Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas has divided Democrats and have sparked widespread protests around the U.S.
The protest at the Butler event came as President Joe Biden warned Israel that international support it had after the attack was at risk of fracturing over its response to the Hamas attack.
Biden told a closed-door fundraiser in Washington D.C. on Tuesday that U.S. and European support for Israel was softening in the wake off “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.
Biden suggested that any sort of long-term solution would not be feasible with Israel’s current government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Newsom appointed Butler to the seat previously held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein just days before Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly women and children.
Butler said the timing has made her first few months in office more challenging than expected.
“It was not the service that I thought that I was signing up for,” Butler said. “But when asked to serve your country in any way, I think all of us sort of do the best we can in the moment that we have.”
— Lauren Egan contributed to this report.