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This isn鈥檛 1968.

The Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago amid dire predictions of a replay of the party鈥檚 鈥�68 gathering. That鈥檚 when riots and police attacks on anti-war protesters outside the convention combined with a messy floor fight inside the hall to derail Democrats鈥� chances at the White House.

For now, at least, there鈥檚 no comparing the two.

Pro-Palestinian organizers convened their March on the DNC on Monday with great fanfare but fairly small numbers, leading a mostly peaceful protest of a few thousand people that in both scale and impact paled in comparison to the disruptive events of a half-century ago.

Rally speakers and many participants said they saw little difference between President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Gaza. But the size of the crowd suggested that some of those who feel deep sympathy for Gaza residents and fury at Israel aren鈥檛 as mad at the vice president. Polls indicate that since Ms. Harris became the nominee, she鈥檚 made massive gains over President Biden among core Democratic constituencies that have been most supportive of the Palestinian cause, including young voters and voters of color.

鈥淚f it was still Biden, I think there would be a lot more people out here. It鈥檚 a very different attitude. I think people are hoping against hope that she鈥檒l do the right thing,鈥� said Brendan M., a protester from Chicago who declined to give his last name.

How Harris is viewed differently from Biden

Organizers had predicted last week that the protest might draw as many as 40,000 people 鈥撀爁our times the number of anti-Vietnam War protesters that showed up in Chicago in 1968. But Monday鈥檚 turnout, at most a few thousand, was small enough that hundreds of protest signs .

Vice President Harris hasn鈥檛 broken from President Biden on Middle East policy. But she has rhetorically expressed more sympathy for the plight of Palestinians in Gaza currently facing Israeli strikes and famine. , according to the Gaza Health Ministry, since Israel began its war in the territory last fall triggered by Hamas鈥� attack that left more than in Israel. More than 85% of people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes.

April Ignacio, a vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, is a Harris delegate who joined the protest. She believes that the protest 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� would have been much larger if President Biden were still the Democratic nominee. She personally is 鈥渇ar more excited鈥� about having Ms. Harris at the top of the ticket because of the historic nature of her candidacy. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to get to vote for a Black female as the president,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe that this is happening in my lifetime. And I鈥檓 excited about that.鈥�

Daniel Smith, a protester from Kalamazoo carrying a 鈥淢ichigan demands not another bomb鈥� sign, says he鈥檇 been interviewed by more than a half dozen journalists eager to talk to a swing state protester 鈥� a sign of the outsized level of coverage, given the size of the protest. 鈥淲e were hoping that there鈥檇 be more鈥� fellow protesters, his friend Don Cooney says. 鈥淥f course.鈥�

Mr. Cooney says he plans to vote for Ms. Harris. Mr. Smith is torn about how he鈥檒l vote this fall. 鈥淚 find it very hard to vote for somebody who鈥檚 enabled genocide, so it鈥檚 a difficult choice for me,鈥� he says. But he is more open to backing Vice President Harris than he had been for President Biden, because 鈥渟he has expressed more empathy for Palestinian suffering.鈥�

Disruptions and a handful of arrests

Faayani Aboma Mijana, a spokesperson for the coalition that put on the event, says that in their view 鈥渘ot a lot has changed鈥� from 1968 to now: 鈥淭he Democratic Party is still a pro-war party, while claiming to represent working and marginalized people.鈥� They argued the protest was 鈥渁 strong turnout, given the fact that it鈥檚 a Monday and a workday.鈥�

The protests Monday were mostly peaceful, though late that afternoon, a few hundred protesters pushed through the outer security perimeter, leading to a handful of arrests and a temporary shutdown of the security perimeter. That created bottlenecks and long lines for delegates and other attendees as the convention began, leaving the center itself half empty for early speeches.聽During President Biden鈥檚 address Monday night, a small group of protesters held up a banner that read 鈥淪top Arming Israel,鈥� but it drew little attention.

Things could have gone very differently.

For much of the spring and early summer, pro-Palestinian encampments on college campuses led to clashes, arrests, and heavy media coverage 鈥� and laid bare a major fissure in the Democratic Party. President Biden鈥檚 ongoing support for U.S. military aid to Israel, even as he criticized its disregard for civilian life in its campaign against Hamas, infuriated many on the left. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the metro area with the largest Palestinian population in the country, seemed a likely target for massive protests.

But former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot scoffs at the 1968 comparisons.

鈥淭his is a different time, place, everything from 1968. The city continues to learn every year,鈥� Ms. Lightfoot says in a brief interview inside the convention. 鈥淭he police understand that the protesters have First Amendment rights.鈥�

Chicago鈥檚 history with protests

Chaotic protests aren鈥檛 exactly ancient history in Chicago. Ms. Lightfoot, the first Black woman to serve as Chicago鈥檚 mayor, lost her 2023 reelection bid partly because of how she handled the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and police response. The city has a long history of police violence and tensions between law enforcement and brown and Black communities.

Current Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teachers union organizer and avowed progressive, replaced Ms. Lightfoot 鈥� then to pass a city council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza 鈥� a vote that many of the protesters celebrated.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling was personally on hand to help coordinate the police response at the DNC. He walked ahead of the march on Monday evening as his officers steered protesters along a preapproved parade route that took them near the edge of the security perimeter around the United Center, the stadium hosting the convention鈥檚 evening programming.

There are still three days and nights left to go 鈥� and it鈥檚 worth noting that in 1968, it wasn鈥檛 until a few days into the convention that violence broke out in earnest. And more developments in Gaza could reignite protesters鈥� fury between now and the election. But so far, nothing has disrupted Democrats鈥� coronation of Vice President Harris as their nominee.