Protesters on Tuesday rallied at the White House against the diplomatic accords between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates brokered by the Trump administration, comparing Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu to dictator Adolf Hitler.
While Trump, Netanyahu, and Bahrain foreign ministers signed the agreement on the White House South Lawn, protesters organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations gathered outside to criticize Israel’s treatment of its Muslim population. Many people carried Palestinian flags and shouted slogans calling for a Muslim liberation from the Jewish state.
The anti-Zionism Jewish group Neturei Karta International joined the group in holding Palestinian flags and handing out literature lamenting the “ongoing tragedy” of the “Zionist state and its occupation of Palestine.”
At one point, the crowd began chanting criticisms of Netanyahu and Trump, saying that both should be “doing time.” As the crowd approached the protective fence behind the White House, it shouted more abuse at Netanyahu, using his popular nickname: “Bibi and Hitler are the same, the only difference is the name.”
Anti-Israel protesters behind the White House: “Bibi and Hitler are the same, the only difference is the name.” pic.twitter.com/hgvi6f4jL9
— Nic Rowan (@NicXTempore) September 15, 2020
Later on, protesters clashed with supporters of the peace agreement, who were waving Israeli flags at another point along the protective fence. Both sides shouted at each other, with the anti-Israel demonstrators drowning out the pro-Israel group with repeated chants of “shame.” One protester could be heard telling the pro-Israel group to “go back to Russia.”
Anti-Israel protesters clash with pro-Israel counterprotesters. pic.twitter.com/4G5ahtjekb
— Nic Rowan (@NicXTempore) September 15, 2020
When the group reached the front of the White House, some members began chanting, “Allahu Akbar,” before the organizers told them to stop. The group also accused Israel of committing “genocide” against Palestinians.
CAIR could not be reached for comment.
The peace agreement, negotiated by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, normalizes relationships between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain, after decades of political and ethnic hostility between the Arab world and the Jewish state.
Trump said at the ceremony that the agreement would “change the course of history.”
