MILWAUKEE – While President Joe Biden was speaking blocks away at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, dozens of protestors gathered at 29th and Vliet St., waving Palestinian flags and chanting “We charge you with genocide,” directed at the president over his handling of the war in Gaza.
Chants of “Palestine will be free” at a protest near where President Biden is scheduled to speak in Milwaukee. Milwaukee Police officers present on horseback and a nearby rooftop. Stay tuned for more on @620wtmj pic.twitter.com/tuWhKgYfW1
— Wyatt Barmore-Pooley (@wyattbpvoice) December 20, 2023
The protest, organized by the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, started at 9 a.m. and was still going strong when the president made his way to the area as part of his scheduled visit to Milwaukee on December 20.
Ala Shehadah was one of the protestors, attending with her young toddler, who she held in her arms while holding a sign and chanting. She told WTMJ why she felt it was important to come to the protest.
“We need to be here so Joe Biden can hear us and stop funding Israel and call for a ceasefire immediately,” Shehadah said.
The protestors predated the arrival of the significant police presence, customary for visits from VIPs like President Biden, and the group ended up gathered as close to the barricade as possible.
Both Shehadah and protestor Mujed Ahmad said they had families from Gaza who have been affected by the current conflict with Israel, which began on October 7th after attacks by Hamas.
“For me, it’s important not only as a Palestinian but somebody of conscience to say we’re looking for human rights to be equally applied to all people,” Ahmad said. “And yes, that includes Palestinians.”
Ahmad is also part of the “#AbandonBiden” movement that was launched recently following the Swing State National Muslim Conference held in Dearborn, Michigan on December 1-3. Muslim leaders involved in the movement have “pledged to actively campaign against him and ensure that he loses Wisconsin in 2024,” according to a press release sent to WTMJ.
“He is complicit at the very least to a genocide that is going on in Gaza. He should have called for a ceasefire months ago and he hasn’t done that,” Ahmad said.
Following the protests directed at Biden, the organizers then held a press conference at 3 p.m. this afternoon.
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