U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell's first in-person town hall on Tuesday night got off to a rocky start as the first-term Democrat was met with contentious criticism from protesters about his support for Israel .

Bell and his staff struggled to get through a dozen questions over the course of 90 minutes in front of roughly 300 people as protesters interrupted and challenged the congressman’s positions.

“There's a lot of folks who don't want to have the conversation,” Bell told the crowd amid shouting. “They just want to spew what they think is important, but they don't want to have an actual debate because these are tough issues. So, now we're going to have the conversation — whether you like it or not.”

The condemnation from some in the crowd at the Post Building in downtown St. Louis largel

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