Anti-war protesters interrupt Senate hearing
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The Senate reviewed President Joe Biden’s proposed foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the southern U.S. border on Tuesday. During the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, protesters interrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s address six times, calling aid for Israel evidence of the U.S. “supporting a brutal massacre.”
Biden’s proposed foreign aid bill allocates $61 billion to Ukraine, $14 billion to Israel, $14 billion for immigration at the border, $10 billion in humanitarian aid, and $7.4 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, per the Deseret News.
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The protesters belong to the anti-war activism group Code Pink and spoke in favor of ceasing aid to Israel, according to news reports. The group’s statement on the conflict in Israel says, “CODEPINK recognizes Palestinians as the rightful owners and caretakers of Palestine, their indigenous homeland.”
The first protester to interrupt Blinken chanted, “Cease fire now. Save the children of Gaza.” Silent protesters sat next to the man with raised hands painted red to “symbolize blood,” per CBS.
The next woman to interrupt Blinken said, “56% of Americans say that they want a cease fire ... yet not one senator is calling for a cease-fire. Shame on you all. The world is calling for a cease-fire. The American people don’t want to support this brutal war.”
After the sixth interruption, Blinken delivered his address saying the bill will help “prevent a worsening humanitarian catastrophe” and “aligns with our nation’s most deeply held principles, including our belief that every civilian life is equally valuable, equally worthy of protection.”
Blinken included that the proposed aid is crucial for “providing immediate aid and protection for Palestinian citizens in this conflict.”
As Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was to begin his remarks, a protester interrupted, chanting, “Palestinians aren’t animals,” and “Cease-fire now.”
Appropriations Chair Sen. Patty Murray suspended the hearing and asked “that those in the audience respect the people in the room and allow us to continue the hearing.”
Austin said the U.S. has a strategic interest in backing both Ukraine and Israel. He said, “Putin will not stop in Ukraine. We all know that. So I think it’s important that we do what’s necessary to support Ukraine and Israel and to help them defend their sovereign territory.”
