CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Pro-Palestinian and Pro-Israel protesters spread their messages with a global audience at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week.
Ending the war in Gaza has been pro-Palestinian protesters‘ central message all week.
While the turnout outside the convention may not have been historically significant, organizers say they achieved something the leaders inside did not: making the war in Gaza part of the agenda.
What happened over the last week?
Demonstrations from both Israel and Palestine supporters filled the streets outside of the DNC. On the first official day of the convention Monday, pro-Palestinian protesters breached a small portion of a security fence outside the DNC site at the United Center in the afternoon.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling confirmed the breach at a press briefing on the outer perimeter but said they were not linking it with the entirety of the protest.
No major injuries were reported at protests Monday, he said.
The demonstrations throughout the week were largely peaceful, except for Tuesday when there were clashes between police and protesters that led to dozens of arrests outside of the Israeli Consulate.
Two protesters were taken to the hospital, Snelling told reporters, one with knee pain and the other with an issue concerning their finger. Two officers also suffered “minimal, minor” injuries but refused medical attention, he said.
A large portion of the arrests happened at the end of the night, as police pinned the remaining demonstrators — some of whom said they were trying to get home — in a plaza and blocked them from leaving.
Wednesday’s protest was nowhere near as chaotic as Tuesday.
The protest, approved in the eleventh hour, gathered in Union Park.
Around 400 to 500 people gathered with only a permit to demonstrate at the park and not march to the DNC venue. An organizer told NewsNation the protesters planned to march to the convention anyway.
A pro-Israel demonstration called “Unity against terror” occurred that evening at Park No. 578 less than a mile from the pro-Palestinian demonstration. The demonstration wrapped up after about 45 minutes.
Organizers were aware that the pro-Palestinian group might try to march but said they were confident that police would do their job to keep them safe. About 50 people were gathered.
Protests on the last night of the DNC on Thursday ended much like they began earlier in the week — largely peaceful with a family-friendly atmosphere.
However, the demonstrators’ message was clear: The election isn’t what’s important; the focus should be on an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and diverting funds from Israel.
Additionally, a sit-in outside of the United Center ended Thursday just before the start of the convention’s evening program, about 24 hours after a group of uncommitted delegates began demanding a Palestinian speaker be allowed to address the crowd from the convention’s main stage.
No Palestinian Americans were allowed to speak, causing protest organizers and Democratic lawmakers such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to say party leaders were stifling their voices. They have pointed out that the Chicago area’s Palestinian community is among the largest in the country.
What were the protesters’ messages?
While pro-Palestinian demonstrators united on anti-war messages, pro-Israel activists called for a cease-fire and the safe return of Israeli hostages.
During the week, pro-Israel artists set up installations near the DNC to honor the people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
At least 200 people were at what was deemed “Hostage Square” to look at the art exhibits Tuesday. Among the 250 people kidnapped by Hamas who were being remembered are 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Keith Siegel, 64, and 19-year-old Edan Alexander.
Pro-Palestinian protesters, though, said they were speaking up for the more than 40,000 people killed by Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
“It matters so much to me because I am a Jew, and I was always brought up to believe that never again means never again for anyone ever period — and that’s not what is happening,” said Liano Sharon, a Michigan DNC delegate. “We are continuing to support an ongoing genocide.”
How many people were arrested?
The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) confirmed Friday that police arrested 76 people, including three journalists, between Sunday and Tuesday. Arrests included two people on Sunday, 59 on Tuesday and two on Thursday. Most were cited for disorderly conduct, while others faced misdemeanor charges and four faced felonies.
According to NLG Chicago, one protester is in the court process, while the others have been released on their DNC-related cases.
“The massive shows of force and very aggressive posture toward First Amendment-protected activity, including the deliberate obstruction of a Palestine solidarity march from the Israeli consulate on Tuesday, indicated an intolerance to people’s free speech rights,” Madeline Townsend of NLG Chicago said in a news release.
Police said there were 13 arrests made Monday, with at least 10 connected to the fence breach. Those arrested were detained on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest to aggravated battery of police officers.
During a Wednesday news conference, Snelling 55-60 people were arrested Tuesday, 22 of whom came from out of town. Three journalists were among those arrested, he said.
“We’ve had multiple protests around the city, and I think these have gone well, not only because of the training of the Chicago Police Department and in conjunction with the Secret Service, but also the relationships that we have built with protesters throughout the city of Chicago,” Garien Gatewood, Chicago’s deputy mayor of community safety, said Thursday in an interview with NewsNation.
Chicago police said there were no arrests or injuries during demonstrations Wednesday.
During the protests, police held arrestees charged with municipal violations in custody for hours, despite having the discretion to cite and release them under the Pretrial Fairness Act, a state law implemented in September 2023, according to NLG Chicago. The organization said it also received reports of arrestees being questioned by detectives while lawyers were at the station to meet their clients.
Did protesters get what they asked for?
Organizers who won the right to protest near the United Center, and police, who spent more than a year preparing, say they were successful in broadcasting different narratives about the nation’s third-largest city.
“This is a very large contingent of people who are not willing to stand by quietly while people who are committing genocide are in our city. We showed the world that,” student organizer Liz Rathburn told the Associated Press.
Organizers had predicted that as many as 20,000 would come to a march and rally on the convention’s opening day. While they conceded that the numbers didn’t end up that high, they disagreed with the city’s much lower estimate of about 3,500 participants.
Hatem Abudayyeh, a lead organizer and co-founder of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said he was pleased with the turnout and the message of the largely family-friendly demonstrations that drew on the Chicago area’s large Palestinian population.
“We were the show,” Abudayyeh said. “The excitement was happening out here in the streets.”
NewsNation’s Cassie Buchman, Marni Hughes and Nick Smith, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.