Masked anti-Israel protesters have staged a demonstration outside the home of Ohio Democratic Representative Greg Landsman, a Jewish congressman. The protestors arrived at Landsman’s Cincinnati residence on Sunday, setting up tents, cots, and sleeping bags in the street. They spent the night harassing Landsman and his family, prompting the congressman to seek a police escort for safety when entering and exiting the property.
Landsman expressed his dismay at the timing of the protest, which coincided with the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks when Jews were killed and kidnapped. In a statement, Landsman described how the masked demonstrators, dressed in black, arrived in the evening and remained outside his home. He highlighted the distress caused not only to himself but also to his daughter, who had to navigate the encampment to attend a service on Oct. 7.
The group responsible for the demonstration, known as Midwest Direct Action 4 Pali!, shared a video of the protest on Instagram. The footage showed masked participants marching past Landsman’s house, carrying white bundles resembling shrouded bodies and displaying banners representing death toll numbers. Despite Landsman’s office confirming the group’s continued presence on Monday, the congressman stressed that this was not the first time he had been targeted during the ongoing conflict.
In response to the demonstration, the protesters stated their opposition to Landsman’s votes regarding Palestine and Gaza, denouncing what they referred to as the concealment of the death toll and funding for what they described as mass murder. The group expressed a commitment to continuing their protest until what they termed the “genocide” in Palestine is ended and the region is liberated.
The incident outside Landsman’s residence follows previous instances of targeting, including a poster campaign near his district office labelling him as supporting genocide. Additionally, in a separate incident, 176 Jewish gravestones at the Covedale Cemetery Complex in Cincinnati were vandalised. These incidents underscore the heightened tensions and divisions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, manifesting in both physical and verbal confrontations within communities.