California Assembly disrupted by Capitol protesters calling for Israel-Hamas war cease-fire

Protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday shut down the California Assembly on the Legislature’s first Capitol floor session of the new year.

Hundreds of demonstrators from Jewish anti-war organizations packed the Rotunda and the Assembly gallery and began chanting, singing and unveiling banners around 1:30 p.m., just as lawmakers reconvened in Sacramento after a months-long recess.

The Assembly was conducting routine business, the usual fare of opening day, and recessed during the protests before adjourning for the day. The Senate, which convened at 2 p.m., met without disruption.

The protesters were from groups that included Jewish Voices for Peace, IfNotNow and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.

Demonstrators’ banners read, “Jews say not in our name,” “Jews say no U.S. funding for Israel’s genocide in Palestine” and “Jews say California tax $$$ for healthcare, housing, schools, climate.”

Lawmakers had differing reactions to the protest, which Legislative Jewish Caucus leaders said “shut down the democratic process.”

Some Assembly members on the floor when the demonstration began immediately left the room and looked visibly upset.

The war in Gaza has divided Democrats, with moderates generally supporting Israel and progressives calling for a cease-fire.

Assemblyman Alex Lee, D-San Jose, has been in favor of a cease-fire for months, saying “more diplomatic solutions than wartime aggression has proven to be more productive. Like hostages are being freed, prisoners are being swapped.”

When asked about the protesters, Lee said they had “lovely voices.”

“I think it’s a great, effective way to convey that message in a very peaceful manner,” he said. “No one got hurt, obviously. Nothing was really disrupted. So I’m glad they got their point across.”

The Capitol demonstration occurred as Assembly Republicans were preparing to introduce a resolution condemning Hamas as one of their first acts of the new legislative year.

“Cease-fire now”

Protesters sang “cease-fire now” as lawmakers began leaving the chamber, although a few lingered on the floor and in the back of the room. None of the California Highway Patrol sergeants who provide security at the Capitol removed or arrested any of the demonstrators, who continued singing and chanting to a largely empty room.

They remained even after the lights in the Assembly chamber were shut off after the adjournment, continuing to sing while turning on their cell phone flashlights.

The protesters said, “Jewish values bring us here to say no to California money for genocide.”

“Assembly members, we call on you to join us in calling for cease-fire now,” they said in unison.

More than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war that followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

“I know that the world abandoned Jewish people during the Holocaust, but our safety is not dependent on oppressing others,” said Margot Goldstein, a San Francisco-based teacher taking part in the demonstration.

“The fascism that we faced in Nazi Germany and around the world is what leads me to understand that what is happening now is a genocide, and that my history should not be used to excuse that or defend that.”

Goldstein said she wants California lawmakers — and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has supported Israel — to “listen to progressive Jews.”

Rotunda protest

Protesters sat in the Capitol Rotunda after they disrupted the Assembly. Most formed a large circle on the Rotunda floor, tossing handcrafted red poppies into the center to represent the thousands of Palestinians who have died so far in the conflict. Protesters chanted and sang, and some leaders gave speeches.

The demonstration lasted about three hours, and protesters left the Capitol just before 4 p.m.

Sacramento City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela spoke in support of a cease-fire. Her presence in the room drew enormous support in the form of loud cheers and applause.

Valenzuela said she loves her Jewish neighbors and Sacramento’s Jewish community.

“It’s out of love for that community that I’m here today,” she said. “I don’t think this (war) is making anybody safe ... I believe the only path forward that includes safety for the Jewish community is one that is peaceful, and that doesn’t rely on the suppression of Palestinian neighbors.”

She said her support of a cease-fire is not support for Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7.

“I think the actions taken in October in Israel are horrific, and I think the actions taken in Gaza since then are also horrific.”

One former Israeli Defense Force soldier Meital Yaniv, who lives in Southern California, said their experience in the IDF brought them to the protest.

“I joined the IDF when I was 18, and after six months, I disgracefully left,” Yaniv told The Bee. Yaniv suffered from panic attacks and suicidal thoughts after sending planes into Gaza.

“That started a process of understanding the brainwashing and indoctrination of the way that I was raised,” they said. “The first thing that we need to do is an immediate cease-fire now, which is what we’re asking lawmakers (for).

Proponents of a cease-fire are often accused of not acknowledging the victims of Oct. 7, or the hostages Hamas took. Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Republican, posted such sentiments to X, formerly known as Twitter, after the Assembly session was cut short.

Mica Amichai, who lives in Oakland and grew up going to Jewish day school, supports a cease-fire and freedom for Palestinians, despite, Amichai said, the toll it has taken on family relationships.

But Amichai continues to support the cause, and went to the Capitol Wednesday with one message: “Stop.”

Lawmakers react to protest

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City called the protests “totally unacceptable.”

“People have the right to free speech, but impeding important government functions like us coming back into session — we have big important issues to face,” Gallagher said. “The $68 billion deficit, cost of living is out of control in this state, an insurance crisis, a public safety crisis. We have work to do.”

Jewish Caucus co-chairs Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, D-Woodland Hills, emphasized the threats Jewish Californians are experiencing in the wake of the the Oct. 7 attacks and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The protest happened minutes after Wiener released a letter from the Jewish Caucus announcing a legislative package aimed at preventing antisemitic hate. The letter calls for people to “join our efforts to confront hate and bigotry and support the Jewish community at this difficult moment in time.”

“We’ve made very clear what our perspective is in the caucus,” Wiener said. “We have our own criticisms of Israel. We want the war to end. The death that happened in Israel and the death that’s happening in Gaza is just horrific.”

“We also know that the cease-fire resolutions we’ve seen at the local level have, at times, gone off the rails in terms of dredging up a lot of anti-Jewish hate,” he added. “And that causes a lot of fear in our community for a non-binding resolution.”