While President Joe Biden celebrated the Micron investment in Syracuse Thursday, there were some who were not happy with his visit, as more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters greeted him at Syracuse’s Museum of Science and Technology.
It’s a common sight at any presidential event these days. Chanting, Palestinian flags waving, and posters calling Biden “Genocide Joe.” And it was the same in Syracuse Thursday, with about 100 protesters crammed behind police barricades at the entrance to the presidential venue at the MOST in Syracuse’s Armory Square.
The chants Thursday said, “Biden, Biden you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”
Bahar Zaker, a Syracuse pro-Palestinian protester, wanted the president to know it’s not just business as usual.
“We're all very aware of the tens and tens and tens of thousands of people who have been killed and millions of people who have been displaced in Gaza alone,” Zaker said. “And it's being done with U.S. funding. It's being done with our tax dollars. So we want to let Joe Biden know that we can't just pretend that's not going on.”
Zaker believes the demonstrations have impact, suggesting presidential visits are more tightly controlled.
"They were very hush-hush, they didn't announce the time or the place until very last minute,” Zaker said. “And that gives an image of a president who won't face his own constituents."
These protesters are calling for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza. And as protests grow, most recently on college campuses, Zaker believes that message is becoming more difficult to avoid.
“There's people dying right now as we speak,” Zaker said. “So we would welcome the president and our elected representatives to listen to us, the majority of Americans, and really make a ceasefire happen, which they can.”
