President Biden is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles today for a campaign fundraiser at the home of Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban, possibly sparking protests over the US role in Israel's war. against Hamas.
Tension has been rising within the Democratic Party over Biden's support for Israel as it bombs the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.
The Biden administration has been a staunch ally of Israel, preparing to send additional weapons to the nation even as the president described the military campaign against Gaza as “over the top” and reportedly privately expressed frustration with the Israeli prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu.
The administration called for a temporary ceasefire in a draft resolution submitted to the United Nations Security Council, according to a CNN report on Monday.
But the issue has divided California Democrats: In November, their convention was canceled early after about 1,000 protesters stormed the Sacramento venue.
In December, the last time Biden visited Los Angeles to raise money, protesters held large demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US financial and military aid to Israel. Vandals spray painted “Baby Killers,” “LA Says No to Genocide Joe,” and “Cease Fire Now!!! End war crimes!” in buildings in the Westwood area.
These types of protests could be repeated today. Saban is a major supporter of Israel and other fundraiser hosts have deep ties to the Jewish community. Co-host Leslie Gilbert-Lurie is a former television executive who has written a book about her experience as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and co-host Nicole Mutchnik is vice president of the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism and other forms of . of intolerance. Other co-hosts include Casey Wasserman, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee; StubHub co-founder Eric Baker; Obama's former ambassador to Germany, John Emerson, and former studio head, Bob Daly. Tickets for the event cost up to $250,000.
Biden has to draw a careful line so as not to alienate core segments of the Democratic coalition: the Jewish voters, young people and people of color who are key to his re-election effort. Biden administration officials met with Arab American and Muslim leaders in Michigan this month in an attempt to foster relationships with a community that could influence who wins the crucial swing state in this year's election.
A super PAC supporting former President Trump, Biden's likely opponent in the November general election, has taken advantage of tension over the war between Israel and Hamas as Biden arrives in California. He is running digital ads targeting social media users in Saban's ZIP code that focus on White House officials meeting with Osama Siblani, a Michigan newspaper editor who previously praised the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. .
“Joe Biden continues to embrace America's enemies. “The White House's embrace of Osama Siblani is an affront to the dozens of Americans and hundreds of Israelis who lost their lives on October 7, and to the millions of Israelis who wake up every morning under the siege of Islamic terrorism,” he said. Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesperson for the super PAC MAGA Inc., said in a statement.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the attack ad.
This is likely Biden's last trip to California before Super Tuesday on March 5, when California and more than a dozen other states hold primaries. In the 2020 presidential race, her campaign raised $145.4 million from Californians, the most of any state in the country, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. (And that doesn't include donations to super PACs and other groups that supported her candidacy.)
His campaign's fundraising efforts were hampered last year by entertainment industry strikes.
On Tuesday, the campaign announced that the combined groups supporting Biden's 2024 presidential campaign raised more than $42 million in January and had $130 million in the bank, the most any Democratic presidential candidate has had this year. moment of the electoral cycle.
“January's fundraising, fueled by a powerful grassroots fundraising program that continues to grow month after month, is an indisputable show of strength to begin the election year,” campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said in a statement .
The president is expected to speak at an official event on Wednesday before leaving the Southland and heading to the Bay Area, where he plans to hold additional fundraising events before leaving the state on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
