Pro-Palestinian protesters closed a road Thursday afternoon in Dallas, the first of many demonstrations planned to disrupt a major pro-Israeli conference in Dallas.

Police issued criminal trespass warnings and arrested 10 protesters for obstructing a highway outside the Hilton Anatole, located just north of downtown Dallas. Protesters blocked traffic around Stemmons Freeway for about an hour, which led to traffic jams for afternoon commuters, just as the evening rush hour kicked into high gear.

Around twenty members of Jewish Voice for Peace planted an olive tree, a symbol of peace, in the middle of the road. Carrying a banner reading “Southern Jews say stop funding genocide,” protesters chanted “Not in our name, not at our expense, hands off Palestine” and sang traditional Hebrew songs. .

“We will not continue business as usual as long as genocide is taking place in our name,” said Deb Armintour of Denton, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. “There is no such thing as an innocent bystander.”

Rachel Kipnes, a New Orleans rabbi who was among those arrested, accused the Israeli government of genocide and theft of Palestinian land, both acts contrary to Judaism.

“How can they so blatantly disrespect our sacred text, the Torah,” Kipnes said. “Not in our name.”

The annual Global Conference for Israelwhich began Thursday, has emerged as a lightning rod as the war between Israel and Hamas divides the United States and Hamas. protests shake university campuses in Texas and across the country. Organized by the Jewish National Fund, the conference will continue until Sunday.

About 2,500 people are expected to attend the event, which includes speeches from prominent Israel supporters, discussions on combating anti-Semitism and rebuilding parts of Israel, and a Shabbat dinner with Texas barbecue. This is the first time the conference has been held in Texas.

This gathering comes at a particularly difficult time.

More than a year ago, October 7, 2023Hamas militants carried out a brutal surprise attack, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages in Israel. In response, Israel has bombed Gaza, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and driving nearly two million from their homes as widespread hunger threatens the region. A lasting ceasefire proved impossible.

The head of the Jewish National Fund of the United States rejected protesters’ calls to cancel the conference and said recent events only made the gathering even more crucial. On Thursday, a spokesperson said in an email that conference attendees had not noticed any disruptions.

“We are delighted to welcome so many people to the Global Conference for Israel and look forward to spending the week discussing how we can build a better future for the people of Israel,” the spokesperson said.

Tensions surrounding the conflict have spread to other regions of the world. Earlier this month, violence broke out in Amsterdam in what officials described as anti-Semitic attacks against Israeli soccer fans. Israeli supporters vandalized a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag. After the match, people on scooters kicked and beat Israeli fans, sending some to hospital and prompting emergency evacuations of Israelis.

Even before the latest violence, tight security has been a regular feature of the annual conference, which moves to a new city each year. Organizers are hiring private security, and Dallas police said they were monitoring the conference and any protests that might take place.

On Thursday, numerous police cars were parked around the hotel. Dallas police spokeswoman Jennifer Pryor said officers would not interfere with peaceful protests, but would take action if demonstrators obstructed traffic or tried to close a street.

The Jewish National Fund is best known for its blue donation boxes in synagogues and Hebrew schools across the country. The group is not affiliated with but works with the Jerusalem-based Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund, which was founded in 1901 to buy land for the Jewish people in what was Ottoman Syria.

The U.S. organization is also separate from the Jewish National Fund of Canada, which lost its tax-exempt status after an audit found it used charitable donations to build infrastructure for the Israeli military, a violation of Canadian tax rules. An appeals court recently upheld the decision, but the Canadian organization says it is consider appealing to a higher court.

While the American organization focuses largely on building parks and planting trees in Israel’s north and south, critics note that it has projects funded in the West Bank. THE West Bank is home to three million Palestinians and has been a battleground between Israelis and Palestinians for decades. Some view the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a violation of international law, but supporters of the settlements hope that The election of Donald Trump will pave the way for others.

Since the attack on October 7, the The American Jewish National Fund also built 150 bomb shelters to protect residents and provided therapy, food, shelter and clothing to those affected by the war. That support is a major theme of this week’s rally in Dallas.