Protesters waving a Palestinian flag disrupted a reception at the Florida Democratic Party's state convention in Orlando. Security ultimately escorted two groups of people out of the hotel after they chanted "shame" at party leaders and "Free Palestine."
The demonstration occurred as Democrats stressed their solidarity with Israeli victims of terrorism in recent weeks. Party leaders stressed support of the Israeli government's right to defend itself.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried wore a pin with the colors of the American flag and the Star of David from the Israeli flag. She said it was important for American leaders to provide support to allies in Israel in lieu of a string of Hamas-led terrorist attacks.
"As somebody from the Jewish community, this is personal to a lot of us," Fried said. "This hit home for a lot of us, and it's been a really hard couple of weeks for Jews across the entire world. But as a Democratic Party we have stood in unity."
Attacks by Hamas beginning on Oct. 7 killed an estimated 1,400 Israelis, and Gaza authorities say a counteroffensive by Israel has since resulted in nearly 7,000 Palestinian deaths in return.
The escalating violence also drove the protesters at the convention to voice disapproval with party leaders' unwavering support for Israel. During a Chair's Reception at the Rosen Centre, a man dressed in all black stood on a chair and started criticizing U.S. policy toward Palestinians. He and those with him were taken away by security, with one woman waving a black-checkered Palestinian keffiyeh.
About 10 minutes after the demonstrators were escorted out, another group came through the hotel, this time waving a large Palestinian flag and chanting support for a "Free Palestine." Security immediately descended on the group and led them outside as well.
A convention dinner started shortly afterward, and the events in the Middle East continued to drive discussions. The party has three religious leaders — a Muslim imam, Jewish rabbi and Christian reverend — lead a prayer at the beginning of the night.
Rev. Dr. Karen Green, a former Democratic congressional candidate, was among those faith leaders and broke from script as she called for unity.
"Whatever your faith is, Arabic Muslims, Jewish, Christians, atheists, whatever your faith is, I know that this is the experience of the Democratic Party," she said, before encouraging everyone at the event to hug someone nearby.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Co-Chair of Florida's congressional delegation, in her remarks at the dinner noted she was in the Middle East as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation when the attacks began. The Weston Democrat, who is also Jewish, praised President Joe Biden for showing firm support for Israel in the conflict but also for encouraging limits on Palestinian civilian deaths.
She told Florida Politics she is hopeful new House Speaker Mike Johnson will bring a funding request from Biden to the floor, including funding for Israel and for other conflicts like the war in Ukraine.
"You have a tyrant in (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and a terrorist organization, Hamas, that we're trying to make sure we can take down," Wasserman Schultz said.
Jewish voters in the U.S. remain a heavily Democratic voting bloc. Pew Research Center reports 64% of American Jews self-identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, compared to 26% who identify as Republican or Republican-leaning. But Republicans have made inroads, with staunch support of Israel a key reason.
Fried, though, said that support is bipartisan and will stay that way. Wasserman Schultz, for her part, doesn't see any shift happening, especially considering the disarray of Republicans at the national level.
"I'm confident that after what Jewish voters have seen play out in Technicolor over the last several weeks, they will not touch the Republican Party," she said.
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