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Protesters gather at Rossotti Field on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
Protesters hold up banners and signs at Rossotti Field on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
A counter-protester stands along Alpine Road while a Santa Clara County Sheriff looks on on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab. 
President Joe Biden’s motorcade passes through Portola Valley on Alpine Road on May 10, 2024. Photo by Eleanor Raab.
President Joe Biden’s trip to the Bay Area to attend fundraisers with wealthy donors for his reelection campaign on Friday spurred pro-Palestinian protests in Portola Valley and Palo Alto.
A group of about 50 protesters met in advance of Biden’s arrival at a fundraiser held at the Portola Valley home of Vinod Khosla, a tech entrepreneur. Khosla has given approximately $1.4 million to Democratic campaigns and organizations over the course of this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The protesters gathered at Rossotti Field on Alpine Road at 11 a.m. to march to the intersection of Alpine Road and Los Trancos Road. The fundraiser will be held on Los Trancos Road.
“While Israel imposes a famine on top of its bombing of Gaza, Bay Area billionaires are having a party,” said a post announcing the protest from @BayResistance on Instagram. “Come tell them what you think!”
“The idea is to let them know that this is not OK, to be a visible signal that this is not OK,” said Michelle, an organizer of the protest.
The protest remained peaceful, with attendees holding up signs and playing music as they walked along Alpine Road.
“We are out here because we are protesting Biden who is actively participating in and attending multiple fundraisers in the area,” said another attendee named Nadine, who identified herself as Palestinian. “This is an individual who is actively aiding and abetting a genocide.”
Alpine Road was closed to traffic as Biden’s motorcade drove through the town.
Later in the day at 1 p.m., more than 50 people gathered at the corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto in protest.
People dressed in keffiyehs and shirts reading “Not in our name, Jews say ceasefire now,” gathered at the corner that advocacy group “Vigil4Gaza” meets every Sunday.
As cars honked in support, young children and adults alike carried signs reading “Babies are not collateral damage” and “Prez Biden, use tax $ for peace.”
The group marched toward the corner of Addison Avenue and Webster Street, where President Biden was attending a re-election fundraiser in Palo Alto.
Addison Elementary, Hays Elementary and Greene Middle School closed around noon in anticipation of the president’s arrival in the neighborhood. The last-minute closure caused stress for some parents, as the schools only received notice about the presidential event in recent days.
Biden is set to head to the reception at the Palo Alto home of former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her husband DCVC Co-founder Zack Bogue, according to Biden’s public schedule.
Biden, who was in San Francisco in the Fairmont Hotel earlier in the day, landed in a field at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory around 12:30 pm.
Biden arrived in the Bay Area Thursday evening, touching down at Mountain View’s Moffett Field Air Base around 8 p.m.
