Jewish groups shut down the U.S. Capitol with protest over Gaza war — Marjorie Taylor Greene accused them of ‘insurrection’

A rally in support of a cease-fire in Gaza outside the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 18, 2023. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh October 18, 2023

Thousands of activists affiliated with IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace, along with other pro-Palestinian groups, gathered inside and outside a Capitol building chanting “ceasefire now” and “free Gaza” Wednesday afternoon. 

The purpose of the protest at the Cannon House Office building was “shutting down Capitol Hill” over the U.S. government’s strong support for Israel after a Hamas attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis sparked a war with a rapidly mounting death toll, said a text-based callout from Jewish Voice for Peace. 

A JVP spokesperson said 500 people were arrested at the demonstration, which it called a “prayerful resistance.” 

The protest came two days after a large protest led by progressive Jewish groups outside the White House called for an immediate cease-fire amid escalating Palestinian civilian casualties. Speakers at the Capitol protest, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri, focused with particular vehemence on a devastating Tuesday blast at a Gaza hospital, which killed at least 471 people according to the Gaza health ministry. (The Israeli military strongly denied it had anything to do with the attack, and blamed the explosion on an errant rocket fired by Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group. The Biden administration also released an assessment that Israel “was not responsible” for the blast.)

Tlaib, who is of Palestinian heritage, and Bush are among 13 progressive House members who co-sponsored a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

But while the peaceful protest focused on conflict abroad, one congressperson took it as an opportunity to reflect on divisions closer to home. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, livestreamed part of the protest on social media, calling the demonstrators “insurrectionists” — a reference to the Jan. 6 insurrection, the seriousness of which Greene has long downplayed.

“Okay, so we have an insurrection happening,” Greene said at the start of her 15-minute recording of the demonstration, which she streamed on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Literally, they have come in and taken over. This is insanity.” 

“On Jan. 6 they arrested everybody and the Department of Justice is still going after them all,” she continued. “But yet everybody is still allowed to stay here.”

When asked by an unidentified person if she thought the activists wanted to overthrow the government, she replied, “I don’t know. We are going to find out.”

As the protests were ongoing, Greene attempted to engage with the protesters. “We see you Marjorie Taylor Greene,” some protesters said through their bullhorns. “Let Gaza live,” one person shouted at her. “Gaza’s blood is on your hand.” 

Greene, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, has been accused in the past of making antisemitic remarks — including suggesting that a Jewish-funded space laser had sparked wildfires in California in 2018.

Capitol Police attempted to contain the protest by limiting visitors’ access to the Capitol complex and shutting down the streets around the Capitol before making arrests. “Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings,” the police said. “We warned the protestors to stop demonstrating and when they did not comply we began arresting them.”