U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday in a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that anti-Israel protesters “have a point.”
“Those protesters out on the street. They have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides,” he told the United Center crowd on the first night of the convention after being introduced by first lady Jill Biden and their daughter, Ashley Biden.
Four demonstrators were arrested after several dozen anti-Israel protesters breached an outer fence line on the north side of the indoor arena on Monday evening, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
The protesters attempted to disrupt Biden’s speech but were pushed back by Chicago police in riot gear, backed by U.S. Capitol police.
“Officers put on gas masks as some protesters tried to bring down a second fence set up in front of police,” according to the Associated Press.
“At no point was the inner perimeter breached,” the Chicago Police stated. “There was no threat to any protectees.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told CNN that the breach was “brief.”
Although anti-Israel organizers said they expected some 20,000 protesters to descend on the Windy City, only a few thousand seemed to have shown up, the AP reported, with reporters covering the event sharing photos of fields of unclaimed antisemitic signs.
‘Working to prevent a wider war’
Footage and images circulated on social media purported to show protesters openly lauding Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terror organization. Demonstrators also accused Biden and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, of supporting genocide, the AP reported.
At least one protester was recorded waving a Hezbollah flag, according to Israel’s Channel 12.
Inside the United Center during Biden’s speech, audience members unfurled a banner reading: “Stop arming Israel.” A man is seen trying to rip it out of their hands. After the audience saw the banner, they began chanting, “We love Joe.”
“We’ll keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza, and bring peace and security to the Middle East. As you know, I wrote a peace treaty for Gaza. A few days ago, I put forward a proposal that brought us closer to doing that than we’ve done since Oct. 7,” Biden said.
“We’re working around the clock—my secretary of state—to prevent a wider war and reunite hostages with their families and surge humanitarian health and food assistance into Gaza now, to end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally deliver a ceasefire and end this war,” the president continued.
‘It’s incumbent on Hamas’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged the Hamas terror group to accept the latest proposal for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Israel, following meetings with senior officials in Jerusalem.
“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same,” said Blinken.
“What I would say to Hamas and to its leadership is: If it genuinely cares about the Palestinian people that it purports to somehow represent, then it will say yes to this agreement, and it will work on clear understandings on how to implement it,” he told reporters.
“The single quickest, best, most effective way to relieve the terrible suffering of the Palestinians that was instigated by Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 and the war that ensued is to complete this agreement,” he added.
Blinken arrived in Egypt on Tuesday ahead of negotiations on the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Back in Chicago, families of abductees with American citizenship met with members of the Harris campaign, including Ilan Goldenberg, who was named last week its liaison to the Jewish community.
According to Channel 12, Goldenberg reiterated Harris’s commitment to Israel’s security alongside the efforts to reach a ceasefire deal and return the hostages. The meeting was described as good, with the positions expressed corresponding to those of the Biden administration.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of the progressive “Squad” and a harsh critic of Israel, made the case for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, against the ticket of Republican nominee Donald Trump and his vice-presidential choice, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Harris “is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez said to cheers from the crowd.
Delaware Rabbi Michael Beals, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom in Wilmington, whom Biden has affectionately called his rabbi and who has campaigned for the president, recited the priestly blessing in Hebrew to conclude the first night of the DNC.
The convention is in Chicago until Thursday with events at the United Center and McCormick Place.
