After briefly shutting down a City Council meeting earlier this month, a group of pro-Palestine residents protested a gala headlined by Sen. Tim Kaine in Old Town.
Outside of the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s fundraiser gala at the Torpedo Factory Art Center Wednesday night, members of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights chanted for lawmakers inside to publicly support a ceasefire resolution in Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas.
The protestors held signs that said, “Democrats feast while Gaza starves,” and “The Democratic Party — Shutting our eyes while Gaza dies.”
Protestor Nikki Enfield described herself as a lifelong Democrat and said that the party has lost its moral compass in regard to the Middle Eastern conflict.
“We are here, because many of us, myself included, are lifelong Democrats, who were told that our party was something that it turns out it’s not,” Enfield said. “For whatever reason when it comes to our relationship with Israel, all of the progressive values go out the window.”
Inside the $175-per plate gala, Kaine delivered his reelection stump speech, and said that the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was a wakeup call for him.
“There’s a powerful tear-down energy in this country, and, frankly, all around the world,” Kaine said. “But let’s face it, what we’re up against this year is a Republican Party that is led by the greatest teardown artists in the history of this country.”
Kaine continued, “At every opportunity, what can he (former President Trump) and his acolytes, which is now the entire party, do to tear us down and tear us apart? And so it’s an existential battle. And it’s not just happening in the United States. This is happening all over the world, the stand-up energy against the tear-down energy. And what I will say that gives me confidence that we’re going to prevail in November is this: Doing this for 30 years, I have been in homes, churches, schools, businesses, grocery stores, on the soccer field. I have been everywhere in every zip code in this Commonwealth listening to Virginians. And what I believe about Virginians is this: We are stand up people, we’re not tear-down people, even in tough times. We stand up and we stand together.”
The gala was attended by most of the city’s elected Democrats, including members of the Virginia General Assembly, Mayor Justin Wilson and members of City Council.
Kaine is running for reelection in November, and has been followed by pro-Palestine protestors in many of his public appearances. One of those protests disrupted a campaign event he held last month in Old Town.
Kaine previously said that he supports a ceasefire, but only when Hamas releases hundreds of Israeli hostages whose kidnapping last October sparked the conflict. Since then, an estimated 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, while the Biden Administration and federal lawmakers have been severely criticized for not doing more to solve a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.
There are currently five Republican candidates in the running to face Kaine this November.
