25 April - 1 May 2002
Issue No.583
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 25 April - 1 May 2002 Issue No.583 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
'We are all Palestinians'
Tens of thousands descended on the streets of Washington to protest this week against US-backed Israeli aggression, Anayat Durrani reports
While US President George W Bush was away at Camp David last weekend, demonstrators clad in black and white kaffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags protested for four days in Washington. Demonstrators from various groups and causes joined forces to protest against Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine and US policy in the Middle East. The protest on Saturday was the largest pro-Palestinian rally in US history. Police estimated that around 50,000 people took part in the peaceful protest, but organisers believed double that number attended. The protest came less than a week after one of the largest pro-Israeli demonstrations in years in which Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D Wolfowitz, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and members of Congress all gave speeches.
Thousands of human rights and anti-war protesters from all backgrounds joined American Muslim and Arab activists to call for an end to Israeli state terrorism against Palestinians and to support Palestinian human rights and statehood. Speakers representing all faiths and ethnicities took to the podium declaring, "I am a Palestinian" as they denounced America's blind support of Israel. They called for an end to the 3 billion dollars that the US gives to Israel in aid each year and an end to Israel's use of American-taxpayer-funded weapons to kill innocent Palestinians.
"People came to express their solidarity with the Palestinians suffering under occupation, the only illegal occupation that remains in the world today, and they also came to express their opposition to Bush's endless war of terrorism, disguised as a war against terrorism," said Wael Masri, a Lebanese-American who travelled from Raleigh, North Carolina to attend the protest. "One of the messages delivered by the protesters and speakers was that we do not differentiate between Bush and Sharon, their policies of war and terrorism are one and the same."
Many participants had T-shirts, stickers, buttons or signs saying, "We are all Palestinian." Protesters chanted "Free, free Palestine!" as they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue and on toward the Capitol. Their slogans compared Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Adolf Hitler. "Sharon and Hitler are the same. The only difference is their name," rang through the streets. Some people held signs equating the Jewish Star of David with the Nazi swastika. Others carried wooden coffins to symbolise the continuing slaughter of Palestinians. Protesters denounced Sharon as a terrorist and war criminal and demanded the Bush administration withdraw all diplomatic, political, financial and military support from Israel.
Among the protesters were Korean-Americans, Filipinos, Native Americans, African- Americans and Hispanics. There were also members of various religious groups including members of "Orthodox Jews against Zionism" who began their own chants of "Judaism: yes, Zionism: No." People travelled far and wide in support and solidarity with the Palestinian people, including peace groups that flew in from Hiroshima and North Korea to take part in the protest. The march was sponsored by Act Now to Stop War and End Racism International (ANSWER). Another protest was simultaneously held in San Francisco, where more than 20,000 people gathered on Saturday to protest against US. policy in the Middle East.
"The US is afraid the truth will come out," Carl Messineo , co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice, part of ANSWER, said in a statement. "And they're afraid of the extent of the multinational solidarity shown for the Palestinian people by the people of the United States today. It has become impossible for the Bush administration to claim to act in the name of the people of the United States when it bombs Afghanistan, pays for the slaughter of Palestinians and threatens Iraq. The people in this country want money for jobs and human needs, not war against the people of Palestine."
The protest included participants from several leading American Muslim and Arab organisations including the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic American Institute, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and the American Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee. Apart from protesting against US policy in the Middle East, Arab and Muslim protesters called for the repeal of the USA Patriot Act and protested against the targeting and rounding up of Arabs and Muslims by the Department of Justice in the wake of 11 September.
Mahdi Bray, who served as the national co-chair of the event, described the rally as "historic." "It is encouraging for us and long overdue, to see that the Palestinian issue is resonating in the African American community, mainstream American churches, among college students, and in the peace movement," he said in a statement. "Finally, after 54 years of relentless anti-Palestinian propaganda, Americans are standing up and saying "no" to our blind support of Israel. Israel's state-terrorism and rhetorical deception have cost Americans much in the way of prestige, integrity, and most importantly, money that should be used to improve the lives of Americans right here at home."
On Monday, hundreds protesting against US aid to Israel assembled in the street outside the Washington Hilton Hotel where the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, held its annual convention. The AIPAC gala included an appearance by former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu whose speech was entitled 'Celebrating the US-Israel Relationship.' Protesters gathered outside to call for an end to US funding of the Israeli occupation chanting "Free, free Palestine" and "Israel out of Palestine."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page