Protesters arrested at Center of the American Experiment event
Last night (Thursday) in downtown Minneapolis, the Center hosted the former Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, for an evening of public policy discussion centered around recent events in the Middle East.
Inside the venue, a good time was had by all. Outside? Not so much. A sampling of headlines in local media:
Former Israel Prime Minister met by protesters in Minneapolis (msn.com)
Protest leads to arrests after former Israeli leader gives speech | kare11.com
Five arrests? Earlier in the evening, the crowd didn’t look that lively. The event took place at The Depot, located on the site of the old Milwaukee Road train station. Here is a photo taken of the protesters on Washington Avenue.
I took this photo through a window from inside the venue at 6:30 p.m.
The Fox 9 report on the event puts the size of the protest crowd at “hundreds.” WCCO goes with a more modest “few dozen.” The KARE 11 report includes some additional details.
Officers arrested one man, two women and two juvenile girls after they saw individuals spray-painting public property, according to the Minneapolis police. The protest took place outside The Depot Minneapolis, where former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett spoke at an event as the keynote guest.
Inside the venue, the capacity crowd of 600 far outnumbered the protesters outside. The audience was treated to a wide-ranging address, touching on the Gaza War, U.S.-Israel relations, strategies for containing Iran, and other related topics. The crowd rewarded Bennett with a standing ovation.
Bennett served as Prime Minister for a little over a year, from 2021 to 2022. In the parlance of Israeli politics, he is known as “right-wing.” Bennett himself says that if he were American, he would be described as “a moderate Republican.”
The protest appears to have been organized by a local outfit, the MN Anti-War Committee. This is the call to action the group shared on their social media.
Last night, the group posted a call to free their jailed comrades.
Five protesters were wrongfully arrested tonight by MPD while peacefully protesting the war criminal and ex-prime minister of Israel Naftali Bennett.
Call to demand their immediate release and for these erroneous charges to be dropped at once!
They needn’t worry. There is zero chance that Hennepin County’s notorious left-wing prosecutor, Mary Moriarty, will pursue any charges.
The Anti-War Committee has its offices in a down-scale building in south Minneapolis.
Oddly enough, from this orientation, the Committee’s office suite is located to the right. The sign on the door refers to another member of the “Free Palestine” coalition, Women Against Military Madness.
For certain, no one can accuse our events of being boring.