Gaza ceasefire protest interrupts US VP Harris speech in California

Pro-Palestinian protestors lined up in San Jose, California, on Monday and interrupted US Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech to demand an immediate ceasefire amid Washington’s unwavering support of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Harris was on the second stop of her nationwide tour “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” but was met with protesters asking all the participants to remember the women and children being massacred in Gaza.

Outside the event, protesters chanted slogans, “Ceasefire NOW,” and “End US aid to Israel” while carrying Palestinian flags.

They told people who were lining up to see Harris to ask the vice president to fight for the reproductive rights of Palestinian women in Gaza.

“Palestinian mothers are facing miscarriages, they don’t have access to feminine hygiene products, they cannot access anesthesia, and now, the US is urging their starvation,” said Zahra Billoo, Executive Director at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) which organized the rally.

Billoo said the Vice President is “complicit” in the genocide against the Palestinians.

“For her to come here and tell us that she cares about our health and wellness, while she bombs women who look like us is not going to be acceptable.”

“When Kamala Harris is telling me that oh I’m going to protect the reproductive, I see that as a double standard and the double standard must stop,” Nasteho Ahmed, a healthcare worker said.

“Human being is equal. We all, no matter where we come from, if one hurts, we all hurt.”

Inside, at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose, Harris was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, starting just moments after she took the stage.

“There is no reproductive justice without a ceasefire now,” one protester yelled at the vice president.

“You are complicit in genocide,” another shouted.

The vice president responded as the first protesters were escorted out.

“Let me say, in a real democracy, everyone has a right to have their voice heard,” Harris said, “And I will say, we all want this conflict to end as soon as possible, and the President and I are working on that every single day.”

The health ministry in Gaza says more than 26,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war against Gaza since October 7, the majority being women and children.

The US, Israel’s traditional ally, has provided Tel Aviv with unwavering support since the regime unleashed its genocidal campaign against Gaza.

In December, US President Joe Biden’s administration bypassed Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel for the second time in that month.

The State Department said at the time that Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5 million sale of military equipment.

The US has also vetoed United Nations resolutions backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.