Israel war machine” and “Expose Israel’s control of Washington.” By the time Netanyahu’s motorcade rolled through the city, other crowds were close enough to shout directly at it, calling him a war criminal and demanding his arrest. There’s a reason those chants keep following him: an Istanbul court has sought an Interpol arrest warrant tied to his conduct in Gaza, and even Trump has had to publicly promise Netanyahu safe passage, assuring reporters he wouldn’t face arrest on US soil.
After the speakers — which included members from the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, American Muslims for Palestine, and the Black Alliance for Peace — we began to march through the streets to where Netanyahu was staying. One PYM organizer told me afterward that she sees something different in this moment than in Netanyahu’s previous visits: a genuine shift in how ordinary Americans view Israel’s war, one she believes will eventually filter up to elected officials. Standing in that crowd, I felt exactly the momentum she was describing — not just anger, but the sense that this anger is finally becoming impossible to ignore.
Knowing that he was there, our chants only got louder and longer as the night went on. I felt the crowd’s fiery passion as we made it very clear: Netanyahu’s evil deeds will not go unpunished. We weren’t chanting into a void. Protests like ours have been trailing him across every stop of this visit, and the numbers keep growing — what were once scattered demonstrations now number in the hundreds, gathering again and again every time his plane touches down in Washington.
Though I’m sure many crowd members could have stayed out chanting all night, eventually PYM called the rally. I don’t think any of us were expecting to be out that late — but I also don’t think any of us regretted it. Every time Netanyahu comes back to this city expecting a red carpet, he should instead find a crowd that refuses to let him forget what he’s done.
Related Links:
Jewish Voice for Peace Video on Instagram
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