Protesters disrupt Booker speech, call for Gaza cease-fire

Protesters disrupted a speech by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in New Jersey on Sunday, calling for a cease-fire in the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel. 

“Cease-fire now!” the protesters chanted repeatedly as Booker spoke, according to video posted online.

The protesters were peaceful, and some wore gloves that appeared to be stained with red ink to represent blood. Others appeared to be holding signs as they participated in the chanting. 

Booker at first welcomed the protest, pointing to it as an example of what makes the U.S. great.

“I want to call out to everybody right now, these final hours. This is what’s on the ballot. We should know in New Jersey, how privileged we are. There are so many places in our country right now,” he said, before the first protester shouted for a cease-fire, and then others joined in.

Responding to the growing calls, Booker said, “This is what makes America great: The power to protest, the power to have free speech, the power of America.”

The protest comes amid an uptick in public demonstrations in support of a cease-fire in the Middle East after Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, last month launched a surprise attack on the southern border of Israel, killing 1,400 Israelis.

In response, Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes on Gaza and its troops have moved into the territory. Nearly 10,000 Palestinians have died as a result, according to the latest estimates from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. 

Hamas, which is the governing authority in Gaza, also took about 240 Israelis hostage. Israel has maintained it would not discuss a cease-fire until the hostages are released and return home. 

Booker was in Israel when Hamas launched its attack one month ago, and he recounted feeling “shaken” by the incident.  

In a statement to The Hill, a Booker spokesperson praised the right to protest and associated the senator’s views with President Biden’s.

“Senator Booker celebrates the fact that in America, we all have the right to make our political views and voices heard through peaceful protest,” she said, adding, “Senator Booker agrees with President Biden and believes that a short-term mutually agreed upon humanitarian pause is needed to ensure the protection of civilians, work towards the immediate and safe release of hostages, ensure that life-saving assistance can reach innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, and enable Americans to safely depart Gaza should they want to.”

“The threat of Hamas must be dismantled and we must redouble our efforts toward achieving a lasting peace that guarantees Israel’s right to exist as Jewish and democratic state and ensures the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and a state of their own,” the spokesperson said. “Israelis and Palestinians alike have the right to live with dignity and security, free from fear and violence.”

His spokesperson noted Booker has traveled twice in the last month to several countries in the Middle East and nearby region, to meet with officials and push “for humanitarian relief and greater normalization of relations and economic and security cooperation.”

Updated at 5:25 p.m.