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House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed leading Democrats for refusing to condemn anti-Israel and anti-American protests, accusing them of trying to appease the “pro-Hamas” wing of their party after demonstrations engulfed various cities on Monday.
Johnson highlighted the importance of standing alongside Israel during “Fox & Friends,” arguing that it is “shameful” politicians aren’t speaking out against the demonstrations as the world awaits Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s attack over the weekend. Johnson was asked about videos from the streets of Brooklyn, New York where anti-Israel agitators burned an American flag.
“What’s so shameful about all this, for all the obvious reasons, is that we’re turning our back on Israel, our critical ally and important friend,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “But the most shameful part about it, I’m afraid, is the silence that you hear from Washington. There’s so many leading Democrats who refuse to speak out about this… I think they’re appeasing the pro-Hamas wing of their party now, and that’s a serious problem.”
“We need to stand with Israel, unequivocally,” he continued.
“I spoke to my counterpart, the speaker of the Knesset, Speaker [Amir] Ohana, about, 36 hours ago or so, and he thanked me and us, the Republicans, and others who have stood strong with Israel, with our voices, and that’s a very important thing for them. I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu about a week ago, and he expressed the same sentiment. We’ve got to stand strong. We got to tell the world and show the world that Israel is not alone here.”
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS BLOCK GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE TRAFFIC
VideoHundreds of anti-Israel protesters shut down traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Monday, holding banners with the messages “Stop the world for Gaza” and “End the siege on Gaza now!” Aerial images captured by KTVU later showed the Golden Gate Bridge protesters being taken into custody and the banners being put away.
A similar demonstration has also blocked traffic on Interstate-880 in Oakland.
VIDEO SHOWS CHICAGO ACTIVISTS CHEER AFTER LEARNING IRAN LAUNCHED ATTACK ON ISRAEL: ‘HANDS OFF IRAN!’
Meanwhile, in New York City, nearly 300 protesters gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange on Monday morning. Protesters were heard chanting “free, free Palestine” – “Palestine will never die” – “from Wall Street to Palestine… intifada” – “Israel bombs. USA pays. How many kids did you kill today?”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 15: Pro Palestinian protesters confront a small group of Israeli demonstrators during dueling events outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 15, 2024 in New York City. While Palestinian protesters outnumbered those in support of Israel, the two groups clashed at times with at least one arrest as tensions in the Middle East continue to spill out into the streets around the world. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Johnson called out Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., directly for not speaking out against the protests.
“It’s unconscionable that anybody would stand by that,” Johnson said. “Chuck Schumer is really responsible for Israel not being funded yet. Remember, we sent over an Israel funding package, back in October. It was within the first week of my being the speaker, we did a pay for – we took it out of the IRS expansion slush fund to take care of that, but he refused to even address it, and it’s been sitting on his desk.”
“We tried to pass Israel again about a month ago, and 166 House Democrats voted against that funding. Why? Because Joe Biden said he would veto it. It’s really shameful,” he continued.
In Chicago, protesters blocked traffic to O’Hare Airport, causing delays that lasted for several hours after the protest was broken up by police. Chicago Police told Fox News that 40 people in total were arrested and that charges are pending.
Anti-Israel protests also erupted in cities like Philadelphia, Miami and Tampa.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
VideoBailee Hill is an associate editor with Fox News Digital. Story ideas can be sent to bailee.hill@fox.com
