Pro-Palestinian demonstrations in US cities on Monday (April 15) could be a foretaste of a potentially explosive summer of protests. Debate has already erupted over whether some activists' tactics threaten to undermine public support for their movement.
President Joe Biden will face a challenge. Calls for a ceasefire are getting louder. This summer also marks four years since protests erupted across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some colleges, including the University of Michigan, are explicitly warning their students that they will face expulsion if they disrupt end-of-semester events. The chaos is unfolding as the United States heads into a delicate period surrounding the presidential election. At least so far, pro-Palestinian protests have been relatively small compared to the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020. Analysts also point out that historically there are limits to how large a social movement can become when the issue is not taking place in the U.S. or directly involving American troops. The action so far is just the beginning of more direct engagement. Analysts say any protest activity in the coming weeks will pose a new challenge for Biden. Biden will struggle to balance his government's support for Israel with his liberal coalition's demands for an immediate end to the conflict. A study shows that protest movements generally do not factor into Americans' political considerations at the ballot box. But activists know Biden "doesn't want the disruption," says Vincent Pons, an associate professor at Harvard Business School. "Extreme tactics" are more influential among "elites" trying to prevent upheaval, says Wasow, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who also teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies. "The fact that the protests are taking place so close to the presidential election may indicate that the government is more likely to pay attention to them," Pons says. "Whether the protests continue or not will depend on whether they feel heard by the government. "When protesters use extreme tactics, they may lose publicity, but they send a signal to leaders who then want to take control of the problem," Wasow says.