A protest of about 1,000 people angry about it

American support for Israel in its war with Hamas

entered the convention center

Where

the California Democratic

Party was together

Saturday evening,

causing security guards to lock the entrances to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Sacramento and ending the day’s official events early

.

Delegates and other participants were temporarily barred from leaving or entering the building after protesters stormed through security and opened several doors around 6 p.m., allowing more people to flood into the building where California Democrats were meeting for a weekend of events in preparation for the election of 2024. Cease fire now. Ceasefire now,” they chanted as they marched through the convention hall, waving Palestinian flags and “Free Palestine” signs. Sherry Shery Yang said in a statement: The demonstration was not as dramatic as

Wednesday’s protest

at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, where police clashed with protesters calling for a ceasefire as members of Congress gathered inside. Both examples highlight what the war is like between Israel and Hamas

divide left

as the US heads into an election year. Protesters in Sacramento called President Biden Genocide Joe and said bombing hospitals and children is a crime.” The Israeli army has searched the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital in search of one

The Hamas command center claims so

is located beneath the building, a claim Hamas and hospital staff deny.

The

Sacramento

protest

started earlier in the afternoon

in a park a few blocks away. The crowd heard from speakers who decried Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after Hamas

Oct. 7

raid

which militants in Israel massacred about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240.

Hello Israeli

The army has killed another 11,500 Palestinians and left another 2,700 missing, according to Palestinian health authorities.

buried under rubble

.

Several Jewish delegates at the convention expressed frustration with the protesters who had done so

not registered to attend the convention, could be

so easy to enter the facility.

Naomi Goldman, a board member of Democrats for Israel California, wearing a pretty Jewish girl T-shirt, said it was painful to hear protesters chanting: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. While many Palestinians view the chorus as a cry for liberation, many Jews hear it as a message that Israel must be destroyed.

I eagerly await meaningful commentary from my party on hate speech and violence targeting the Jewish community,” Goldman said, “as well as a total condemnation of what delegates have done to disrupt our meeting, and how this will ensure safe, inclusive spaces for everyone who cherishes a diversity of opinions.

Ameera Abouromeleh, an 18-year-old Palestinian American who joined the protest with six members of her family, including her 74-year-old grandfather, who she said was born in Jerusalem, said she looks forward to voting for the first time next year to vote. way to show solidarity with family remaining in the West Bank.

“I feel really lucky to be 18 because this is the moment where I can really change what’s happening to my people and my country,” said the community college student from the East Bay Area. Even if you crush someone under the rubble, our voices will continue to be heard.

She said that in the presidential election she plans to vote for Cornel West, a progressive academic who is running as an independent. But she wasn’t sure who she preferred in California’s race for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Democratic candidates in that race, including Reps. Katie Porter of Irvine, Adam B. Schiff of Burbank and Barbara Lee of Oakland made the rounds of the convention Saturday to ask for their party’s support.