President Biden will arrive in Los Angeles today for a campaign fundraiser at the home of Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban, potentially sparking protests over the US role in Israel’s war against Hamas.

Tensions are rising within the Democratic Party over Biden’s support for Israel, which is bombing the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas’ attack on October 1. 7 attacks on Israel.

The Biden administration has been a steadfast ally of Israel and is preparing to send additional weapons to the country even as the president has described the military campaign against Gaza as “overblown” and reportedly privately expressed frustration with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The government called for a temporary ceasefire in a draft resolution submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Monday.

But the issue divided California Democrats in November; their convention closed early after about 1,000 protesters stormed the Sacramento venue.

facility where it took place.

In December, the last time Biden visited Los Angeles to raise money, protesters organized large demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Palestinians’ financial and military aid US to Israel. Vandals Spray Baby Killers, LA Now Says No to Genocide Joe and Ceasefire!!! End the war crimes! on buildings in the Westwood area.

Such protests may be repeated

occur again

Today. Saban is a strong supporter of Israel, and other fundraiser organizers have deep ties to the Jewish community. Co-host Leslie Gilbert-Lurie is a former television executive

and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor

who has written a book about her experiences as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and co-host Nicole Mutchnik is vice president of the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. Other co-hosts include Casey Wasserman, Chairman

president

of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee; StubHub co-founder Eric Baker; former Obama ambassador to Germany John Emerson and former studio chief Bob Daly. Tickets for the event cost up to $250,000.

Biden must draw a careful line so that

to attempt

so as not to alienate the Democratic coalition’s core segments of Jewish voters, young people and people of color, who are key to his re-election efforts. Biden administration officials met with Arab American and Muslim leaders in Michigan this month in an effort to cultivate relationships with a community that could influence who wins the crucial swing state this year.

the 2024

election.

A super PAC backing former President Trump, Biden’s likely opponent in November’s general election, has seized on tension over the war between Israel and Hamas as Biden arrives in California. It is running digital ads aimed at social media users in Saban’s zip code, focusing on White House officials’ meeting with Osama Siblani, a Michigan newspaper publisher who has previously praised the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

“Joe Biden continues to embrace America’s enemies. The White House’s embrace of Osama Siblani is an insult to the dozens of Americans and hundreds of Israelis who lost their lives on October 7, and to the millions of Israelis who wake up every morning under Islam’s siege. terrorism, Alex Pfeiffer, spokesman for the

Make America great again

MAGA Inc. super PAC said in a statement.

Biden’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the attack ad.

This is likely Biden’s last trip to California before Super Tuesday on March 5, when California and more than a dozen other states hold primaries. During the 2020 presidential election, his campaign raised $145.4 million from Californians, the most of any state in the country, according to campaign finance information filed with the Federal Election Commission. (And that doesn’t include donations to super PACs and other groups that supported his bid.)

His campaign’s fundraising efforts were hampered last year by strikes in the entertainment industry.

MONEY NUMBERS EMBARGO UNTIL 2AM OUR TIME:

On Tuesday, the campaign announced that the combined groups backing Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign had raised more than $42 million and had $130 million in the bank as of January, the most by any Democratic presidential candidate at this point in the election cycle has had.

January’s fundraising, powered by a strong grassroots fundraising program that continues to grow month after month, is an undeniable show of strength to start the election year, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.

The president is expected to speak at an official event Wednesday before leaving the Southland for the Bay Area, where he is expected to hold additional fundraisers before leaving the state Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.