Young Americans demonstrate against the war in Gaza

The short version

• The war in Gaza, and US support for Israel, has led to large protests and mass arrests at the country’s elite universities.
• The war in Gaza is becoming a political burden for President Joe Biden, who is losing support among young voters
• Large demonstrations during the national meeting can give Donald Trump an advantage by appearing as a law and order politician

View more

It could be an unusually hot summer in the United States. In August, it could boil over at the Democrats’ national convention in Chicago.

Then the Democratic Party will nominate Joe Biden for a new presidential term. The last thing they want is a replay of the Democrats’ dramatic national convention in Chicago in 1968.

Then young Americans protested against the US’s war in Vietnam. The National Convention in Chicago is remembered for the violent clashes between demonstrators and police forces in the streets outside.

That same autumn, the Democrats’ candidate Hubert Humphrey lost the presidential election. Richard Nixon, who ran on law and order, won.

Today, the war in Gaza, and the US’s support for Israel, has led to major protests at the country’s elite universities.

Activists tell the Chicago Tribune newspaper that they will also demonstrate in Chicago in August, with or without a permit.

Ever since the war started in October, there have been demonstrations in many American cities against Israel and Biden’s Middle East policy. Protesters have followed Biden in the election campaign, sometimes interrupting his speeches.

In recent times, the protests have increased in strength.

The police have carried out mass arrests at universities in New York.

There are protests at leading educational institutions from the east to the west coast. Police actions have only strengthened the protest movement.

The demonstrators are demanding an end to the war. But also that the universities break financial ties with Israel and get rid of shares in companies that sell weapons to the country.

The fronts are getting harder. In some places, there have been confrontations between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists. The police in New York intervened when the university administration at Columbia stated that students and staff felt threatened.

The protests are no longer just about war resistance. Some say that freedom of speech and assembly is in danger. Others accuse protesters of using anti-Semitic slogans. Some claim that provocateurs are infiltrating the demonstrations.

War and conflict lead to radicalism. The left has been revitalized. And the right has found an issue they can use against the Democrats in an election year. As Nixon did in 1968.

Much is different, but today there are some similarities to the situation in 1968.

1968 was characterized by shocking events, riots and war resistance.

It was the year when the United States had the most soldiers in Vietnam, over half a million. American losses were at an all-time high. And at home, opposition to the war increased.

Early in the year, President Lyndon B. Johnson of the Democratic Party said he would not run for re-election. He was burdened by the course of the war. Joe Biden is an unpopular president whom pro-Palestinian protesters label as “genocide Joe”.

The characterization is, at best, a crude caricature.

But the war in Gaza is anyway a major political burden for Biden.

He is losing support among young voters that he needs to win the election. Young Americans are more critical of Israel than older generations. A wing in Biden’s own party wants him to take a clearer stand with Israel.

American Jews are divided in their view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Traditionally, most Jews vote for Democratic Party candidates. This is an important voter group for Biden.

No president since George HW Bush has had as strained a relationship with an Israeli prime minister as Biden. It seems that Biden has lost patience with a partner who does not listen to what he says.

The United States has always been Israel’s indispensable ally. Israel has endured criticism from many quarters, as long as they have been confident of having the Americans’ support. Netanyahu has jeopardized this by going it alone.

Nevertheless, US support for Israel remains firm. Congress this week approved $13 billion in military aid to Israel, in addition to $9 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza and other crisis areas.

The national meeting in Chicago took place after the murders of two prominent leaders, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. This year, Robert Kennedy Jr., son of the candidate who was assassinated in 1968, is running as an independent presidential candidate.

In 1968 there was an atmosphere of sadness, but also of anger.

The street battles between protesters and police were broadcast live on American TV channels. The dramatic images from the streets received more attention than what happened inside the national assembly.

Although a majority of Americans by this time had turned against the war in Vietnam, voters were alarmed by the violence and chaos in the streets. Chicago police used brutal methods to quell the riots.

If the Democratic National Convention is overshadowed by large demonstrations, it could give Donald Trump an advantage. He would like to appear as a law and order politician, despite the fact that he himself has been charged in four criminal cases.

Republicans are already referring to the anti-war demonstrations at elite American universities as expressions of anarchy and anti-Semitism.

– The Republican message is that the world is out of control and that Biden has no control. They will use all signs of disorder to support this, says Barack Obama’s former adviser, David Axelrod to the New York Times.

He adds ironically:

– We have a large anti-war movement, a lot of commotion and a national meeting in Chicago. What can go wrong?

A whole lot. Biden may lose the election, as Humphrey did in 1968.