Protesters combine Gaza with abortion rights at convention-eve march

CHICAGO — A downtown rally and march on the eve of the Democratic National Convention mixed reproductive rights with pro-Palestinian protests in a warning to party leaders not to take the activists for granted in the November presidential election.

The demonstration that attracted several hundred protesters — lined by a blocks-long phalanx of police officers — was organized by Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws: Coalition for Reproductive Justice and LGBTQ+ Liberation. But at least as many demonstrators shouted slogans and displayed signs calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel as demanded the assurance of reproductive rights.

It was one of two demonstrations targeting the convention for which the city issued a march permit, the second scheduled for today at Union Park on the Near West Side, blocks away from the United Center convention venue.

Among the speakers combining the two subjects was Rabbi Abby Stein , an Israeli, ex-Hasidic transgender activist living in Brooklyn.

“I’m realizing more and more the Venn diagram of the people who oppose abortion rights,” she told the Forward , intersects with “the people who support the war in Gaza.”

Likewise, she said, there’s no conflict in advocating for abortion rights and calling for an end to the war. Of the presidential election, she added: “I’m not here to tell anyone who is looking at the Biden administration sending billions of dollars to Gaza — I’m not going to be like, ‘you have to vote for them.’

“Is Trump going to be worse? Probably he will be. But right now, it’s horrible. Right now, it’s atrocious. And right now the Democratic Party and President Biden are supporting genocide.”

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Amid signs decrying both Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were several backing neither candidate. That position described Karina Garcia, the presidential candidate of Party for Socialism and Liberation, who spoke at the rally’s conclusion in Grant Park.

Marching on historic footsteps

On the way there, the protesters traversed a mile south on the broad avenue, with traffic closed in their direction. About halfway, they were met by counterprotesters shouting and displaying anti-abortion slogans — one labeling Vice President Kamala Harris “baby killer” — but did not engage with the group.

The marchers also passed the Chicago Hilton Hotel, the scene of police violence against anti-Vietnam War protesters during the 1968 Democratic Convention. This time, patrons at the Hilton restaurant took pictures of the march, standing behind the large-paned windows that gave way in 1968 when police pushed protesters against the glass, sending shards on dining convention delegates.

The march ended a block away in the shadow of another iconic edifice: the statue of Civil War General John Logan, from which demonstrators were violently pulled down by police in 1968. On Sunday, steel barriers and a line of police officers cordoned off the monument.

The rally and march took place as Harris arrived in the city for the opening of the convention on Monday.

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