Outraged over Biden's handling of Gaza, protesters in Milwaukee pledge to withdraw support in primary

Protesters gathered in Milwaukee's Red Arrow Park on Wednesday afternoon to demand President Joe Biden, in town for a campaign stop, push more strongly for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Echoing movements in Michigan and Minnesota, they said they would not vote for him in Wisconsin's April 2 primary as a demonstration of their outrage over the United States' response to the Israel-Hamas war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

"They will definitely lose this election if they don't listen to their constituents," said Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition.

There are 40,000 Muslim voters in Wisconsin, and Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by 20,000 votes, Najeeb said. She expects progressives and young people to join in voting "uninstructed" on their primary ballots.

People who voted for Biden in the last election "have been asking for a ceasefire, and he has been ignoring them," Najeeb said. "People are dying of starvation and dehydration in Gaza, and he is unmoved by that."

Activists in key swing states, including Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, have pledged for months to withdraw support from Biden.

Milwaukee-area activists have said since the war began they would not support Biden in the presidential election unless his policy in Gaza changed. But recently the calls have become more specific, with Najeeb also urging protesters to vote "uninstructed" on their primary ballots at a prior rally March 2.

While both Biden and Trump have secured enough delegates to clinch their parties' nominations, potential primary voters believe they still have the political power to prompt Biden to listen. After all, battleground states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania turned blue in 2020 were critical to Biden's victory.

More than 100,000 Michigan Democratic voters cast ballots for “uncommitted” in its primary on Feb. 27, and almost a fifth of all Democratic primary voters in Minnesota did the same March 5.

Vice President Kamala Harris has called for a six-week ceasefire. Biden has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to war "is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” and that he “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken” in Gaza.

Protesters march downtown as Biden visits

A crowd of roughly 125 people gathered with Palestinian flags and signs in Red Arrow Park, then marched along on downtown streets in an effort to get close to Biden, who was attending the opening of his campaign headquarters. Police road closures kept the group about a block away from the location.

Omar Dasan, an instructor of Arabic at Milwaukee Area Technical College, has attended several rallies in Milwaukee since the war began. He is frustrated with Biden's recent moves to send some aid into the territory — airdrops of packages, plans to build a floating pier — arguing it's not nearly enough.

"He's saying, 'I have done something and I am listening to you,' but actually, there is nothing," Dasan said. "It's like giving (with one) hand and hitting with the other hand."

Mary Krolikowski of Milwaukee held a sign that read, "Catholics for Peace." She said she previously voted for Biden and plans to vote "uninstructed" in the primary "unless I see a change in policy." She wants the U.S. to stop selling weapons to Israel.

The U.S. has approved and delivered on more than 100 arms sales to Israel since October 7, according to a Washington Post report last week.

"I think it will help our representatives realize that people who have traditionally supported Biden are disturbed by his conduct in this particular conflict," Krolikowski said.

She hadn't considered not voting for Biden in the general election, "because Trump is even worse."

Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed more than 31,000, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials, following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people. The Israeli offensive has left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people. Much of the population is nearing famine, according to the United Nations.

Getting humanitarian aid to the area has been difficult, due to the ongoing hostilities and struggles to coordinate with the Israeli military, which has blocked routes and slowed deliveries due to inspections.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee protesters for Gaza ceasefire call out President Joe Biden