Ben Cohen, one of Ben & Jerry’s co-founders, caused havoc in the US Senate as he interrupted Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the room looking on in shock while he shouted out before being swiftly removed.
Cohen, 74, joined fellow protestors in interrupting the American Health Secretary during a testimony over health budget proposals.
A long-time progressive activist, Cohen told AFP that he and his fellow protestors were speaking for ‘millions’ of Americans when he decried the ‘slaughter’ of Palestinians in Gaza, suggesting that the money being saved by cutting Medicaid budgets allowed for additional spending on arming Israel.
He shouted: "Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza," as Kennedy spoke about Medicaid cuts. Medicaid is the health insurance programme provided to low-income families in the States, covering some medical bills under a healthcare system that’s wholly privatised and dependent on expensive health insurance premiums.
Cohen’s wrists were zip-tied behind his back as he was led from the Senate hearing where had also urged senators to pressure Israel into letting more food into Gaza.
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"It got to a point where we had to do something," Cohen said in an interview after he was released.
He said it was ‘scandalising’ that ‘$20 billion worth of bombs’ had been approved for Israel while American citizens on low incomes were being deprived of basic healthcare needs.
"The majority of Americans hate what's going on, what our country is doing with our money and in our name," he said. It seems that the tide of public opinion is turning against Israel in the US, with a poll from the Pew Research Center finding that people were becoming more unfavourable of its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
This is particularly true of Democrat voters, according to the poll.
"Condoning and being complicit in the slaughter of tens of thousands of people strikes at the core of us as far as human beings and what our country stands for," said Cohen, highlighting the significant war-related spending that the US government was committing to.
"If you spent half of that money making lives better around the world, I think there'd be a whole lot less friction."
He added: “There's issues between countries but you can work them out without killing."
Israel has been engaged in war in Gaza since October 7th 2023, with the military action being an immediate response to an attack by Hamas that killed 1,218 Israelis.
According to an AFP tally taken from official figures, the offensive in Gaza has killed at least 52,928 people in Gaza, the vast majority of whom were civilians.
Cohen was one of seven people arrested after the protest.
Topics: News
Rachael Davis