Across the country, of Congress have heard from protesters advocating for a cease-fire in Gaza. That includes of the San Diego delegation.
About 100 people chanted “cease-fire now” earlier this month outside an Oceanside town hall meeting held by Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano. A dozen protesters went inside to ask Levin if he would other of Congress who had called for a cease-fire.
Smaller numbers of demonstrators called for a cease-fire outside the offices of San Diego Democratic Reps. Sara Jacobs and Juan Vargas.
An encounter with Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, was more up close and personal — and uncomfortable.
On the evening of Dec. 19, Peters and his wife, Lynn Gorguze, were celebrating the anniversary of their first date about four decades ago with dinner at a outdoor table along the sidewalk at Bistro du Marché on Girard Avenue in La Jolla.
They were approached by several people, led by a woman who, in a measured voice, appeared to read a statement from a cellphone to Peters, who mostly sat quietly during the encounter. The woman spoke of civilian deaths inflicted by Israeli military forces and other hardships suffered by people living in Gaza.
Others who had ed her soon began chanting “cease-fire now” and at times shouted that Peters should no longer U.S. military aid to Israel, among other things. A five-minute video of the incident has been circulating on social media since last week.
Neither Peters, Levin nor Vargas has endorsed a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but Jacobs has.
The protest during Peters’ dinner wasn’t just more confrontational than what the others experienced, it had an unusual subplot. The daughter of the restaurant owners, Sylvie and Jean Michel Diot, tipped off the other demonstrators about Peters being there, according to Peters’ spokesperson. The daughter also participated in the protest.
Peters’ staff informed San Diego police of the incident and department officials ed the restaurant. A spokesperson from the San Diego Police Department did not reply to a request for comment.
One of the restaurant owners declined to answer questions from the Union-Tribune this week.
“There is nothing to be said,” Sylvie Diot said.
Peters’ office received numerous phone calls after word of the incident spread, with some callers urging a boycott of the restaurant. Peters asked them not to do that.
“We are grateful for the overwhelming we’ve received,” MaryAnne Pintar, Peters’ chief of staff, said in a statement this week.
“. . . It’s clear the people who did this had no interest in a productive dialogue; this tragic war is far more complex than the protesters wanted to acknowledge. Scott and his wife were disappointed that management did not step in, but don’t believe the owners knew their daughter had alerted her friends to come and harass them.
“Scott has accepted the owners’ apology and hopes the restaurant continues to prosper.”
It is by no means rare for officials to be confronted over their policies and politics in public places or at their private residences. Local police departments or U.S. Capitol Police are often alerted to such encounters when it involves of Congress and the two agencies regularly share information.
When Donald Trump was president, some istration officials faced protests at restaurants in Washington, D.C. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, encouraged such behavior and was condemned by Republicans and more mildly onished by some Democratic leaders.
Former San Diego County supervisor candidate Amy Reichert, a Republican who opposed COVID-19 vaccination mandates and other pandemic-era restrictions, said on social media last week that she had received “(a)nonymous letters sent to my home with photos of my children and my husband and me hoping that my entire family would die of COVID.”
Protest is a legitimate and often valuable means of elevating a cause or point of view. But aggressively invading people’s space at a restaurant or, say, a gas station seems untoward, particularly in these times of heightened concern about political violence. Sending threatening messages is decidedly out of bounds.
The protest at Peters’ table in La Jolla seemed to start with a somewhat subdued tone, if not message.
“I have a question for you,” the lead protester said to Peters. “How many dead Palestinians will it take for you to acknowledge genocide?”
At one point, Peters said, “This probably isn’t the best place to have a conversation.”
Protesters shouted, “Blood is on both your hands” and said Gaza neighborhoods were destroyed and babies were killed by U.S. funding for the Israeli Defense Forces.
The lead protester said, “As you enjoy your meal tonight… people of Gaza at this very moment are being starved to death.”
The woman also referred to several bakeries that had been destroyed by Israeli air strikes. “How is a bakery a legitimate military target?” she asked.
At times, Peters engaged with the protesters and stressed that Hamas launched an attack in Israel. The Oct. 7 cross-border raid killed about 1,200 mostly unarmed Israeli civilians. Hundreds of hostages were taken.
“We know who started it,” he said, triggering jeers and shouts from protesters. He added that “Hamas should lay down its arms and release the hostages.”
Last month, Peters, Levin, Vargas and dozens of other of Congress signed a statement condemning the “barbaric terrorist attack” by Hamas, while urging Israel to proceed with caution.
“We Israel’s right and obligation to defend itself — to protect its citizens, secure its borders, and rescue its people held hostage in Gaza,” the statement said. “Israel also has the obligation to, as best as possible, protect civilians, and in all its actions adhere to international humanitarian law (notwithstanding Hamas’ complete disregard for the same).”
It’s not clear if widespread protests — whether interrupting a dinner or shutting down a freeway — are changing minds, but calls for a cease-fire have grown in the United States and around the world in recent weeks.
“We don’t want to make it pleasant for you,” one of the La Jolla protesters told Peters and his wife. “We want to make it unpleasant.”
That much was accomplished, though the discomfort likely extended to nearby diners and the owners of Bistro du Marché.
