[Onthebarricades] GAZA PROTESTS, Rest of the World, Dec-Jan 08-09

[global resistance roundup]

* KASHMIR: Clashes at Muslim protests in solidarity with Gaza
* INDIA: Leftists, Muslims stage protests in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, 
Hyderabad, nationwide
* VENEZUELA: Protests target Israeli embassy
* COLOMBIA: Palestinian community protests
* BRAZIL: 300 in march in Rio
* PANAMA: Several hundred march
* UGANDA: Muslims hold protest, urge boycott, burn flag
* KENYA: Nairobi - Muslims gather for post-prayer protests, attacked by 
police
* KENYA: Mombasa - Protesters defeat police repression
* NIGERIA: Hundreds protest in Kano; protests suppressed elsewhere
* SOUTH AFRICA: Wave of protests target embassies
* TAIWAN: Muslims, human rights activists, civic groups protest
* KOREA: Civil society groups protest
* THAILAND: Muslims protest at Israeli embassy
* VIRGIN ISLANDS: Local residents protest
* PHILIPPINES: Muslims, leftists join Gaza protests
* NEW ZEALAND: Noisy protest targets Israeli tennis player
* CANADA: Jewish protesters occupy Israeli consulate
* CANADA: Nationwide protests; Parliament Hill blocked, PM targeted
* AUSTRALIA: Protests in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, 
elsewhere
* NEW ZEALAND: Thousands join marches; Israeli monument defaced




http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Anti-Israel_protests_in_Srinagar/rssarticleshow/3931796.cms

Muslims in Srinagar stage anti-Israel protests
3 Jan 2009, 1934 hrs IST, AGENCIES

SRINAGAR: Muslims in Srinagar on Saturday demonstrated against Israel's 
air raids over Gaza.

Hundreds of people, including women and children, gathered in the heart 
of Srinagar and were led by separatist leader Javed Mir, an executive 
member of Hurriyat Conference, in a protest march.

The protest was against Israel's continuing aggression against Palestine.

Several people joined the protest as it marched towards Lal Chowk. The 
protesters were raising anti-US and Israeli slogans and expressed their 
solidarity with the people of Gaza.

They dispersed peacefully after burning the effigy of the Israel Prime 
Minister.

The protesters also blamed the US for its continuing support to Israel.

Condemning this brutality against innocent children and women, Javed Mir 
said that the world body should come forward and act against this 
Israeli aggression.

"This procession is against the way terrorists are bombing and brutally 
treating the innocents, children and elderly of Palestine. We strongly 
condemn it. Apart from this, we want to tell the big international 
powers that do not incite the Muslims," said Javed Mir.

The demonstrators said that the world community should take a pro-active 
role in stopping the Israeli offensive since the United Nations and 
other super powers have failed to deter Tel Aviv from executing such 
offensive against Palestine.





http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/muslims-in-srinagar-stage-anti-israel-protests_100137890.html

Muslims in Srinagar stage anti-Israel protests
January 3rd, 2009 - 7:04 pm ICT by ANI -
Srinagar, Jan 3 (ANI): Muslims in Srinagar on Saturday demonstrated 
against Israel’’s air raids over Gaza.
Hundreds of people, including women and children, gathered in the heart 
of Srinagar and were led by separatist leader Javed Mir, an executive 
member of Hurriyat Conference, in a protest march.
The protest was against Israel’’s continuing aggression against Palestine.
Several people joined the protest as it marched towards Lal Chowk. The 
protesters were raising anti-US and Israeli slogans and expressed their 
solidarity with the people of Gaza.
They dispersed peacefully after burning the effigy of the Israel Prime 
Minister.
The protesters also blamed the US for its continuing support to Israel.
Condemning this brutality against innocent children and women, Javed Mir 
said that the world body should come forward and act against this 
Israeli aggression.
“This procession is against the way terrorists are bombing and brutally 
treating the innocents, children and elderly of Palestine. We strongly 
condemn it. Apart from this, we want to tell the big international 
powers that do not incite the Muslims,” said Javed Mir.
The demonstrators said that the world community should take a pro-active 
role in stopping the Israeli offensive since the United Nations and 
other super powers have failed to deter Tel Aviv from executing such 
offensive against Palestine. (ANI)





http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/25-injured-in-anti-israel-protests-in-kashmir-lead_100137652.html

25 injured in anti-Israel protests in Kashmir (Lead)
January 2nd, 2009 - 10:49 pm ICT by IANS -
Srinagar, Jan 2 (IANS) At least 25 people were injured Friday as 
protests against Israel’s air strikes on Palestinians in Gaza rocked the 
old Srinagar city and other towns in the Kashmir Valley Friday. The 
police resorted to baton-charge to quell the mob in the capital city, 
officials said.Hundreds of protestors, majority of them youth, took to 
the streets in several old city areas in the afternoon after the 
congregational Friday prayers.
Shouting anti-Israeli and anti-US slogans, the crowds pelted stones at 
the police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 
personnel, who responded by firing teargas shells and used batons to 
quell the violence, a senior police official here said.
“Where are the champions of civil rights and liberties? Why are they 
silent when innocent, unarmed Muslims are killed in hundreds by Israel?” 
shouted an angry protester.
According to the police, the protests spread to other old city areas and 
a group of angry youth attacked the Nowhatta police station with stones 
and bricks.
The clashes that continued till late evening left 25 wounded, two of 
them seriously. At least three photo-journalists and videographers were 
also injured in the baton charge, a police officer said.
Reports from other major towns said hundreds of people protested against 
the Israeli strikes and called upon the world community to stop what 
they called “genocide of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza”, the police 
officer said.
Thousands of people in Srinagar and other towns also offered funeral 
prayers in absentia for the victims of the Israeli bombings in Gaza.
The state administration has made elaborate security arrangements to 
maintain law and order in the city, official sources said.
The Imams (clerics) in various mosques across the valley strongly 
condemned the relentless Israeli strikes on Gaza and accused the US of 
supporting the Israeli government’s “genocide policy”.
The Muslim majority Kashmir valley has traditionally had close emotional 
links with the people of Palestine and any major development in 
Arab-Israel ties has always drawn a response in the valley.






http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=117764&d=3&m=1&y=2009&pix=world.jpg&category=World

Saturday 3 January 2009 (06 Muharram 1430)

50 hurt in protest over assault on Gaza
Agencies

SRINAGAR: At least 50 people were injured when baton-wielding police in 
Kashmir fired tear gas shells yesterday to disperse hundreds of Muslims 
protesting at Israeli strikes on Gaza, police and witnesses said. There 
were also demonstrations in other Indian cities, including New Delhi and 
Hyderabad.
In Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar, angry demonstrators shouting “Down 
with Zionist terrorism, down with Israel” burned American and Israeli 
flags near Kashmir’s grand mosque, Jamia Masjid. Police also clashed 
with stone-throwing demonstrators in several other parts of the city. 
Most of the protests were staged after Friday prayers.
“Policemen and some photojournalists are among the injured,” Mohammad 
Syed, a police official said.
Around 250 Muslims in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad also 
protested against the offensive outside the recently opened US consulate 
yesterday, police said.
They tried to set fire to an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert but were stopped by police. There were further large protests in 
the Muslim-majority old part of the city.
A Reuters witness saw similar scenes in the capital, New Delhi, as 
protesters gathered outside India’s largest mosque, similarly called 
Jama Masjid, to burn Israeli and American flags and an effigy. The 
Indian government has joined international calls for a halt to the 
conflict, and promised $1 million in financial aid to affected families 
in Gaza.
In Srinagar earlier yesterday, the chief priest of Kashmir and senior 
separatist leader, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, led thousands of worshippers in 
a mass prayer for the slain Palestinians.
“Why is the world community silent when innocent, unarmed Muslims are 
killed in hundreds by Israel? It is a naked aggression,” Farooq said at 
the city’s grand mosque. “Muslim countries must unite to fight for the 
liberation of Palestine, Iraq , Afghanistan and Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, two soldiers and six militants have been killed in two 
shootouts in Kashmir, the first violence since state elections in the 
Muslim-majority region, the army said yesterday.
The first gunbattle erupted late Thursday in the southern district of 
Poonch after Indian troops, acting on a tip-off, carried out a search 
operation of a densely forested area.
“As we closed in, the militants opened fire, killing two of our 
soldiers,” an army officer told AFP, asking not to be named. He said one 
militant was killed in the return of fire. Three more were killed when 
soldiers launched a fresh offensive early yesterday, the officer said.
Indian troops shot dead two more militants during a separate gunbattle 
in northern Baramulla district, police said. The violence was the first 
since the completion of seven-stage state elections on Dec. 24. Despite 
a boycott call by separatists and militants more than 60 percent of 
voters took part.
The regional pro-India National Conference (NC) and India’s ruling 
Congress party decided to form the government after polls produced a 
fractured legislature. A Muslim insurgency in Indian Kashmir has claimed 
at least 47,000 lives in the past two decades.
A meeting of Jammu and Kashmir coalition partners also decided there 
would be no rotation of the chief minister’s post between the two 
parties in the state and the NC’s Omar Abdullah will head the government 
for the full six-year term.
“There will not be any rotational chief ministership and there will be a 
deputy chief minister from the Jammu region,” Omar Abdullah, who is also 
NC’s president, told reporters. Congress sources disclosed the deputy 
chief minister would be from their party.
The oath-taking of the new 25-member ministry would be held in Srinagar 
on Jan 5, a day ahead of a meeting of all chief ministers convened by 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss internal security. Sonia Gandhi 
is expected to attend the swearing-in.
— With input from Mukhtar Ahmad





http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200901090829DOWJONESDJONLINE000528_univ.xml

16 Injured In Anti-Israel Protests In Indian Kashmir1-9-09 8:29 AM EST | 
E-mail Article | Print Article
SRINAGAR (AFP)--Riot police in Indian-controlled Kashmir used tear gas 
Friday to disperse hundreds of Muslims protesting against Israel's 
continued military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
At least 10 civilians and six policemen were wounded in the clashes in 
the main city of Srinagar, a police officer said, on condition of anonymity.
Hundreds of protesters emerged from region's main mosque and chanted 
"death to Israel" and "long live Palestine".
They also set fire to Israeli flags, before trying to march towards the 
city center - a move promptly blocked by the police who fired tear gas.
On Thursday, thousands of Shiite Muslims held noisy demonstrations 
against Israel in continuing protests.
Indian Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim region where Muslim militant 
groups have been fighting since 1989 to end Indian rule. The unrest has 
left more than 47,000 people dead by official count.




http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=RSSFeed-India&id=4c8566d7-664e-46b1-bf44-6cd09e8e836f&Headline=14+injured+during+anti-Israel+protest+in+Kashmir

14 injured during anti-Israel protest in KashmirAds By Google

Press Trust Of India
Srinagar, January 09, 2009
First Published: 18:01 IST(9/1/2009)
Last Updated: 18:04 IST(9/1/2009)

At least 14 people, including six security personnel, were injured today 
as police cane charged on mobs protesting against ongoing Israeli 
strikes on Gaza, at Jama Masjid area in Srinagar.
Police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the agitated protesters after 
they turned violent and resorted to stone pelting injuring six security 
personnel, official sources said.
The trouble started shortly after Friday prayers when a large group of 
people, mostly youth, took to streets and torched an Israeli flag and 
tried to take out a march to protest the killing of Palestinian in 
Israeli strikes, the sources said.
Later, they said, police burst teargas shells to disperse the 
protesters, who were chanting pro-freedom and anti-Israel slogans.
Eight persons were injured in the baton charge and taken to nearby 
hospitals from where they were discharged after first aid, the sources said.
They said several protesters were also detained by police during the 
clashes which were still continuing when last reports were received.
Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to restore law and order, 
the sources said.
Meanwhile, special prayers were offered in almost all mosques across 
Kashmir valley for those who lost their lives in the Israeli strikes on 
Gaza.
The Imams (head priests) strongly condemned the Israeli action and urged 
the world community to raise their voice against the "Israeli barbarism".
A group of doctors also took out a peaceful march at Medical College 
Srinagar to condemn the Israeli action.





http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Anti-Israel_protests_break_out_in_JK/articleshow/3926089.cms

12 hurt as Kashmiris condemn Israeli attacks on Gaza
2 Jan 2009, 1902 hrs IST, AFP

SRINAGAR: More than a dozen people were hurt on Friday when police used 
teargas to disperse hundreds of angry Kashmiri Muslims protesting 
against the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The protesters took to the streets outside the main mosque in Srinagar, 
the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, after Friday prayers, chanting 
"down with Israel."

They carried banners reading "stop genocide of Palestinians" and "US, 
Israel don't provoke Muslims to become terrorists like you."

As the protesters tried to march towards the city centre, police used 
batons and fired teargas to disperse them. Protesters retaliated by 
pelting the security forces with stones.

"More than a dozen people, including some policemen, have been injured 
so far," a police officer, Ishfaq Ahmed said.

The marchers set fire to US flags.

Earlier, hundreds of Muslims burnt Israeli flags and chanted anti-Israel 
and anti-US slogans as they staged a similar protest near Srinagar's 
main commercial district of Lal Chowk.

Carrying pro-Palestinian banners and portraits of Hezbollah chief Hassan 
Nasrallah, they marched through the streets chanting, "death to Israel" 
and "death to US."

"Look how they are killing Muslims and no one seems to be bothered," 
said Akbar Ali, one of the protesters.

Kashmir is in the grip of a nearly two-decade old insurgency against 
Indian rule that has so far left more than 47,000 people dead by 
official count.

At least 420 Palestinians have died in a seven day blitz by Israel, 
while rockets fired from Gaza have claimed four Israeli lives.

Israel on Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire 
to help humanitarian efforts, and tanks and troops are now massed for a 
threatened ground offensive.

Hamas has called for a "day of wrath" on Friday in east Jerusalem and 
the West Bank, with "massive marches" after weekly Muslim prayers.





http://www.kashmirlive.com/story/Twelve-injured-in-antiIsrael-protests-in-Kashmir/411565.html

Twelve injured in anti-Israel protests in Kashmir
Agencies
Posted online: January 16, 2009 at 1625

At least 12 people were injured as police burst teargas shells and 
charged batons to disperse stone-pelting mobs, protesting against the 
Israeli aggression in Gaza.
Srinagar At least 12 people were injured as police burst teargas shells 
and charged batons to disperse stone-pelting mobs, protesting against 
the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza, at several places in Srinagar on 
Friday, official sources said.
The clashes took place at Maisuma, Basant Bagh, Red Cross road, 
Gawkadal, Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta and Rajouri Kadal as mobs, chanting 
anti-Israel slogans, turned violent and resorted to stone-pelting at 
police and paramilitary forces, the sources said.
Twelve persons, including seven security men, were injured in the 
clashes as police used batons shelled teargas to disperse them.
Barring tension in some parts of the city, the anti-Israel 
demonstrations staged shortly after Friday prayers in various parts of 
the valley ended peacefully, the sources said.
Various separatist organisations, including Jammu and Kashmir Liberation 
Front (JKLF), have called for peaceful agitation across Kashmir valley 
to protest the killing of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.
Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Vice chairman of JKLF, who led one of the peaceful 
protests outside party headquarters at Maisuma, said, "Men, women, 
children and elderly persons have been killed in the Israeli action and 
the killings have been going on unabated."
Bhat also criticised the world community for maintaining "criminal 
silence" over the "genocide of Palestinians".




http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/31/stories/2008123160791200.htm

National

Protest against air strikes
— Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

CPI(M) activists, led by its Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, stage a 
protest near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday against Israeli 
air strikes in Gaza.






http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=448018

CPI (M) activists protest against Israel's offensive on Gaza
________________________________________

ANI Wednesday 31st December, 2008
New Delhi, Dec 31 : Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI (M) 
activists staged a protest here on Tuesday over the Israeli bombings 
against Gaza.

Birnda Karat, Polit Bureau member of CPI (M), who was leading the 
demonstration, said that the protest was staged to express the anger of 
Indian people over Israel's barbaric torture and offensive on Gaza strip.

Karat also maintained that India should sever ties with Israel.

Israel hit the Gaza Strip with more air strikes on Tuesday and warned 
its military action could last weeks, while its Islamist enemy Hamas 
vowed to keep up rocket attacks on Israeli cities.

Both sides rejected any notion of a cease-fire soon, three days after 
Israeli leaders launched bombing raids with the declared aim of halting 
rocket salvoes from the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel, which is blockading Gaza, was 
gathering ground forces at the frontier and would expand its operation 
"as much as is necessary" to stop the rocket fire and "deal a heavy blow 
to Hamas."

Israeli warplanes pressed on for the fourth day with attacks on Hamas 
targets, killing 12 Palestinians. They included sisters aged four and 
11. Several rockets fired from Gaza hit Israel, a day after three 
Israelis were killed in cross-border salvos.

Medical officials put Palestinian casualties since Saturday at 348 dead 
with more than 800 wounded. A United Nations agency said at least 62 of 
the dead were civilians. In all, four Israelis have been killed since 
the operation began.

Israeli media quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as saying the Gaza 
operation, launched by his centrist government six weeks before a 
national election that opinion polls predict the right-wing Likud party 
will win, was in "the first of several stages."





http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/31/stories/2008123155051000.htm

National

Protest against airstrikes
— Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

CPI(M) activists, led by its Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, stage a 
protest near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday against Israeli 
airstrikes in Gaza.





http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/hyderabad-residents-protest-at-us-consulate-against-israel_100137571.html

Hyderabad residents protest at US consulate against Israel
January 2nd, 2009 - 7:27 pm ICT by IANS -
Hyderabad, Jan 2 (IANS) Tension prevailed at the US consulate here 
Friday as around 1,000 people staged a demonstration protesting Israel’s 
air strikes on Palestinians in Gaza.About six protestors were injured as 
police caned the crowd that tried to barge into the newly-inaugurated 
consulate building in the high-security Begumpet neighbourhood.
About 1,000 protestors belonging to the minority cell of the ruling 
Congress party gathered outside the consulate, raising slogans against 
Israel’s action and demanding a halt to the strikes.
The protestors, led by Congress party’s minority cell president Mohammed 
Sirajuddin, managed to reach the entrance of the heavily guarded US 
consulate and tried to barge in. Police used batons to disperse the 
protestors and stopped them from burning an effigy of Israeli Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert.
Denouncing the killing of over 400 Palestinians by Israel in the 
week-long strikes, the group also raised slogans against the US for its 
support to Israel. They also carried placards with pictures of victims, 
including children.
“Down with Israel” and “Stop genocide” were some of the slogans written 
on placards.
Police later took the protestors into custody for gathering without 
permission in a prohibited area.
“The protest shows the anger and anguish of the people over the massacre 
of innocent Palestinians at the hands of Israel,” said Sirajuddin.
This was the first protest by any group at the consulate, which was 
formally opened Oct 24. The consulate, which is scheduled to start 
processing visa requests later this month, is operating from Paigah 
Palace, a heritage building.
The spontaneous protest soon after Friday prayers took the police off 
guard. Security was further tightened after the protest.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Muslims staged anti-Israel demonstrations in the 
old city of Hyderabad and some other towns in the state after Friday 
prayers.
Muslims constitute 40 percent of Hyderabad’s nearly 80 million 
population. Muslims also took out a rally in Nizamabad town to condemn 
the massacre of Palestinians and demanded an end to the brutality.





http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/03/stories/2009010353790400.htm

New Delhi

Protest against Israeli attack on Gaza
Staff Reporter
Demand to rush humanitarian aid to Palestinian people and end the siege
- Photo: Sandeep Saxena

United we stand: Palestinians along with CPI (M-L)-New Democracy 
activists demonstrating in New Delhi on Friday in protest against the 
U.S backed Israeli attack on Gaza.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Committee of the Communist Party of India 
(Marxist-Leninist)-New Democracy organised a protest demonstration at 
Jantar Mantar here on Friday demanding an end to the “US-backed Israeli 
attacks on Gaza”.
Supporting the Palestinian people’s long struggle, the protesters raised 
slogans against American imperialism and Israel’s Zionist rulers.
Addressing the protesters, party leaders condemned the Israeli attack 
launched after a long siege.
“In the current attacks, a large number of children, women and men have 
been killed and injured and it is a matter of shame that not only has 
the United States supported the attack openly, even other Western 
countries are yet to move international forums to put pressure on 
Israel,” said a statement issued by the party.
“The Israeli Government and the US have never accepted the electoral 
victory of the Hamas and in this attack the Hamas is being targeted 
along with random killing of civilians,” said the release, demanding 
that Israel rebuild Gaza and end the siege.
Speakers at the protest also demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 
downgrade the relationship with Israel and rush humanitarian aid to Gaza.





http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/mumbai-muslims-stage-anti-israel-protest_100137400.html

Mumbai Muslims stage anti-Israel protest
January 2nd, 2009 - 12:36 pm ICT by ANI -
Mumbai, Jan 2 (ANI): Israel’’s air raids on Gaza that have led to the 
killing of hundreds of innocent civilians, has convinced clerics of the 
All India Ulema Council to send boxes of bangles to leaders of different 
Arab countries.
The protestors contend that the Arab leaders ought to have taken a 
pro-active role in stopping the Israeli offensive since the United 
Nations and super powers have failed to prevent Tel Aviv from executing 
such offensive against the Palestinans.
The protestors said the bangles were apt medium to remind the Arab 
nations of their impotency vis-a-vis Israel.
The All India Ulema Council contends that if Gulf countries unite 
together, the Israeli action can be countered. No major Arab country has 
come forward to aid of Palestine.
The protesters also demanded that the United Nations declare Israel a 
terrorist state.
“For the past sixty years, Israelis have been killing innocents in 
Palestine on one or the other reason, by either bombing their areas or 
by firing artillery and bullets on them. Different ways of brutal 
attacks are being conducted on them. The situation today is that the 
children in Palestine do not have milk to drink and no food to eat. The 
Israelis are showering all ways of brutality on them. We urge the United 
Nations to declare Israel as a terrorist state,” said Maulana Moin 
Ashraf, President, Darul-ul-Uloom Ashrafia, Mumbai.
On Wednesday, Israel stepped up preparations for a possible ground 
offensive after Hamas’’s long-range rockets hit a major population centre.
Diplomats said the deadliest conflict in the Gaza Strip in four decades 
appeared close to a tipping point after four days of cross-border fire 
killed more than 385 Palestinians and four Israelis.
Foreign powers have increased pressure on both sides to halt 
hostilities, but the public anger in Israel over the widening of the 
rocket attacks to include Beersheba, 40 km from the Gaza Strip, could 
move the government to hit the Hamas even harder. (ANI)





http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2009/jan/02/protests_against_israeli_attack_gaza_growing_india.html

Protests against Israeli attack on Gaza growing in India
Submitted by Mudassir Rizwan on Sat, 01/03/2009 - 05:33.
• Indian Muslim
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Hundreds of Muslims after Juma Prayer in Delhi today 
protested against Israeli bombings on Gaza Strip in which hundreds of 
innocent civilians including women and children have so far been killed.
In the indiscriminate bombings on Palestinians in Gaza Strip in the last 
5 days about 500 people have been killed and around 1000 injured.

Soon after Juma Prayer at historic Jama Masjid people began shouting 
slogans against the Israeli aggression on Gaza. They also condemned the 
US for not using its influence to stop the bombings.
Earlier in his weekly Juma sermon, Ahmad Bukhari, Imam of Jama Masjid, 
criticized Israel for using force against the civilians. He also 
condemned the silence of world community and powerful countries 
including the US. He singled out Islamic countries for failing to take a 
united approach against Israeli attack. He demanded central UPA 
government to strongly condemn the Israeli aggression.

There are reports of such protests from other parts of the country 
including Hyderabad and Kashmir.
Meanwhile there is a report that the central government in New Delhi has 
announced $ 1 million for relief work in Gaza Strip.






http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/10/stories/2009011051550500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

‘Fiery’ protest
PHOTO: G. SANJEEV REDDY

IN CONDEMNATION: Activists of the MIM torch an ‘effigy’ of Israel in 
protest against its continuing attack on Gaza, in Adilabad on Friday. -






http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=455557

Lucknow women protest against Gaza offensive
________________________________________

ANI Monday 19th January, 2009
Lucknow, Jan 19 : Scores of women here staged a demonstration against 
Israeli offensive in Gaza to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

The protest was organised under the aegis of the All India Muslim Women 
Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) and Communist Party of India (CPI) on 
Sunday and came after Israel offered a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza.

Protestors urged New Delhi to snap all diplomatic ties with Israel.

"We are protesting against the Israeli attack on Palestine. We urge the 
Government of India to close the embassy of Israel and snap all 
diplomatic ties with the nation. Israeli strikes on Palestinian 
territory, hospitals and mosques are illegal. The United Nations must 
take action on this," said Shaista Amber, President of AIMWPLB.

More than 1,150 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its 
offensive against Gaza on December 27 to force Hamas to stop rocket 
attacks on its territory.

Israel has accused Hamas of taking shelter among the civilian population 
and using sites such as mosques and schools as military posts.

Hamas said on Sunday it would cease fire immediately along with other 
militant groups in the Gaza Strip and give Israel, which already 
declared a unilateral truce, a week to pull its troops out of the territory.





http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010656000400.htm

New Delhi

Students protest Israeli attack on Gaza
Staff Reporter
Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

Students protesting in front of the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on 
Monday against attacks on Gaza.
NEW DELHI: Protesting against the Israeli strikes on Gaza, students of 
Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University held a demonstration 
outside the Israeli Embassy here on Monday. The agitators, hurling shoes 
and slippers in the direction of the embassy, were stopped by police 
some distance away from the building.
Carrying placards like “Stop killing innocents in Palestine” and “Down 
with Israel state terrorism”, the protesters shouted slogans against 
Israeli “invasion”. They also burnt an Israeli flag before being 
detained by the police.
Nearly 50 students from different organisations at JNU, such as the 
Students’ Federation of India, the Progressive Students’ Union and 
activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, emerged from one 
of the by-lanes on Aurangzeb Road around 4 p.m. and began running 
towards the Israeli Embassy.
Police caught unawares
Since it was a flash demonstration, the police were caught unawares. 
However, media presence outside the embassy alerted the Israeli 
officials. They informed the police who later strengthened their 
presence outside the building.
“We have come here to convey a message to the Government that the youth 
are against the Israeli offensive on Gaza,” said an SFI activist, 
Dhananjay Tripathi.
“We are against the Gaza bombings. We condemn the killing of innocents 
there and express our solidarity with the Palestinians,” said Vibha, an 
activist of the PSU.
Palestinian Shadi Farrokhyani, who is doing her Ph.D. from JNU, urged 
Indians not to remain silent on the issue.
“It is not just Hamas but a lot of innocent civilians are being killed 
in the strikes. There have been massive demonstrations all over the 
world. I am happy that in India also people are reacting, especially the 
Left parties that have shown solidarity,” she said, holding a placard.
Traffic was held up briefly on Aurangzeb Road because of the protest.






http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/12/stories/2009011258680300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Ulama protests against Israeli action
Staff Reporter
Thiruvananthapuram: The Dakshina Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulama has said that 
its members will stage a march in front of the Raj Bhavan here on 
January 13 in protest against the Israeli military action in Gaza.
In a press release here on Sunday, the Ulama said that the Israeli Army 
was targeting innocent civilians, including children and woman, and 
hospitals under the pretext of attacking armed militants.




http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/17/stories/2009011758410300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Protest against attack on Palestine
A large number of Muslims, under the banner of Taseen Masjid Committee 
held a demonstration near NAD Kotha Road here on Friday protesting 
against Israel’s attack on Palestine. They strongly condemned the 
attacks, particularly since they were resulting in the deaths of infants 
and women and damage to hospitals, and demanded Israel to stop the 
attacks immediately. The committee wanted the Indian Government to put 
pressure on Israel to stop the attacks on Palestine. Committee president 
Syed Khamar Tajuddin, secretary Md. Afsar, PCC Member A.K. Quereshi, 
District Kazi Shamsuddin and others participated.





http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/18/stories/2009011856191200.htm

New Delhi

LJP condemns Israeli action in Gaza, holds protest
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Lok Janshakti Party on Saturday strongly and 
unequivocally condemned the “Israeli aggression” on the Gaza strip and 
demanded that India not only condemn the act but also sever all 
diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.
The party also demanded that India should immediately urge the United 
Nations to take immediate cognisance of the “massacre in the Gaza strip” 
and proceed to try the Israeli Prime Minister and his Cabinet for “war 
crimes.”
“The calculated and meticulously planned attacks on the Gaza strip are 
nothing short of terror unleashed on the vast humanity of Gaza strip 
where hundreds of innocent armed civilians, including 300 children, have 
been killed and thousands maimed for life,” the party said in a 
memorandum to the President.






http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=450630

Anti-Israel protests continue in metropolitan cities
________________________________________

ANI Wednesday 7th January, 2009
New Delhi/ Kolkata, Jan 7 : Hundreds of people have been protesting 
against Israeli attack on Gaza by taking to the streets in metropolitan 
cities.

Protestors in New Delhi, comprising mainly Muslims, blamed the United 
States for the Israeli attack and accused the United Progressive 
Alliance Government for not strongly condemning the attacks on Gaza.

Children and women came out in large numbers in the protest march 
raising slogans against the genocide attacks on innocent children in Gaza.

"We want to give a call to America, Israel, Europe, Arab nations and our 
country as they are sitting as mute spectators. Everything is shut there 
and they are deprived of necessities like food, medicine shops and 
water. We have held this protest so that our voice reaches the UN 
Organisation, our Government and the Arab nations," said Ilyas, a protestor.

In Kolkata, the anti-Israel protests were organised by the Socialist 
Unity Centre of India (SUCI) whose supporters burnt effigies of the 
outgoing US President George W Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert expressing their anger against the Gaza attacks.

The supporters carried placards denouncing Israel and US as 'butchers of 
Gaza' and accusing Bush and Olmert as the 'greatest terrorists on earth'.

"They are trampling on all the democratic rights of the common people to 
elect their Government and also in the name of collective punishment. 
They are punishing the common people. They have totally failed to 
contain terror. They are acting as agents of terrorists," said Biplap 
Chakraborty, Secretariat Member, SUCI.

About 530 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since Israel launched 
its offensive on December 27 to curtail Hamas rocket attacks on its 
territory from Gaza.






http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/08/stories/2009010851040300.htm

Kerala - Malappuram

Flurry of protests against Israel attacks
Staff Reporter
Protestors condemn stand of U.S. and India
________________________________________
DYFI holds protest marches across district
‘Declare Israel a terror nation’
________________________________________
MALAPPURAM: A flurry of agitations was taken out here on Wednesday by 
various organisations in protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The protestors condemned Israeli brutality in killing ordinary citizens 
including children, and criticised the stand of America and India 
towards the aggression on Palestine.
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) held protest marches in 
all block centres across the district.
The DYFI condemned the Congress policy of supporting Israel despite the 
worldwide denunciation of Zionist brutalities.
DYFI protestors said the Indian policy was gross diversion from the 
non-aligned path that the country followed till recently. They accused 
the Central government of trying to strengthen military relations with 
Israel.
Solidarity rally
A Palestine solidarity rally organised by the Samastha Kerala Sunni 
Students Federation (SKSSF) demanded that Israel should be declared a 
terror nation.
SKSSF protestors said that more shoes would be hurled on the face of the 
U.S., which supported the Israeli killing of innocent citizens.
The Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) condemned the silence 
maintained by the Manmohan Singh government even when Israel went about 
decimating the Palestinian population.
“The Indian government should show the guts not only to condemn the 
Israeli attack on Gaza but also to break diplomatic relations with that 
country,” said KSTA leaders here on Wednesday.
Hundreds of youngsters took part in a protest against Israel organised 
by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) at Kottakkal at midday.






http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/09/stories/2009010954320300.htm

Kerala

Protest sans borders

Global concerns: Activists of the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students 
Federation (SKSSF) taking out a rally in Malappuram on Thursday to 
protest against Israel’s attack on Gaza.






http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/07/stories/2009010760691400.htm

National

Left front to protest Israel’s attack on Gaza
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA:The ruling Left Front in West Bengal will organise protest 
marches across the State on January 10 condemning Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Biman Bose, Left Front Committee chairman, said here on Tuesday that 
processions would be taken out in the city and the districts and 
meetings held condemning the “brutal attacks on the Palestinian people.”
He deplored the silence maintained by the United Nations as well as the 
Indian government on the matter and called upon the latter to 
immediately exert diplomatic pressure on the Israeli government to put a 
stop to the attacks on Gaza.
Asked for his comments on a rally in the city organised by the Trinamool 
Congress in protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza that was 
addressed by its chief Mamata Banerjee, he wondered what it was worth, 
as the party was not known for taking any ideological stand in 
international affairs.
Condemning Israel’s attacks on the Gaza strip, Ms. Banerjee demanded 
that the Centre send relief and representatives to Gaza and also urge to 
the United Nations to stop the ongoing violence.
She added that India should sever diplomatic ties with Israel if the 
situation so required.
On the by-election to the Nandigram Assembly constituency held on Monday 
Mr. Bose said that although it was being claimed that the polls were 
peaceful they were held in a situation of repressed terror.
The apparent peace in the area on the day of the polls should not 
suggest that the elections were free and fair, he said.
Corrections and Clarifications
In a report "Left front to protest Israel's attack on Kashmir" (January 
7, 2009), some comments made by Ms. Mamata Banerjee were tagged on to 
those made by Mr. Biman Bose, Left front committee chairman, without 
proper attribution. The comments by Ms Banerjee were given as a separate 
story by a staff reporter. This was incorporated into the news item in 
question by the editorial desk.





http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/muslims-in-new-delhi-protest-against-gaza-attack_100143700.html

Muslims in New Delhi protest against Gaza attack
January 17th, 2009 - 8:17 pm ICT by ANI -
New Delhi, Jan 17 (ANI): Hundreds of Muslim protestors continued to 
protest against Israels attack on Gaza here on Saturday.
“This protest is aimed at the Government of India and the message that 
we give today from this protest is that the Government should not just 
speak, it should act. It has to remove the diplomatic relations with 
Israel. It has to break all strategic and military relations with 
Israel,” said Abdul Rashid Qureshi, a spokesperson of the protestors group.
According to the spokesperson, they also protested against USA, UK and 
United Nations for their alleged pro-Israeli actions.
More than 1140 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its 
offensive against Gaza on December 27 to force Hamas to stop rocket 
attacks on its territory.
Israel has accused Hamas of sheltering among the civilian population and 
using sites such as mosques and schools as military posts. (ANI)






http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata_/Bandh_against_Gaza_attacks/articleshow/3970547.cms

Bandh against Gaza attacks
TNN 13 January 2009, 03:23am IST
KOLKATA: A four-hour bandh from 12 noon to 4 pm has been called by the 
Milli Ittehad Parishad West Bengal, a forum of 13 Muslim organisations 
to protest Israel's strikes on civilian targets in Gaza City of Palestine.

Lawyer Idris Ali, who had moved high court against bandhs earlier, is 
himself a party to the bandh call. On Monday, he and Haji Abdul Aziz 
gave the call after a rally.

The organisers will invite prominent leaders CPM state secretary Biman 
Bose, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and state Congress 
working president Pradip Bhattacharya to a downtown protest gathering on 
Friday, hoping that none of them can ignore the invitation with the Lok 
Sabha election around. Although Left parties have already condemned the 
attacks on Palestine, it is not certain whether Bose will join Friday's 
gathering.

Speakers at Monday's press conference came down heavily on Israel for 
the way it has targeted Hamas, the largest and most influential Islamic 
organisation in Palestine, killing women and children. They insisted 
that Israel was leading the attack at the prodding of the US.





http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/30/content_10579464.htm

2008-12-30 10:03:09 Print

Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
Palestinians in Venezuela hold anti-Israel demonstration

A Palestinian girl demonstrates in front of the Israeli Embassy in 
Caracas, capital of Venezuela, on Dec. 29, 2008. Palestinians who reside 
in Venezuela gathered here on Monday during a demonstration against 
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua/Bolivar News Agency)

A Palestinian demonstrates in front of the Israeli Embassy in Caracas, 
capital of Venezuela, on Dec. 29, 2008. Palestinians who reside in 
Venezuela gathered here on Monday during a demonstration against Israeli 
airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua/Bolivar News Agency)
Palestinian women demonstrate in front of the Israeli Embassy in 
Caracas, capital of Venezuela, on Dec. 29, 2008. Palestinians who reside 
in Venezuela gathered here on Monday during a demonstration against 
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua/Bolivar News Agency)





http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/09/content_10628834.htm

Venezuelans protest Israeli military actions against Gaza

Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
CARACAS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government staged a march on 
Thursday to protest the Israeli raids against the Gaza Strip.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gathered in front of the 
Este Park in Caracas, from where they marched to the Israeli embassy.
On Jan. 6, Chavez expelled Israeli ambassador as a gesture of 
repudiation for the raids that Israel has launched against Gaza since 
Dec. 27. Over 700 Palestinians have been killed.
The Venezuelan government also ordered its representative to the UN to 
exert pressure together with other countries on the Security Council to 
take urgent measures to stop the Israeli air strikes and ground 
operations against Palestinians.





http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6604308

Caracas Protesters Cheer Israeli Envoy's Expulsion
Spraying graffiti and smashing windows, Venezuelan protesters back 
expulsion of Israeli envoy
CARACAS, Venezuela January 8, 2009 (AP)
The Associated Press

Demonstrators protest outside Israel's embassy in Caracas, Thursday, 
Jan. 8, 2009. Protesters...
(AP)
Protesters condemning Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip sprayed 
graffiti and hurled shoes at the country's embassy in Venezuela on 
Thursday, backing President Hugo Chavez's decision to expel the Israeli 
ambassador.
Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and chanted "Gaza, hold on! The 
world is rising up!" Journalists estimated the crowd at about 1,000.
Protesters broke windows as they threw shoes and firecrackers at the 
seven-story building housing the Embassy and spray-painted "Israel Get 
Out" and "Long live a free Palestine" on its storefronts.
Chavez has ordered Ambassador Shlomo Cohen to leave in protest over the 
attacks in Gaza. Israel says Cohen was given until Friday to depart, and 
the nation is considering expelling Venezuelan diplomats in response.
"We are leaving without hate or rancor. On the contrary, we have much 
fondness for the Venezuelan people," Cohen told The Associated Press on 
Thursday at a gathering at a Jewish community center in eastern Caracas.
More than 700 have been killed since Israel launched the offensive Dec. 
27, aiming to halt Palestinian rocket attacks into southern Israel.
The protesters included Venezuelans of Arab descent and Chavez 
supporters with no links to the Middle East.
"I disagree with them killing all those people," said Robert Cardenas, a 
43-year-old art museum employee.
Chavez has long been critical of Israel in its conflict with the 
Palestinians. He accuses the Israeli government of acting as an arm of 
Washington.
Jewish community leader Abraham Levy, president of the Venezuelan 
Confederation of Israelite Associations, has said the diplomatic break 
attempts to demonize Israel. Venezuela's Jewish community numbers nearly 
15,000.





http://www.examiner.com/x-2086-NY-Foreign-Policy-Examiner~y2009m1d8-Protests-in-Caracas-for-and-against-Israeli-ambassador-expulsion

Protests in Caracas for and against Israeli ambassador expulsion

January 8, 9:53 PM • Add a Comment

You will most likely not hear about the condemnation in Caracas by the 
Colegio de Internacionalistas de Venezuela (a body of advocates of 
international cooperation) of President Chavez' expulsion of Israeli 
ambassador Shlomo Cohen. Chavez defended his decision by saying it was a 
gesture of "dignity". Globovision News reported that the Colegio issued 
a press release this afternoon rejecting Ambassador's Cohen's expulsion 
from the country. They go on to say that this action positions the 
Venezuelan government as a biased party in the arab-israeli conflict, 
and it does nothing to contribute to the resolution of the hostilities. 
Quoting from the Spanish text: "We exhort the government of Venezuela to 
reconsider the measure and to propitiate stages of negotiations that can 
contribute effectively to the solution of the problems rather than 
worsening them. "
The Colegio expressed their repudiation of the use of violence and 
called on to the international organizations to seek alternatives to the 
war and for respect of international law. It is sad that the 
International organizations they are calling on have not yet responded 
to the release. At least not yet.
What has received attention however was a mildly violent protest in 
Caracas in front of the Israeli embassy, where they proceeded to stamp 
and burn the Israeli flag (unheard of till now), throw shoes at the 
building, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags. The estimated size of 
the crowd was about 1000.
There were also firecrackers exploded in front of the Embassy, and some 
spray painted graffiti which said: "long live a free Palestine" on the 
ground floor store fronts. Others chanted "Gaza, hold on, the world is 
rising up". Some protesters jumped over the fence outside the embassy. 
Many windows were smashed with glass shards all over the ground.
Associated Press publicized a list description of the photos that were 
taken of the demonstration, and a woman of Muslim descent was heard 
saying: ""I would like other countries, both Arab and non-Arab countries 
to take the same initiative (of expelling their Israeli ambassadors) so 
that the Israeli people realize that the whole world is against this 
massacre that they are carrying out." The Associated Press site had not 
publicized these photos as of this writing.





http://english.sina.com/life/p/2009/0109/210472.html

Girl dressed up as Statue of Liberty protests Israel's offensive in Gaza
2009-01-09 10:26:51 GMT2009-01-09 18:26:51 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English
A girl dressed up as Statue of Liberty with a shoe in her raising hand 
is seen during a rally against Israel's offensive in Gaza, in front of 
the Israeli embassy in Caracas January 8, 2009. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)






http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/03/content_10596474.htm

Palestinian community in Colombia protests Israeli raids on Gaza

BOGOTA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people from the Palestinian 
community in the Colombian capital city of Bogota on Friday protested 
outside the Israeli embassy against Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The protesters marched from the historic Bolivar Square to the Israeli 
embassy in northern Bogota, demanding peace for the Palestinian people.
The protest came at a time when the Colombian government condemned, in a 
statement, the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and expressed its solidarity 
with the Palestinian people.
Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza last Saturday, a move it said to 
retaliate for the firing of rockets into its southern territory by Hamas 
militias.
The ongoing military operation has left at least 432 people killed and 
some 2,200 wounded, Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance 
services in the Palestinian health ministry said.






http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/09/content_10629274.htm

Brazilians protest against Israeli invasion of Gaza

Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- About 300 people took to the streets 
of downtown Rio on Thursday afternoon to protest against the ongoing 
Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
The protest was organized by a group called the Committee of Solidarity 
with the Palestinian People's Fight, whose supporters include several 
trade unions and left-wing parties.
"It is a catastrophe, a holocaust," the committee's president Stela 
Santos said, "Israel is committing an aggression against those people, 
who do not have an army and resist with few resources."
Erlix Estevez, who represents NGO AmIsrael in Brazil, regretted the war 
in Gaza.
"The (Israeli) action is not against the Palestinian people, but against 
Hamas, which is a terrorist group," he said, "we are against actions 
which affect civilians and efforts to reach a peace agreement. The 
Palestinian nation has the right to exist. That land is for everyone: 
Jewish, Christians and Muslims."
He added that although the Israeli actions were self-defensive in 
nature, but disproportional in comparison with Hamas's attacks.
"I do not believe that peace can come from war," he said.
It is the second large protest against the Israeli attack within two 
days in Brazil. On Wednesday, about 1,200 people staged a protest in Sao 
Paulo, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.





http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/middle-east/2009/01/01/190113/Several-hundred.htm

January 1, 2009 10:12 am TWN, AFP
Several hundred in Panama protest Israel Gaza raids
PANAMA CITY -- Around 200 people protested outside the Israeli embassy 
in Panama City Tuesday to condemn Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip 
that have left at least 373 Palestinians dead. The Central American 
country's protests joined a wave of worldwide pressure as Israel mulled 
a proposed 48-hour truce.
“We came to condemn this massacre against Palestinian people in which 
civilians are dying,” said Genaro Lopez, director of a local rights 
group, blaming the United States for supporting Israel's attacks. “We 
came to protest and condemn the massacres by the terrorist state of 
Israel,” said Khaled Salama, representative for the Party of Palestinian 
People for Latin America and the Caribbean.





http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/668532

Muslims protest Israeli bombing of Palestine Sunday, 18th January, 2009

Ugandan Muslims burn the Israeli flag at a demonstration at Kololo 
Airstrip on Friday
By Nuliat Nakiwala

A section of Muslims on Friday held a protest in Kampala against the 
Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

During the prayers at Kololo airstrip, the Muslims, led by Sheikh Nooh 
Muzata, condemned the atrocities committed by the Israeli Defence Forces 
against the people of Gaza.

At least 1,203 Palestinians, including 410 children, have been killed 
and 5,300 wounded in the three-week- offensive.

Israel says the offensive is meant to put a halt to rocket attacks on 
southern Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza enclave.

After the prayers, a delegation led by Prof. Abasi Kiyimba, marched to 
the foreign affairs ministry to present a petition condemning Israel.

The foreign affairs state minister, Henry Oryem Okello, said the 
Government does not support any kind of terrorism.
Other delegates were Sheikh Obeid Kamulegeya, Sheikh Hassan Kirya, Hajji 
Ahamed Lubega and Sheikh Muhammad Katuramu.

Muslim clerics called upon the international community to step up 
pressure towards Israel to halt its “campaign of murder and destruction”.

They urged world leaders to boost efforts to maintain a strong 
Palestinian state, so as to bring an end to 60 years of anguish.

Kiyimba said: “Muslims should stop buying products from companies that 
are against Palestine, because by using such products you are supporting 
your enemies to kill your brothers.”

Prince Badru Nakibinge Kakungulu, Prince Khalifan Kakungulu, the Amir 
Ummah Sheikh Abdul Hakim Ssekimpi, Muslim MPs Erias Lukwago, Latif 
Ssebagala and Lule Mawiya attended.
Mawiya urged the NRM Government to make its stand on the conflict known.






http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=January2009&file=World_News2009011012610.xml

Police disperse protests in Kenya
Web posted at: 1/10/2009 1:26:10
Source ::: AFP Nairobi: Kenyan police fired tear gas and used water 
cannons to disperse hundreds of Muslims who had gathered after Friday 
prayers in Nairobi to protest against Israel’s deadly raids in the Gaza 
Strip. Close to a thousands demonstrators started chanting slogans in 
solidarity with the Palestinians outside the capital’s Jamea mosque.






http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2450918,00.html

Cops break up Gaza protest
09/01/2009 16:04 - (SA)

Nairobi - Kenyan police fired tear gas and used water cannons to 
disperse hundreds of Muslims who had gathered after Friday prayers in 
Nairobi to protest against Israel's deadly raids in the Gaza Strip.
Close to a thousands demonstrators started chanting slogans in 
solidarity with the Palestinians outside the capital's Jamea mosque.
"No to shedding innocent blood", "End the massacre in Gaza", "Israel, 
stop killing innocent people", read some of the placards.
The Jewish state launched a massive military operation against the Gaza 
Strip on December 27 in a move it said was aimed at stopping rocket 
attacks on southern Israel.
Israel has targeted militants and officials from the radical Hamas 
movement which controls the territory but many of the nearly 800 people 
medics say have died since the launch of the raids are civilians.
"We are supporting our brothers being killed by Israel. We want peace, 
so why are our brothers dying," said Ahmed Isak, a 45-year-old Kenyan 
who took part in Friday's protest.
"They're persecuting us and shedding our blood. We are ready to die if 
our fellow Muslims are being persecuted," said Amina Doro, another one 
of the demonstrators.
The protestors tried to march towards the Israeli embassy in central 
Nairobi but were stopped by a heavy security deployment.
Similar protests were held in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya last week.
- AFP





http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/509814/-/u0qp31/-/index.html

Anti-Israeli protests spill into Nairobi

Demonstrators tear up and burn a paper-made lsraeli flag in Nairobi on 
Friday in protest at Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Photo/MOHAMED DAHIR
By ALPHONCE SHIUNDUPosted Friday, January 2 2009 at 21:55
Protests over Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip spilled into the streets 
of Nairobi on Friday as Muslims in the city vowed to march to that 
country’s embassy and seek audience with the ambassador.
They want the envoy to “either apologise for the atrocities or vacate 
the country.”
The atmosphere was charged at Nairobi’s Jamia Mosque during Friday 
prayers after Muslims were informed that dozens of women and children 
had been killed in the attacks.
Speeches at the rally held in Banda Street outside the Jamia Mosque 
shortly after the prayers were punctuated with shouts of “genocide”, 
“holocaust” and “massacre”.
Human rights
The Muslims urged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to 
cut ties with Israel as a show of Kenya’s commitment to human rights.
They also urged the Government to send a strong letter of protest to 
Israel over the attacks.
Vice-chairperson of the Government’s human rights watchdog, Kenya 
National Human Rights Commission Hassan Omar said the attacks were an 
excuse by the West to continue oppressing Muslims.
“Whether or not the police commissioner allows us to protest next week, 
we’ll go to that embassy and give them a piece of our mind,” Mr Omar said.
The Muslims also condemned Arab envoys in Kenya for failing to “act in 
solidarity with Palestine.”
Only the Iranian ambassador, Mr Hamid Moayyer, has condemned the attacks.
Israel says that its assault on Gaza is aimed at ending persistent Hamas 
rocket attacks, but the offensive has sparked international condemnation 
and protests.
The body count following the attacks hit 420 yesterday morning, with 
another 2,100 critically wounded.
Kisumu Town East MP Shakeel Shabir said he would petition Muslim MPs to 
pass a vote of no confidence in Foreign Affairs minister Moses 
Wetang’ula if he did not condemn the attacks.






http://www.nation.co.ke/News/regional/-/1070/509478/-/709his/-/index.html

Muslims in protest over Gaza crisis

Muslims in Mombasa burn a US flag during a demonstration in Mombasa 
onThursday. They condemned the Israel attacks on Gaza. Photo/Laban Walloga.
By NATION Correspondent Posted Thursday, January 1 2009 at 20:29
Hundreds of Muslims on Thursday thronged the streets of Mombasa to 
protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip.
The procession started at the Kwa Shibu Mosque in Mwembe Tayari and 
proceeded to Kenyatta Avenue and on to Digo and Makadara roads. The 
protesters then converged at Makadara grounds for prayers.
Men, women and children joined in the protest carrying placards, shoes 
and Palestinian and Israeli flags. They at the same time chanted slogans 
to register their bitterness against Israel.
At one point, Mombasa head of police Tom Odero tried to control the 
movement of the crowd but the youth turned rowdy and had it their way.





http://allafrica.com/stories/200812160541.html

Nigeria: Shiites in Kano Protest Gaza Blockage
Jaafar Jaafar
16 December 2008

Hundreds of Shiite Muslims in Kano have protested Israel's bloc-kage of 
Gaza city, urging Presi-dent Umaru Yar'adua to sever diplomatic ties 
with the Jewish state.
Speaking during the protest, the representative of Sheik Ibrahim 
El-zakzaky, Malam Sanusi Abdulkadir, said it is high time the whole 
world gathered in unison to call Israel to order.
Abdulkadir said Muslims have suffered untold hardship for the period the 
Israel blocked the routes, lamenting that peo-ple all over the world 
folded their arms without denouncing the in-human treatments.
"We have rights to make this call because the Federal Govern-ment has 
condemned injustices in South Africa and other parts of the world. So 
now, it is incum-bent upon us, the religious leaders to call on 
government to do something on this injus-tice", he said.
He said they can not compel the Israel government to stop the injustice 
but they can urge Nigerian government to prevail, diplomatically, on the 
Israel to lower the bar placed on the Gaza routes.
The Shiite leader also said human rights activists should rise against 
the inhuman treat-ment meted out to Gaza people by Israel.
He said history has shown that, apart from Gaza case, no any country in 
the world was ever made prisoner by another country. "We have to show 
our displeasure to the injustices meted out to the Gaza people", he stated.






http://allafrica.com/stories/200901050186.html

Leadership (Abuja)
Nigeria: Protests in Kano Over Gaza Invasion
Abdulaziz Ahmad Abdulaziz
5 January 2009
Kano — Disturbed by what they call "gargantuan injustice and merciless 
genocide" by the Zionist state of Israel on the Palestinians of Gaza, 
thousands of Muslims in Kano staged various peaceful demonstrations and 
prayer sessions from Friday through the weekend to express dismay over 
Israel's air strike on Gaza.
Different groups of Muslims in Kano held various events to express their 
anger and disapproval with a call on the Federal Government to cut 
diplomatic ties with Israel.
Last Friday a group of Muslims under the banner of Sheikh Ibrahim 
Zakzaky's Islamic Movement converged at the Fagge Juma'at mosque for 
protest meeting.
The group, led by Sheikh Muhammmad Mahmud Turi flew Palestinian flags 
chanting curses and disapproval slogans to Israel . Some of the chants 
include "death to Israel ", "victory for Hamas" among others.
The protesters condemned the action as merciless and cowardly. 
Addressing the gathering Sheikh Turi said Israel's injustice on the 
Palestinians is infamous through out the world as he said that the 
aerial strike had claimed 1,200 women and children.
According to him, the fact that only 61 Hamas jihadists lost their lives 
in the battle that claimed 1,200 innocent women and children testifies 
to the fact that " Israel is coward that cannot fight in the front but 
only resort to injustice."
He described the Palestinian people as courageous and called on them to 
continue fighting until they are freed. "The world is with you against 
this cowardly act by the Zionist regime, but we have proved that we are 
stronger than before by your continued resistance, despite six days of 
aerial bombardment," Shiekh Turi said.
He also described the event in Gaza as the "beginning of the end of the 
Zionist state, especially the growing ability of the resistance movement 
to withstand the aerial bombardment," Sheikh Turi said, adding that with 
the failure of Israel to deal with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon in 2002 
and in 2006, the acclaimed invincibility of Israel has not only been 
disproven, "it has also been shown that the illegitimate nation will 
soon cease to exist," he said.
On the same vein, Israeli and American flags were set on fair by a group 
of demonstrators under the banner of Jama'atut Tajdidil Islamy, JTI, 
after the Friday prayers at the Kano city Central mosque in disapproval 
of the Israel 's attacks on Gaza .
Speaking at the event, the leader of JTI in Kano Mallam Abdullahi Salihu 
Aikawa expressed anathema on Israel calling it "illegitimate and 
merciless country". Aikawa noted that for a long time Israel has been 
cooking any flimsy reason on which to camouflage for assault on the 
Palestinians.
He, in a strong worded remarks, called on the Federal Government to 
untie diplomatic ties with the Zionist state even as he lambaste Arab 
countries and other nations for exhibiting sheer disregard for the 
situation.
Meanwhile, thousands of Muslim faithful attended a special prayer 
session at Darul Qadiriyya in the heart of Kano where prayers were 
offered for divine intervention on the happenings in the Middle East.
The faithful, under the guidance of Sheikh Musal Qasiyuni Nasiru Kabara, 
equally flay the action of Israel of murdering innocent women and 
children. They also offered Islamic funeral prayer in absentia to the 
Palestinians that were killed in the strikes.





http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200901103233495

Police avert anti-Israel protest in Jos
By Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Published: Saturday, 10 Jan 2009
A detachment of armed soldiers and mobile policemen was on Friday 
drafted to hotspots in the Jos North Local Government Area, to thwart a 
planned demonstration by some Muslim youths against Israel’s bombing of 
Gaza.
Saturday Punch gathered that the group’s request for permission to hold 
a peaceful rally after the Friday prayers was turned down. Consequently, 
the group vowed to proceed with the demonstration.
Their insistence stirred fresh tension in the troubled city, as shop 
owners in hotspots of Bauchi Road, Massalachin Juma’a, Congo Russia and 
Katako junction quickly closed their shops. Efforts to speak with the 
Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abubakar Umar, were not fruitful as 
he was absent when Saturday Punch visited his office.
Calls to his mobile phone could not go through either as it was said not 
to be available. Meanwhile the spiritual leader of El-Buba Outreach 
Ministry International, Prophet Isah El-Buba, has cautioned the Federal 
Government over the handling of the November 28, 2008 mayhem in Jos. 
El-Buba said that President Umaru Yar‘Adua, as the father of the nation, 
should treat all Nigerians equally, irrespective of their ethnic or 
religious affiliation.
In an open letter to Yar’Adua, titled, “Mr. President: Nigeria is our 
collective Heritage,” a copy of which was made available to Saturday 
Punch in Jos on Friday, the cleric drew the President’s attention to the 
recent bloodshed in the city, that claimed over 300 lives.
He also protested the attitude of some Federal Government emissaries 
that visited the city after the mayhem. He said that most of the key 
government functionaries sent from the Presidency to Jos to ascertain 
the extent of the damage and destruction to lives and property 
undermined the personality of Governor Jonah Jang as the chief security 
officer of Plateau State.
El-Buba urged the President to display the attitude of a true leader to 
all concerned in the Jos North conflict. He added that the problem with 
Nigerian leaders over the years had to do with their interests, which 
were always tilted towards self-serving regional, religious and economic 
pursuits.
He advised the Federal Government to go beyond Plateau State in setting 
up panels to investigate the causes of religious crisis by probing 
similar bloodshed in Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi and Borno states.
Also, a Muslim group, the Association for the Propagation of Islam in 
Different Languages, has called for peaceful co-existence in the state. 
It also called on Plateau State elite to complement the state 
government’s efforts by employing their intellectual ability in 
preaching the need for harmonious co-existence.
Addressing a news conference in Jos on Friday, the association lamented 
the sporadic violence that had engulfed the tin city over the past few 
years. The association’s Spokesman, Mr. Ishaku Dalyop, called for 
adequate security apparatus and incentives to deal with threats to the 
peace of the state.
Dalyop further urged religious leaders to restrict themselves to 
preaching peace, love and tolerance among the people, adding that they 
should not be seen as playing politics or allowing politicians to use 
religion as a political weapon.





http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2447997,00.html

1 000 protest at US consulate
02/01/2009 19:13 - (SA)
Johannesburg - A crowd of about 1 000 people protested outside the US 
consulate in Killarney, Johannesburg on Friday against Israel's air 
strikes on Gaza.
The crowd was also protesting against the US's supply of military 
hardware to Israel.
The crowd chanted "Allahu Akhbar" and "Please free Palestine" while they 
were addressed by speakers from the SA Council of Churches and the 
Congress of SA Trade Unions.
"We are conveying the message that Israel is an apartheid state," said 
Cosatu's Bongani Masuku.
The organisers of the protest had planned to throw shoes at a large 
picture of US president George W Bush, but this did not go as planned.
"The target we were supposed to throw shoes at was burned by our 
comrades," an organiser told the crowd.
- SAPA






http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/249523,south-africans-protest-israels-gaza-offensive.html

South Africans protest Israel's Gaza offensive
Posted : Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:33:13 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Africa (World)

Johannesburg - Several thousands in South Africa on Thursday took part 
in a march to parliament to protest Israel's military offensive in the 
Gaza. Protestors carried placards, some lashing out at South Africa's 
arms industry for selling "bullets and bombs" to Israel.
In a memorandum handed to a government official outside the parliament 
building in Cape Town
, protestors demanded the expulsion of Israel's ambassador.
The Cape Town-based Workers International Vanguard League (WIVL), one of 
several groups that organized the march, had earlier called for a 
boycott of Israeli products in supermarkets.






http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=d2b54a93715ee110VgnVCM10000077d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

SA muslims protest against 'Gaza massacre' January 17 2009 , 6:35:00
Hundreds of marchers have dispersed peacefully in Port Elizabeth after 
handing over a memorandum against Israel's actions in Gaza to local 
authorities. The march, led by the Coalition for Peace, was in protest 
against what it calls the massacre of Palestinians by Israelis in Gaza.
The mainly women and children marchers from the Muslim community braved 
the scorching sun to make their views known about what's happening in 
the Middle East. They marchers called for Israel to withdraw from Gaza 
immediately.
The placards they carried, called for a stop to the killing of women and 
children. They called for the South African government to close down the 
Israeli Embassy, and to expel its ambassador. A memorandum showing 
solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, was also handed to the 
police.






http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2450864,00.html

Gaza protests to continue
09/01/2009 17:03 - (SA)


Johannesburg - The Palestine Solidarity Committee on Friday was expected 
to march to the Egyptian embassy in protest against that country's 
"collaboration with Israel", it said in a statement.
Other protesters were expected to take to the streets of Durban during 
lunch-time in protest against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
"Thousands will march in Durban today (Friday) while thousands others 
will lay siege at the Egyptian embassy in Pretoria at 15:00," the 
organisation's Melissa Hole said.
Friday's protests mark the third day of similar protests across the country.
While organised pickets and protests got off to a slow start on 
Wednesday, thousands of people took to the streets of Cape Town on 
Thursday, en-route to Parliament.
Demonstrators wore T-shirts bearing the slogans "Sanctions Against 
Israel Now" and "Stop the Massacre in Palestine", they also carried 
placards reading "Hitler Taught Them" and "Hamas We Salute You".
Yet another poster carried by the demonstrators read: "South Africa, the 
bullets and bombs that you are selling to Israel are killing innocent 
babies in Palestine".
- SAPA






http://news.iafrica.com/sa/1215098.htm

SA protests target Egypt
Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:06
The Palestine Solidarity Committee on Friday handed a memorandum to the 
Egyptian Embassy in Pretoria in protest against that country's 
"complicity with Israel" in the attacks on Gaza.
Committee spokesperson Melissa Hoole said the document was handed to 
embassy representatives around 5.30pm following a protest march.
She described the protest as successful with marchers having been 
well-behaved. "Thousands" of people took part — a diverse collection of 
South Africans as well as immigrants from other parts of the world, she 
said.
Other protests against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza took place 
in Durban during lunch-time.
Friday's protests marked the third day of similar action across the 
country and more were planned, said Hoole.
While organised pickets and protests got off to a slow start on 
Wednesday, thousands took to the streets of Cape Town on Thursday, 
en-route to Parliament.
Demonstrators wore T-shirts bearing the slogans "Sanctions Against 
Israel Now" and "Stop the Massacre in Palestine". They also carried 
placards reading "Hitler Taught Them" and "Hamas We Salute You".
Yet another poster carried by the demonstrators read: "South Africa, the 
bullets and bombs that you are selling to Israel are killing innocent 
babies in Palestine".
Sapa





http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Top&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20090102144634514C206693

Joburg journo assaulted at Gaza protest

January 02 2009 at 03:08PM

A photographer was assaulted by a Palestine Solidarity Committee 
protester on a pavement outside the United States Consulate in Killarney 
on Friday.

Financial Mail photographer Russell Roberts told Sapa that a protester 
demanded to know what organisation he was from and, when he failed to 
answer, threw a punch at him, hitting his camera.

Earlier, the Palestine Solidarity Committee said it was holding the 
protest in an effort to join the international call for Israel to 
immediately stop its assault on Gaza and the collective punishment of 
people of that territory. - Sapa





http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=911648

Protest for Gaza in Johannesburg Sapa Published:Jan 02, 2009
________________________________________

The target we were supposed to throw shoes at was burned by our comrades

A crowd of about 1000 people protested outside the US consulate in 
Killarney, Johannesburg on Friday against Israel’s air strikes on Gaza.
The crowd was also protesting against the US’s supply of military 
hardware to Israel.
The crowd chanted "Allahu Akhbar" and "Please free Palestine" while they 
were addressed by speakers from the SA Council of Churches and the 
Congress of SA Trade Unions.
"We are conveying the message that Israel is an apartheid state," said 
Cosatu’s Bongani Masuku.
The organisers of the protest had planned to throw shoes at a large 
picture of US president George W Bush, but this did not go as planned.
"The target we were supposed to throw shoes at was burned by our 
comrades," an organiser told the crowd.





http://news.iafrica.com/sa/1201748.htm

1000 protest against Israel
Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:15
A crowd of about 1000 people protested outside the US consulate in 
Killarney, Johannesburg on Friday against Israel's air strikes on Gaza.
The crowd was also protesting against the US's supply of military 
hardware to Israel.
The crowd chanted "Allahu Akhbar" and "Please free Palestine", while 
they were addressed by speakers from the SA Council of Churches and the 
Congress of SA Trade Unions.
"We are conveying the message that Israel is an apartheid state," said 
Cosatu's Bongani Masuku.
The organisers of the protest had planned to throw shoes at a large 
picture of US president George W. Bush, but this did not go as planned.
"The target we were supposed to throw shoes at was burned by our 
comrades," an organiser told the crowd.
Sapa







http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2450341,00.html

SA Muslims protest Gaza attacks
08/01/2009 14:28 - (SA)

People shout out during a pro-Palestinian group protest against the 
Israeli action in the Gaza Strip in Cape Town. (Schalk van Zuydam, AP)

Cape Town - More than 1 000 South African Muslims marched to Parliament 
in Cape Town on Thursday to protest against the Israeli offensive in the 
Gaza Strip, which they likened to apartheid and genocide.
Chanting "Free Palestine" and bearing banners screaming "death to 
Israel", and some sporting T-shirts saying "Boycott apartheid Israel", 
the protesters handed over a memorandum to the South Africa's junior 
foreign minister.
"I am here to express my disgust at the situation in Gaza regarding the 
Israelis using their power and might to kill innocent civilians," said 
37-year-old Mogamat Booley.
"I want to bring awareness in South Africa, for them to use all their 
might to assist and put pressure on the Israeli government."
More than 700 have been killed and over 3 100 injured since Israel first 
launched air strikes on Hamas military and government targets on 
December 27 in a campaign it says aims to stop Hamas rocket attacks 
across the border.
'Slaughter of innocent people'
A 58-year-old protester said he wanted to "bring awareness about the 
massacre and slaughter of innocent people".
"Where is the boundary when it comes to war? Where is the humanity in 
that?" he said, asking not to be named.
The march, organised by a group of mainly Muslim organisations, called 
for a stop to hostilities and urged South Africa to impose sanctions 
against Israel.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sue van der Merwe accepted the 
memorandum and told the crowd that South Africa urged all parties in the 
conflict to turn to peaceful negotiations.
"We immediately call for the cessation of hostilities ... violence will 
not solve anything," she said.
- AFP




http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2449659,00.html

Protests in SA over Gaza
07/01/2009 11:33 - (SA)

Johannesburg - Countrywide pickets against Israel's military offensive 
in the Gaza Strip got off to a slow start on Wednesday, but this has not 
deterred organisers from forging ahead with their awareness campaign.
The pickets, which were expected to carry on until Friday, were being 
held in Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Pretoria.
"It was a slow start but hopefully more people will join us tomorrow. 
But it is, however, not about the numbers but to create awareness about 
what is happening," said Moeniera Peters of Salt River Circle in Cape Town.
Pickets in Cape Town were held between 07:30 and 08:30 on Wednesday. 
Bloemfontein picketers were expected to meet at 11:00.
The Workers International Vanguard League (WIVL) and the Anti-War 
Coalition were expected to join the awareness campaigns on Thursday 
afternoon, with a mass march to Parliament.
WIVL spokesperson Shaheed Mahomed said they would also write letters to 
Pick n Pay, Checkers and Woolworths "to ask them to stop funding Zionist 
organisations and to stop importing Israeli goods".
- SAPA





http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/01/17/2003433932

Muslims in Taipei protest Israel
GAZA ANGER: Protesters chanted slogans outside the Israeli 
representative office and rejected a meeting with officials there who 
said they weren’t fully informed
By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jan 17, 2009, Page 2
Members of the Chinese Muslim Association hold a demonstration outside 
the Taipei Grand Mosque yesterday. The demonstrators accused Israel of 
being a state terrorist and demanded that it stop attacking civilians in 
the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: CNA
Muslims in Taiwan staged a demonstration outside the Taipei Grand Mosque 
yesterday, accusing Israel of being a state terrorist, and demanding it 
stop attacking civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“Over a thousand people were killed in a little more than half a month 
since Israel launched its recent attack on the Gaza Strip, but the UN 
failed to exercise any effective intervention,” Ishag Ma (馬孝棋), 
Chinese Muslim Association deputy secretary-general, told hundreds of 
Muslims who came out of the mosque to join the protest after attending 
the Friday prayer.

“That’s why we gather peacefully here to urge the UN to do something,” 
Ma said.

“Shame, shame, Israel!” protesters chanted while holding signs with 
slogans in Chinese, English, and Arabic condemning Israel and pleading 
for it to stop the attacks.

They also showed pictures of injured Palestinian children.

Yesterday marked the 21st day since Israel launched a massive attack in 
the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian National 
Authority, in retaliation for rocket attacks by Hamas.

Hamas rockets have killed around 20 Israeli civilians, while the Israeli 
offensive has caused more than 1,000 deaths including over 300 children, 
Gaza medics say.

“This is not just about Muslims or Palestinians, everyone — no matter 
whether you’re a Muslim, Christian or Buddhist, you’re Taiwanese or 
American — should stand out agsinst it,” Rehmat Khan, originally from 
Pakistan, said. “Israel is a terrorist state that kills people like 
slaughtering animals.”

While he agreed that rocket fire on Israeli civilians should be halted 
as well, Pakistani Rizwan Ahmed Khan said that Israel’s retaliation was 
not justified.

“Sixteen people were killed [by Hamas rockets] in five years, but you 
murdered over a thousand people including 300 children and a lot of old 
people in just how many days? How is that fair?” Rizwan Ahmed Khan said.

After chanting slogans, demonstrators marched while holding a 5m banner 
with the star of David — a symbol of Israel — on it.

“If Israelis believe themselves to be God’s chosen people, they should 
act like it — murdering innocent people certainly isn’t what God’s 
chosen people should do,” Ma said.

Meanwhile, dozens of antiwar activists mobilized by the Labor Rights 
Association staged a separate protest near the Israeli representative 
office in Taipei yesterday morning, calling on Israel to withdraw from 
Palestine.

The protesters simulated corpses by wrapping themselves in white cloth 
and lying on the ground in front of the Israeli office.

While Israeli diplomats from the Israeli representative office were 
willing to meet with the protesters, the group rejected it.

“We don’t want to hear any explanation from Israel — the only response 
we want is the immediate halt of military action in Gaza,” the group’s 
secretary-general, Tang Shu (唐曙), said.

When reached by the Taipei Times for response, Israeli representative to 
Taiwan Raphael Gamzou said: “I believe the distinguished demonstrators 
are probably not fully informed about the situation in our area.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU





http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/01/10/2003433398

AI Taiwan protests Gaza attacks
SYMPATHIES: The Israeli representative said that Amnesty International 
had already shown its bias by staging a demonstration in front of the 
Israeli office
By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jan 10, 2009, Page 2

Protesters mobilized by Amnesty International Taiwan and several other 
civic groups demonstrate near the Israeli representative office in 
Taipei yesterday, demanding that Israel stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: CNA
Dozens of protesters mobilized by Amnesty International (AI) Taiwan and 
several other civic groups in the country staged a demonstration near 
the Israeli representative office in Taipei yesterday, demanding that 
Israel stop its military actions in the Gaza Strip.
“We cannot but feel the horror of the effects of so much bombardment and 
ground fire on the Gaza civilians, who have already suffered gravely 
from your government's blockade of even humanitarian aid and supplies,” 
said AI Taiwan chairman Peter Huang (黃文雄), reading an open letter to 
Israeli President Shimon Peres in English, before handing the letter to 
a staffer at the Israeli office.

“This does not mean, of course, that our feelings of moral horror does 
not extend to the lost lives of Israeli civilians,” Huang said. “On the 
contrary, it is for the sake of preventing more lives from being lost 
and for the possible beginning of a more durable peace that we're 
writing to you.”

Israel launched its latest offensive on Dec. 27 in an attempt to halt 
rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled territory.

According to wire reports, 22 Israelis have been killed in Hamas rocket 
attacks, while more than 760 Palestinians — mostly civilians — have lost 
their lives since Israel began the mass offensive.

Hung Hung (鴻鴻), a poet, read three poems during the protest — one by 
Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai that tells how Israeli civilians suffer from 
Hamas attacks, another by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish that recounts 
how a Palestinian mother mourns the death of her son after the Israeli 
offensive, and a third one that he wrote himself, describing his joy 
upon learning of the withdrawal of Israeli troops in 2002.

The reading was followed by a minute of silence for those who have lost 
their lives in the conflict.

A staffer from the Israeli representative office came out of the 
building to accept the protest letter from the demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Israeli Representative Raphael Gamzou criticized AI for not 
fully disclosing its intention when it asked for a meeting, but added 
that his invitation for an open dialogue remained.

Gamzou said the group failed to conduct itself with “integrity” and that 
the Israeli office only found out about the demonstration from local law 
enforcement authorities.

He said that by lodging a protest in front of the Israeli office, AI had 
already shown its bias.

The office had expected the group to present an anti-violence petition.

Gamzou said although he respects the group, he declined to meet with AI 
officers because he refused to be an “actor in their sitcom” as he was 
never informed by the group it was planning to stage a demonstration.

During the eight-year-long Hamas-initiated attacks against Israeli 
civilians, he said he never saw “any expressions of anger and sadness 
from Amnesty International Taiwan or any local NGOs.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU





http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/01/21/2003434287

Gaza supporters protest at AIT gates
NO TO BOMBARDMENT: Protesters say Israel is acting like the Nazis in its 
indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians, while the US is using 
them as guinea pigs
By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Jan 21, 2009, Page 4
More than 70 representatives from various civic groups rallied in front 
of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in the pouring rain yesterday, 
requesting that incoming US president Barack Obama immediately halt arms 
sales to Jerusalem and a complete removal of the Israeli military from 
the Gaza Strip.
“Israel is acting like the Nazis in Gaza. The Jewish people have 
forgotten what it is like to be oppressed and killed,” said Jousef, a 
Palestinian in Taiwan who called the current conflict a holocaust.

Dubbing the Israelis a “psychologically damaged people,” Jousef and his 
friends accused Israel of using the Palestinians as punching bags for 
their repressed anger at Nazi wartime leader Adolf Hitler and blamed 
Washington for treating them as guinea pigs to experiment with new weapons.

The protesters threw shoes at a picture of outgoing US president George 
W. Bush with a black swastika on his forehead and a Hitler mustache, 
calling him a “butcher.”

“How can anyone claim rights to a piece of land just because the Bible 
they read says so?” said Feng Chuan-ben (馮傳), who said the US was 
reluctant to chide Israel for committing crimes against humanity because 
Washington was funded mostly by Jewish interest groups.

On the verge of tears, a Jewish expatriate who spoke on condition of 
anonymity said Israel was taking democracy hostage by attacking 
Palestinians and murdering civilians.

Okba, a Palestinian businessman, said he has not been able to contact 
his family and friends back home since the fighting started.

Israeli Representative to Taipei Raphael Gamzou defended his 
government’s actions, saying Israel has abided by a policy of restraint 
in the past eight years while Hamas, which he called a fundamentalist 
Muslim terrorist group, continued to seek the destruction of Israel.

The protesters said they would wait and see if Obama could bring peace 
to the Middle East, but added, “at least he won’t be as extreme and as 
one-sided [as Bush].”

More than 60 police officers carrying shields were mobilized at the 
scene of the protest. Police on two occasions ordered the demonstrators 
to disband immediately for staging an unlawful protest.

No AIT official came out to meet the protesters during the hour-long 
protest. Asked for a comment on the protest, AIT Spokesman Thomas Hodges 
said the protesters did not deliver a petition to the AIT.

In an e-mailed response, Hodges repeated the US government’s official 
position on the conflict, saying that Washington was deeply concerned 
about the violence in Gaza and has called on all sides to protect 
innocent lives, minimize civilian casualties and address the urgent 
humanitarian needs of Palestinians.

“Hamas has held the people of Gaza hostage ever since their illegal coup 
[sic] against the forces of [Palestinian] President Mahmoud Abbas, the 
legitimate president of the Palestinian people. We strongly condemn the 
repeated rocket and mortar attacks against innocent Israeli civilians 
and hold Hamas fully responsible for breaking the ceasefire [sic] and 
for the renewal of violence in Gaza,” the response said.

“As we have long stated, Hamas can be a part of the peace process by 
accepting the principles outlined by the Quartet: renunciation of 
violence and terror, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous 
agreements between the parties, including the Roadmap,” it said.





http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/01/113_37995.html

Stop killing!: Masked protesters hold placards written with the number 
of displaced Palestinians as they march around the Israeli Embassy in 
Seoul, Friday, during a rally against Israel’s air strikes on the Gaza 
Strip. More than 25,000 displaced Palestinians are currently taking 
shelter in U.N. facilities there, said U.N. officials.

/ AP-Yonhap






http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=436364

Koreans Protest Israeli Attack on Palestinians in Gaza Demonstrations 
this week and a letter by civil society organizations to Israel's 
embassy in Seoul
Published 2009-01-06 16:57 (KST) As the Israeli attack on the people in 
Gaza intensifies, more and more people are demonstrating in opposition 
to the Israeli action and in support of the people trapped in Gaza.

There have been such actions in South Korea. The following describes a 
press conference held at the Israeli Embassy in Seoul. It is followed by 
a letter delivered to the embassy.

Korean Action Against Israeli Killing the Palestinian People of the Gaza 
Strip

Sixteen Korean civil society organizations and progressive political 
parties held a press conference Dec. 30 condemning Israeli bombardment 
and blockade of the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip in front of the 
Israeli Embassy.

After the conference, they delivered a letter to the Israeli Embassy 
which urged that the bombing and killing of the Palestinian people of 
the Gaza Strip be stopped.

They planned two demonstrations in front of the Israeli Embassy this 
week. The first demonstration was Jan. 5 at noon. A follow-up action, a 
candlelight vigil, will be held Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. in front of the Israeli 
Embassy near Gwanghwamun Square.





http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/248924,hundreds-of-thai-muslims-protest-israels-attack-on-gaza.html

Hundreds of Thai Muslims protest Israel's attack on Gaza
Posted : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:06:03 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Asia (World)

Bangkok - Hundreds of Thai Muslims demonstrated Monday in front of 
Israel's embassy in Bangkok, waving banners, burning the Israeli flag 
and slingshotting balls of protest statements at the premises in 
reaction to Tel Aviv's invasion of Gaza. About 400 members of the Muslim 
Group for Peace rallied in front of the embassy waving banners reading 
"Destroy Israel," "Stop the bloodshed," "Free Gaza" and "Where is the UN?"
After reading out a statement condemning Israel's attack on Gaza the 
protestors used slingshots to shoot rolled up balls of the statement at 
the Ocean Tower II Building, which houses the Israeli embassy on the 
25th floor.
The protestors then burned the Israeli flag.
"Thai Muslims must condemn Israel for their attack on Gaza," said Usma 
Lukyee, a leader of the Muslim Group for Peace. "We want to send our 
support to our brothers in Palestine."
Usma said the group would hold another demonstration outside the Israeli 
embassy on Tuesday, when he expected over 1,000 Thai-Muslims to show up 
from all parts of Thailand.
Most of the demonstrators outside the embassy on Monday came from the 
large Muslim community living in Thonburi, Bangkok's sister city.
Muslims are a minority in Thailand, accounting for about 5 per cent of 
the population which is predominantly Buddhist.
An exception is Thailand's three southernmost provinces - Narathiwat, 
Pattani and Yala - where 80 per cent of the 2 million people are Muslim.
The area has been the scene of constant violence since January, 2004, 
when Muslim militants attacks an army arms depot and stole about 300 war 
weapons, prompting several bloody reprisals on the rebels that inflamed 
local antagonism against authorities.
Clashes, bombs, assassinations and beheadings have claimed some 3,000 
casualties in the area over the past four years.
The three provinces comprised the independent Islamic sultanate of 
Pattani more than 200 years ago before it fell under Bangkok's rule.
A separatist struggle has simmered in the area for decades.





http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/30092463/Thai-Muslims-protest-Israel%27s-attack-on-Gaza

Thai Muslims protest Israel's attack on Gaza

Hundreds of Thai Muslims demonstrated Monday in front of Israel's 
embassy in Bangkok, burning the Israeli flag as they called on the 
international community to condemn the invasion.
About 400 members of the Muslim Group for Peace, waving Thai flag and 
holding placard reading "Free Gaza Now", "Stop the bloodshed, and 
"Israel is the Real Axis of Devil".

Others were holding posters of children throwing rocks at Israeli 
soldiers, and the damages inflicted on Gaza and its residents. A poster 
of Hassan Nasrallah, the Shiite leader of Hezbollah, stood out among the 
crowd. Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, is a powerful Lebanese 
militia that fought a vicious ground war with Israel in 2006.






http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17632355

St. Thomas marchers protest violence in Gaza
By SEAN McCOY
Monday, January 19th 2009

Daily News Photo by Sean McCoy V.I. protesters call for a withdrawal of 
Israeli troops from Palestine and an end to fighting.

About 50 local residents, many with family and friends living in the 
Gaza Strip, marched Saturday afternoon along the St. Thomas waterfront 
in protest of Israel's incursion into the Mediterranean strip of land.
The members of the group gathered at Emancipation Park after the march 
and spoke out about the violence in the Gaza Strip.
"We stand for these kids who are being killed for no reason," Nael Bazar 
said over a loudspeaker. "They've been bombing this country, people that 
have no weapons, who have nothing."
Israeli troops began to withdraw from Gaza on Sunday after their 
government and Hamas militants declared an end to the three-week war. 
Israel and Hamas do not recognize each other and ended up separately 
declaring cease-fires 12 hours apart after strenuous efforts by Egyptian 
mediators.
More than half of the more than 1,200 Palestinians killed in fighting 
were civilians, according to human rights groups and the United Nations.
At least 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, were killed.
The marchers said that they were angry that so many civilians were 
killed or injured in the fighting and called for an end to the 
"occupation" by Israel.
"How many babies need to die?" said Sara Husein, "This is about the 
children who are dying. Where are they going to flee to?"
Many protesters carried signs - some saying "Save Gaza," "U.S. Tax $ for 
Peace Not War" - or photographs of children injured during the war.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.







http://www.gmanews.tv/story/142920/RP-militants-join-protests-vs-Israel-attacks-on-Gaza

RP militants join protests vs Israel attacks on Gaza
01/07/2009 | 06:34 AM
Email this | Email the Editor | Print | ShareThis
MANILA, Philippines - Left-leaning militant groups added their voices to 
protests against Israel's attack on Gaza, and scored the United States 
for its support to Israel.

Umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) called for an end to 
the siege and the inhumane blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the US government for its political 
and military support for Israel. For decades now, the US government has 
encouraged and supported Israel's occupation of Palestine and its armed 
aggression against the Palestinian people," it said in a statement on 
its website.

Bayan said the US government not only provides billions of dollars of 
military aid to Israel, it also uses its veto power in the United 
Nations to support of Israel’s cause.

Recently, it said the US government even rejected a UN Security Council 
ceasefire resolution, "a clear indication that the US supports the 
attacks on Gaza."

"We call for an end to the siege of Gaza and for immediate relief for 
the Palestinian people ravaged by the Israeli armed offensives. We call 
for an end to the inhumane blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza and for 
allowing much-needed aid to be brought to (Palestinians in Gaza)," it said.

The group also called for an end to the Israeli occupation as the only 
long-term and viable path to peace.

It said it stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their 
fight of genuine self-determination and freedom from oppression.

Bayan said the eight-day airstrikes followed by the ground invasion of 
Gaza is the latest in the long list of atrocities committed by Israel 
against the Palestinians under the Occupation.

It said Israel justifies its armed aggression by saying it is a response 
to the rocket attacks of Hamas on Israel, a view supported by the United 
States.

"What Israel refuses to acknowledge is the broader context wherein this 
violence is happening. The actions of Hamas should be seen in the 
context of the brutal, more than half-century occupation of Palestinian 
territory by Israel. In the case of Gaza, while Israel has pulled out 
its troops and settlements over the past three years, Israel has 
effectively set up an economic blockade that systematically and 
collectively punishes, starves and kills the Palestinian people," it said.

Also, it said residents of Gaza have been denied any meaningful economic 
activity as a result of the blockade.

"In light of the historical circumstances of Israeli occupation, the 
current offensive against the Palestinian people can never be 
justified," it said. - GMANews.TV






http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090102-181100/RP-Muslims-protest-Israeli-air-strikes

RP Muslims protest Israeli air strikes
By Miko L. Morelos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:12:00 01/02/2009

Filed Under: Armed conflict, War, Protest
MANILA, Philippines -- Some 20 demonstrators, including children and 
some members of a Bangsamoro umbrella group, condemned Israeli air 
strikes against Hamas militants in the Gaza strip, in a demonstration on 
Friday where mainly voiced concern for innocent civilians killed and 
displaced in the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Bangsamoro People Solidarity for Peace (BPSP), an alliance of 10 
groups concerned with Muslim affairs, joined Arab nations in asking 
Israel to stop its bombing raids which they claimed have killed over 400 
civilians, including children, women and elderly.
One speaker during the 30-minute protest after noontime prayers at the 
Blue Mosque in Maharlika village, Taguig City even compared the Israeli 
offensive to the Holocaust.
“This genocidal attack is Israel's 'Final Solution' to the Palestine 
people,” said Rei Melencio of the Partido Lakas ng Masa, adding that 
Israel's ground forces were on standby waiting for the green light to 
push through Gaza.
“Muslims in the Philippines are obliged to condemn the attacks and at 
the same time we ask Arab nations to continue pressuring Israel to stop 
[the attacks],” said Kashim Candido, another demonstrator.
Schoolaged children carried placards bearing pictures of dead children 
and injured women, and slogans that said: “Free Palestine.” They joined 
other protesters in chanting “Allahu Akbar (God is great)” which 
punctuated speeches given by leaders of the group.
“We appeal to the people of the world to help stop the fighting,” Imam 
Abdul Kahar said in his speech.
Israel has rejected increasing international pressure to suspend its 
military offensive against the Palestinian militants who remained 
defiant by firing rockets at Israeli targets.
The group also lamented inaction by the United Nations, which has yet to 
issue a resolution regarding the escalating conflict. The UN Security 
Council recently issued a statement calling for a halt to the hostilities.
“We're not confident that the UN could do something about the conflict, 
but despite this, we ask them to stop Israel's continuing attacks on 
Gaza,” said Jolly Lais, convener of the BPSP.







http://www.israelnews.net/story/451105

Israeli tennis player faces protests over Gaza attacks
Israel News.Net
Thursday 8th January, 2009 (IANS)
Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer was subject to a small but noisy 
protest over her country's invasion of Gaza when she played a 
quarter-final match at the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland Thursday.

About 20 protestors waving anti-Israel placards yelled slogans outside 
the stadium's main entrance opposed by a lone Israeli demonstrator with 
a sign saying, 'Hamas murders hope.'

Security was tight and the demonstrators moved on before the start of 
Peer's match, which she lost to number one seed Elena Dementieva of 
Russia in 63 minutes.

Peer, who earlier rejected calls to withdraw from the tournament, said 
later: 'I am not the government of Israel and I am not representing 
Israel in politics. I am a tennis player and that's what I represent now.'

Protest organiser John Minto, who led a campaign against New Zealand's 
sporting contacts with apartheid South Africa in the 1970s, said the 
demonstration would make New Zealanders think more deeply about what 
their country could do to support the Palestinian struggle.

Minto called Wednesday for a shoe-waving protest against Peer's 
participation in the tournament but this did not happen.

Peer, who was making her third appearance at the Auckland tournament, 
said she had never been targeted by protestors anywhere before.







http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053793.html

Last update - 07:21 08/01/2009

Israeli tennis star Shahar Peer faces Gaza protest while playing in New 
Zealand By DPA Tags: gaza, shahar peer
Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer, 22, was subject to a small but noisy 
protest over her country's invasion of Gaza when she played a 
quarter-final match at the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland on Thursday.

About 20 protestors waving anti-Israel placards yelled slogans outside 
the stadium's main entrance opposed by a lone Israeli demonstrator with 
a sign saying, "Hamas murders hope."

Security was tight and the demonstrators moved on before the start of 
Peer's match, which she lost to number one seed Elena Dementieva of 
Russia in 63 minutes.

Advertisement

Peer, who earlier rejected calls to withdraw from the tournament, said 
later, "I am not the government of Israel and I not representing Israel 
in politics. I am a tennis player and that's what I represent now."

Protest organizer John Minto, who led a campaign against New Zealand's 
sporting contacts with apartheid South Africa in the 1970s, said the 
demonstration would make New Zealanders think more deeply about what 
their country could do to support the Palestinian struggle.

Minto called Wednesday for a shoe-waving protest against Peer's 
participation in the tournament but this did not happen.

Peer, who was making her third appearance at the Auckland tournament, 
said she had never been targeted by protestors anywhere before.







http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/tennis/787521

Protestors target Israeli tennis player
Last updated 12:31 08/01/2009
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JOHN SELKIRK/Dominion Post
'END ISRAELI APARTHEID': Veteran protestor John Minto, who was a key 
figure in the anti-apartheid protests of the 1981 Springboks rugby tour, 
leads a group protesting Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer's 
participation in the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland.

Israeli Shahar Peer, the subject of a protest outside the ASB Classic 
tennis venue in Auckland, completed her quarterfinal match without 
disruption today.
About 20 protesters who gathered outside the main entrance this morning 
for a noisy demonstration against Israel's military offensive in Gaza 
were moved on peacefully when Peer's match with Russian top-seed Elena 
Dementieva began in the early afternoon.
Peer, the No 5 seed, was given a warm welcome by fans when she arrived 
on court and supporters in one corner of the stadium displayed two 
Israeli flags.
Security was boosted at the venue today, and included bag searches, and 
there was also a discreet but visible security presence at courtside.
The match itself lasted just 63 minutes, with Dementieva dominant 
against Peer, who put up a brief fight in the opening set, but then 
faded to a 6-3 6-1 defeat.
The result ended Peer's involvement in the Classic. She had lost in the 
second round of the doubles yesterday with Danish partner Caroline 
Wozniecki.
Jerusalem-born Peer, 21, was making her third appearance in the 
tournament, and she indicated yesterday that she wanted to come back 
next year.
The protesters, led by veteran activist John Minto, waved placards and 
called for Peer to withdraw from the event.
Police initially tried to move them, but Mr Minto said they had a right 
to take their action.
After talks with Tennis Auckland management, the protesters were allowed 
to stay put outside the tennis centre.
A lone pro-Israel demonstrator stood opposite the group with the sign 
reading: "Minto supports Hamas Murderers. Hamas murders hope."
Fans heading into the centre had mixed opinions about the group's protest.
"I don't believe that Hamas have any morals," Aucklander Rosalie Widger 
told NZPA.
"They shield themselves behind civilians. It's dreadful what's going on, 
Hamas is firing into Israel and they are trying to stop it."
Hamiltonian Bob Wilcock said the protesters had a fair point of view, 
but also thought the action was "a bit simplistic" and one-sided.





http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/787517

Noisy protest fails to disrupt tennis
Last updated 12:15 08/01/2009

Israeli Shahar Peer, the subject of a protest outside the ASB Classic 
tennis venue in Auckland, completed her quarterfinal match without 
disruption today.
About 20 protesters who gathered outside the main entrance this morning 
for a noisy demonstration against Israel's military offensive in Gaza 
were moved on peacefully when Peer's match with Russian top-seed Elena 
Dementieva began in the early afternoon.
Peer, the No 5 seed, was given a warm welcome by fans when she arrived 
on court and supporters in one corner of the stadium displayed two 
Israeli flags.
Security was boosted at the venue today, and included bag searches, and 
there was also a discreet but visible security presence at courtside.
The match itself lasted just 63 minutes, with Dementieva dominant 
against Peer, who put up a brief fight in the opening set, but then 
faded to a 6-3 6-1 defeat.
The result ended Peer's involvement in the Classic. She had lost in the 
second round of the doubles yesterday with Danish partner Carole Wozniecki.
Jerusalem-born Peer, 21, was making her third appearance in the 
tournament, and she indicated yesterday that she wanted to come back 
next year.
The protesters, led by veteran activist John Minto, waved placards and 
called for Peer to withdraw from the event.
Police initially tried to move them, but Mr Minto said they had a right 
to take their action.
After talks with Tennis Auckland management, the protesters were allowed 
to stay put outside the tennis centre.
A lone pro-Israel demonstrator stood opposite the group with the sign 
reading: ``Minto supports Hamas Murderers. Hamas murders hope.''
Fans heading into the centre had mixed opinions about the group's protest.
"I don't believe that Hamas have any morals,'' Aucklander Rosalie Widger 
told NZPA.
"They shield themselves behind civilians. It's dreadful what's going on, 
Hamas is firing into Israel and they are trying to stop it.''
Hamiltonian Bob Wilcock said the protesters had a fair point of view, 
but also thought the action was "a bit simplistic'' and one-sided.

- NZPA





http://tvnz.co.nz/content/2436620

Anti-Israel activists protest at tennis
Published: 11:39AM Thursday January 08, 2009Anti-Israel activists have 
protested at the women's tennis tournament in Auckland where Israeli 
player Shahar Peer is competing.

They waved shoes at fans, urging them to boycott Peer's quarter finals 
matches on Thursday.

They say she should speak out against her government's Gaza campaign and 
quit the tournament.
"We are asking her to make a big sacrifice but it's not as big as the 
sacrifice Palestinians are making every day of their lives," says John 
Minto of the Global Peace and Justice network.
Minto says Israel's attacks on the Gaza strip are indefensible and the 
latest chapter in a 60 year-old history of oppression and brutality 
against Palestinians.
He has reportedly met with Auckland tennis bosses over the situation.
National MP Maurice Williamson says Peer is not representing her country 
in the tournament.
"She's an individual, paid for herself to come, leave her alone," he says.
Security was stepped-up but police did not make any arrests.
Peer has ignored the protesters, saying she is just here to play Tennis.
"What is going on in Israel is not easy for any one of us, hopefully it 
will end as soon as possible."
Some tennis fans appeared less than impressed by the protesters' actions 
while others seemed rather bemused by the sideshow.











http://story.floridastatesman.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08dd24cec417021/id/451305/cs/1/

Jewish women stage protest inside Israeli Consulate in Toronto
Florida Statesman
Thursday 8th January, 2009
A number of Jewish women gained entry to the Israeli consulate in 
Toronto on Wednesday and staged a sit-in protest.

The women were protesting Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip which they 
described as 'atrocities.'

The heavily guarded consulate was taken by surprise. The Royal Canadian 
Mounted Police were called in and the women, 8 in number, were arrested.

At the Metro Toronto Police station the women were formally charged with 
breaching the peace. The police subsequently withdrew the charges and 
released the women.

Included in the group was the President of Science for Peace, and 
several students.

'Israel purports to represent all Jews worldwide and these atrocities 
are not being committed in our name,' spokesperson and filmmaker Cathy 
Gulkin for the group told The Toronto Star.

A spokesman for the Israeli consulate declined comment.

Notwithstanding Wednesday's protest, Toronto's Jewish community is 
preparing for a major pro-Israel rally Thursday night at the largest 
synagogue in the city, planned in conjunction with similar rallies in 
cities across Canada.






http://english.sina.com/world/2009/0107/210020.html

Jewish protesters at Canada Israeli consulate arrested
2009-01-07 20:21:17 GMT2009-01-08 04:21:17 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English
OTTAWA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Eight Jewish protestors were arrested 
Wednesday after they occupied the Israeli consulate in Toronto, Canadian 
police said.
The group, made up with Canadian Jewish women, carried out the 
occupation to show their opposition to Israel's military operations in 
the Gaza Strip and its two-year economic blockade of the territory, 
spokesperson Miriam Garfinkle told reporters Wednesday.
They will face trespassing and failure-to-disperse charges, a police 
officer said.
In a news release forwarded by organization "Palestinian and Jewish 
Unity," the protestors said: "Protestors are outraged at Israel's latest 
assault on the Palestinian people and by the Canadian government's 
refusal to condemn these massacres."
"They are deeply concerned that Canadians are hearing the views of 
pro-Israel groups who are being represented as the only voice of Jewish 
Canadians. The protestors have occupied the consulate to send a clear 
statement that many Jewish-Canadians do not support Israel's violence 
and apartheid policies. "






http://www.olyblog.net/dual-protests-us-embassy-vancouver-notes-about-making-peace

Dual Protests at the US Embassy in Vancouver + notes about making peace
Submitted by DaveO on Tue, 12/30/2008 - 11:30am.
On a rainy day in Vancouver, BC, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests 
tried to out-yell each other outside of the USA Embassy.
My friend Kris Krug went down to document the event and came back rather 
moved by the experience by seeing friends yelling at each other with no 
resolve and also the fact that we as humans haven't developed a method 
to resolve these absurd conflicts predicated by race, religion, and 
territory.
Personally, I think we can do better. Respect, forgiveness, kindness, 
friendliness and ecumenicality for starters.
Here are Kris' remarks:
It makes me sad that in 2008 there is a such an immovable mountain of a 
conflict whose central tenants seem to be based on racism and religious 
intolerance. On both sides. All sides.
I feel sad and my head hangs a lil lower every time I hear about an 
escalation of the violence in the middle east. I like to be positive and 
optimistic in general and am frustrated not only in the terrible things 
that are taking place in terms of violence, but also that we don’t seem 
to even have the institutions in which we can seek forgiveness and 
resolution. I’m disappointed in all of us.






http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16092&Itemid=86

Police asked to investigate anti-Israel protests
By PAUL LUNGEN, Staff Reporter
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
TORONTO — A man clutching a Hezbollah flag promising that “this is going 
to wipe you off the planet”; youngsters chanting in Arabic,“Palestine is 
ours and the Jews are our dogs”; a woman screaming hysterically at 
nearby counter-protesters, “Jewish child… You’re going to f...in’ die. 
Hamas is coming for you… F... off”; calls for Hezbollah chieftain Hassan 
Nasrallah to “strike Tel Aviv”; a demonstrator carrying a poster with 
the epithet “Nazisrael.”
Those images of demonstrators, many with their faces contorted in rage, 
were recorded at anti-Israel demonstrations over the past few weeks in 
Toronto, Montreal and Calgary and have been distributed to the RCMP and 
local police by Canadian Jewish Congress.
Law enforcement agencies have been asked to examine the videos to 
determine whether the demonstrators crossed the bounds of acceptable 
discourse and strayed into criminal violations of anti-hate laws, 
spokespeople for Canadian Jewish Congress and the Canada-Israel 
Committee (CIC) told a news conference in Toronto last week.
The videos have been posted on YouTube and a number of blogs and can be 
seen on this site.
The events that took place on Canadian streets go far beyond Canadian 
norms of civility and would shock Canadians if they knew of them, said 
Congress CEO Bernie Farber.
The organizations that sponsored the rallies ought to “denounce the 
horrendous expressions of anti-Semitism and calls to genocide that 
occurred,” he said.
“It is necessary at such times for all of us to stand together and 
isolate hate. The law is only one instrument. It is Canadians 
collectively that can provide the best remedy. Only by speaking out 
against such vile intolerance – be you a political leader, a labour 
leader or an average citizen – can we truly defeat such fanaticism,” 
Farber said.
The Canadian demonstrations coincided with protests in cities around the 
world against Israel’s attack on Hamas in Gaza. Thousands have taken to 
the streets in London, Paris, South Africa and the Middle East.
Referring to those events, Farber warned that “the hateful energy we see 
being promulgated on our streets” could escalate to actual violence as 
it has in New York, London and Sweden. Synagogues in Antwerp and London 
have been firebombed, lit rags were pushed through the mail slot of a 
Jewish home in Belgium, Islamic extremists are said to have prepared hit 
lists of Jewish leaders in Britain, and Hamas has announced that Jewish 
children anywhere are legitimate targets for murder.
“And all this we believe stems from the hateful energy we see being 
promulgated on our streets. We do not want similar hate-filled episodes 
here in Canada,” Farber said.
He noted that in Calgary, members of the white supremacist Aryan Guard 
felt comfortable marching with pro-Hamas protesters.
CIC executive vice-president Sara Saber-Freedman said shouts at a rally 
in Montreal referred to a battle against Jews in the seventh century and 
“is in effect a call for death to the Jews.”
If the extreme rhetoric is not denounced by rally organizers, those 
protesters will feel their behaviour is acceptable. It’s a moral issue, 
Saber-Freedman said. “This kind of rhetoric leads to violence.”
The rallies were sponsored by unions and church groups, as well as 
Muslim, Arab and Palestinian organizations. Farber called on them to 
“immediately denounce those who utilize the language of hate and 
violence here in Canada. Each should clearly separate their 
organizations from such language.”
Outside the news conference, sponsored by Congress and the CIC, the 
Jewish community’s lobbying arm for Israel, a handful of protesters 
argued that the two organizations were attempting to distract attention 
from Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Inside the news conference, a reporter noted that slurs came from both 
sides at demonstrations. Farber said if there were calls for genocide 
from pro-Israel protesters and something equivalent to comparing Jews 
with Nazis, “in a New York minute, I’d denounce it.”





http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081228/middleeast_protests_081228/20081228?hub=Canada

Mideast conflict sparks protests in Canada
Updated Sun. Dec. 28 2008 3:07 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Demonstrators rallied in several Canadian cities Sunday, taking sides in 
the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. The latest 
Mideast violence has killed nearly 300 people in the Gaza Strip.
In Toronto, about 200 people gathered outside the downtown building that 
houses Israel's consulate to show their solidarity with the Palestinians.
Some protesters engaged in a shouting match with a few dozen 
representatives from the Jewish Defence League, who conducted a 
demonstration across the street.
In Ottawa, dozens of people denounced the Israeli campaign during a 
protest at the Human Rights Monument. There were more rallies held in 
Montreal and other Canadian cities.
The Canadian protests mimicked demonstrations in cities across the 
Middle East, many of which turned violent.
A rally in the Iraqi city of Mosul attracted a suicide bomber on a 
bicycle. One of the 1,300 demonstrators was killed and 16 others were 
wounded in that incident.
In Lebanon, police had to fire tear gas at thousands of demonstrators to 
prevent them from getting near the Egyptian embassy. Egypt has been 
criticized for acting as a mediator between the Israelis and the 
Palestinians and for closing its border with the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Sunday encouraged both 
sides to renew the truce that had been in place for much of the summer 
and early fall.
"There has been a calm and we should work to restore it," Gheit said.
In Egypt, thousands of demonstrators gathered at university campuses in 
Cairo and Alexandria to denounce what they feel is their government's 
weak support for the Palestinians.
In the Syrian capital of Damascus, more than 5,000 protesters marched 
toward the city's main square, burning both Israeli and U.S. flags.
A banner belonging to one protester read: "The aggression against Gaza 
is an aggression against the whole Arab nation."
In Beirut, a representative of Hamas told a crowd of protesters that the 
militant group would continue to fight.
"We have one alternative which is to be steadfast and resist and then we 
will be victorious," Osama Hamdan said.
About 5,000 lawyers in Amman, Jordan, marched toward parliament in a 
quest to have the Israeli ambassador expelled and the embassy closed.
In Turkey, one of the few Muslim countries that has a relationship with 
Israel, the prime minister denounced the campaign as a "crime against 
humanity."
The protests coincide with calls from the international community to 
work together to help bring an end to the violence.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner encouraged other European 
countries to work together to negotiate a solution to the crisis.
"We have entered a new spiral of despair," Kouchner told the Journal du 
Dimanche in an interview published on Sunday. "The truce must be restored."
With files from The Associated Press



http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2009/01/04/7916376-cp.html

Montreal protestors denounce Israeli offensive, Canada's inaction
By Sidhartha Banerjee, THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL - Thousands of placard-toting, flag-waving protesters spilled 
into the streets of Montreal on Sunday, calling on the Canadian 
government to apply pressure on Israel to stop its military offensive in 
Gaza.
The boisterous-but-peaceful group made up adults and children shouted 
slogans such as "Israel terrorist" and "Free Palestine" as they snaked 
through the downtown core in a bone-chilling cold.
The Montreal march was the latest in a series of events this weekend 
across Canada denouncing the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Another event on Sunday attracted an estimated 300 people in Edmonton 
and similar protests were held Saturday in Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto.
But members of the Quebec-Israel Committee who observed the rally said 
they were troubled by chants in Arabic calling for death to Jews and the 
alleged burning of an Israeli flag in front of the consulate.
"The violent and anti-Semitic rhetoric of numerous protesters is an echo 
of radical Islamic discourse that holds sway in the Middle East, but has 
no place in Quebec," Luciano Del Negro, director general of the 
committee, said in a statement.
Even as Israel's troops and military machinery continued their push into 
Gaza, protesters continued to press for the Canadian government to do more.
"There is a massacre going on Gaza right now," said protester Gerbe Rahal.
"I don't have any family in Gaza but you don't need to have family there 
to know what's going on there is inhuman and that it can't continue that 
way."
An imposing number of demonstrators moved from a public square on the 
western tip of Montreal's downtown core to the Israeli consulate, housed 
in an office tower just a stone's throw away.
Under the watchful of eye of a Montreal police escort and more officers 
guarding the door to the consulate, protesters roared before moving on 
along busy Ste. Catherine Street.
Fabienne Presentey, a protester with Independent Jewish Voices, opposed 
to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, said that military 
might will do little to make Israelis more secure.
"A protest - one person's voice - everything is necessary when there is 
an injustice. All voices that can be raised against this injustice must 
be," she said.
Israel has said it is acting in self-defence in response to continuous 
firing of rockets by the Hamas militant group from Gaza into nearby 
Jewish towns.
More than 500 Palestinians and a handful of Israelis have died since the 
battles began last weekend.
The Israeli air strikes have badly damaged Gaza's infrastructure, 
knocking out power and water in many areas and raising fears of 
humanitarian disaster as the Israeli ground incursion started Saturday.
Protest organizers called on the Canadian government to press Israel for 
a ceasefire and immediate sanctions and boycotts against that country.
Laith Marouf, chapter co-ordinator at Solidarity for Palestinian Human 
Rights' Montreal chapter, also said organizers wanted borders to Egypt 
opened to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and to let residents caught 
in the crossfire the chance to get out.
"On a personal level, people are worried about their families, but 
secondly people are very disappointed at the Canadian government and 
their callous position on war crimes that Israel is committing," Marouf 
said, adding the Canadian government's position didn't necessarily come 
as a surprise.
"But that doesn't mean that we do not condemn it and we will put the 
pressure on this (Canadian) government as much as we can to abide by 
international law."
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon issued a statement Sunday 
saying that "Canada is deeply concerned about the increase in 
hostilities between Israel and Hamas."
Cannon called for renewed international diplomatic efforts for a 
ceasefire, starting with a halt to rocket attacks on Israel the 
statement says are the cause of the crisis.
It adds the region must have access to food, fuel and medical supplies.
In Edmonton, protesters staged a boisterous rally in front of city hall, 
denouncing the war in Gaza as a "holocaust" against the Palestinians.
The protesters, many wearing colourful head scarves, waved placards 
decrying the war and shouted for peace as they marched around the 
square, some carrying the Palestinian flag.
Protester Ahmad Assaf said the world must denounce what he describes as 
Israeli aggression and the hypocrisy of Western nations that are arming 
Israel.
"They have been killing innocent people for 60 years," he said. "Enough 
is enough."
Alaa Kabri, a volunteer with the Canada-Palestine Cultural Association, 
says the rally was organized by Edmonton's Islamic community to take a 
stand against oppression.
"While the world was looking the other way over New Years, there was a 
massacre taking place in Gaza and it's all in the name of self defence," 
he said.
"Forty-two of the children are dead and I don't consider killing 
children a matter of self defence."
(With files from Jim MacDonald in Edmonton)


http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2009/01/03/7910171-cp.html

Protests on Parliament Hill, Gaza
By THE CANADIAN PRESS


Protesters in several Canadian cities waved placards and Palestinian 
flags Saturday as they angrily denounced the ongoing Israeli offensive 
in Gaza, just as word emerged that Israel's troops and tanks had moved 
into enemy territory.
Following on the heels of angry protests taking place in cities across 
Europe, the Canadian show of solidarity began in the nation's capital 
with more than 500 demonstrators braving chill winds on the steps of 
Parliament Hill.
The group made its way to the Israeli and U.S. embassies in Ottawa, as 
did a gathering of several thousand people in Toronto who at one point 
faced off against a smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators in a 
downtown public square.
The noisy but peaceful gathering on Parliament Hill erupted with cries 
of "shame" when a speaker delivered the news Israel had begun its ground 
assault.
"Regardless what they say in this building (House of Commons), 
regardless what they say in Washington or the Hague, these are war 
crimes," shouted Robert Assaly, an Anglican priest from Montreal who was 
a speaker at the rally.
At the height of the protest, military officials in Jerusalem confirmed 
that Israeli ground forces, amassed for days on the Gaza border, had 
started moving into the region.
The ground incursion had been widely expected in the wake of a heavy 
barrage of artillery strikes from Israeli gunboats and warships that was 
hammering the region Saturday.
Organizers at the invective-charged Toronto rally opted not to announce 
the news for fear it would stoke additional anger.
"This will have huge implications," said Ali Mallah of the Canadian-Arab 
Federation.
"It will widen the wedge toward more war, more violence and more people 
to be killed. It's a shame that we just entered a new year ... to start 
with war and killing in the Middle East."
In addition to the Ottawa and Toronto protests, events were scheduled 
for Montreal and Vancouver.
Braving -19 C wind-chill temperatures, the Ottawa rally denounced what 
they called Israeli atrocities against the 1.5 million residents of Gaza.
It included many self-identified Palestinian-Canadians, as well as a 
smattering of Jewish-Canadians opposed to Israel's policies in Gaza and 
the West Bank, union activists and civil rights advocates.
Israel has said it is acting in self-defence in response to continuous 
firing of rockets from Gaza into Jewish towns.
But the demonstrators dismissed that defence, calling the rockets a 
minor provocation that don't excuse the killing of over 400 Palestinians.
Toronto police - including several on horseback - formed a barrier 
between the impassioned masses of Palestine supporters and the scores 
waving Israeli flags as the protest forced the closure of a typically 
busy portion of Yonge Street.
"(The violence) devastated me and my family," said Suraya Aburaneh, 21. 
"We can't do much, but we're here in Canada and the best we can do is 
spread awareness."
Interrupting her was her nine-year-old cousin Dina, who shouted: "We 
can't let people die like this!"
"We just need peace in this world, no killing. Both sides," said Sumbul 
Raza, 34, as she marched and led chants of, "Shame, shame Israel."
Across police lines, a group organized by the Jewish Defense League held 
a counter-demonstration.
"I want them to have their own country, I want them to have democracy," 
said Ravid Dahan, 28, who moved to Canada from Israel two years ago.
"I want my children to go to school with their children. But they don't 
believe I exist."
Jill Aharon, 51, from Thornhill, added peace could come easily: "If they 
lay down their rockets, there will be no more death," she said.
Tens of thousands of people also demonstrated across Europe on Saturday, 
including protesters who hurled shoes at the tall iron gates outside the 
British prime minister's residence in London.
Protests in Paris, Rome, Berlin and many other European cities also drew 
thousands.
Israel says it is responding to rockets fired from Gaza by the Hamas 
militant group. Four Israelis also have been killed in the week of violence.
The Israeli air strikes have badly damaged Gaza's infrastructure, 
knocking out power and water in many areas and raising fears of 
humanitarian disaster.





http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2009/01/03/7908541-sun.html

Sat, January 3, 2009
Anti-Israel protest targets PM's office
UPDATED: 2009-01-03 03:52:42 MST

By BILL KAUFMANN, SUN MEDIA

Tempers flared during a protest yesterday against the bombing of Gaza in 
front of Stephen Harper's Calgary office yesterday.
About 150 demonstrators blocked parking lot traffic in front of the PM's 
Glenmore Landing constituency office, demanding the Harper government 
take a stand against Israel's air assault on the Gaza Strip reported to 
have killed more than 400 people.
Leading the demonstrators in a chant, Muslim Council of Calgary chairman 
Nagah Hage denounced Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "Olmert-Hitler, 
you're the same, the only difference is the name," Hage shouted.
The Muslim leader also told the crowd Harper's staunch support for 
Israel makes him complicit.
"How can you, Mr. Harper, turn your back on such atrocities," he said.

"You are one of the culprits."
Later, when asked if he regretted his Hitler comparison, Hage stood firm.
"Hitler wasn't as bad as Olmert," he said.
As the protest wound down, a lone counter-demonstrator brandished a tiny 
Israeli flag and a placard defending Israel's right to defend its security.
One protestor inaccurately hurled a shoe at the lone man -- for Arabs, 
the ultimate insult.
"Look -- an Arab mob against democracy," said the counter-demonstrator.
Hage then struggled to convince the crowd to ignore the man and disperse.
In a statement, the Mideast violence was condemned by Adam Singer of the 
Calgary Jewish Community Council.
But he said Israel "has shown remarkable patience in not responding" to 
rocket attacks from Gaza up to now.
"Our thoughts are with all those who are suffering in this conflict."







http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20090110.wcanprot0110%2FBNStory%2FNational%2Fhome%3Fcid%3Dal_gam_mostview&ord=15714866&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true

Posted AT 8:41 PM EDT on 10/01/09
Gaza protests draw thousands across Canada
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Thousands of people, some using stark visual images to 
illustrate their outrage, demanded that Canada not take sides in the 
ongoing Middle East conflict in pro-Palestinian demonstrations across 
the country Saturday. Police estimated about 2,000 protesters were 
packed outside the Israeli Consulate in Toronto calling for an end to 
Israeli attacks in Gaza.





http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/01/10/gaza-protests.html?ref=rss

Protests over Israel's Gaza offensive held in Canadian, world cities
Last Updated: Saturday, January 10, 2009 | 7:53 PM ET Comments356Recommend71
CBC News
Thousands of Canadians joined demonstrators around the world Saturday in 
a series of heated protests against Israel's offensive in Gaza, with 
scuffles and arrests reported in several European cities.
Outside the Israeli Consulate in Toronto, police estimated about 2,000 
people gathered in frigid weather to condemn the Israeli attacks, while 
a smaller group of pro-Israeli demonstrators made their presence known 
behind a police barricade.
Protestesters stamp on a burning Israeli flag Saturday during a 
demonstration in Montreal calling for an end to Israel's offensive in 
Gaza. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)In Montreal, about 1,000 marched in 
a protest organized by several large labour federations in support of 
the Palestinian people of Gaza. A crowd set at least one Israeli flag on 
fire.
In Vancouver, hundreds of people gathered in the pouring rain in front 
of the city's art gallery, where the protest spilled on to a downtown 
street and stopped traffic.
Protesters waved placards and chanted "Free Gaza" as speakers condemned 
Israel.
Scores of marches were held across France. The biggest was in Paris, 
where an estimated 30,000 people took part and scuffles with police were 
reported.
In Washington, hundreds rallied near the White House and the hotel of 
president-elect Barack Obama to demand an end to the Israeli military 
campaign.
Israel says its two-week-old offensive is intended to stop the Hamas 
militant group from launching rocket attacks on southern Israel. Medical 
officials say more than 800 Palestinians have been killed.
Thirteen Israelis, most of them soldiers, have also been killed since 
the conflict began on Dec. 27.
Protesters burned Israeli flags in Sweden and threw shoes at the U.S. 
Consulate in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Riot police face protesters against Israeli military action in the Gaza 
Strip, near the Israeli Embassy in London on Saturday. (Akira 
Suemori/Associated Press) In central London, two officers were hurt when 
demonstrators attempted to topple barriers outside the Israeli Embassy 
and clashed with police. One officer was knocked unconscious as 
protesters shattered shop windows with projectiles and sticks.
In Innsbruck, Austria, volunteer security personnel arranged by the 
organizers of a demonstration moved quickly to surround and protect an 
elderly man after he suddenly unrolled an Israeli flag in the middle of 
the protest.
A crowd of 12,000 gathered in London's Hyde Park carrying placards 
marked "Gaza: Stop the massacre" and chanting, "Free, free Palestine."
In Italy, several thousand people carrying Palestinian flags marched in 
Milan, Florence and Venice to protest the Israeli offensive.
Hezbollah organizes Lebanon protest
In Milan, protesters burned a white sheet with the Star of David on it 
and some participants carried posters with the Israeli flag and a 
swastika on them, the ANSA news agency reported.
In Germany, some 8,500 people rallied in Berlin's Alexanderplatz and 
then marched to the city's main train station. Hundreds of police were 
deployed along the route and several Hamas flags were confiscated from 
the protesters. No serious incidents were reported, however, police said.
In the western German city of Duisburg, 10,000 marched.
"We want to show our solidarity with the victims in the Gaza Strip and 
signal our opposition to the oppression and violence in Gaza," said 
organizer Engin Karahan.
Nearly 20,000 people marched through the southern Lebanese town 
Nabatiyeh in a protest organized by Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas that 
fought its own 34-day conflict with Israel in the summer of 2006.
In Norway, police used tear gas to try to disperse at least 1,000 
protesters after some hurled bottles, rocks and fired fireworks at 
officers. Two people were injured and two were taken into custody, said 
Oslo police spokeswoman Unni Groendal.





http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/12/28/7868271-cp.html

Canadian protesters slam 'terrorist' Israel
By Colin Perkel, THE CANADIAN PRESS

A woman holds a Palestinian flag in Toronto on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008 
during a protest to denounce the Israeli military action in the Gaza 
Strip and show solidarity with the Palestinian people. THE CANADIAN 
PRESS/Colin Perkel

TORONTO - The raw realities of Middle East politics spilled onto the 
streets in several cities across Canada on Sunday as pro-Palestinian 
protesters denounced the bloody Israeli attacks on Gaza and blasted 
Israel as a terrorist state.
The largest demonstration was in Toronto, where tempers flared and 
tensions mounted as about 800 protesters outside the Israeli consulate 
screamed at a few dozen pro-Israel supporters across busy Bloor Street.
"I am here to stand up for the victims of Palestine who are being 
brutally slaughtered by the Israeli terrorist state," said protester Ali 
Mallah as he waved a Palestinian flag.
"If there was no occupation, there would be no rockets. Occupation is 
the worst form of terrorism. People have the right to resist their 
occupier by any means necessary."
Police had their hands full keeping the two groups apart as the 
pro-Palestinian group surged across the road, but, apart from some minor 
scuffles, there was no violence.
At least 290 Palestinians have been killed and about 800 injured in 
recent days in a series of intensive Israeli air strikes on the Gaza 
Strip that Israel says is in reprisal for rocket attacks from 
Palestinian militants.

Harold Medjuck, who stood holding a pro-Israel banner across the road 
from the larger protest, said the Israeli air strikes were defensive.
"What would Canada do if somebody wanted to do air strikes against 
Canada?" Medjuck said. "All they (the Palestinians) want to do is kill 
Jews."
In Montreal, about 300 protesters showed up on a warm, windy day to show 
solidarity with people in the Gaza Strip.
Blasting Palestinian music and flying Palestinian flags, the protesters 
- many wearing the distinctive black-and-white checked keffiyeh - 
marched through the city's downtown core as shoppers stopped to gawk and 
take photographs.
"They're living in fear," said Abdul Elsalfiti of his family in the Gaza 
strip.
"My family is looking for bread, they're looking for shelter, they're 
looking for water, they're just looking for basic needs."
Lesley Levy, a member of the British-based Independent Jewish Voices, 
said she "felt ashamed" for what was going on in Israel.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has expressed concern about the 
escalating violence but has made clear the federal government believes 
Israel has a right to defend itself.
Protection of civilians was Canada's utmost concern and the deliberate 
and constant targetting of civilians by Hamas was the main reason for 
the bloody events, Cannon said.
Ismail Zayid, who joined dozens of protesters at a downtown Halifax park 
in condemning the "massacre" of Palestinians, was incredulous at 
Cannon's statement.
"The people who've been subjected to this don't have the right to defend 
themselves, but Israel has the right to defend," said Zayid, 75, a 
retired doctor who has lived in Halifax for 36 years but is originally 
from the West Bank.
"We claim to uphold (international law) and yet here, when human rights 
are violated, we are not critical of the people who commit these crimes."
Following their protest outside the Israeli consulate in Toronto, 
hundreds of demonstrators then marched about a kilometre to the U.S. 
consulate, shutting down University Avenue as police, some mounted, some 
on bicycles, kept a watchful eye.
Among the protesters was Samer Noureddine, 11.
"I don't like what I'm hearing on the news about the bombs in 
Palestine," Noureddine said.
"I have some family friends in Palestine right now that live in Gaza so 
I'm here to represent them."
About four dozen protesters also gathered in Ottawa outside City Hall 
carrying flags and signs reading "Save Gaza."
Organizer Monzer Zimmo calling for international pressure on Israel to 
stop "this madness of attacking civilians and police stations and women, 
men, children and elderly people this holiday season."






http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081228.wisraelprotests1228/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

Canadians take to streets to protest air strikes

COLIN PERKEL
The Canadian Press
December 28, 2008 at 5:53 PM EDT
TORONTO — The raw realities of Middle East politics spilled onto the 
streets in several cities across Canada on Sunday as pro-Palestinian 
protesters denounced the bloody Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The largest demonstration was in Toronto, where tempers flared and 
tensions mounted as about 800 protesters outside the Israeli consulate 
screamed at a few dozen pro-Israel supporters across busy Bloor Street.
“I am here to stand up for the victims of Palestine who are being 
brutally slaughtered by the Israeli terrorist state,” said protester Ali 
Mallah as he waved a Palestinian flag.
“If there was no occupation, there would be no rockets. Occupation is 
the worst form of terrorism. People have the right to resist their 
occupier by any means necessary.”
Police had their hands full keeping the two groups apart as the 
pro-Palestinian group surged across the road, but, apart from some minor 
scuffles, there was no violence.
At least 290 Palestinians have been killed and about 800 injured in 
recent days in a series of intensive Israeli air strikes on the Gaza 
Strip that Israel says is in reprisal for rocket attacks from 
Palestinian militants.
Harold Medjuck, who stood holding a pro-Israel banner across the road 
from the larger protest, said the Israeli air strikes were defensive.
“What would Canada do if somebody wanted to do air strikes against 
Canada?” Mr. Medjuck said. “All they (the Palestinians) want to do is 
kill Jews.”
In Montreal, about 300 protesters showed up on a warm, windy day to show 
solidarity with people in the Gaza Strip.
Blasting Palestinian music and flying Palestinian flags, the protesters 
— many wearing the distinctive black-and-white checked keffiyeh — 
marched through the city's downtown core as shoppers stopped to gawk and 
take photographs.
“They're living in fear,” said Abdul Elsalfiti of his family in the Gaza 
Strip.
“My family is looking for bread, they're looking for shelter, they're 
looking for water, they're just looking for basic needs.”
Lesley Levy, a member of the British-based Independent Jewish Voices, 
said she “felt ashamed” for what was going on in Israel.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has expressed concern about the 
escalating violence but has made clear the federal government believes 
Israel has a right to defend itself.
Ismail Zayid, who joined dozens of protesters at a downtown Halifax park 
in condemning the “massacre” of Palestinians, was incredulous at Mr. 
Cannon's statement.
“The people who've been subjected to this don't have the right to defend 
themselves, but Israel has the right to defend,” said Mr. Zayid, 75, a 
retired doctor who has lived in Halifax for 36 years but is originally 
from the West Bank.
“We claim to uphold (international law) and yet here, when human rights 
are violated, we are not critical of the people who commit these crimes.”
Following their protest outside the Israeli consulate in Toronto, 
hundreds of demonstrators then marched about a kilometre on the U.S. 
consulate, shutting down University Avenue as police, some mounted, some 
on bicycles, kept a watchful eye.
Among the protesters was Samer Noureddine, 11.
“I don't like what I'm hearing on the news about the bombs in 
Palestine,” Samer said.
“I have some family friends in Palestine right now that live in Gaza so 
I'm hear to represent them.”
About four dozen protesters also gathered in Ottawa outside City Hall 
carrying flags and signs reading “Save Gaza.”
Organizer Monzer Zimmo calling for international pressure on Israel to 
stop “this madness of attacking civilians and police stations and women, 
men, children and elderly people this holiday season.”






http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Gaza+violence+protested+crowd/1189860/story.html

Gaza violence protested by crowd as Israel pullout begins

By Star Staff, The Windsor StarJanuary 18, 2009Comments (35)

A woman carrying a photograph of a man holding a dead infant joined with 
about 100 members of the local Arabic community and the Windsor Peace 
Coalition at Windsor City Hall Square Saturday to protest the recent 
attacks in Gaza.
Photograph by: Nick Brancaccio, The Windsor Star
As news of a ceasefire was filtering out to the world, about 100 
demonstrators, mainly members of the local Arabic community, marched 
down Wyandotte Street East Saturday and gathered at City Hall Square to 
protest Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.
“Israel, U.S.A, how many kids did you kill today?” Dhouha Triki, 19, 
shouted over a loudspeaker as men carried a coffin draped in a 
Palestinian flag and young boys clutched effigies of bloodied babies.
“We need to show support for the people in Gaza,” said Triki after the 
procession made its way to city hall.
One man climbed the inukshuk and hoisted one of the many Palestinian 
flags carried by demonstrators.
Amidst the black, white, green and red flags was a single Maple Leaf.
“I am a Palestinian Canadian,” said Rana Nasser, 20, one of the event 
organizers. “We feel helpless just watching people dying.”
She said the event was advertised on Facebook and on flyers posted at 
the University of Windsor, St. Clair College and Arabic stores on 
Wyandotte Street East.
“What’s going on in the Middle East is a massacre. We can’t just watch 
this on TV and do nothing,” she said.
“Free Palestine, occupation is a crime,” Nasser shouted when she took 
the loudspeaker.
Demonstrators carried placards condemning Israel and praising Hamas, the 
Islamic party that holds the majority of seats in the Palestinian 
legislature, but is in a power struggle for control of the government. 
Canada is among the countries that has condemned Hamas as a terrorist 
organization.
Speakers at the demonstration said any ceasefire in the region was long 
overdue.
Israel declared a truce in the 22-day offensive Saturday. Hamas 
continued firing rockets into southern Israel Sunday, then agreed to a 
ceasefire, giving Israel one week to withdraw from the region.





http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/story.html?id=1135372

Protesters denounce Israeli military action in Gaza

By Alan Hustak, The GazetteJanuary 2, 2009

Unnerved by Israel's latest deadly assault on Gaza, a handful of Jewish 
and Palestinian Montrealers rallied downtown Friday to denounce the 
week-long attacks that so far have left more than 400 people dead.
Members of the Coalition against Israeli Apartheid and another group 
calling for Palestinian and Jewish unity gathered in bitter cold for a 
brief protest vigil at noon at the corner of St. Catherine St. and 
McGill College.
Waving placards that read “Save Gaza”, and carrying banners calling for 
“An End to Israeli Apartheid,” the two dozen or so demonstrators were 
almost outnumbered by reporters and television crews dispatched to cover 
the rally on a slow news day.
With Israeli troops and tanks massing along the border with Gaza in 
preparation for what appears to be a massive ground invasion, organizers 
say bigger demonstrations are planned for Montreal in the weeks ahead to 
show solidarity with innocent civilians in Gaza who are ”suffering under 
bombardment.”
Laith Marouf, national chapter co-ordinator for Solidarity for 
Palestinian Human Rights, said the demonstrators are also upset with 
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “callous attitude in support of the 
Israeli action.”
Bruce Katz, a spokesperson for Palestinian and Jewish Unity said 
although this afternoon’s demonstration was small, it represents “the 
ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of public opinion,” for a 
humanitarian solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
“The liberation of Palestine, of people who have been kicked around for 
60 years, and the liberation of Jews from Zionism go hand in hand,” Katz 
said. “You can’t have one without the other.
“No one should ever be a slave to any state, including the State of 
Israel,” he said.
Another protest demonstration against Israel planned for Sunday will 
begin at 1 p.m. at Cabot Square, outside the AMC Forum. And another 
similar rally is planned for Jan. 10.






http://www.thestar.com/news/GTA/article/561323

Toronto protesters march in support of Palestinians

COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR
Protesters march up Yonge St. to voice their displeasure with Israel's 
incursion into Gaza. (Jan, 3, 2009)

WHY CANADA BACKS ISRAEL: WALKOM
Jan 03, 2009 03:45 PM
Comments on this story (39)
Kenyon Wallace
STAFF REPORTER

As Israeli troops entered the Gaza strip, thousands of pro-Palestinian 
demonstrators stopped traffic along Yonge St. between Dundas and Bloor 
Sts. for a march condemning the Israeli action this afternoon.
Police on horseback and bicycles worked to control the crowd as it 
marched northwards, but as of 3 p.m., the protest has been peaceful.
"No one is as angry as I am. I have lost my entire family to the Israeli 
apartheid," Rafeef Ziadah, spokesperson for Palestine House, told the 
crowd. "Stop the attack on Gaza."
Chanting "free, free Palestine" and "from Iraq to Palestine, occupation 
is a crime", protestors marched from Dundas Square to the Israeli 
consulate at Yonge and Bloor Sts.
About 200 counter-protestors were also in attendance to show their 
support for Israel's incursions into the Gaza strip.
"We support the Israeli government's efforts to stop Hamas, stop 
terrorism and stop terrorist infrastructure," said Meir Weinstein, 
national director of the Jewish Defence League in Canada.
"Only this will bring stability to the region."




http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2009/01/03/7910171-cp.html

Protests on Parliament Hill, Gaza
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Protesters in several Canadian cities waved placards and Palestinian 
flags Saturday as they angrily denounced the ongoing Israeli offensive 
in Gaza, just as word emerged that Israel's troops and tanks had moved 
into enemy territory.
Following on the heels of angry protests taking place in cities across 
Europe, the Canadian show of solidarity began in the nation's capital 
with more than 500 demonstrators braving chill winds on the steps of 
Parliament Hill.
The group made its way to the Israeli and U.S. embassies in Ottawa, as 
did a gathering of several thousand people in Toronto who at one point 
faced off against a smaller group of pro-Israel demonstrators in a 
downtown public square.
The noisy but peaceful gathering on Parliament Hill erupted with cries 
of "shame" when a speaker delivered the news Israel had begun its ground 
assault.
"Regardless what they say in this building (House of Commons), 
regardless what they say in Washington or the Hague, these are war 
crimes," shouted Robert Assaly, an Anglican priest from Montreal who was 
a speaker at the rally.
At the height of the protest, military officials in Jerusalem confirmed 
that Israeli ground forces, amassed for days on the Gaza border, had 
started moving into the region.
The ground incursion had been widely expected in the wake of a heavy 
barrage of artillery strikes from Israeli gunboats and warships that was 
hammering the region Saturday.
Organizers at the invective-charged Toronto rally opted not to announce 
the news for fear it would stoke additional anger.
"This will have huge implications," said Ali Mallah of the Canadian-Arab 
Federation.
"It will widen the wedge toward more war, more violence and more people 
to be killed. It's a shame that we just entered a new year ... to start 
with war and killing in the Middle East."
In addition to the Ottawa and Toronto protests, events were scheduled 
for Montreal and Vancouver.
Braving -19 C wind-chill temperatures, the Ottawa rally denounced what 
they called Israeli atrocities against the 1.5 million residents of Gaza.
It included many self-identified Palestinian-Canadians, as well as a 
smattering of Jewish-Canadians opposed to Israel's policies in Gaza and 
the West Bank, union activists and civil rights advocates.
Israel has said it is acting in self-defence in response to continuous 
firing of rockets from Gaza into Jewish towns.
But the demonstrators dismissed that defence, calling the rockets a 
minor provocation that don't excuse the killing of over 400 Palestinians.
Toronto police - including several on horseback - formed a barrier 
between the impassioned masses of Palestine supporters and the scores 
waving Israeli flags as the protest forced the closure of a typically 
busy portion of Yonge Street.
"(The violence) devastated me and my family," said Suraya Aburaneh, 21. 
"We can't do much, but we're here in Canada and the best we can do is 
spread awareness."
Interrupting her was her nine-year-old cousin Dina, who shouted: "We 
can't let people die like this!"
"We just need peace in this world, no killing. Both sides," said Sumbul 
Raza, 34, as she marched and led chants of, "Shame, shame Israel."
Across police lines, a group organized by the Jewish Defense League held 
a counter-demonstration.
"I want them to have their own country, I want them to have democracy," 
said Ravid Dahan, 28, who moved to Canada from Israel two years ago.
"I want my children to go to school with their children. But they don't 
believe I exist."
Jill Aharon, 51, from Thornhill, added peace could come easily: "If they 
lay down their rockets, there will be no more death," she said.
Tens of thousands of people also demonstrated across Europe on Saturday, 
including protesters who hurled shoes at the tall iron gates outside the 
British prime minister's residence in London.
Protests in Paris, Rome, Berlin and many other European cities also drew 
thousands.
Israel says it is responding to rockets fired from Gaza by the Hamas 
militant group. Four Israelis also have been killed in the week of 
violence.
The Israeli air strikes have badly damaged Gaza's infrastructure, 
knocking out power and water in many areas and raising fears of 
humanitarian disaster.






http://www.vancouversun.com/News/story.html?id=1141426

More Canadian protests over Gaza

By Jan Ravensbergen, Canwest News ServiceJanuary 4, 2009

MONTREAL — At least 5,000 demonstrators chanting an array of 
anti-Israeli slogans converged on Montreal’s downtown core Sunday for a 
noisy, three-hour protest.
The event attracted many families, often with young children bundled up 
against the cold.
The size of the crowd made him “very, very happy,” declared Ahmed 
Benhmade, accompanied by his wife, Halima Salahiddin, their 18-month-old 
daughter, Safina, tightly bundled in winter gear and seated wide-eyed in 
a stroller.
“It shows that this cause is just,” Benhmade declared. “We are here for 
justice and we are here for peace.”
The march initially headed westbound along Montreal’s main shopping 
street, Ste. Catherine St., to the Westmount Square complex which houses 
the Israeli consulate for Montreal.
At least 16 Montreal police constables were lined up outside the large 
plate-glass windows there, moving their line of defence in tandem with 
the crowd.
“Stop the killing, stop the crime, Israel out of Palestine,” protesters 
chanted. Police reported no violent incidents.
“Everything went smoothly,” Constable Olivier Lapointe said. “There were 
no arrests.”
Quebec member of legislature Amir Khadir, the highest-profile speaker at 
Sunday’s event, said the protest sent a message “to say ‘no’ to the 
violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and for a just peace 
that the Palestinian people and the Jewish people deserve.
“The Palestinian people as well as the Israeli people are taken hostage 
by the situation of violence,” added Khadir, elected Dec. 8 to the 
national assembly for the Montreal riding of Mercier — the first member 
of legislature elected for the Quebec solidaire party.
Also Sunday, hundreds of Palestinian supporters rallied in front of city 
hall in Edmonton, condemning Israel’s ongoing invasion of the Gaza Strip 
and pleading for peace.
“Stop the massacre now in Gaza!” the protesters shouted as they marched 
around the ice rink waving Palestinian flags. Many wore black-and-white 
kaffiyehs, the symbolic Palestinian head scarf. “Free, free Palestine!”
Police estimate as many as 500 people attended the rally, which began at 
1 p.m. and lasted more than an hour.
On Saturday hundreds took part in similar protests in Canadian cities 
including Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg.
Montreal Gazette with files from the Edmonton Journal





http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_30641.aspx

Tensions High At Gaza Protest Downtown
Saturday January 3, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff
Emotions were high as Israeli and Palestinian supporters met in 
Toronto's downtown core, half a world away from the escalating violence 
in Gaza.
As many as 5,000 demonstrators gathered at Yonge-Dundas Square as part 
of a global day of protest against what has become an all-out war on the 
Gaza Strip. Israeli troops have crossed the border after a week of 
attacks in retailation for rocket strikes by Hamas.
Angry Greeks burned the Israeli flag. And the story was the same in 
Jordan and elsewhere.
Here at home, both sides waved flags and shouted at each other across a 
narrow barricade as they marched towards the Israeli consulate on Bloor 
Street
"They are firing at us at night while people are sleeping - mosques, 
kids, universities. Where's Hamas? Where?" shouted Palestinian Canadian 
Bader El-Khatib.
His friend Mohammed Hamouda concurred. "[My grandfather] was visiting 
his neighbours because four of their kids died. The oldest was 10 years 
old. And when he went to the funeral, [the Israelis] shot a rocket and 
killed a lot of people there."
On the other side, Israeli protestor Tomer Chencinski had another 
perspective. "Hamas is a terrorist organization that keeps sending 
rockets. Israel needs to defend itself and its people."
And Israel Ilshech, in town for a visit, described his experience. "I 
live in Israel. I want you to imagine for one second that you are 
sitting in your house with your family and you hear a bomb come to your 
house."
Dozens of police officer were on duty to keep the peace.
"So far it's been a loud, vocal crowd - very vocal. But, fortunately, no 
incidents yet. We're hoping it remains that way," noted Toronto Police 
Supt. Hugh Ferguson.
But as the protests intensified, police ushered the Israeli protesters 
away as a precaution.
Protests took place in cities across Canada, including Vancouver, 
Montreal and Ottawa.







http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2009/01/11/edm-gaza-protest.html?ref=rss

Edmontonians protest Gaza attacks
Last Updated: Sunday, January 11, 2009 | 1:54 PM MT Comments22Recommend16
CBC News
Hundreds of people demonstrated in Edmonton on Saturday, demanding that 
Canada call for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Chanting, "Stop the violence in the Gaza Strip" and holding graphic 
signs, protesters demanded the Canadian government do more to end the 
conflict.
Speakers addressed the crowd at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton, 
talking about the innocent people who have been caught in the crossfire.
Rally organizer Fatioeh Hazimah Muwais said the federal government 
should step in and say "enough killing."
In the audience, carrying an anti-war placard, was Gabriel Cardenas.
He said it's painful to see the images coming out of Gaza.
"It's heart wrenching, you know. You see kids getting blown up…dead from 
assaults by military force, you see people suffering and you see a 
massive amount of hypocrisy," Cardenas said.
"I'm not saying that I think Hamas is good, 'cause I don't, but I also 
don't think the Israeli government is good."
More than 800 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed since the 
conflict began Dec. 27.
Demonstrations calling for the immediate end to all hostilities in the 
Gaza Strip were also held Saturday in Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, 
Toronto and Montreal.







http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/18/2468571.htm

Gaza protest chokes central Sydney
Posted Sun Jan 18, 2009 6:00pm AEDT
Updated Sun Jan 18, 2009 6:57pm AEDT
• Map: Sydney 2000
• Related Story: Israeli ceasefire begins in Gaza
• Related Story: Hamas must respect ceasefire, says Smith
Several thousand people have again choked the streets of central Sydney 
in a protest over the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
The Israeli Government's announcement of a ceasefire has been met with 
cynicism by many.
About 5,000 people crammed into the Sydney Town Hall's forecourt to 
again condemn Israel over the deaths of 1,200 civilians in Gaza.
Journalist John Pilger accused the media of bowing to Israel in its 
reporting of the events in the Middle East.
"The media has built a wall between the massacres in Gaza and the truth 
of what has happened there," he said.
The President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Ikebal 
Patel, says he doubts the ceasefire will hold.
"The ceasefire is not good enough if Israel does not get itself out of 
Gaza," he said.
He says the Australian Government has been "lame" in its failing to 
condemn Israel's actions.





http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2009/1/4/melbourne_muslims_protest_israeli_invasion_of_gaza.html

Melbourne Muslims Protest Israeli Invasion Of Gaza
Sunday, January 04, 2009 12:28:38 PM
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• Melbourne Muslims March
MELBOURNE -- As Israeli ground troops marched into Gaza, Muslims marched 
in Melbourne.
More than 100 protesters called on Central Florida leaders Saturday to 
petition Washington to help end the fighting in the Middle East.
"We are just here to show our concern. What is done by the Israeli army 
is wrong," one protester told News 13.
Adding to the rally's numbers were Brevard County peace activists who 
were previously focused on the war in Iraq.
"Pressure President Bush for the remaining two weeks he's in office to 
intervene immediately, to assist in humanitarian needs," said Vicki 
Impoco, a representative of the group Brevard Patriots for Peace.
Many of the protestors questioned U.S. military hardware and tax dollars 
going toward Israel.
"Our country supporting it with our great stand for freedom, justice, 
and equality. Our principles are at stake here," said Delacie Phillips, 
chairman of the Brevard Islamic Society.
Israeli defense forces said they are trying to destroy Hamas rocket 
launch capability. Those rockets were being fired into Israel.
Despite that, protestors in Melbourne said Israel was using too much force.
"The war is between people of power and no power. The people of Gaza 
have no way to resist," said Sabir Ali, president of the Brevard Islamic 
Society.
Brevard Patriots for Peace planned to hold what it calls a "peace vigil" 
in Melbourne at 6 p.m. Wednesday.







http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24871764-2862,00.html

Gaza protests spill onto Melbourne's streets
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Geraldine Mitchell and AAP
January 04, 2009 06:45pm
ISRAEL'S military assault on Gaza brought Melbourne's city centre to a 
standstill today as hundreds of protesters took to the streets armed 
with placards and flags.
About 100 Israel supporters gathered on the steps of State Parliament 
chanting "no more terror", but were outnumbered by the vocal 1000-strong 
pro-Palestinian crowd at the State Library of Victoria.

The Gaza solidarity protest, organised by the Social Alliance, called 
for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to intervene and help stop the carnage.

"We call on the Rudd government to condemn this slaughter and to break 
Australian economic, diplomatic, military and cultural ties with the 
Israeli apartheid state," they said.

The crowd disrupted trams as they marched from the library to Federation 
Square chanting ``Free Palestine" and "Out, out Israeli out".

Protesters at the pro-Israel rally were draped in Australian and Israeli 
flags, and some held banners reading "Free Gaza from Hamas" and "Hamas 
uses human shields".

Federal Labor member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby addressed the 
crowd and asked Melburnians to imagine how they would react if their 
suburbs were being bombed.

"This is one of the dilemmas that democratic societies like Israel have 
to face. How do we react when faced by Islamist fanatics who would kill 
Australians, in Bali, murder our tourists in Mumbai and do what they are 
doing to the Israelis on the edge of Gaza," he said.

About 50 police were on standby but the two protest groups did not meet 
and there were no reports of trouble.






http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=28&ContentID=118971

Melbourne protesters condemn Israel-Gaza war
18th January 2009, 14:45 WST

Israel’s announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza has not deterred thousands 
of Palestinian supporters from marching in Melbourne to condemn the 
violence.
As many as 12,000 people gathered on the steps of Victoria’s State 
Library on Sunday in support of Australians for Palestine, waving 
Palestinian flags and carrying placards calling for an end to what was 
described as a “massacre”.
Israel held its fire in Gaza today after declaring a unilateral 
ceasefire in its 22-day onslaught, which has killed more than 1200 
Palestinians.
South Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young welcomed the 
ceasefire announcement but said Israel must now withdraw its troops from 
Gaza.
“Without that, we’re not really achieving stability and we’re not really 
putting ourselves in the best position for peace in the long term,” she 
told AAP at the rally.
“We must ensure that countries like Australia, regardless of whether 
there is a ceasefire or not in the next few days, still come out and 
condemn the disproportionate violence that has been going on.”
Senator Hanson-Young also addressed the crowd, calling on Prime Minister 
Kevin Rudd to openly condemn the situation in Gaza.
“It’s time Prime Minister Rudd condemns the violence in Gaza,” she told 
the crowd.
“It’s time Prime Minister Rudd gives Australia something to be proud of.”
She said the government should call for the immediate withdrawal of 
Israeli troops from Gaza.
The protesters, estimated to number 12,000 by Australians for Palestine 
organisers, marched from the library to the steps of the Victorian 
parliament.
Other speakers included former Democrats leader Lyn Allison, Australian 
Council of Trade Unions international director Alison Tate, and 
cartoonist Michael Leunig.
A special service for peace was expected to be held at Melbourne’s St 
Paul’s Anglican Cathedral later on Sunday afternoon, attended by 
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier and World Vision chief 
Tim Costello.
A solidarity meeting to show support for Israel, organised by members of 
Melbourne’s Jewish community, will be held on Tuesday.
MELBOURNE
AAP





http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24871593-5001021,00.html?from=public_rss

Gaza protest clogs central Sydney

January 04, 2009 12:00am
THOUSANDS of people have gathered outside Sydney's Town Hall to protest 
against the Israeli military assault on the Gaza strip.
Carrying flags and banners and chanting "free, free Palestine" the 
protesters were to march past the Egyptian consulate in Surry Hills and 
onto Belmore Park.

Parts of the city centre including a section of George Street have been 
blocked off for the protest rally and there is a heavy police presence.

Invading Israeli ground forces have fought fierce battles with Hamas 
militants in Gaza since they entered the region last night.

The ground operation follows an eight-day bombing blitz that killed 
hundreds of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction.

Gaza emergency services said one child had been killed and 11 others 
wounded in a tank attack.

In Sydney, spokeswoman Rihab Charida told the crowd that Australia was 
one of many countries where protests were being staged.

"We are here today to express our solidarity with the people in Gaza and 
tell them that we are with them," she said.

"This demonstration today is about an international solidarity movement 
that says: 'We are with you.'"

The rally has been organised by the Sydney-based Gaza Defence Committee 
and is due to end at Belmore Park near Central Station.






http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=77&ContentID=115560

Perth marchers protest against Israel
31st December 2008, 18:30 WST

About 150 people marched through Perth's streets calling for an end to 
Israel's shelling of Gaza this afternoon.
However, their attempt to present demands to the Federal Government fell 
on deaf ears as there was nobody at the Department of Foreign Affairs 
and Trade to meet them.
The lunchtime rally, organised by Friends of Palestine WA, was held to 
protest Israel's recent attacks on the strife-torn Gaza strip.
Today's protest went off peacefully in 37-degree heat, guarded by eight 
police officers, after speeches in front of the Wesley Church in Hay Street.





http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-protesters-march-against-israel-20081231-77tg.html

Perth protesters march against Israel
• Chalpat Sonti
• December 31, 2008
About 150 people have marched in scorching hot weather through Perth's 
streets calling for an end to Israel's shelling of Gaza.
But the protesters' attempts to present their demands to the Federal 
Government fell flat when it was revealed nobody was at the Department 
of Foreign Affairs and Trade to meet them.
The lunchtime rally, organised by Friends of Palestine WA, was held to 
protest Israel's recent attacks on the strife-torn Gaza strip. The 
protesters accused Israel of breaking a ceasefire. Israel has claimed 
the Palestinian group Hamas militants did so first by firing rockets 
into its territory.
Today's protest went off peacefully in 37-degree heat and under the 
watchful eye of eight police, after speeches in front of the Wesley 
Church in Hay Street.
As hundreds of shoppers meandered through the busy thoroughfare, 
speakers including Friends spokesman Alex Whisson, WA Social Justice 
Network co-convenor Gavin Mooney and local journalist Giovanni Torre 
called on Israel to end its siege and for the Australian Government to 
organise an airlift of medical supplies to the region.
Mr Torre said Israel's strategy "only makes sense in the broader context 
of the strategy of ethnic cleansing".
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has called his country's attacks "an 
all-out war against Hamas and its proxies".
The protesters then made their way along the Hay Street Mall and Barrack 
St to the Exchange Plaza building in St George's Terrace.
There they planned to present their demands to a DFAT official. But 
despite being told by a building employee that someone would meet them, 
police informed the group there were no DFAT employees in the building, 
Mr Whisson said.
The group plans to hold a second protest in Florence Hummerston Reserve 
on Sunday.





http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/03/2458623.htm

Brisbane Palestinian community protests Gaza violence
Posted Sat Jan 3, 2009 9:00pm AEDT
• Map: Brisbane 4000
About 500 members of Brisbane's Palestinian community have staged a 
peaceful protest in the city's centre.
They called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and international action 
to prevent what they fear is imminent ground invasion by the Israeli army.
Michael Shaik from Australians for Palestine says any lasting peace will 
be a long time coming.
"Once Israel withdraws from the occupied territories and lets the 
Palestinians have there own state, then there'll be a solution," he said.
"But I don't think that's going to happen for some time."
More protests are planned for Brisbane.





http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/779/40191

Australian protests demand a free Gaza

Simon Butler
17 January 2009

Protests against the Israel’s ongoing military assault and siege on Gaza 
have continued across Australia as the Palestinian death toll mounts.
By January 18 — 22 days after Israel began its brutal attack — more than 
1200 Palestinians had been killed, including more than 400 children. At 
least a further 5220 people had been injured.

Sam Wainwright reported on January 10 more than 300 people gathered on 
the Fremantle Esplanade to protest Israel’s war. The protest was the 
third in as many weeks, with 150 and 450 gathering in Perth on the 
previous two weekends.

Meanwhile the Friends of Palestine WA (FoPWA) group has rapidly grown 
into a thriving and democratic hub of activity with over 30 people 
attending its planning meetings.

The January 10 rally heard from a number of speakers from the Arab and 
Muslim communities and the Catholic Church.

Newly elected Greens Senator Scott Ludlam was warmly received and any 
mention of the federal Labor government’s stance brought boos and jeers.

In contrast, when the statement by the Venezuelan government announcing 
its intention to expel the Israeli ambassador was read out the 
spontaneous chant of “Viva Chavez; Down, down Arab leaders” went through 
the crowd. A number of people had brought home made placards commending 
the stance of Venezuela.

Speaking just before the march through Fremantle, long time FoPWA 
activist Alex Whisson gave an impassioned speech that included a 
detailed account of the Gaza death toll.

The chants on the march reflected the mood of the crowd; “Rudd, Gillard 
you can’t hide; You support genocide!” and “Israel USA; How many kids 
did you kill today!”

The Fremantle protest was followed up by a vigil and mass leafleting of 
the CBD by some 30 activists on Friday January 16. The next major 
protest will be in Perth at noon on Saturday January 31 in Forrest Place.

Ruth Ratcliffe reported that more than 1500 people rallied on the steps 
of Parliament House in Adelaide on January 11 to condemn the Israeli 
massacre.

The rally was organised by the Australian Friends of Palestine 
Association (AFOPA).

Speakers included AFOPA Chairperson Paul Heywood-Smith, SA Greens 
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the public advocate for AFOPA Michael Shaik 
and South Australian independent MP Kris Hanna.

More than 2000 people also marched through the streets of central 
Brisbane in solidarity with Gaza on January 10.

Speakers at the Brisbane rally included Aboriginal elder Bob Anderson, 
jewish anti-war activist Margot Salom and the federal ALP member for 
Moreton Graham Perrett.

Up to 500 people joined a Muslim prayer and protest march to deputy 
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office in the Melbourne suburb of 
Werribee on January 16.

Margarita Windisch reported that the prayer and rally was organised by 
the Western suburbs Muslim community and the Melbourne Palestine 
Solidarity Network.

Sheikh Isse Musse, the Imam of the Virgin Mary Mosque in Werribee, led 
the prayer and strongly condemned Israel’s continuing illegal occupation 
of Palestine and its horrendous attack on the people of Gaza, which has 
left essential infrastructure in rubble and has destroyed schools and 
hospitals.

The prayer was followed by a spirited march to Julia Gillard’s office, 
with people chanting “shame Gillard shame, free Gaza”, and “Israel is a 
terrorist state”.

Tasnim Sammak, a young Palestinian woman whose family comes from Gaza, 
spoke outside Gillard’s office and denounced the Australian government’s 
implicit support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Other speakers also condemned the pro-Israel bias of reportage by 
mainstream media.

Amid loud chants from the crowd, a petition with over 10,000 signatures 
was handed over to a representative of Julia Gillard. The petition 
called on the Rudd government to oppose Israel’s unjustifiable violence.

Jonathan Strauss reported that the single word “Gaza” shone out from 
brightly burning candles, which were placed on a black cloth surrounded 
by Palestinian scarves, in Cairns on January 16.

The candle display was the centrepiece of a vigil in solidarity with the 
people of Gaza, which supported an end to the Israeli attacks on Gaza. 
Protesters also called for an end to Israel’s criminal blockade of the 
Gaza strip.

Around 45 people from Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands joined the 
action, which was organised by Socialist Alliance members, Green Left 
Weekly supporters and activists from the Cairns’ group, Peace by Peace.

Speakers at the vigil included the Socialist Alliance, the secretary of 
the local Greens branch and a member of the Maritime Union of Australia.

The Newcastle NoWAR Collective has mounted protests denouncing Israel’s 
attacks every Wednesday at the Hamilton clocktower since the bombing began.

Niko Leka reported that each protest has grown in numbers, with sixty 
people attending the rally on January 14. A popular chant at the 
Newcastle rally was “Free Palestine — yes we can!”

Four hundred people also protested in Wollongong on January 17. The 
protest was organised by Illawarra No War.

Jess Moore reported that the speakers included Lebanese community leader 
Saeb Ali, Reverend Gordon Bradbury from the Uniting Church and Arthur 
Rorris, the secretary of the South Coast Labour Council.






http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/777/40132

Australian protests in support of Gaza

Simon Butler, Sydney
6 January 2009

Pip Hinman, from Sydney Stop the War Coalition, held a shoe aloft — in 
tribute to Iraqi reporter Muntader al-Zaidi — to roars of approval from 
a 10,000-strong crowd in Sydney on January 4.
Shoe-throwing quickly became a symbol of anti-imperialist defiance after 
al-Zaidi threw a pair at US President George Bush. Hinman was standing 
in solidarity with the people of Gaza at one of many rallies around 
Australia calling for an end to Israel’s brutal assault.

Nationally, the rallies brought large numbers of Arabic and Muslim 
people onto the streets in outrage at the horrendous suffering they are 
witnessing from afar. Many of the rallies were preceded by emergency 
actions on December 29-31, after Israel’s attack was first reported.

Chaired by Rita Khoury from the newly formed Gaza Defence Committee, the 
Sydney rally was also addressed by Professor Peter Manning, Father Dave 
Smith from the Holy Trinity Anglican Church and Simon Flynn, who gave a 
message of solidarity on behalf of the NSW Fire Brigade Employees Union, 
the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union and the Maritime Union 
of Australia.

Also on January 4, 5000 people rallied in Melbourne, where Steve 
Dargavel, state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union 
demanded that the federal government call on Israel to withdraw its forces.

Sue Bolton reported that, earlier in the week, a rally was organised by 
the Muslim community in Broadmeadows in Melbourne’s west. The key 
message of the rally, which attracted 1000 people, was the need for 
ongoing protests to stop the Israeli aggression.

Five hundred people attended a solidarity protest in Brisbane on January 
3. Dave Riley reported that the rally was boosted by a big contingent 
from the Middle-Eastern community.

Justice for Palestine has recently formed and is planning future 
protests. Stalls and vigils have been organised and another rally is 
planned for January 10.

Annas Abdullah chaired the rally on behalf of Justice for Palestine. 
Murri elder Bob Anderson also addressed the crowd.

Chris Latham in Perth reported that 500 people attended a demonstration 
organised by Friends of Palestine (WA) on January 4.

Speakers included federal Greens Senator Scott Ludlum, Giovanni Torre 
and Nick Everett from Friends of Palestine, and Viv Doymar from Code 
Pink. The rally demanded the Australian government boycott Israeli 
companies and cut all diplomatic ties with Israel.

In Adelaide, 170 people gathered on the steps of Parliament House on 
December 30, reported John Hawtin. The rally was organised by Australian 
Friends of Palestine (SA) and chaired by Bassam Daly. Speakers included 
Sandra Kanck, Democrats MLC, and federal Greens MP Sarah Hanson-Young.

In Newcastle, 20 people rallied on December 31, according to Steve 
O’Brien. On the same day, a protest was also organised in Armidale in 
Northern NSW by members of the New England branch of the Socialist Alliance.






http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24871515-29277,00.html?from=public_rss

Israeli flag burnt in Sydney protest against Gaza conflict
By Stephanie Gardiner and Daniel Fogarty
AAP
January 04, 2009 06:13pm

Israeli flag is burned as thousands of Australians stage protests 
against the ground war in Gaza. 01/09 Sky News

A PROTESTER burnt an Israeli flag and others carried coffins as 
thousands of people staged demonstrations against the Gaza conflict today.
About 2000 people gathered outside the Sydney Town Hall to vent their 
anger over Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of 
Palestinians in recent days.
They chanted, "Free, free Palestine" and "Israel, USA, how many kids 
have you killed today?"
Others held placards saying "Patience O Gaza we have not forgotten you" 
and "Disgraceful world silence".
Invading Israeli ground forces have fought fierce battles with Hamas 
militants in Gaza since entering the region last night.
The ground operation follows an eight-day bombing blitz that killed 
hundreds of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction.
Gaza emergency services said one child had been killed and 11 others 
wounded in a tank attack.
Many speakers addressed the Sydney crowd to loud cheers from protesters 
of all backgrounds.
Forad Shriedy told the crowd he had been forced to flee Palestine as an 
eight-year-old in 1948.
"We are here today to condemn Israel's terror... and to say no to the 
brutal attacks on Gaza," Mr Shriedy said.
"Every person has a homeland to live in, but for the Palestinians the 
homeland lives in us."
The protest snaked through CBD streets, blocking off part of George 
Street as weekend shoppers and commuters looked on.
Marchers carried three coffins past the Egyptian consulate in the nearby 
suburb of Surry Hills as a reminder of the lives lost in the conflict.
Protesters chanted, clapped and banged on drums as they made their way 
to Belmore Park, where a young man climbed a tree and set an Israeli 
flag on fire despite organisers urging him to stop.
Protesters take sides
In Melbourne about 3000 people turned out to protest against Israel's 
military assault on Gaza, just a few blocks away from a smaller 
pro-Israel rally.
About 500 supporters of Israel gathered at State Parliament chanting "no 
more terror", with banners calling for Gaza to be freed from Hamas' 
control.
At the Victorian State Library less than a kilometre away, 
pro-Palestinian protesters condemned the Israeli military action.
Protesters at the pro-Israel rally were draped in Australian and Israeli 
flags, and some held banners reading "Free Gaza from Hamas" and "Hamas 
uses human shields".
Speakers included Federal Labor member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby 
and Liberal Senator Mitch Fifield.
Mr Danby asked Melburnians to imagine how they would react if their 
suburbs were being bombed.
"This is one of the dilemmas that democratic societies like Israel have 
to face. How do we react when faced by Islamist fanatics who would kill 
Australians, in Bali, murder our tourists in Mumbai and do what they are 
doing to the Israelis on the edge of Gaza," he said.
At the opposing rally, protesters called for a free Palestine and held 
banners showing photos of the bloodied corpses of children.
Other banners read "stop the holocaust in Gaza" and "peace & justice for 
Palestine".
Speakers urged supporters to write to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and 
newspapers to condemn the Israeli action.
Victorian upper house Greens member Colleen Hartland called on the 
Federal Government to speak out against the Israeli military assault.
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday refused to criticise 
Israel's bombing campaign.
The two protest groups did not meet and there were no reports of trouble.




http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/11/2463297.htm

Gaza protests continue in Adelaide
Posted Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:41pm AEDT

Hundreds of people gathered to condemn the killing of civilians in Gaza. 
(AAP Image: Larine Statham)
• Map: Adelaide 5000
A weekend of protests in South Australia against Israel's attacks on the 
Gaza Strip has continued.
Around 500 people gathered on the steps of Parliament House in Adelaide.
Bassan Dally from the Australian Friends of Palestine Association says 
Australia needs to do more to stop the fighting.
"The killing has to stop, the ceasefire has to happen now," she said.
"The Australian Government, which calls itself a friend of Israel, 
should use this friendship to call on it. Enough is enough, 800 people 
killed."






http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,24916856-3102,00.html?from=public_rss

Kevin Rudd's Brisbane electorate office hit by Gaza protesters
Francis Chung
January 15, 2009 05:20pm
PICTURES of dead Palestinian children have been posted on the windows of 
Kevin Rudd's Brisbane electorate office as dozens protest the Gaza crisis.
About 40 protesters, chanting "Free, free Palestine," marched on the 
Prime Minister's office in Morningside this afternoon to deliver almost 
2000 letters and petitions demanding the Australian Government take a 
stronger stance against Israel's actions in Gaza.
Latest on the Gaza crisis
Mr Rudd, the Member for Griffith, is on leave. Since being elected prime 
minister in November 2007 he has spent much of his time in Canberra or 
overseas.
In addition to the pictures of dead Palestinian children, demonstrators 
waved signs reading "USA-Israel Axis of Evil" and "Stop Israel's 
massacre in Gaza".
A small police presence watched over the noisy but peaceful demonstration.
Justice for Palestine spokesman Mr Abdalla likened Israel's actions to 
apartheid South Africa and even those of Nazi Germany.
"The apartheid state of Israel has blatantly broken every United Nations 
resolution that has been put towards it in killing Palestinian children, 
Palestinian civilians, and justifying it by saying that it is Hamas that 
have killed them," he said.
"We're asking the Prime Minister to adhere to United Nations resolutions 
towards Palestine, to stop Israeli terrorism, to stop what Israel is 
doing to the Palestinians and speak up against it."
Aisha, a Turkish Australian, said she was very angry with the situation 
in Israel.
"Hundreds of kids are lying dead their graves because of the Israeli 
oppression - not just now, for decades," she said.
Mark Gillespie, of East Brisbane, said the Government had turned a blind 
eye to Israel's behaviour.
"We're disappointed with the position that (Acting Prime Minister) Julia 
Gillard and Kevin Rudd have taken on Israel's violence. We think it's 
disproportional and they should be saying that loud and clear," he said.
Protest organiser Sarah Giles was hoping to build on last weekend's 
turnout of 2000, with more protests scheduled in the coming weeks.
She said there would be protests the next two Saturdays, January 17 and 
24, at noon at Queens Park on the corner of George and Elizabeth streets 
in the Brisbane CBD.
"We're trying to get the word out to everyone who opposes what's going 
on and opposes the attack on Gaza to come along," she said.
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said the Government was deeply 
concerned about the continuing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
"The death of Palestinian civilians in conflict is tragic and we urge 
Israel to ensure that it takes all precautions to avoid and minimise 
harm to civilians,'' she said.
"The Australian Government supports the proper investigation of 
allegations of violations of international law.
"These events further underline the need for negotiations to deliver an 
immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire.''
The spokeswoman said the Government announced an immediate commitment of 
$5 million in additional assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip on 
January 1.
This builds on the doubling of Australia's assistance to the Palestinian 
people in 2008 to $45 million.
- with AAP






http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/10/2462999.htm

Palestinian protesters march against Gaza attacks
Posted Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:47pm AEDT
• Map: Brisbane 4000
More than 500 Palestinian supporters have marched through Brisbane's CBD 
calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Australians for Palestine spokesman Michael Shaik says it is likely that 
the worst of the violence is yet to come.
"I think Hamas should cease firing rockets but you can't have a 
unilateral ceasefire," he said.
"They can't do so while Israel's still occupying the Gaza Strip and 
Israel is still bombing Palestinian refugee camps."
Mr Shaik says he expects the ground offensive to continue and more lives 
to be lost.
"I don't think Israel will agree to a ceasefire in the days ahead and 
we're very concerned about the escalating violence in the Gaza strip today."






http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/world/world/general/australian-jews-protest-against-israels-action/1400338.aspx

Australian Jews protest against Israel's action
ANDREW WEST AND JONATHAN PEARLMAN
6/01/2009 12:00:01 AM
MORE than 100 Australian Jews, including two award-winning novelists and 
a former federal cabinet minister, have signed a statement condemning 
Israel's siege of Gaza, heightening tensions within the local Jewish 
community over the violence.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, meanwhile called yesterday for an 
immediate ceasefire in Gaza but refused to criticise the Israeli offensive.
Authors Linda Jaivin and Sara Dowse, the environment minister in the 
Whitlam government, Moss Cass, and the NSW Greens leader, Ian Cohen, are 
among 120 Australian Jews to accuse the Israeli Government of a "grossly 
disproportionate military assault on Gaza because it was Israel that 
violated the fragile truce on November 4, 2008".
Their statement has provoked a backlash from leaders of Australia's main 
Jewish groups, who argue that Israel is acting in self-defence.
The statement was co-ordinated, but not endorsed, by the group 
Independent Australian Jewish Voices. It is part of an international 
outcry from dissident Jewish groups, including J Street in the US and 
Gush Shalom in Israel.
The signatories agree that Israel has a right to defend itself but say 
"the assault on the population of Gaza will only inflame hatred of Jews, 
and of the state of Israel, while doing nothing to protect the lives of 
Israelis".
They argue that "crude home-made rockets" fired by the Hamas-led 
government in Gaza have caused relatively few Israeli casualties. "By 
contrast, Israeli bombardment has caused around 400 deaths and 2000 
casualties, including a large proportion of women and children."
Other signatories include the controversial anti-Zionist writer Antony 
Loewenstein, the literary critic Andrew Riemer, and academics Andrew 
Benjamin, Gavin Kitching, David Goodman and Michele Grossman.
"This is a solid minority of leading Jewish figures who are sick and 
tired of being told what Jews should think about Israel and are appalled 
by Israel's crimes in Gaza," Mr Loewenstein said.
But the executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs 
Council, Colin Rubenstein, accused the signatories of being "indifferent 
to Israel's suffering" from repeated rocket attacks from Hamas.
"The comments are grossly ill informed, almost stunning in their 
ignorance, on the history of the ceasefire and its subsequent breakdown, 
Hamas's demands, Hamas's constitution, Hamas's willingness to negotiate 
and other matters," Dr Rubenstein said.
"They propose that the population of southern Israel must continue to 
live under constant rocket bombardment, opposing all practical efforts 
to actually invoke the right to self-defence the signatories say they 
recognise."
The head of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, declined to 
comment directly on the dissenters' statement but also blamed the crisis 
in Gaza on Hamas, saying it had fired more than 8000 rockets and mortars 
into Israel since 2001.
"All the civilian casualties are a tragedy. They stem from the fact that 
Hamas cynically locates its weapons and fighters in the midst of the 
Palestinian civilian population," he said.
In his first comments on the conflict after a 10-day holiday, Mr Rudd 
appealed for a diplomatic solution that would bring an end to Hamas 
rocket fire and the Israeli blockade of the territory.
"All Australians are concerned about the humanitarian implications of 
this conflict.
"And it is critical therefore for Israel to meet its humanitarian 
obligations under international humanitarian law towards the people of 
Gaza, in ensuring that they have access to basic goods, food and 
humanitarian assistance and medical supplies," he said.






http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=28&ContentID=115280

Arab Australians protest Gaza bombings
29th December 2008, 18:15 WST

Angry Arab Australians faced riot police outside the United States 
consulate in Sydney as nationwide protests condemned Israel’s bombing of 
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Downtown Sydney went into gridlock on Monday with more than 1000 Arab 
Australians crippling peak-hour traffic in the CBD as they marched on 
the consulate.
Police stopped traffic on George Street so the mostly male group of 
protesters could move from an anti-Israel, anti-US rally at Town Hall to 
Martin Place around 3pm (WST).
Palestinian activist Rawan Abdul chastised Acting Prime Minister Julia 
Gillard for stating that the ruling Hamas party in Gaza initiated 
hostilities with Israel.
“While (Prime Minister Kevin) Rudd sits around and watches the cricket, 
his deputy comes out and says ‘Israel, Israel (is) retaliating in 
self-defence,’” Ms Abdul shouted through loudspeakers at the rally.
“Do we agree with that? No!”
University of Western Sydney professor John Macdonald, who is also a 
visiting professor at Birzeit University in the Palestinian territories, 
said the 1.5 million people in Gaza live in a “concentration camp”.
“Palestine and Gaza are occupied places,” Mr Macdonald told the rally.
“There are international regulations about occupied people which are 
totally ignored by our own (Australian) government, by the governments 
of the world.”
The few hundred people who attended the rally moved slowly towards 
Martin Place and the crowd more than tripled in size along the way, 
spanning three city blocks.
They protested against Israel’s massive air offensive on Gaza which has 
claimed more than 300 lives and injured 1000 more since Saturday.
Holiday shoppers stopped to watch mainly young Arab men shouting slogans 
against Israel and the US.
“Bomb (President George W) Bush and the Jews,” they yelled along with 
“Israel, USA, how many children have you killed today?”
Tensions heightened when the marchers arrived at Martin Place and a 
number of them, led by former Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib, 
approached a wall of riot police protecting the entrance to the US 
consulate.
Private security guards attached to the protest positioned themselves in 
between, preventing the potential for a riot.
The event concluded with more speeches from a stage where controversial 
Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali joined other religious leaders.
Smaller protests were held at the Sheik’s home mosque at Lakemba, in 
Sydney’s west, and at other capital cities in Australia.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils in a statement condemned 
the bombings and so did the Socialist Alliance and the CFMEU.
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council welcomed Ms Gillard’s 
comments, stating that Hamas broke the ceasefire with Israel by firing 
rockets and mortars at their neighbour.
SYDNEY
AAP




http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/pro-palestine-protesters-converge-parliament-39665

Pro-Palestine protesters converge on Parliament
NZPA | Tuesday January 20 2009 - 01:44pm
About 150 protesters converged on Parliament today to urge the 
Government to condemn Israel's assault of the Gaza Strip.
Protest organiser Tali Williams, of the Wellington Palestine Group, 
called on the Government to revoke the credentials of the Canberra-based 
Israeli ambassador to New Zealand and the current visa-free status for 
Israelis.
The group also called for the Government to cut non-United Nations 
contact with the Israeli military, support any moves to indict Israeli 
leaders for war crimes, ban goods from Israeli businesses in the 
occupied territories and stop government departments procuring Israeli 
goods and services.
Green Party foreign affairs spokesman Keith Locke was the only MP to 
address the protesters, condemning Israel and the lack of action on the 
part of the Government.

Mr Locke said Israel was guilty of war crimes.
He criticised the Government for not even being prepared to call 
Israel's assault on the territory as "disproportionate" to the rocket 
attacks it cited as a pretext for the attack.
The protest briefly held up traffic in Wellington's centre as it moved 
from Cuba St to Parliament.
Israel has started pulling back its troops in the past few days 
following a 22-day offensive that authorities estimate has left 1300 
Palestinians dead and thousands more homeless.





http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0812/S00309.htm

Auckland: Protest slaughter in Gaza - 4pm Today
Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 1:04 pm
Press Release: Global Peace And Justice Auckland
Protest against slaughter in Gaza - Today (30th) 4pm, US Consulate, 
Citibank, 23 Customs St East
Today’s protest will focus on -
1. The deafening silence of the New Zealand government on the massacre 
in Gaza. New Zealand should unreservedly condemn Israel’s slaughter in 
Gaza and support calls for an international boycott of Israel.
2. The unconditional support for the slaughter given by the US 
government. Israel would not be able to continue to imprison one and a 
half million Palestinians in Gaza without US political and military 
support. The US does this not because it believes what Israel is doing 
is right but because it suits US interests to have a client state in the 
middle-east.
3. The misinformation spread by groups such as the New Zealand Jewish 
Council which for example claims Hamas is a terrorist organisation when 
it is in fact a democratically elected political organisation.
The situation of Palestinians trapped in the open-air prison which is 
Gaza resembles the plight of Jews trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland 
in the 1940s by the Nazis. Confined in this slum Jews led an uprising in 
1943 which was brutally suppressed in much the same way as the some of 
the descendents of those heroic Polish Jews now besiege and slaughter 
Palestinians in Gaza.
We should celebrate the fighting spirit of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto 
just as should celebrate the fighting spirit of Palestinians under siege 
in Gaza.
Israel has no justification to attack Gaza. The problem is not the 
amateur rockets fired into Israel from Gaza but Israeli policies which 
have turned the Gaza strip into a massive open-air prison for one and a 
half million Palestinians. Israel has blocked off land, sea and air 
access while regularly choking off energy and food supplies along with 
work access for Palestinians. Under these appalling of circumstances it 
would be astonishing if Palestinians did not fight back. They have lived 
in an Israeli-created hell-hole of deprivation and oppression for 60 years.
New Zealand supported the French resistance fighting German occupation 
of France in the 1940s and we should do the same for the Palestinians.
Having been driven from their homes and land 60 years ago by Jewish 
terror squads the Palestinians are left with just 22% of the land of the 
original Palestine. It was nothing short of an exercise in ethnic 
cleansing which is mirrored today in the racist laws which give second 
class citizenship to non-Jews in Israel.
Not content with seizing most of the land for an exclusive Jewish state 
the remaining Palestinian land on the West Bank is criss-crossed with 
Israeli-only, military-patrolled roads which link together new Jewish 
settlements being built on Palestinian land. All this despite 
innumerable UN resolutions calling on Israel to abide by international law.
Just three weeks ago the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said 
Israel's discrimination between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the 
West Bank was increasingly reminiscent of white South Africa's apartheid 
system. The group said Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory
"have created a situation of institutionalised discrimination and 
segregation.”
"The discrimination in services, budgets and access to natural resources 
between the two groups in the same territory constitutes a stark 
violation of the principle of equality, which is reminiscent in many and 
increasing ways of the apartheid regime that was applied in South Africa."
New Zealand should condemn Israeli brutality and support the Palestinian 
struggle. We should also celebrate the actions of Israeli activists such 
as Neta Golan who was arrested by Israeli police earlier this month for 
joining the crew of the fifth boat to break the Israeli blockade of 
Gaza, bringing much needed supplies to the territory.
It’s time for real pressure on the US and the rogue state of Israel.
ENDS






http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/788043

Police complaint received over Gaza protest
The Dominion Post
Last updated 22:33 08/01/2009
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Police are considering laying charges against a Catholic priest who 
daubed blood and paint on an Israeli monument in protest over Israel's 
invasion of Gaza.
It follows a complaint from former honorary Israeli consul in New 
Zealand David Zwartz after the Yitzhak Rabin Peace Memorial in 
Wellington was smeared with the red mixture on Wednesday.
Inspector Simon Perry of Wellington confirmed that a complaint had been 
received. It was too early to say if charges would follow.
Wellington Archbishop John Dew apologised yesterday for Father Gerard 
Burns' actions and again distanced himself and the church from Father 
Burns, who he said was acting on his own initiative.
Father Burns has defended his "symbolic action", saying it was a 
denunciation of the Israeli state, not an attack on the Jewish faith.
Archbishop Dew said: "I offer an apology for [his] actions and make this 
apology to all those who were offended at the desecration of the Rabin 
monument."
The apology came as about 20 people, led by John Minto, waved placards 
outside the Auckland Tennis Centre where Israeli Shahar Peer was 
playing, protesting against Israel's offensive and calling for her to 
withdraw from the tournament.
Police initially tried to move them from outside the tennis centre but 
Mr Minto said they had the right to protest.
After talking to Auckland Tennis management inside the centre, the 
demonstrators were allowed to continue their protest. They were moved on 
peacefully when Peer's match with Russian Elena Dementieva began in the 
early afternoon.
A lone Israeli demonstrator stood opposite the group with a sign 
reading, "Minto supports Hamas murderers. Hamas murders hope."
"I'm just supporting peace. It's as simple as that," the protester said. 
As an extra security precaution, searches were carried out at the main 
entrance and extra police were on standby.
Peer completed her singles quarterfinal without disruption yesterday. 
Peer, the No5 seed, was given a warm welcome by fans when she arrived on 
court and supporters in one corner of the stadium displayed two Israeli 
flags.
Jerusalem-born Peer, 21, was beaten 6-3, 6-1.
She did not put her loss down to the protest, which she saw when she got 
to the venue. She also had nothing to say in response to those involved.
"I'm not the government of Israel and I'm not representing Israel as a 
politician," she said. "I'm a tennis player and that's what I represent 
now."






http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/779578

NZ Palestinians protest Gaza attacks
Fairfax Media
Last updated 08:20 31/12/2008
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MICHAEL FIELD/Fairfax Media
Protesters burn a US flag in Auckland's Aotea Square as part of a 
protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Around 350 people took part in 
the protest.
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New Zealand's small Palestinian community turned out in force at a 
peaceful protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza.
About 350 people gathered outside the United States consulate in 
Auckland yesterday evening in a protest organised by veteran activist 
John Minto.
They were protesting "an unholy massacre" that had turned Palestine into 
a hellhole, he said.
"This is an appalling abuse of human rights.''
Several Palestinian speakers told the rally that Israel had used the 
Holocaust to justify its existence but was now imposing a similar fate 
on Palestinians.
Three police officers watched on.
After protesting outside the closed US consulate in Customhouse Street 
the protesters then marched up a quiet Queen Street to Aotea Square, 
where a US flag was burnt. A shoe was also displayed on a fishing rod - 
a symbol of the shoes thrown at US President George Bush by Iraqi 
journalist Muntader al-Zeidi.






http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10674312.htm

New Zealanders protest against Israel's action in Gaza

Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
WELLINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Demonstrations were staged in the New 
Zealand cities of Auckland and Christchurch on Saturday following 
Israel's attacks on Gaza, according to local media.
About 400 people took part in a protest held in Auckland, the largest 
city in the country. Some of the demonstrators threw balloons full of 
red paint at buildings, Radio New Zealand reported.
Protest spokesman John Darroch said that components made in New Zealand 
have guided the missiles that have killed and injured thousands of 
people in the Gaza Strip and millions more in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In South Island's largest city of Christchurch, more than 500 people 
took to the streets on Saturday to protest against Israel's invasion of 
Gaza.
In Dunedin city, about 100 people also took to the streets to 
demonstrate against the Israeli offensive on the same day.
The "Justice for Palestine" group and its supporters carried placards 
declaring "resistance is not terrorism" and chanting, the Radio New 
Zealand said.






http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=151078

Protests against Israel
17/01/2009 17:28:03
Protests have been held in Auckland and Christchurch today, prompted by 
the Israeli action in the Gaza Strip.
In Auckland activist Tyler Culpepper was arrested after he climbed onto 
the roof of the Rakon manufacturing facility in Mt Wellington and used 
red paint to change its signage to read Rakon kills.
Some 400 people were involved in the Auckland protest. Others among them 
threw balloons full of red paint at the building.
Protest spokesman John Darroch says components made in New Zealand have 
guided the missiles that have killed and injured thousands in the Gaza 
Strip and millions more in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr Culpepper says it 
was his intention to show Rakon helps shed blood by selling components 
to weapons companies.
A peaceful protest in Christchurch this afternoon attracted about 400 
people.





http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=151085

Protestors target Rakon
17/01/2009 18:24:09
A group of protesters has defaced the building of an Auckland 
electronics company to highlight the war in the Gaza Strip.
Christian peace activist John Darroch says Rakon Limited manufactures 
parts for guidance systems for missiles, which are sold to the Israeli 
government. He says 200 people threw water balloons with red paint in 
them, and one protestor adjusted the company's sign to say 'Rakon Kills'.
Mr Darroch says the paint poured across the Rakon building is nothing 
compared with the lives of the several hundred killed in the latest 
attack on Gaza. He says he can not sit back and do nothing when there 
are people being slaughtered.






http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/01/17/1245984bec0a

NZ Govt urges Israel, Hamas to stick to ceasefire
Updated at 10:53am on 19 January 2009
The New Zealand Government says both Israel and Hamas need to stick to 
their ceasefire commitments in order allow diplomatic negotiations to 
get underway.
Hamas has said it will cease fire immediately and give Israel, which 
already declared a unilateral truce, one week to pull its troops out of 
Gaza.
During the 22-day-long offensive, Israeli attacks killed more than 1,300 
Palestinians, including some 700 civilians, Gaza medical officials said. 
Israel said hundreds of gunmen were among the dead.
Ten Israeli soldiers were killed as well as three Israeli civilians hit 
by rockets.
Prime Minister John Key has welcomed the week-long ceasefire by Hamas, 
but said the only way forward to lasting peace in the Middle East is 
through negotiation and dialogue.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said the ceasefire needs to 
hold, to give diplomatic efforts the opportunity to get underway.
European leaders were heading to a summit with Egypt's President Hosni 
Mubarak to try to bolster the truce.
Pro-Israeli rally
About 200 people took part in a rally in Auckland on Sunday afternoon in 
support of Israel's actions.
The gathering was organised by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students 
who say the country's actions have been in self defence.
The group's co-leader Alon Meltzer says New Zealand cannot pass judgment 
as it has not experienced what it's like to constantly dodge bullets, 
bombs and the like.
He says while news of the unilateral cease-fire is undoubtedly a good 
thing, Hamas is still required to agree.
Anti-Israeli protests
A protester was arrested on Saturday afternoon at a demonstration 
outside an Auckland business said to have provided parts for Israeli bombs.
Rakon in Mount Wellington is said to manufacture crystal oscillators 
that are used in guidance systems for missiles and munitions systems.
Protester Tyler Culpepper climbed onto the building's roof, adjusting 
some signage with paint to read "Rakon kills".
He will appear in court next week on a wilful damage charge.
About 400 people took part in the protest which was organised by the 
group Global Peace and Justice.
Rakon says its products are not sold directly to the Israeli government, 
and it takes hundreds of components to build the GPS systems used in 
"smart bombs".
On Saturday, more than 500 people took to the streets in Christchurch to 
demonstrate against Israel's invasion of Gaza.
The Justice for Palestine group and its supporters marched from the 
Canterbury Museum to Cathedral Square carrying placards declaring 
"resistance is not terrorism" and chanting.
In Dunedin, about 100 people also took to the streets to demonstrate 
against the Israeli offensive.






http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/01/17/1245984b67d4

NZ electrical company focus of Gaza protest
Updated at 5:54pm on 17 January 2009
A New Zealand company which makes electrical components used in Global 
Positioning Systems was the focus of a protest on Saturday by groups 
opposed to the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
The march, organised by the group Global Peace and Justice, began in Mt 
Wellington on Saturday afternoon and ended outside the company's 
premises in Auckland.
The group's spokesperson, Mike Treen, said Rakon manufactures items used 
in targeted bombs such as those currently being used by the Israeli air 
force.
"The information we have is that it forms an important part of those 
components already," Mr Treen told Radio New Zealand.
"The company says that it seeks to be the dominant player in these 
targetting systems and already has something like 25% of the worldwide 
market so I think that's pretty clear that they are."
However, Rakon marketing manager Justin Maloney, says its products are 
not sold directly to the Israeli government and the company cannot 
logistically track all of its products to an end user.
Mr Maloney says Rakon's products are used in a wide variety of 
applications and it takes hundreds of components to build the GPS 
systems used in smart bombs.
Health officials in Gaza say at least 1,105 Palestinians have been 
killed and 5,100 wounded - many of them civilians - since Israel began 
bombarding the territory on 27 December. Israel says the bombings are in 
response to rocket attacks against its people.
Thirteen Israelis - three of them civilians - have died, while 233 
soldiers have been wounded, the Israeli army says.





http://english.sina.com/world/2009/0117/212347.html

New Zealanders protest against Israel's action in Gaza
2009-01-17 10:41:17 GMT2009-01-17 18:41:17 (Beijing Time) xinhuanet
WELLINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Demonstrations were staged in the New 
Zealand cities of Auckland and Christchurch on Saturday following 
Israel's attacks on Gaza, according to local media.
About 400 people took part in a protest held in Auckland, the largest 
city in the country. Some of the demonstrators threw balloons full of 
red paint at buildings, Radio New Zealand reported.
Protest spokesman John Darroch said that components made in New Zealand 
have guided the missiles that have killed and injured thousands of 
people in the Gaza Strip and millions more in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In South Island's largest city of Christchurch, more than 500 people 
took to the streets on Saturday to protest against Israel's invasion of 
Gaza.
In Dunedin city, about 100 people also took to the streets to 
demonstrate against the Israeli offensive on the same day.
The "Justice for Palestine" group and its supporters carried placards 
declaring "resistance is not terrorism" and chanting, the Radio New 
Zealand said.





http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/rakon-headquarters-be-site-anti-israel-protest-39607

Rakon headquarters to be site of anti-Israel protest
Niko Kloeten | Friday January 16 2009 - 01:58pm
Opponents of Israel’s military actions in Gaza have picked a new protest 
target: one of New Zealand’s most successful technology companies.
A protest march against Rakon is scheduled to begin at 3pm tomorrow and 
will travel from outside Sylvia Park to Rakon’s Mt Wellington head office.
The march will involve members of a number of groups including Global 
Peace and Justice Auckland and Citizens Against Privatisation.
While it is unclear how many people will attend the march, it will be 
the latest in a number of local protests against ‘Operation Cast Lead’, 
which some agencies estimate has killed more than 1000 Gazans.
Rakon is being targeted because of claims its GPS technology is being 
used in the missiles employed by the Israeli Defense Force in Gaza.
The company got into hot water in 2006 over company documents that 
revealed some of its crystal oscillator technology could be used in 
‘smart bombs’; however, Rakon has denied that it knows the end purposes 
these products are used for.
Rakon’s head office couldn’t be reached for comment on the protest.





http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/783969

Protestors take to streets
Fairfax Media
Last updated 11:23 06/01/2009

ROBERT KITCHIN/The Dominion Post
TAKING TO THE STREETS: Around 100 protestors took to central Wellington 
streets this afternoon.

TAKING A STAND: A protestor outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
Trade office in Lambton Quay before the march began at 12.30pm.
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Around 100 protestors have taken to central Wellington streets this 
afternoon in a march aiming to push the Government into taking a 
stronger stand against Israel's attacks on Gaza.
Protestors began marching at 12.30pm from the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and Trade office in Lambton Quay and headed to a memorial 
monument for former Israeli leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Yitzhak 
Rabin, near Civic Square, for speeches.
The protest action in Wellington comes as Israeli tanks, planes and 
ground forces continue to pound Gaza, in the 10th day of action. 
Israel's defence minister has warned that the offensive against Hamas 
militants in the Palestinian enclave will go on until Israel was safe.
The march - destined to end at Parliament - followed Green Party foreign 
affairs spokesman Keith Locke's call for the New Zealand Government to 
take a stronger stand against the attacks.
"It is horrendous what is happening there," he said this afternoon.
"It is a war crime to attack civilian targets and destroy buildings and 
cause the deaths of innocent civilians.
"If it was done in this country, there would be outrage, it would be 
called terrorism and we want our government to tell it like it is; that 
war crimes and terrorism are being used in the attacks on the people in 
Gaza today."
At the memorial today, Wellington Palestinian Group spokesman Don Carson 
criticised the lack of Government response, calling it weak and 
one-sided, and urged it to enter talks with Hamas. "Let's send a message 
to our politicians to damn well do something," he said.
Father Gerard Burn then sprinkled red paint, mixed with a drop of his 
own blood, on the monument to mark the killing of hundreds of 
Palestinians and the seizure of their land.
As the crowd gathered, chants of "They kill, they lie but Palestine will 
never die", "Allahu Akhbar" and "Free, free Palestine".
Palestinian Ihab Almawajah, 19, told Stuff.co.nz that he had a cousin 
killed in the first of the Israeli strikes in Gaza. "It's not fair on 
innocent people ... We hope the world understands that all Palestine 
wants is peace."
Lebanese man Ziad Wakim, 23, said: "Stop the occupation of Palestine, 
give the right for Palestinians to go back home to their homeland and 
stop the bombing."
"They talk too much about he six million Jews killed in Nazi camps and 
concentration camps. What about the 60 years of occupation. How many 
Palestinians have been killed since," Mr Wakim asked.
"If you talk about other liberators in the past ... William Wallace, of 
Scotland, George Washington, of America, were they terrorists? Well they 
had the freedom to free their land and now we are seeing Palestinians 
free their land."
However, Aucklander Brian Sheehy was a lone voice in opposition to the 
passionate protests.
"What about the Israelis," he shouted, despite abuse from the protestors.
"These people are complaining about Israel attacking them, but what 
about Israel being attacked? Do they not have a right to defend 
themselves? I say that we should be marching for the Israelites as well.
"Israel has gone in because they warned them for ages that, if they 
continue to bomb them, they'll go in and deal to it. They're not dealing 
to the Palestinians, they're dealing to the Hamas and Hizbollah. So, at 
the end of the day, there's going to be collateral damage anyway, that's 
what war is all about and it's a matter of them protecting their own so 
go for it Israel."
Mr Sheehy defended the innocent casualties as collateral damage.
"The Hamas are shooting rockets into Israel and they have absolutely no 
idea where they are landing so they can do as much damage as they like 
it appears and Israel is not allowed to defend themselves ... this is a 
ridiculous scenario.
"They not going to be pushed around like they have for centuries, 
slaughtered by everybody and hated by everybody but they do have a right 
to defend themselves and they will."
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said earlier that the 
Government had called on both sides of the conflict to accept an 
immediate ceasefire.
"The New Zealand Government is not prepared to choose sides in the 
conflict in the manner that Mr Locke suggests. Both sides need to step 
back from the brink."
Labour leader Phil Goff deplored the increasing toll. "The appalling 
death toll and injury rate overwhelmingly involves civilians, innocent 
of playing any part in the causes of the conflict.
"Neither those firing the Hamas rockets nor those who have launched the 
disproportionate response, resulting in the deaths of more than 400 
people in Gaza, can escape condemnation for their actions." He said the 
best prospect for finding a solution remained international agreement to 
end the conflict.
"Notwithstanding that its first priority will be to address financial 
and economic problems at home, I hope that the Obama administration can 
bring fresh ideas and determination to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict," Mr Goff said.
- with NZPA





http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10550835&ref=rss

NZ priest stands by bloody Gaza protest
12:47PM Wednesday Jan 07, 2009
A Catholic priest who splattered a mixture of his blood and paint on an 
Israeli memorial plaque during a protest yesterday said it was a 
symbolic act and nothing compared to the killing taking place in Gaza.
About 1000 people marched through central Wellington protesting against 
Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza and calling on the New Zealand 
Government to end its neutral stance.
Father Gerard Burns, the parish priest of Te Parisi o te Ngakau Tapu in 
Porirua, was one of the protest leaders and smeared the blood and paint 
on the Yitzhak Rabin peace memorial.
Mr Rabin was prime minister of Israel from 1974-1977 and again from 
1992-1995. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 and was assassinated by 
a right-wing Israeli radical in 1995.
Kiwi Friends of Israel called for Father Burns to apologise for his actions.
"Kiwi Friends of Israel strongly supports the right of all New 
Zealanders to have a robust debate on the rights and wrongs of Israel's 
policies but attacking peace memorials isn't legitimate behaviour.
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"The desecration is doubly contemptible given Mr Rabin's lifelong 
commitment to peace and stability in Israel and Palestine."
Father Burns does not agree Mr Rabin's commitment to peace was 
"lifelong", but rather he "converted" to peace later in life.
The paint was a "symbolic action" and a "denunciation of the (Israeli) 
state, not an attack on the Jewish faith.
"I have a great esteem for the Jewish faith. I mean the founder of 
Christianity was Jewish ... but, the Israeli state is another beast 
altogether."
The prophets of Judaism would be criticising Israel's actions, Father 
Burns said.
An Israeli flag was also burnt at the protest.
There was no comparison between the burning of a flag, or painting of a 
monument and the killing taking place in Gaza, he said.
As for the New Zealand Government's response, Father Burns believes "not 
taking a side is taking a side. It's to say you accept what's going on".
He said despite being a small country New Zealand had shown in the past, 
with opposition to South African rugby tours (during the apartheid era), 
banning of cluster bombs and anti-nuclear stance, that it could spark 
global change.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said earlier the Government was 
not prepared to choose sides.
He said the Government's stance was in line with the international 
community, including the United Nations and European Union.
Father Burns did not find it strange that a New Zealand Catholic priest 
should take a stand against an Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"One of the people that I am very keen to support is the Christian 
Palestinians. It's not just Jews against Muslims. It's a political war 
with some religious implications.
"Denouncing injustice is a priestly role ... I might be failing in my 
duty if I didn't do it."
Catholic Church spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer told The New Zealand Herald 
priests were entitled to their individual views.
The New Zealand church's stance echoed Pope Benedict's address last week.
"We feel that in the interests of peace and dignity dialogue must take 
place, and the killing must stop, from both sides."
New Zealand's Tertiary Education Union (TEU) today called on the Israeli 
and Palestinian governments to "respect the peaceful role that education 
institutions play in communities" and keep war out of Palestine's 
schools and tertiary education institutions.
Their call follows the bombing of a Gaza school yesterday that killed 
over 40 people.
- NZPA





http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200901060226DOWJONESDJONLINE000084_univ.xml

Over Thousand Protest In New Zealand Capital Against Gaza Attack1-6-09 
2:26 AM EST | E-mail Article | Print Article
WELLINGTON (AFP)--More than 1,000 demonstrators marched through the 
center of New Zealand's capital Wellington Tuesday to protest Israel's 
attack on Gaza.
The protesters called on the New Zealand government to end its neutral 
stance on the conflict.
Israel's air and ground attacks on Gaza in retaliation for rocket 
attacks has killed at least 560 Palestinians, according to doctors in 
the territory.
Speaking to the protesters, Green Party legislator Keith Locke said the 
people of New Zealand wanted their government to take action.
"What we have to do is not sit on the sidelines," he said. "We must be 
part of a coalition of the peaceful in this world."
Police said there was no trouble from the chanting and clapping 
marchers, who delivered a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
Trade.
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said earlier the 
government wasn't prepared to choose sides in the conflict.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman and former prime minister Helen 
Clark said she was concerned the U.N. Security Council had been unable 
to agree on a further call for a ceasefire in the conflict.
"There is no road to peace between Israel and the Palestinians through 
this conflict in Gaza, but rather a deepening polarization between the 
two sides which makes it even more difficult for a long-term settlement 
to be achieved," Clark said.





http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/01/06/124597a3d8b3

Priest unrepentant over protest action
Updated at 4:27pm on 7 January 2009
A Catholic priest in Wellington says he is unrepentant about smearing a 
mixture of his own blood and paint on an Israeli memorial on Tuesday.
The memorial to the former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was 
attacked after a protest by a pro-Palestinian group about the invasion 
of Gaza city.
Father Gerard Burns spilt a mix of paint and blood on the Rabin memorial.
The act has outraged Kiwi Friends of Israel, which is calling for an 
apology. A spokesperson for the organisation, Ed Brownlee, says Father 
Burns' actions are doubly contemptible because Mr Rabin was an advocate 
for peace and stability in the Middle East.
However, Father Burns says he disputes the former prime minister's 
commitment to a lasting peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
Tuesday's protest march through the capital drew several hundred highly 
emotional and angry Palestinian supporters, who carried banners 
condemning Israel's attack on Gaza.
A handful of pro-Israeli supporters were also present.





http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10550698&ref=rss

Protesters call on NZ Govt to oppose Gaza attacks
2:36PM Tuesday Jan 06, 2009

Israel has vowed to continue its attack on Gaza until 'peace and 
tranquility' has been restored. Photo / AP

Over 1000 Palestinian supporters marched through central Wellington 
today in protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
They were protesting against Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza 
and called on the New Zealand Government to end its neutral stance.
Gaza health officials reported that since the campaign began on Dec. 27 
more than 550 Palestinians have been killed and 2,500 wounded, including 
200 civilians
Speaking to march supporters today, Green MP Keith Locke said the people 
of New Zealand wanted their Government to take action.
He said the Government was hypocritical if it did not speak up against 
the "terrorist attacks" on the people of Gaza.
"Our Government should speak the truth.
"What we have to do is not sit on the sidelines ... we must be part of a 
coalition of the peaceful in this world."
The protesters delivered a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
Trade office on Lambton Quay and marched to Civic Square chanting to a 
drum beat, clapping and waving signs.
Advertisement Advertisement
The group included business people on lunch breaks, students and families.
Inspector Simon Perry said the group was well behaved, had liaised with 
police prior to the march and had stuck to the bus lanes.
He said the group was "considerably larger" than expected.
Protest spokeswoman Serena Moran said "most other governments" had 
condemned the Israeli invasion.
"(Foreign Affairs Minister) Murray McCully is washing his hands of the 
horrendous Palestinian suffering in Gaza."
Mr McCully said earlier the Government "is not prepared to choose sides".
Mr McCully said the Government's stance was in line with the 
international community, including the United Nations and European Union.
Labour's foreign affairs spokeswoman Helen Clark expressed concern that 
the United Nations Security Council had been unable to agree on a 
further call for a ceasefire to hostilities in Gaza.
"There is no road to peace between Israel and the Palestinians through 
this conflict in Gaza, but rather a deepening polarisation between the 
two sides which makes it even more difficult for a long term settlement 
to be achieved."
Israel today ignored mounting international calls for a cease-fire, 
saying it wouldn't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and 
tranquility' are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of 
Palestinian rocket fire.
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand said it had "deep 
concern" about the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
It called on the Government and other world leaders to "come out 
strongly to censure Israel".
New Zealand's current stance was "shameful", it said.
Waikato Jewish Association spokesman Beni Tobias said the Israeli 
government was doing what was necessary to protect its citizens, and 
that its actions were justified by international law.
- NZPA, AP





http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/784873

Protest in Wellington over Gaza attacks
Stuff.co.nz
Last updated 11:23 06/01/2009
Around 100 protestors have taken to central Wellington streets this 
afternoon in a march aiming to push the Government into taking a 
stronger stand against Israel's attacks on Gaza.
Protestors began marching at 12.30pm from the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and Trade office in Lambton Quay and headed to a memorial 
monument for former Israeli leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Yitzhak 
Rabin, near Civic Square, for speeches.
The protest action in Wellington comes as Israeli tanks, planes and 
ground forces continue to pound Gaza, in the 10th day of action. 
Israel's defence minister has warned that the offensive against Hamas 
militants in the Palestinian enclave will go on until Israel was safe.
The march - destined to end at Parliament - followed Green Party foreign 
affairs spokesman Keith Locke's call for the New Zealand Government to 
take a stronger stand against the attacks.
"It is horrendous what is happening there," he said this afternoon.
"It is a war crime to attack civilian targets and destroy buildings and 
cause the deaths of innocent civilians.
"If it was done in this country, there would be outrage, it would be 
called terrorism and we want our government to tell it like it is; that 
war crimes and terrorism are being used in the attacks on the people in 
Gaza today."
At the memorial today, Wellington Palestinian Group spokesman Don Carson 
criticised the lack of Government response, calling it weak and 
one-sided, and urged it to enter talks with Hamas. "Let's send a message 
to our politicians to damn well do something," he said.
Father Gerard Burn then sprinkled red paint, mixed with a drop of his 
own blood, on the monument to mark the killing of hundreds of 
Palestinians and the seizure of their land.
As the crowd gathered, chants of "They kill, they lie but Palestine will 
never die", "Allahu Akhbar" and "Free, free Palestine".
Palestinian Ihab Almawajah, 19, told Stuff.co.nz that he had a cousin 
killed in the first of the Israeli strikes in Gaza. "It's not fair on 
innocent people ... We hope the world understands that all Palestine 
wants is peace."
Lebanese man Ziad Wakim, 23, said: "Stop the occupation of Palestine, 
give the right for Palestinians to go back home to their homeland and 
stop the bombing."
"They talk too much about he six million Jews killed in Nazi camps and 
concentration camps. What about the 60 years of occupation. How many 
Palestinians have been killed since," Mr Wakim asked.
"If you talk about other liberators in the past ... William Wallace, of 
Scotland, George Washington, of America, were they terrorists? Well they 
had the freedom to free their land and now we are seeing Palestinians 
free their land."
However, Aucklander Brian Sheehy was a lone voice in opposition to the 
passionate protests.
"What about the Israelis," he shouted, despite abuse from the protestors.
"These people are complaining about Israel attacking them, but what 
about Israel being attacked? Do they not have a right to defend 
themselves? I say that we should be marching for the Israelites as well.
"Israel has gone in because they warned them for ages that, if they 
continue to bomb them, they'll go in and deal to it. They're not dealing 
to the Palestinians, they're dealing to the Hamas and Hizbollah. So, at 
the end of the day, there's going to be collateral damage anyway, that's 
what war is all about and it's a matter of them protecting their own so 
go for it Israel."
Mr Sheehy defended the innocent casualties as collateral damage.
"The Hamas are shooting rockets into Israel and they have absolutely no 
idea where they are landing so they can do as much damage as they like 
it appears and Israel is not allowed to defend themselves ... this is a 
ridiculous scenario.
"They not going to be pushed around like they have for centuries, 
slaughtered by everybody and hated by everybody but they do have a right 
to defend themselves and they will."
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said earlier that the 
Government had called on both sides of the conflict to accept an 
immediate ceasefire.
"The New Zealand Government is not prepared to choose sides in the 
conflict in the manner that Mr Locke suggests. Both sides need to step 
back from the brink."
Labour leader Phil Goff deplored the increasing toll. "The appalling 
death toll and injury rate overwhelmingly involves civilians, innocent 
of playing any part in the causes of the conflict.
"Neither those firing the Hamas rockets nor those who have launched the 
disproportionate response, resulting in the deaths of more than 400 
people in Gaza, can escape condemnation for their actions." He said the 
best prospect for finding a solution remained international agreement to 
end the conflict.
"Notwithstanding that its first priority will be to address financial 
and economic problems at home, I hope that the Obama administration can 
bring fresh ideas and determination to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict," Mr Goff said.
- with NZPA





http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/06/content_10611748.htm

New Zealanders protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza

By Huang Xingwei
WELLINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1,000 Palestinian supporters in 
New Zealand marched in central Wellington on Tuesday, protesting against 
Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza and called on the New Zealand 
government to end its neutral stance.
The Wellington Palestine Group delivered a letter to the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and Trade, attacking the government's position of 
"taking no side" on the crisis.
While the government is supporting calls for an end to the conflict 
between Israel and Hamas, the group said it has stopped short at 
condemning the ground invasion of Gaza by Israel.
In the letter, the group called for the credentials of the Israeli 
ambassador to be revoked and for New Zealand to cut all ties with Israel.
New Zealand was jeopardizing a seat on the United Nations' Human Rights 
Council, march organizers said.
The protesters said the people of New Zealand wanted their government to 
take actions on it.
Protesters began marching at 12:30 p.m. local time from the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and Trade office in Lambton Quay and headed to a 
memorial monument for former Israeli leader and Nobel Peace Laureate 
Yitzhak Rabin, near Civic Square, chanting to a drum beat, clapping and 
waving signs.
The protest action in Wellington came as Israeli tanks, planes and 
ground forces continue to pound Gaza, in the 10th day of action. 
Israel's defense minister has warned that the offensive against Hamas 
militants in the Palestinian enclave will go on until Israel was safe.
At the memorial, Wellington Palestinian Group spokesman Don Carson said, 
"Let's send a message to our politicians to do something."
Father Gerard Burn then sprinkled red paint, mixed with a drop of his 
own blood, on the monument to mark the killing of hundreds of 
Palestinians and the seizure of their land.
As the crowd gathered, they chanted "They kill, they lie but Palestine 
will never die", "Allahu Akhbar" and "Free, free Palestine".
Palestinian Ihab Almawajah, 19, said his cousin was killed in the first 
of the Israeli strikes in Gaza. "It's not fair on innocent people ... We 
hope the world understands that all Palestine wants is peace."
Protest spokeswoman Serena Moran said, "most other governments" had 
condemned the Israel's invasion.
In a related development, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully 
said earlier that the government had called on both sides of the 
conflict to accept an immediate ceasefire.
"The New Zealand government is not prepared to choose sides in the 
conflict in the manner that Mr Locke suggests. Both sides need to step 
back from the brink."
Labour leader Phil Goff deplored the increasing toll, saying "the 
appalling death toll and injury rate overwhelmingly involves civilians, 
innocent of playing any part in the causes of the conflict."
"Neither those firing the Hamas rockets nor those who have launched the 
disproportionate response, resulting in the deaths of more than 400 
people in Gaza, can escape condemnation for their actions."
He said the best prospect for finding a solution remained international 
agreement to end the conflict.
Labor Party's foreign affairs spokeswoman Helen Clark expressed concern 
that the United Nations Security Council had been unable to agree on a 
further call for a ceasefire to hostilities in Gaza.
"There is no road to peace between Israel and the Palestinians through 
this conflict in Gaza, but rather a deepening polarization between the 
two sides which makes it even more difficult for a long term settlement 
to be achieved."
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand said that it had 
"deep concern" about the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
It called on the government and other countries' leaders to "come out 
strongly to censure Israel".






http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0901/S00005.htm

Stop the massacre in Gaza: Protest 6 January Wgtn
Friday, 2 January 2009, 3:43 pm
Press Release: Wellington Palestine Group
Stop the massacre in Gaza: Protest 6 January and other events in Wellington
The Wellington Palestine Group has organized the following events in 
Wellington to protest the Israeli massacre of Palestinians currently 
taking place in Gaza.
Please forward this information to your networks and come to the events 
with banners, placards and huge amounts of solidarity for the 
Palestinian people who continue to suffer under a brutal Israeli 
Military Occupation.






http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0901/S00054.htm

Welington Palestine Group - Rabin memorial protest
Saturday, 10 January 2009, 5:17 pm
Press Release: Wellington Palestine Group
The Wellington Palestine Group states that it was collectively 
responsible for the action which Gerard Burns undertook at the Yitzak 
Rabin Memorial in Wellington on Tuesday. Gerard Burns courageously 
carried out the symbolic act which was prepared and planned by the Group.
Wellington Palestine Group spokesperson Omar Khamoun says “we chose this 
memorial in Wellington as the object of our protest to highlight the 
long trajectory of Palestinian dispossession and suffering, which former 
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was party to”.
Khamoun says “Israeli historians document Rabin’s war crimes including 
the key role he played in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the 
districts of Lydda and Ramleh in 1948; his leading of Israeli forces in 
the 1967 occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan 
Heights. He is also infamous for his "broken bones policy" which openly 
encouraged breaking bones of peaceful Palestinian demonstrators during 
the first Intifada”
The memorial which was placed in Wellington in 2000 without public 
consultation is sponsored by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). Khamoun 
says “The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is a racist organisation that 
administers the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by managing land stolen 
from the Palestinians for the exclusive benefit of the Israeli Jewish 
population.”
The group also chose the memorial to illustrate the insidiousness of the 
international public relations campaign waged by Israel creating 
mythical stories of figures like Rabin as peacemakers. “Rabin was never 
a peacemaker. Even after the signing of Oslo, he declared in front of 
the Israeli parliament that Israel will get peace without conceding 
anything”. Khamoun says.
The Wellington Palestine Group supports a solution to the 
Palestine/Israel question based on UN resolutions 242 and 194, but it 
sees this becoming increasingly difficult because of Israeli settlements 
and ongoing military repression.
Vatican justice and peace minister Cardinal Renato Martino described 
Gaza yesterday as “increasingly resembl[ing] a big concentration camp.” 
The military history of Rabin and the present bombing of Gaza make 
“spilling blood” on Rabin’s plaque entirely appropriate.
If the newly founded ‘Kiwi Friends of Israel’ are so offended by a drop 
of blood mixed with water soluble paint, then they should be outraged by 
the rivers of blood flowing in the streets, mosques, schools and 
hospitals of Gaza. What is really being desecrated, a stone monument or 
the sacredness of real lives?






http://tvnz.co.nz/content/2437667

Anger mounts in Akld streets at Gaza violence
Published: 2:26PM Saturday January 10, 2009
Source: ONE News/Newstalk ZB
Anger mounts as a large crowd marched in central Auckland on Saturday 
afternoon to protest at Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip.
It was a peaceful protest but many were very clearly angry as over 1000 
marched down Queen Street in Auckland.
The crowd moved from Aotea Square to the US Consulate in Customs Street 
where they made their feelings about continued US support of Israel very 
clear with chants of "Long Live Palestine" and "Israel/USA how many kids 
have you killed today?"
At the consulate they hurled boots and shoes at the building.
"Shoes are... they've become a symbol of opposition to US and Israeli 
policies in the Middle East," says veteran activist and protest 
organiser John Minto.
Minto says the the march has made New Zealand the first country to stage 
a protest march on Saturday in an international day of action to 
mobilise the world against what he calls the Israeli massacre of civilians.
The march also had a noticeable presence from New Zealand Muslims.
Some of those marching had a peaceful message while others were less 
diplomatic.
"People have to have the understanding that we're not gonna let it 
happen we don't want it to happen," says one protester.
The march is the latest in a number of protests around the country over 
the past two weeks in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip but this 
time the numbers are greater, the language stronger and the demands more 
emphatic.
"We need to keep this pressure up now until it ends!" says another 
protester.
However among the anger there is also a moments' silence for peace.
The fighting in the Middle East may be half a world away but for many it 
felt very close to home.





http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=150719

Protestors use controversial line
10/01/2009 17:24:04
Traffic came to a standstill on Queen Street this afternoon as 
protestors lay down to show they are against Israel's actions in the 
Gaza Strip. They also pelted the Unites States' Consulate building in 
Customs Street with footwear.
Marcher Ali Bakarat hopes New Zealanders support Palestine, which has 
become the scene of what he says are unnecessary killings. He says 800 
people have been killed, and between 50 and 70 percent have been women 
and children. Mr Bakarat says more than 1.9 million people live in the 
Gaza Strip, which is smaller than Auckland city. About 300 people took 
part in the Auckland protest.
A spokesman for the newly-formed group Kiwi Friends of Israel, Ed 
Brownlee, says the protesters have been chanting 'god is great' in 
Arabic, which traditionally is non-controversial. But he says more 
recently the term has been associated with terrorist groups. Mr Brownlee 
says he supports a free and strong Israel, and a ceasefire should be 
based on Hamas stopping its terrorist actions.





http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1452649.php/Record_anti-Israel_protest_claimed_in_New_Zealand_

Record anti-Israel protest claimed in New Zealand
Middle East News
Jan 10, 2009, 2:50 GMT
Wellington - About 500 protestors burned an Israel flag and threw shoes 
at the United States consulate in Auckland Saturday in what the 
organizer claimed was New Zealand's largest pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Some wore Palestinian flags and held placards of dead and mutilated 
children as they marched through the city centre chanting, 'How many 
kids have you killed today, Israel, USA?' Radio New Zealand reported.
Protest organizer John Minto said it was the first protest march on an 
international day of action to mobilise the world against what he called 
the Israeli massacre of civilians in Gaza.
He called on the New Zealand government to condemn Israel's actions in 
the conflict.
Ed Brownlee, from the organization Kiwi Friends of Israel, accused some 
of the demonstrators of supporting terrorism.





http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/790095

Protestors swarm central Auckland (+photos)
Stuff.co.nz
Last updated 14:32 10/01/2009

Crowds of protestors swarmed central Auckland today in defiance of 
Israel's attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
The rally, which attracted around 500 people, began in Aotea Square at 
noon and ended at the United States consulate in Customs Street.
Auckland police Senior Sergeant Gary Barber said those involved with the 
protest had been surprisingly well behaved.
"There was a small incident where a protestor ran up to someone holding 
an Israeli flag and took off with it into the crowd, but that was the 
worst of it."
There was also a symbolic throwing of shoes at the United States 
consulate, he said.
Auckland resident Malcom Evans said he was attending the demonstration 
to express his solidarity with those who found the activities of Israel 
abhorrent.
"Zionism and apartheid have no difference," he said.
"We need to express our indignation the same way we did when South 
Africa practised their hateful regime."
Speeches crackled across the loud speakers at Aotea Square, as protest 
organiser John Minto, Green MP Keith Locke and other members of the 
Palestinian community addressed the growing crowd.
Monitored by around a dozen police, organisers handed out petition forms 
and leaflets detailing Israeli products which it encouraged people to 
boycott.
Dorothy, a Whangaparoa resident who didn't want her last name published, 
was one of the first to arrive at the protest.
She stood clasping a large board bearing the pictures of women and 
children caught in the conflict.
"I'm a grandmother and a mother and the slaughter of innocent woman and 
children brings me here today. My heart goes out to all of them," she said.
Locke, who spoke in support of Gaza at the rally, said he wished more of 
his colleagues had turned out to support the demonstration.
"The Green Party thinks it is vitally important that our government 
takes a much stronger stance on these attacks," he said.
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"What Israel has done in Gaza is totally unacceptable."
He said Israel had taken the weak response from other countries around 
the world as a green light to continue their aggression.
Peter Bolot attended the demonstration in defiance of the protest 
against Israel.
Mr Bolot said he worked as a dentist in a free clinic in Jerusalem, and 
treated both Arabs and Jews.
He was disdainful of today’s rally, saying it a gathering of uniformed 
people, fuelled by inaccurate and one-sided reports of the conflict in 
the New Zealand media.
He said Hamas should stop hiding behind innocents.
"What I have a problem with is this one sided attack from people who 
hide behind woman and children."





http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=150397

Protestors target Israel
03/01/2009 15:12:14
Protesters in central Auckland this afternoon have a message for Israel. 
The Palestine Human Rights Campaign is calling for a stop to the attacks 
on the Gaza Strip, saying they are no different from Nazi Germany's 
action against Jews in the 1930s.
More than 50 people gathered at the harbour end of Queen Street holding 
signs and banners opposing Israel's recent military attacks. Some were 
Palestinians living in New Zealand, while others simply wanted to show 
support for their cause.






http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2446490,00.html

100s protest at Israeli embassy
28/12/2008 21:06 - (SA) London - Police say an estimated 700 
demonstrators are protesting outside the Israeli Embassy in London 
against Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
The Metropolitan Police said three people have been arrested so far in 
connection with the protest on Sunday near the embassy in London's 
Kensington neighbourhood.
Some 280 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's campaign, which 
started on Saturday. The Israeli army says its assault is aimed at 
stopping Palestinian militants from launching rocket and mortar attacks 
into Israel.
Anti-Israeli protests have swept through cities in the Middle East. From 
Lebanon to Iran, Israel's adversaries marshalled crowds out onto the 
streets for noisy demonstrations against the attacks.
- AP





http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2008/12/29/12438686944b

Auckland protest over bombings
Updated at 3:14pm on 29 December 2008
A protest against the Israeli raids on Gaza is being organised in 
Auckland on Tuesday.
Global Peace and Justice Auckland will demonstrate outside the United 
States consulate at 4pm.
The group says the United States has given its unconditional backing to 
the Israeli government in these attacks. It is calling on the New 
Zealand government to condemn the attacks.