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Intensifying pro-Palestinian protests took a direct swipe at the California Democratic Party over the weekend, forcing the cancellation of all events Saturday night at its Sacramento convention where U.S. Senate candidates were seeking endorsements.

Party leaders, elected officials and Jewish political groups denounced the disruptions.

“Harassment, intimidations and bullying [have] no place in our party,” Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, told delegates on Sunday during a general session. Hicks added that any delegates who participated in the protests “will be held accountable,” according to Politico.

The direct impact on the convention follows other public disruptions by pro-Palestinian groups in recent weeks in Northern California, including a Nov. 13 sit-in inside a federal government office building in Oakland and a Nov. 16 demonstration that blocked the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco for hours. 

Protesters are calling for an Israeli cease-fire in its war against Hamas, but many are also using extreme language about Israel with references to “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid.”

In California, which has the nation’s largest statewide Democratic Party with about 10 million voters registered as Democrats, the war has already been encroaching on local and state politics. In early November, for example, the Alameda County Democratic Party approved a resolution that accused Israel of “committing acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing by forcing 2,000,000 Palestinians to leave Gaza or risk being bombed.”

The California Legislative Jewish Caucus, a group of 18 lawmakers in Sacramento, criticized the convention’s protesters for justifying the Oct. 7 attack when Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and took another 240 hostage.

“They chanted, among other things, ‘from the river to the sea,’ which is a call for the eradication of the State of Israel. They also chanted ‘resistance is justified when people are occupied,’ an apparent reference to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack — the largest mass murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jews since the Holocaust,” the caucus said in a statement.

Videos circulated online showing the disruptions at the convention, where hundreds of protesters overwhelmed security guards and breached the doors of the convention center on Saturday night and chanted inside the lobby. Video shared on X and by Sacramento TV station KCRA also showed protesters disrupting Senate candidate speeches. 

Paul Kujawsky, who attended the convention as a delegate from San Fernando Valley, said the disruptions began on a smaller scale Friday evening with a pro-Palestinian march outside the venue and continued Saturday afternoon inside with chants of “Free Palestine” and “Cease-fire now” before the protesters stopped the convention altogether that night. At the height of the protest, an estimated 2,500 people were outside the convention center, Sacramento’s KCRA reported.

It was unclear who organized the protests, but a group called Bay Resistance posted updates on social media on Saturday that were reposted by San Francisco-based Arab Resource and Organizing Center. Photos and videos posted by Bay Resistance showed several protesters with “Not in our name” and “Jews say ceasefire now” T-shirts, which have been worn by Jewish protesters at other events organized by IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace, which is anti-Zionist.

Kujawsky, a founding member of Progressive Zionists of California, a pro-Israel group that supports a two-state solution, said the protesters didn’t acknowledge any violence perpetrated by Hamas or the suffering of Israelis.

“There was not one sign that said, ‘release the hostages,’” he said. “Not one sign had the word ‘peace’ on it.”

The protests became so intense that the party canceled several events, including multiple caucus meetings and a popular annual social hosted by Jewish and Israeli interest groups Democrats for Israel-CA, California Legislative Jewish Caucus and Democratic Majority for Israel.

Jesse Gabriel, an Assemblymember from Encino and co-chair of the Jewish caucus, said the convention “melted down” after it was “taken over by anti-Israel protesters.”

There was not one sign that said, ‘release the hostages.’

Andrew Lachman, president of Democrats for Israel-CA, said that anti-Israel groups, “aided by a small number of party delegates,” sought to “intimidate and bully” delegates.

“Instead of promoting free speech, these protesters silenced the voices of diversity in the party and traumatized numerous Jewish delegates,” he said.

The disruption of the meetings was significant, said Francine Hanberg, a founding member of Democrats for Israel-CA and a former party delegate. 

“Precisely because of the war in Israel, it’s really important for us to be able to meet,” Hanberg said. Ultimately, she added, the cancellation of Saturday’s programming amounted to a victory for the protesters. 

“Next time protesters disrupt a meeting, and there will be a next time, I strongly advise delegates and officials be prioritized and protected over the protesters,” she said. “Lawful participants should be able to enjoy their First Amendment rights to converse and convene without having their meeting shut down.” 

Candidates at the convention vied for endorsements in the highly contested U.S. Senate primary, as well as in other state and federal races.

The convention attracted all of the Senate candidates who are seeking to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The California primary is set for March 5. In a state with a solid Democratic majority, the winner of that primary will be considered the front-runner for the general election on Nov. 5. 

The three highest-profile Democratic contenders currently represent California in the U.S. House: Adam Schiff of Los Angeles, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland. 

The Israel-Hamas conflict has already begun to expose differences among the Senate candidates. Schiff, who is Jewish, and Porter have spoken out against calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, while Lee supports a cease-fire.

None of the top three earned the 60 percent threshold necessary to win the state party’s endorsement over the weekend.

The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, which is made up of Jewish organizations from across the state and focuses on state legislative issues, weighed on the convention disruptions.

“Peaceful protest is appropriate but there is no place for this type of incitement in our democratic institutions,” the group said in a statement.

Naomi Goldman, a delegate from Los Angeles County who serves on the board of Democrats for Israel–CA, said she was “sad and outraged and utterly disappointed” by the protesters’ actions.

Some “disruptive delegates” joined the protests, she said, which “flew in the face of a safe and inclusive space.”