NORTHAMPTON — Pro-Palestinian activists congregated outside the Northampton office of U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern on Tuesday to protest against what they say is a lack of effort to end the war in Gaza by the congressman and other high-ranking Democratic officials such as President Joe Biden and Vice President and current presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

The protest was organized by members of Demilitarize Western Mass, which has held numerous demonstrations in Northampton since the outbreak of the war, including blockading entrances at the Northampton office of defense contractor L3Harris.

Speaking at the Tuesday protest was Hannah Moushabeck, a Palestinian-American publisher who lives in Amherst who has also taken part in protests across the valley. Moushabeck spoke to a crowd of about 25 people in front of large puppets set up in front of McGovern’s office, depicting the congressman, Biden and Harris wearing prison jumpsuits.

“I’ve been treating these opportunities like free therapy,” Moushabeck said. “I feel so angry, and I have so many feelings so I just want to talk about them, because I think ultimately the problem that we have is that there is no visibility about how Palestinians are feeling right now.”

Moushabeck said she and her family had held meetings with McGovern for more than a decade to speak about the issues Palestinians face living in the West Bank and Gaza strip, and the killings that have occurred there during various conflicts with Israel.

Moushabeck said that although McGovern expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause, he had told them it was not the right time to focus on the issue, according to Moushabeck. She called on McGovern to take a more active stand in preventing further deaths in the ongoing conflict, one that has already claimed more than 40,000 lives.

“There are now multiple more generations who have been born, who have been coming to your office and asking you to stand with your progressive morals,” Moushabeck said. “Live up to the other issues that you support and stand on the right side of history.”

McGovern, who began a two-day tour of farms in his district on Tuesday and was not at his office, has taken actions in support of providing aid to Palestinians and calling for a cease-fire, such as voting against an omnibus spending bill in March that removed funding for a U.N. agency that provides food and water to Palestinians in Gaza. But Moushabeck said it was not enough to stop the bloodshed that has occurred in Gaza, describing Israel’s actions as a genocide.

“I am not saying genocide because I’m being artistic or I’m being dramatic. I’m saying genocide because the International Court of Justice has said there’s a very, very legitimate likelihood that this is a genocide,” Moushabeck said.

In an interview with the Gazette, McGovern denied the notion that he would say it was not the right time to find a solution to the decadeslong conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and noted how he was one of the first members of Congress to publicly call for a cease-fire in the current war.

“For somebody to say I’m not prioritizing this issue, frankly, I’m offended,” McGovern said. “I have a record for publicly pushing every administration since Bill Clinton to find a solution for peace in the Middle East.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters also recently demonstrated outside the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago as Harris accepted the nominee to be the party’s presidential candidate. Moushabeck said she wasn’t swayed by arguments that Palestinians should automatically support Democrats to defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has expressed strong support for Israel and has also been opposed by women’s and LGBTQ+ groups.

“I know that we are terrified of a Trump presidency. I know because I also have a uterus, and I am a queer person in this country. I know what Trump will do,” said Moushabeck. “But if genocide is not the deal breaker of which we say, we will not cross this red line, then what is?”

Elsewhere in the region, other efforts have been made to try and push back against the war. In Easthampton, several member-owners of the River Valley Co-op have been pushing to remove Israeli products from their shelves such as certain brands of tahini and couscous. The store has said they are committed to preserving customer choice and don’t intend to remove the products in question.

Brett Belcastro, a member of the River Valley Democratic Socialists of America, said activists would continue to push for such actions and hold demonstrations until the United States imposes an arms embargo on Israel.

“We express solidarity with the Palestinian voices turned away by the DNC,” Belcastro said. “Until working class people form an independent political movement apart from either of these parties in this country, the state of affairs will sadly continue.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.