Protesters gathered outside Vice President Harris’s Los Angeles home Thursday, demanding the U.S. to urge Israel to cease-fire in its war against Hamas.
The group IfNotNow, which helped organize a protest at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, posted online that a group of “American Jews” showed up at Harris’s Los Angeles home early Thursday.
Protesters were outside the Harris residence for several hours, singing, chanting and holding signs, one of which read “Jews say ceasefire now. No genocide in our name.”
The Los Angeles Police Department said one police supervisor was dispatched to the area to observe the protest.
According to a daily guidance from the vice president’s office, Harris was not at her home. She remained in Washington, D.C., and had no public events scheduled.
It is not known where second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, was during the protests.
IfNotNow jointly organized a protest with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Wednesday where many demonstrators entered the Cannon House office building demanding a cease-fire.
The demonstration resulted in several arrests and a few people being charged for assaulting a police officer during processing, U.S. Capitol Police said.
Several other protests have broken out across the country as tensions rise between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups.
The protest in Los Angeles and in Washington, D.C., both intended to call on the Biden administration to urge Israel to stop its attack on civilians in Gaza. The Biden administration has largely defended Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, after Hamas militants carried out a a surprise attack of Israeli civilians Oct. 7.
Progressives in Congress have put increased pressure on President Biden to urge Israel to restrain its attacks as the death toll in the Gaza Strip increases.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 12,500 others have been wounded since Israel began its counteroffensive. More than 1,400 people in Israel were killed in the initial attack.
Across the country police increased security measures as fears spread. Police in New York and Los Angeles increased patrols, authorities in Washington, D.C., put up barriers around the U.S. Capitol and some schools closed last Friday when former Hamas leaders called for a “day of rage.”