Packed inside the lobby of Sen. Alex Padilla’s San Francisco office on Bush Street on Wednesday afternoon, Bay Area progressive Jews and members of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace blew shofars, banged pots and pans and chanted in Hebrew and English to protest Padilla’s support for continuing to send more U.S. arms to Israel.
Nearly two hours into the protest, shortly before 4 p.m., San Francisco police officers ordered the protesters to vacate the lobby, according to an SFPD spokesperson. Roughly 250 protesters were inside, according to JVP.
SFPD confirmed to J. that 138 protesters were arrested for alleged trespassing, noting there were no reported injuries during the arrests. All but one of the protesters were transported to San Francisco County Jail and cited. One suspect was cited and released on the scene, according to an SFPD spokesperson.
JVP organized protests that took place simultaneously outside the L.A. office of California’s other senator, Adam Schiff, and at Padilla’s San Diego office. Another 80 protesters showed up at a Politico summit in Sacramento, where Padilla had spoken earlier. In total, JVP estimated that more than 500 people were involved in its actions across the state.
Padilla and Schiff voted with the majority of senators who in late July rejected Sen. Bernie Sanders’ two resolutions that sought to block U.S. arms sales to Israel.
The timing of this week’s actions was significant, said Rabbi Elliot Kukla, who participated in the protest.
On Monday, Israeli strikes on a Gaza hospital killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, sparking global outrage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a “tragic mishap” and said Israel is investigating the cause.
“Our war is with Hamas terrorists,” the prime minister wrote in an X post.
Sunday evening and Monday also marked the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul, a time traditionally focused on introspection in the weeks leading up to the High Holidays, noted Kukla, who lives in Oakland.
“For me as a rabbi, it felt meaningful to be there in this time of year in Elul, when we’re atoning [for] our actions and thinking about teshuvah and wondering how we could do better,” Kukla said.
Other rabbis who participated included Rabbi David Cooper, rabbi emeritus of Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont, and Rabbi Reuben Zellman, who works at San Francisco’s Congregation Sha’ar Zahav.
Lara Kiswani, the executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center and a fierce anti-Zionist, participated as well and spoke in support of the protesters, according to Liv Kunins-Berkowitz, media coordinator for Jewish Voice for Peace.
The arrest of many protesters was unwarranted, Kunins-Berkowitz said.
“We feel very much that we are not breaking the law, but rather calling on our senators to get in accordance with international law, and in accordance with fundamental human rights,” Kunins-Berkowitz said.