Gaza protests against two Democrats spark outcry and debate on tactics

New York congressman Dan Goldman and California state senator Scott Wiener. Composite: Getty Images View image in fullscreen New York congressman Dan Goldman and California state senator Scott Wiener. Composite: Getty Images Gaza protests against two Democrats spark outcry and debate on tactics Incidents involving California state senator Scott Wiener and New York congressman Dan Goldman underscore Israel-Palestine conflict’s role in US elections Two recent incidents involving US congressional candidates on opposite coasts have blown up into major controversies, underscoring how the Israel-Palestine conflict has transformed US elections – and illustrating how aggressive protest tactics can spark backlash that overshadows the issues activists meant to highlight. Scott Wiener, a gay Jewish state senator and trans rights advocate who is currently the frontrunner in the race to replace the longtime representative Nancy Pelosi in California ’s 11th district, said he felt forced to leave last week’s annual trans pride march in San Francisco after a group of people ran up to him at a local park where the event was taking place, surrounded him and screamed at him over his positions on Israel’s war on Gaza. “They were so physically and verbally aggressive that it was impossible for me to safely remain in the park,” Wiener said in a statement shortly after the incident, which was also filmed and shared on social media by a local activist. The video shows activists surrounding Wiener and screaming profanities at him, with one of them at one point saying: “You stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel.” “I have no objection whatsoever to anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me or protesting me,” Wiener said. “But when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.” Pro-Palestine protesters who blocked Golden Gate Bridge convicted of misdemeanor charges Read more The episode sparked widespread condemnation from scores of elected officials – including Pelosi and Wiener’s opponent in the congressional race, Connie Chan. The other incident occurred last month in New York City, where a Brooklyn coffee shop said in a since-deleted social media post that had staff recognized him, they would have turned away the Democratic congressman Dan Goldman, who had been at the cafe with his daughter earlier that day, over his support for Israel. “We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” the post read. The incident sparked immediate backlash, with some accusing the shop of antisemitism. The US justice department’s civil rights division has said it is investigating the cafe for potentially discriminating against a patron “based on their race, religion or national origin”. In an interview with CNN , Goldman called the episode “ sad ” but said he would rather the justice department spend its resou