On Wednesday, the same day California lawmakers returned to Sacramento for the New Year, hundreds of protesters gathered at the state Capitol and shut down Congress to demand that Israel end its war with Hamas.
Lawmakers filed out of the chamber as at least 250 demonstrators chanted “Stop the shooting now!” Demonstrators filling the Capitol Rotunda unfurled banners that read, “We will not allow America to fund Israel's genocide in Palestine,” marking the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. They made paper flowers to represent the more than 22,000 Palestinians who died in the war, which began after about 1,200 people were killed. Another 240 people were taken hostage.
As protesters' chants echoed throughout the hall, U.S. Rep. Mike Gipson (D-Carson) said, “We hear them and we support them, but our legislative work is for all of California.'' We must ensure that this is carried out accordingly.”
“This just stopped us from doing what we were supposed to be doing,” he said.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate continued business as usual over the noise of protesters shouting outside the chamber. Gov. Gavin Newsom was in Los Angeles that day to promote his voting plan to fund mental health care and a new research center at UCLA.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Jewish organizers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza gathered at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, suspending the first week of Congress.
(Mackenzie Mays/Los Angeles Times)
Wednesday's protests brought the complex politics of war to the California Capitol, where Congress was in its fall recess. The hall was quiet. While the U.S. response to the war has created generational rifts and divisions among Democrats in California's districts, polls show California Republicans mostly want a Republican victory. US supports Israel.
Also on Wednesday, Congressional Republicans introduced a resolution condemning Hamas, and the Congressional Jewish Caucus sent a seven-page letter to lawmakers, calling them out amid the “explosion of hatred directed against our community.” described the fear flaring up among Jewish Californians.
The letter called on legislative leaders to create a task force on anti-Semitism in California. He also called on lawmakers to address the “toxic anti-Semitic environment” on some public university campuses and proposed legislation that would legislate Holocaust education in public schools, putting education at risk of hate crimes. He proposed expanding a grant program to help institutions pay for security upgrades.
“I think there are a lot of people in our community who feel caught between the far right and the far left,” said Rep. Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), co-chair of the caucus.
“The American far right and far left see each other as existential threats to everything they hold dear and hold sacred, but the one thing they seem to agree on is that Jews are uniquely It's evil and Jews have a responsibility for world peace.' There's a problem,” Gabriel said.
While Mr. Gabriel and Sen. Scott Wiener, co-chair of the Jewish Caucus, addressed reporters in the hallways of the Capitol, protesters in the Rotunda chanted, “Scott Wiener, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide.”
“It's disgusting and untrue,” Wiener said. “Just clearly supporting the existence of Israel is enough for them to say we support genocide, and that's a real problem.”
The protest was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. According to organizers, about 400 to 500 people took part in the demonstration, about half of whom were Jewish.
Jennifer Esteen, a nurse who is running for Alameda County Board of Supervisors, also joined the protest and called on the state Legislature to introduce a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
“The decisions we can make here in California will absolutely change federal policy,” Estein said as organizers chanted “Liberate Palestine.”
“California is leading the way…If the Congress of the world's fourth-largest economy takes notice and makes a statement, California will lead this country.”
