Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week for talks with US President Donald Trump was shadowed by near-constant protests, with demonstrators trailing his motorcade, gathering outside his residence and confronting him at hotels and the White House. Chants of “Bibi, you can’t hide! You’re committing genocide!” echoed through the capital as crowds waved Palestinian flags and held signs accusing Netanyahu of war crimes and condemning US support for Israel.
As Netanyahu moved between Blair House, the White House, the Four Seasons hotel and Capitol Hill events, protesters were rarely far behind. Near the White House on Monday, a crowd gathered as his convoy arrived, with one man shouting, “That’s our tax dollars going right there, to protect a fucking war criminal!” as black SUVs sped past. Outside Blair House, demonstrators pounded drums, blew whistles and held banners reading “Stop the US/Israel war machine” and “Expose Israel’s control of Washington”.
One protester, Joey, wearing a keffiyeh, said he was there because “the only place [Netanyahu] belongs is locked up at the ICC” and that he did not want his taxes used to defend someone facing an arrest warrant. When Netanyahu attended a congressional dinner at the Four Seasons honouring the late Senator Lindsey Graham, protesters stormed the lobby chanting against him before being escorted out by armed security.
Netanyahu is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The Trump administration has refused to enforce the warrant and has instead imposed sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the court as an instrument of “lawfare” and vowing to “dismantle” it. Netanyahu has publicly praised the US sanctions.
Despite official protection, polls suggest significant American opposition to Netanyahu’s conduct. A late-July Economist/YouGov survey found 47% of Americans believe Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes in Gaza, compared with 24% who disagree. Forty-three per cent said they believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, while 24% said it is not. On the question of arrest, 49% of Americans think US authorities should detain Netanyahu if he enters the country in line with the ICC warrant, against 27% who oppose it.
Netanyahu and Trump met at the White House on Tuesday to discuss negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme and control of the Strait of Hormuz, US efforts to increase economic pressure on Tehran, and the possibility of Israel rejoining US-led attacks in the region. At the height of rush hour, a group of protesters braved heavy rain to occupy a roadway in an attempt to block his motorcade.
According to Bloomberg reporter Emily Birnbaum, the unusual scene unfolded after the White House erected extra black fencing that prevented protesters from setting up in their usual spot in front of Lafayette Square. Video from the social media account Eye on Palestine showed police forming a barricade and forcibly dispersing the crowd. The account said that, “despite an ICC war crimes warrant, the Trump administration and local authorities allowed his free movement, fencing off a sprawling section of the city to shield him from demonstrators’ arrest demands”.
While Netanyahu remains effectively immune from legal action on US soil, the scale and persistence of the protests underline that, in the words of organisers, he is still “on trial in the court of public opinion”.