[Onthebarricades] GAZA PROTESTS, Dec 08-Jan 09 - Global
global resistance roundup
onthebarricades at lists.resist.ca
Sat Oct 31 19:07:48 PDT 2009
Global roundups of the protests against the Gaza onslaught
Also:
* Global human rights group condemns Israeli slaughter
* Raid Gaza! game satirises Israeli aggression
* Protest and dialogue in Second Life Israel
* Dozens protest in Second Life
* Army, NATO sites hacked
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=29463
First Published 2008-12-31
Paris protests
Protesters worldwide express anger at Israel
Demonstrations around world denounce Israel's deadly bombardment of Gaza
Strip.
PARIS - Protesters denouncing Israel's deadly bombardment of the Gaza
Strip returned to the streets Tuesday in demonstrations around the world
to keep up the pressure for an end to the violence.
As Israel, under increasing diplomatic pressure, mulled a proposed
48-hour truce and the death toll from its onslaught rose to at least 373
Palestinians, the protesters made their voices heard again.
In France, more than 7,000 protesters marched in a dozen cities across
the country to denounce the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which
continued for the fourth day running Tuesday.
In Paris, around 3,500 people according to police -- 5,000 according to
the organisers -- marched towards the French foreign ministry on the
Quai D'Orsay by the River Seine, shouting slogans and carrying banners
denouncing Israel.
Police said another 700 marched in the western city of Nantes, while
demonstrations in at least a dozen cities and towns across the country
each attracted hundreds of protesters.
In London, between 200 and 300 demonstrators protested peacefully
outside the Israeli embassy, after the two previous days' rallies had
descended into violence.
This demonstration was smaller than on Sunday and Monday, when scuffles
erupted between police and protestors against Israel's air raids,
leading to a total of 17 arrests over the two days.
Iranian demonstrators stormed the British diplomatic compound in Tehran
Tuesday evening to protest London's stance towards the Israeli
onslaught, state news agency IRNA reported.
"A large group of people and students entered the Gholhak gardens, which
are occupied by the British embassy to protest at Britain's policies in
supporting the Zionist regime and put up the Palestinian flag there,"
IRNA said.
A media officer at the British embassy in Tehran confirmed the report.
In Washington, around 200 people protested outside the US State
Department chanting slogans like "Stop the Killing, Stop the War, Stop
the Genocide of Palestinians" and with some carrying banners saying
"Stop US Aid to Israel".
In Tunis, hundreds of lawyers and trade unionists joined opposition
activists to defy a police ban and protest the bombing of Gaza, several
sources reported.
As some protesters shouted slogans denouncing the lack of response from
Arab countries in general and Egypt in particular, police headed off the
demonstration as it headed towards the courthouse, said witnesses.
Tunisia's government has already condemned the Israeli bombardment of
the Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia's interior ministry denied a report by Shiite news website
Rasid.com that hundreds had demonstrated Monday afternoon in heavily
Shiite Al Qatif, just west of Dammam, leading to several arrests.
Shiite news website Rasid.com reported that police had fired rubber
bullets to break up the demonstrations Monday afternoon, which were
attended by hundreds of people. But an interior ministry spokesman said
there had been no such demonstration.
Demonstrators in the Yemeni port city of Aden briefly broke into the
Egyptian consulate to protest Cairo's response to the Israeli offensive,
a security official said.
The protesters, mostly students from the university of Aden, "vandalised
furniture before they were removed peacefully from the building," the
official said, asking not to be identified.
Egypt has come in for strong criticism from its own population and
people around the Muslim world for not fully opening its border with
Gaza in the face of Israel's devastating air blitz.
In Algeria, about 100 people staged a protest in the capital Algiers
after a call from politicians and editors of writers' and artists'
magazines. They observed a minute's silence in memory of the dead.
In Panama City, around 200 people protested outside the Israeli embassy
to condemn Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.
In the Bulgarian capital Sofia, about 200 protesters called on the
Bulgarian government to support the peace efforts. Demonstrators carried
pro-Palestinian banners and others denouncing Israel.
Earlier Tuesday, about 200 people carrying flowers and candles offered a
one-minute prayer in front of the Israeli embassy, with a Buddhist monk
ringing a bell for the souls of the victims.
"This is nothing but a bloodbath," organiser Hiroshi Taniyama told
demonstrators.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Global_protests_against_Gaza_attack/rssarticleshow/3915869.cms
From Mideast to Europe, protests swell
31 Dec 2008, 0103 hrs IST, AGENCIES
BEIRUT: From Mideast countries to European capitals, protesters took to
the streets to condemn Israel's assault on Gaza that has so far left
more than 364 people dead, wounded hundreds more and reduced dozens of
buildings to rubble.
By far the largest protest in the Arab world - where outrage over
Israel's air strikes continued into a third day - took place in Lebanon,
with tens of thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah supporters standing under
pouring rain.
There were also rallies on Monday in Egypt, Sudan, and Iraq.
The street protests have been far stronger in condemnation of Israel
than Arab governments, particularly those allied with the United States.
Egypt has criticised the attack and called for a cease fire but it and
other US allies like Saudi Arabia and Jordan are also weary of Hamas.
The Arab nations have long dropped the military option as a means for
settling the Arab-Israeli conflict and support the Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas. They have criticised Hamas's use of rockets and suicide
bombings.
UN chief Ban-Ki-Moon also criticized the world leaders for not doing
enough to stop the situation from deteriorating.
Ban expressed alarm over the current escalation and urged the world and
regional leaders to take steps to stop the carnage. But beyond issuing
statement and talking to leaders, Ban can do little as it is for the
Security Council, where the US has veto, to take any action.
In Greece, a mixed group of about 300 protesters threw rocks at the
Israeli embassy in Athens and scuffled with police during a
demonstration organized by the Greek communist party.
In London, some 600 protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy
waving flags. In Berlin, about 2,000 Palestinians and their supporters
formed a protest. They held Palestinian flags and chanted slogans
against Israel.
http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Egypt/238928
Thousands protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza
Posted: 28-12-2008 , 15:48 GMT
Crowds of thousands swept into the streets of cities around the Middle
East on Sunday to denounce Israel's massive assault on the Gaza Strip.
Several of Sunday's protests turned violent. In Lebanon, police fired
tear gas to stop dozens of demonstrators from reaching the Egyptian
Embassy. Some in the crowd hurled stones at the embassy compound. Hamas
representative in Beirut Osama Hamdan told the crowd that his movement
had no choice but to fight. "We have one alternative which is to be
steadfast and resist and then we will be victorious," Hamdan said.
In the capital of Syria, more than 5,000 people marched toward the
central Youssef al-Azmeh square, where they burned an Israeli and an
American flag.
In Amman, Jordan, about 5,000 lawyers marched toward parliament to
demand the Israeli ambassador's expulsion and the closure of the
embassy. "No for peace, yes to the rifle," they chanted. The U.S.
Embassy in Jordan warned Americans to avoid areas of demonstrations.
In Dubai, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the Palestinian consulate.
In Egypt, more than 50,000 people took to the streets of a number of
cities. The largest protest saw some 8,000 people demonstrate on the
streets of Assiut, a city in southern Egypt, a security official said,
with another 3,000 gathering in Minya, south of Cairo.
According to AFP, a security official said 4,000 people took part in
another anti-Israel and pro-Gaza demonstration in the Mediterranean port
city of Alexandria, the security official said. Another 4,000 people
rallied outside the Doctors' Syndicate in the capital against the
Israeli onslaught.
Eight thousand people demonstrated at Cairo University, with another
5,000 involved in another demonstration at Ein Shams University, outside
the capital.
A security official said that many of the demonstrations were started by
members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/12/29/world.protests.gaza/index.html
December 29, 2008 -- Updated 2345 GMT (0745 HKT)
World rallies around Palestinians amid Gaza offensive
• Story Highlights
• Protests reported in Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Britain and Venezuela
• In Iraq, demonstrators set fire to Israeli flag, photo of President Bush
• Hezbollah leader speaks via satellite to protesters in Beirut, Lebanon
• Greek protesters hurl stones outside Israeli Embassy; police fire tear gas
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Israeli attacks on suspected Hamas strongholds
in Gaza have triggered protests in more than a dozen countries.
A girl in Caracas, Venezuela, holds a sign reading, "No more massacre in
Gaza" at Israel's embassy Monday.
The attacks entered their third day Monday, with more than 300 people in
Gaza reported killed and hundreds more wounded. Israel says the military
assault is in response to ongoing rocket strikes on Israel, which have
killed two Israelis.
In London, England, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Israeli
Embassy, waving flags and trying to push their way closer to the
building, as police tried to hold them back and erect a barricade.
Police in Germany said about 2,000 protesters marched peacefully down
Berlin's Kurfuerstendamm Boulevard and dispersed after about three
hours. Watch protesters push toward embassy »
Protesters also have taken to the streets in Denmark, France, Italy and
Spain, according to news reports. There also were reports of
demonstrations in Caracas, Venezuela.
Iranian media reported that thousands took part in anti-Israel
demonstrations in Tehran on Monday, which the government declared a day
of mourning for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Photographs of the rallies posted by Iran's semi-official Fars News
Agency showed black-shrouded women and men holding shoes in the air --
widely considered an insult in the Middle East -- while others held
Palestinian flags and signs that said "Down with U.S.A." in English and
Farsi.
Greek riot police clashed with protesters in Athens during a
demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy, according to police and
images broadcast on state television.
Protesters hurled stones in an attempt to break through the police
cordon around the heavily secured embassy. Police responded with tear gas.
In Iraq, hundreds of supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
demonstrated in al-Mustansiriya Square in eastern Baghdad. The
demonstrators carried Iraqi and Palestinian flags, banners and pictures
of al-Sadr and his father.
The demonstrators threw an Israeli flag on the ground, put President
Bush's picture on top of it and set both on fire.
In the Muslim world, demonstrations also were held in Jordan, Egypt,
Pakistan, Indonesia, Libya and Bahrain, the BBC and other news outlets
reported. See world leaders' reactions to offensive »
Also, thousands of Lebanese demonstrators packed the streets of Beirut
as part of a rally called by the militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah addressed the crowd via satellite from an
undisclosed location.
Protests were also held in Israel, where students at universities in
Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem demonstrated against the Israeli military
operation, ynetnews.com reported.
http://www.workers.org/2009/world/gaza_0115/
Worldwide movement protests U.S.-Israeli massacre in Gaza
By John Catalinotto
Published Dec 31, 2008 8:16 PM
Bulletin: Next U.S. protests: Jan 3 in New York and Boston
Dec. 31—The genocidal U.S.-backed Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian
people in the Gaza Strip has had at least one unintended consequence. It
has mobilized the anti-imperialist movement and other anti-war forces
around the world.
New York City, Dec. 28.
WW photo: John Catalinotto
The Washington-Tel-Aviv axis might not yet see this as an obstacle to
their war crimes. But it is a work in progress, coming as the workers’
movements are beginning to get in motion to fight the repercussions of
the capitalist economic collapse. Now they are fighting to prevent the
massacre associated with what appears to be a planned ground assault
into Gaza.
In 2006, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon had other unintended consequences.
Even in parts of the world where winter holidays often drain the
strength of a social movement, people reacted quickly, angrily and in
some places massively to oppose the new Israeli assault.
Groups all over the world made strikingly similar calls for action.
There was complete solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza, a besieged
and occupied population that has every right to resist. Most saw the
Israeli state as the direct criminal, the local gendarme acting as an
appendage of world imperialism—particularly U.S. imperialism but also
that of the European Union.
The immediate demands were to stop the Israeli attacks; lift the
blockade of Gaza; and for the government involved to break relations
with or stop aiding the Zionist state. Protests in some mostly Arab
countries—Egypt, for example—also targeted the country’s regime for
collaborating with the U.S. and Israel. Disrupting the stability of the
collaborating Arab regimes could be another unwanted consequence of the
U.S.-Israeli assault.
People began to hit the streets and squares in protest the day of the
first Israeli bombing, Dec. 27. Demonstrations spread through the world
in the next few days. There are still some important gaps in our
reports. We will list times and places for those protests that we know
of that are planned for Jan. 1 or later so that people can use this
information to attend.
Some protests defy geographic categories. A group of 16 crew and
progressives, including some European doctors and former U.S.
Congressperson and Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney,
attempted to deliver medical and humanitarian aid to Gaza on the yacht,
Dignity, from the Free Gaza Movement. Israeli gunships not only stopped
the delivery in seas off Gaza, but one deliberately rammed the Dignity
in international waters, damaging it and nearly forcing its evacuation.
After the Dignity landed safely in South Lebanon, McKinney told the
media that while the experience was harrowing, it “pales in comparison
with what the people of Gaza are experiencing right now.” McKinney
appealed to the U.S. Congress and to incoming President-elect Barack
Obama to speak out against the Israeli attack.
North Africa and Asia
Tens of thousands of Lebanese, many supporters of Hezbollah, protested
in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, on Dec. 29 in the pouring
rain. In Damascus, Syria, people held Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian
flags aloft at an anti-Israeli rally. Protesters burned Israeli and U.S.
flags in many Arab cities and demanded their governments react to
Israeli aggression.
More than 50,000 demonstrated in Egyptian cities on Dec. 28 according to
the AFP news agency. The biggest protest was in the southern city of
Asyut, led by the Islamist opposition. Some 15,000 also attended a
pro-Palestinian demonstration in the Jordanian capital Amman, and there
were rallies in many of Jordan’s refugee camps that house thousands of
displaced Palestinians.
There were demonstrations throughout the West Bank and in Haifa, Jaffa
and other towns within the 1967 Israeli borders, and also a protest of
1,000 anti-war people in Tel Aviv. There were also anti-Israeli protests
in Sudan and Yemen, where tens of thousands marched in Sanaa.
In Iraq, there were demonstrations in Baghdad, Mosul, Najaf and Kufa. In
Tehran, Iran, thousands of Iranians rallied Dec. 29. There have been
protests in Istanbul and other cities in Turkey. In India, there were
demonstrations in Kolkata (Calcutta) and a number of other Indian
cities. There was a protest of more than 1,000 people waving Palestinian
and Indonesian flags in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Dec. 30, and in Tokyo,
Japan, that same day at the Israeli Embassy.
In South Africa a protest of the Gaza massacre is set for Jan. 2 at 2
p.m. at the U.S. Consulate in Killarney, Johannesburg.
Latin America
In Argentina, a vigil of hundreds was held at the Israeli Embassy in
Buenos Aires after a march on Dec. 29, called by different
Argentine-Arab organizations to show solidarity with Palestine. In
Puerto Rico, the Socialist Front held a mobilization in solidarity with
the Palestinian people and to reject and condemn the crimes of the
Israeli state, gathering at the Federal building in San Juan.
Starting at 10 in the morning on Dec. 29, some 200 people protested in
front of the Israeli Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, in the second day of
protests there. The Communist Party of Venezuela and other social
organizations were present. On Dec. 30 people protested before the
Israeli Embassy in Mexico City, D.F. There was also a protest in Colón,
Costa Rica, on Dec. 30 at the Israeli Embassy.
In addition to these popular actions, statements from the governments of
Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia condemned the Israeli killing of Palestinians.
Europe
In Belgium, there have been local protest rallies in Ghent, Louvain,
Brussels and Antwerp in the days following the first attack, with a
national protest rally on Dec. 31 from the Place de la Monnaie to the
Place des Martyrs. It is a joint effort of solidarity committees,
non-governmental organizations, the Workers Party of Belgium and Arab
organizations.
In Greece, where there have been youth protests against a police killing
since early December, more than 3,000 demonstrators waving Palestinian
flags and chanting anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. slogans marched on the
Israeli Embassy in Athens. Greek left-wing parties and Arab groups
participated. Another demonstration of 1,000 took place in Thessalonika.
In England, Scotland and Wales, as reported by the Stop the War
Committee, 700 people scuffled with police in demonstrations Dec. 28 at
the Israeli Embassy in London. Some protesters were seen attempting to
climb the gate towards the embassy and throwing red liquid, to symbolize
blood, towards the gate. Respect Member of Parliament George Galloway
and former Labor Member of Parliament Tony Benn were among those who
addressed the crowd. Afterwards Galloway said: “We should treat Israel
as we treated South Africa during apartheid. They should be shunned.”
Daily demonstrations are continuing in London from 2 to 4 p.m. outside
the Israeli Embassy, and on Jan. 2 will move to the Egyptian Embassy at
26 South Street, London, W1K 1DW, from 2 to 4 p.m. to call for Egypt to
open the border immediately. On Jan. 3, protests will also be held in
Bristol, opposite the Hippodrome, from 3 to 4 p.m.; in Portsmouth, at
Guildhall Square, at 11 a.m.; and in Hull, at Queen Victoria Square, at
11 a.m.
Protests are set for Glasgow, Scotland, on Jan. 3 at 12 noon outside
Lloyds TSB on St Vincent Street, with a demonstration at Blytheswood
Square at 2 p.m. In Edinburgh, a protest will be held at the same time
at Foot of the Mound on Princes Street.
There were actions in Cardiff, Wales, in Nottingham and Southampton.
In Lisbon, Portugal, various organizations concerned about the massacre
in Gaza, including mass unions and women’s and anti-war organizations
met Dec. 30 and decided to call a unified demonstration for Jan. 8, with
the place and time to be announced later.
In the Spanish state on Dec. 28, 1,000 demonstrated before the Israeli
Embassy in Madrid; also demonstrations were reported from Barcelona,
Bilbao, Coruna and Seville. Further actions are planned in Madrid on
Jan. 3 at 12 noon at the Foreign Affairs Ministry at Plaza de Sta. Cruz,
and on Jan. 11 at 12 noon at Puerta del Sol. If there is an Israeli land
invasion of Gaza, there will be a protest the next day at 8 p.m. at
Puerta del Sol. A march is also planned between the squares of Cibeles
and Sol on Jan. 17. In Madrid people have initiated a campaign of
international solidarity with the Palestinian people by hanging
Palestinian flags and scarves from windows and balconies.
In France, demonstrations were called by a broad coalition of forces
Dec. 29 and 30 in Paris, where 1,300 marched, and in Angers, Annecy,
Besançon, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nîmes, Quimper,
Rennes, Roubaix, Rouen, St. Etienne, St. Girons, Thionville and Toulouse.
In Netherlands, a demonstration is planned for 1 p.m. on Jan. 3 in
Amsterdam, at Museumplein.
In Italy, Red Link reports demonstrations at least in Rome and Pisa on
Dec. 28 and in Naples and Bologna on Dec. 29. Soccorso Populare in
Veneto reports a protest on Dec. 28 of 100 in Padua, on Dec. 31 in
Venice Mestre, on Jan. 2 in Treviso and on Jan. 3 in Vicenza at 2 p.m.
before the Central Train Station. There were also protests in Florence
and Genoa and in Cagliari in Sardinia.
A broad national demonstration has been called for Rome on Jan. 3 at
4:30 p.m. at Piazza della Repubblica, marching to Piazza Barberini.
In Germany, on Dec. 28 some 50 people gathered downtown spontaneously
near the big cathedral in Cologne to demand an immediate end to the
massacre. The next day there were actions in Berlin and Dusseldorf.
In Austria there were vigils and protests in Vienna on Dec. 30, when
2,000 people marched through the downtown area. On Jan. 3 at 3 p.m.,
there will be a demonstration, “Stop the Massacre in Gaza!” at the
Albertina, Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna. The Gaza Must Live group
called further protests for Jan. 2 at 2:30 p.m. at Karlsplatz and on Jan. 9.
In Switzerland there were protests in Basel and Geneva.
In Denmark, there were solidarity demonstrations in Copenhagen and
Aarhus on Dec. 28, with 1,500 people in Copenhagen at the Israeli
Embassy; in Odense on Dec. 29; and again in Copenhagen and other cities
on Dec. 30.
In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the group Tadamon (Solidarity in Arabic)
plans a protest for Jan. 4 at 12:30 p.m. at the corner of St. Catherine
and Atwater (metro Atwater). Other protests have been held across Canada.
United States
From inside the U.S., International Action Center activists and others
have continued to send detailed reports. In general, most demonstrators
at first have come from the Palestinian and Arab/Muslim community. The
IAC has helped with organizational and logistical support and outreach
to other North Americans in the labor, anti-war and anti-racist movements.
The largest demonstrations reported so far have been in Dearborn, Mich.;
New York; San Francisco; and Anaheim, Calif.; all numbering in the
thousands.
In Dearborn, near Detroit, on Dec. 30, some 5,000 people formed a human
chain stretching for blocks in this city that probably is home to the
largest Arab community in the U.S. Some of the many youth stood on snow
banks and waved Palestinian flags, of which there were hundreds of all
sizes, and chanted, “1,2,3,4—stop the killing, stop the war; 5,6,7,8:
Israel is a terrorist state.” Passersby in cars—some also draped with
Palestinian flags—honked loudly and repeatedly for the hour-plus-long
action in cold windy weather.
A follow-up action, a candlelight vigil, will be held Jan. 2 at 5 p.m.
at the City Hall in Dearborn.
In New York, some 5,000 people gathered in front of Rockefeller Center
on 5th Avenue on a very busy shopping day Dec. 28. The demonstration was
largely Palestinian, young and very militant, chanting, “From the river
to the sea: Palestine will be free.” It marched a mile to the Israeli
Consulate. Mosques in New Jersey towns sent five busloads of people on
24-hours’ notice. There were other protests on Dec. 29 and 30. A major
unified demonstration is planned for Jan. 3 to start at Times Square at
2 p.m.
More than 1,500 people participated on Dec. 29 in Anaheim, just south of
Los Angeles. A coalition made up of Al Awda, Muslim student
organizations and many others, including the IAC, called the action. The
next event was on Dec. 30 in front of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles.
On Dec. 30, several thousand Palestinians and supporters held a loud and
militant march through downtown San Francisco.
In Washington, D.C., on Dec. 30, ANSWER held a demonstration at the
State Department.
In San Diego, on Dec. 30, about 500 people, including large numbers of
Arab youth, gathered at the downtown Federal Building. All four corners
of the intersection were occupied by spirited protesters, with youth
chanting nonstop and frequently leading charges from one corner to
another. Further protests were announced for the afternoon of Jan. 1 in
Balboa Park and the afternoon of Jan. 2 at the Federal Building. Some
100 demonstrators gathered in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 30.
In Boston, there was a march of 120 people on Dec. 28 from Park Street
to Copley Square with strong Palestinian participation, rush hour
distributions on Dec. 29 and a demonstration Dec. 30 at the Israeli
Consulate. The next action in solidarity with Palestine will be on Jan.
3 at 12 noon at Copley Square, and will march through downtown Boston
past the Israeli Consulate in Park Square, Downtown Crossing, the
military recruiters on Tremont Street and back to Copley Square for a
concluding rally. It is being organized by a broad ad hoc coalition.
Some 80 mostly young people attended an emergency demonstration in
Baltimore on Dec. 30 at the War Memorial Plaza. More than 100 people
came out for a protest outside the Israeli consulate in Philadelphia
Dec. 28, called with less than 24-hours’ notice. In Buffalo, N.Y., some
200 mostly Palestinian, Yemeni and other Arab youth demonstrated on Dec. 30.
The Palestinian community in Houston had a huge demonstration Dec. 28 on
all four corners of the busiest intersection in town, maybe 750 people.
From infants to elders, Palestinians came out with their families, lots
of students, and a number of elderly women in traditional Palestinian
clothing. In typical Texas style, pickup trucks filled with Palestinian
youth waving giant Palestinian flags drove up and down the streets
honking and yelling. There were other protests during the week, with the
next action on Jan. 2 at the Israeli consulate.
In Atlanta, Emory Advocates for Justice in Palestine and Athens for
Justice in Palestine, with help from the IAC, pulled together an action
in less than 18 hours for Dec. 28. More than 100 people came; mostly
Palestinian, many college and high school age youth as well as children
brought by their parents, with good representation of the anti-war
movement. Another 350 people protested and took over some intersections
on Dec. 30. The next action is on Jan. 3 at CNN at 2 p.m.
With help from Hana al-Bayaty for the Middle East; Paola Manduca for
Europe; Berta Joubert-Ceci for Latin America; and with reports from
Angeles Maestro, Klaus Riis, Bert de Belder, Fausto Schiavetto,Willi
Langthaler, Guido Mandari and Wil van der Klift in Europe; Manik
Mukherjee in India and Keiku Yasahara in Japan; also Joe Piette, Paul
Teitelbaum, Bob McCubbin, John Parker, Dianne Mathiowetz, Ellie
Dorritie, Frank Neisser, Sara Flounders, Joan Marquardt and Steve Ceci
in the U.S.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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Sunday, December 28, 2008, 16:11
Arab protesters demand response to Gaza attacks
Protesters burn an Israeli flag outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman today.
Related »
• UN Security Council urges end to Gaza violence | 28/12/2008
• Israel renews Gaza air strikes, 290 reported dead | 28/12/2008
Protesters burned Israeli and American flags this afternoon in a string
of Arab countries and demanded a stronger response from their leaders to
Israel's attack on Gaza.
"Arab silence is behind the bombings," read a banner held by one of
several thousand people who turned out in the Sunni Arab city of Samarra
north of Baghdad.
The Israeli raids, some of the worst in 60 years of Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, incensed many in the Arab world, where many governments are
seen by popular Islamist movements as collaborators with the United
States or Israel.
"America and the Zionists are the leaders of world terrorism," read a
placard held by protesters at the UN headquarters in the Lebanese
capital Beirut. They demanded UN intervention to end the Israeli onslaught.
Similar protests were held in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, home
to some 400,000 refugees displaced when Israel was established in 1948.
In the centre of the Syrian capital Damascus, thousands of people
carrying Palestinian and Syrian flags filled streets around a popular
square, chanted anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans and burned an
American flag.
"Victory belongs to heroic Gaza," one banner said. "Until when will the
Arab silence continue?" read another.
In Baladiyat, a Baghdad district inhabited by many Palestinians given
refuge in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, men waved banners and condemned
Arab nations for not doing enough to support Palestinians.
"We have been waiting for action from Arab leaders for almost 60 years,"
Jaleel al-Qasus, the Palestinian envoy to Iraq, said during the protest
by several hundred people.
"Our efforts have been in vain."
Scores of protesters tried to approach the Egyptian embassy in Beirut to
demand Egypt open up its borders to Gaza, where 1.5 million Palestinians
live under Israeli and Egyptian blockade. Police used tear gas to stop
the demonstrators approaching.
In Egypt itself, protesters gathered in Cairo and five other towns,
security sources said. They burned Israeli flags and carried placards
denouncing Israel.
Scuffles broke out outside the Israeli embassy in London on after more
than 700 demonstrators gathered to protest. Police said two or three
people had been arrested but the Israeli embassy denied protesters had
got into the embassy itself.
In Madrid, hundreds of Palestinians, Muslims and anti-war activists
rallied outside the Israeli Embassy. Protesters waved placards that read
"Israel Genocide".
A teenage boy was killed in one protest in the volatile northern Iraqi
city of Mosul when a suicide bomber on a bicycle detonated explosives in
a crowd of around 300 protesters.
It was not clear why the bomber would have targeted an anti-Israeli
rally. Police said 17 people were wounded in the attack in Mosul.
Several thousand people protested in the Iraqi city of Samarra and a few
hundred took to the streets in Falluja.
Iraq hosted 30,000 Palestinian refugees before the US-led invasion of
Iraq in 2003. Many found themselves victim of attacks or threats once
the war began, partly because they were seen as clients of the deposed
leader Saddam.
The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the reclusive cleric who
has peerless influence among Shias in Iraq, issued a statement
condemning what he called a 'savage' operation.
"The Arab and Muslim world demand, more than ever, a practical stance to
stop this never-ending offensive," it said.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious decree
ordering Muslims around the world to defend Palestinians in Gaza against
Israeli attacks "in any way possible".
Reuters
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28410813/
Thousands protest Israeli assault on Gaza
Crowds around the Middle East and in Paris denounce the airstrikes
Iraqi demonstrators burn the Israeli flag during a protest against the
Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Baghdad's Mustansiriya square
on Monday .
Ahmad Al-Rubaye / Getty Images
updated 5:35 p.m. ET Dec. 28, 2008
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Crowds of thousands swept into the streets of cities
around the Middle East on Sunday to denounce Israel's air assault on
Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
From Lebanon to Iran, Israel's adversaries used the weekend assault to
marshal crowds into the streets for noisy demonstrations. Angry
protesters carried images of the dead and the destruction in
demonstrations from Cairo to Istanbul.
And among regional allies there was also discontent: The prime minister
of Turkey, one of the few Muslim countries to have relations with
Israel, called the air assault a "crime against humanity."
The Syrian government, meanwhile, announced the suspension of its
indirect peace talks with Israel because the attacks.
Israel and Syria held four rounds of indirect negotiations in Turkey
after the peace talks were launched in May.
Fighters on alert
Hezbollah's leader in Lebanon told thousands of Beirut residents that
his group will not abandon Gaza and asked his fighters to be alert in
case Israel decides to attack his group.
A radical Saudi cleric used the assault on Gaza to incite believers to
target Israeli interests "everywhere," to avenge the attacks on the Gaza
strip.
Several of Sunday's protests turned violent. A crowd of anti-Israel
protesters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul became a target for a
suicide bomber on a bicycle.
In Lebanon, police fired tear gas to stop dozens of demonstrators from
reaching the Egyptian Embassy. Some in the crowd hurled stones at the
embassy compound. Security officials said two policemen were wounded and
taken to hospital and several demonstrators were lightly injured.
Egypt, which has served as a mediator between Israel and the
Palestinians as well as between Hamas and its rival Fatah, has been
criticized for joining Israel in closing its borders with Gaza. Egyptian
Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Hamas to renew its truce
with Israel.
Egypt also again summoned the Israeli ambassador to express its
rejection of Israeli government comments about expanding the assault on
Gaza.
Calls for truce to be renewed
France also called for the truce to be renewed and rallied European
nations to use "all their weight" to stop the fighting between Israel
and Hamas.
Hussein Malla / AP
A Palestinian protester in Beirut on Sunday throws stones at Lebanese
policemen during a demonstration to protest Israel's attacks against the
Gaza Strip.
________________________________________
Across Europe, demonstrations took place Sunday. About 700 protesters
gathered outside the Israeli embassy in London. In Paris, about 1,000
demonstrators gathered near the Arc de Triomphe.
Britain's foreign secretary David Miliband is calling for an immediate
cease-fire by Israel and by Hamas, which controls Gaza. He's calling
this a "dangerous moment."
France's foreign minister says the EU is ready to increase its
humanitarian support for Gaza, and resume its monitoring role at Gaza
border crossings.
Pope Benedict, who is expected to visit the region in May, is calling on
the international community "not to leave anything untried" to help
Israel and the Palestinians get away from what he called "this dead end"
of violence.
In Beirut, the leader of Lebanese militant Hezbollah Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah also took a stab at the Egyptian role. He said if it does not
open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza then "you are taking part in
the crime" against Palestinians.
"I have asked the brothers in the resistance, especially in the south,
to be present and cautious because we are facing a treacherous and
criminal enemy," Nasrallah said, warning of possible Israeli attacks on
Lebanon.
Hamas: Fighting the only option
Hamas representative Osama Hamdan told another rally in Beirut that the
militant group had no choice but to fight. Gaza militants have been
lobbing dozens of rockets and mortars into southern Israel since a
six-month truce expired over a week ago, prompting Israel's fierce
retaliation.
"We have one alternative which is to be steadfast and resist and then we
will be victorious," Hamdan said.
In the capital of neighboring Syria, more than 5,000 people marched
toward the central Youssef al-Azmeh square, where they burned an Israeli
and an American flag.
One demonstrator carried a banner reading, "The aggression against Gaza
is an aggression against the whole Arab nation."
In Amman, Jordan, about 5,000 lawyers marched toward parliament to
demand the Israeli ambassador's expulsion and the closure of the
embassy. "No for peace, yes to the rifle," they chanted. There also
demonstrations in nearby Palestinian refugee camps.
A small group of Jordanian lawmakers — who petitioned to expel the
Israeli ambassador from Amman — burned the Israeli flag in parliament
and trampled on it while clapping, despite objections from parliament's
speaker and other lawmakers.
The U.S. Embassy in Jordan warned Americans to avoid areas of
demonstrations.
Complaints from Egyptians
Thousands of Egyptians — many of them students — demonstrated at
campuses in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere and accused President Hosni
Mubarak and other Arab leaders of not doing enough to support the
Palestinians.
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said Israel should be
"wiped off the map," denounced the Israeli strikes. His country's Red
Crescent said it is sending relief to Gaza through Egypt.
Protests extend to Dubai, And in the normally politically placid streets
of glitzy Dubai and Kuwait, hundreds of demonstrators — some draped in
Palestinian flags — protested at the Palestinian consulate in Dubai and
outside the Kuwaiti parliament.
"This is a time for the Palestinians and Arabs to unite to fight against
a common enemy," said Majdei Mansour, a 30-year-old Palestinian resident of
In Iraq, where the government has also condemned the Gaza airstrikes, a
suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up amid a crowd of about 1,300
demonstrators in Mosul who were protesting against Israel, killing one
demonstrator and wounding 16, Iraqi police said.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack on the
demonstration, which was organized by a Sunni party in sympathy for
Palestinians in Gaza, who are largely fellow Sunnis.
And feeding on the Muslim anger, Saudi radical cleric Sheik Awadh
al-Garni has issued a religious edict urging Muslims to target
"interests and anything that has a link to Israel," calling it "a
legitimate target for Muslims everywhere."
The fatwas are not legally binding, and it is up to the individual
Muslim to follow them.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/World-News/2-26152-Protestors-all-around-the-world-decry-Israeli-war-against-Gaza.html
Protestors all around the world decry Israeli war against Gaza
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 08:57 GMT
Demonstrations filled the streets in many capitals decrying the Israeli
war against Gaza Strip that doesn’t save neither people nor houses. The
demonstrations weren’t restricted to the Arab world but also many
western cities witnessed demonstrations condemning the Israeli war
against Gaza. Demonstrators went out to the streets of Lebanon, Egypt,
Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Greece, Britain and Sweden. Protestors called the
international community to hold Israel accountable for the crimes it
commits in Gaza and to support Palestinians in their ordeal with all the
possible means.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20090102/news/901020324
Muslims Around the World Protest Israel's Assault in Gaza
Bombing campaign launched Dec. 27 has killed about 400 Palestinians.
By REBECCA SANTANA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 7:50 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 7:50 p.m.
CAIRO, Egypt | Thousands protested Friday against Israel's air offensive
targeting Hamas at demonstrations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa,
Europe and South America.
Similar protests have been held daily across the Middle East since
Israel launched the bombing campaign last Saturday. But these gatherings
held mostly after Friday prayers were larger - mainly because Friday
prayers are a traditional gathering opportunity for Muslims - and seemed
to be more far-reaching in the number of countries where protests occurred.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 400 Palestinians and sparked
outrage among the Arab public. Israel says its offensive is aimed at
silencing Hamas rockets.
In Tehran, a crowd of about 6,000 stretching for a half-mile marched
from prayers at Tehran University to Palestine Square, chanting "Death
to Israel" and "Death to America" and burning Israeli flags.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Israel that entering
Gaza "by land will be the biggest mistake of the Zionist regime."
Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, giving
it millions of dollars. The U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of giving
weapons and rockets to Hamas, though Tehran denies arming Hamas.
In Egypt, authorities clamped down hard to prevent protests Friday.
Hundreds of riot police surrounded Cairo's main Al-Azhar Mosque, where a
rally had been called, and scuffled with would-be protesters, keeping
most from approaching.
Police also arrested 40 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood
that called for protests.
More than 3,000 people marched in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish.
Many governments in the Arab world such as Egypt have been wary about
protests at home over Israel's Gaza assault lest the protests spiral out
of control.
In Jordan, police fired volleys of tear gas and scuffled with protesters
who tried to reach the Israeli Embassy in Amman. A few of the protesters
threw stones at police, but the security forces dispersed the group,
arresting several.
More than 10,000 Muslims marched through Indonesia's capital Jakarta to
protest the ongoing bombing raids.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090102.wgaza0102/BNStory/International/home
Muslims around the world protest Gaza assault
NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press
January 2, 2009 at 11:43 AM EDT
TEHRAN — Thousands of people Friday demonstrated against Israel's
attacks on the Gaza Strip in widespread protests stretching across the
Middle East, Asia, Africa and even some scattered protests in Europe.
Similar protests have been held daily across the Middle East since
Israel launched the bombing campaign last Saturday. But these gatherings
held mostly after Friday prayers were larger — mainly because Friday
prayers are a traditional gathering opportunity for Muslims — and seemed
to be more far-reaching in the number of countries where protests occurred.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 400 Palestinians and sparked
outrage among the Arab public. Israel says its offensive is aimed at
silencing Hamas rockets.
In Tehran, a crowd of about 6,000 stretching for a half-kilometre
marched from prayers at Tehran University to Palestine Square, chanting
“Death to Israel” and “Death to America” and burning Israeli flags.
Enlarge Image
Lebanese protesters, carry black mock coffins with Arabic words
reads:'We are all Gaza,' as they walk behind an Arbic banner read:'Open
Rafah crossing,' during a demonstration held by leftist groups to
protest Israel's attacks against the Gaza Strip, in Beirut, Lebanon, on
Friday. (Hussein Malla/AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Israel that entering
Gaza “by land will be the biggest mistake of the Zionist regime.” He
vowed Israel would be “defeated” in a ground attack.
Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, giving
it millions of dollars — and weapons and rockets, according to the U.S.
and Israel, though Tehran denies arming Hamas.
In Egypt, authorities clamped down hard to prevent protests Friday.
Hundreds of riot police surrounded Cairo's main Al-Azhar Mosque, where a
rally had been called, and scuffled with would-be protesters, keeping
most from approaching.
Police also arrested 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition
group that had called for pro-Gaza rallies.
More than 3,000 people marched in solidarity with Gaza in the northern
Sinai city of el-Arish, Egypt's closest city to Gaza.
Many governments in the Arab world such as Egypt have been wary about
protests at home over Israel's Gaza assault lest the protests spiral out
of control.
In Jordan, police fired volleys of tear gas and scuffled with dozens of
protesters who tried to push through barriers to reach the Israeli
Embassy in Amman. A few of the protesters threw stones at police, but
the security forces dispersed the group, arresting several.
About 30,000 Jordanians gathered at a stadium in Amman shouting their
support for Gaza and calling for the abolition of the Jordanian-Israeli
peace treaty signed in 1994.
More than 10,000 Muslims marched through Indonesia's capital Jakarta to
protest the ongoing bombing raids in Gaza, aiming fake missiles labelled
“Target: Tel Aviv, Israel” at the U.S. Embassy.
Protests were also held after Friday prayers in other cities in the
world's most populous Muslim country, in what was the largest turnout
since Israel began the operation.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, about 3,000 people gathered outside a
prominent mosque, according to police estimates. Men in the crowd threw
stones and shoes at an effigy of President George W. Bush.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered in the Philippines capital Manila,
carrying placards saying Israel is a “butcher of children” and accusing
it of war crimes.
In Turkey, Israel's closest ally in the region, some 5,000 people
denounced the Israeli raids outside a mosque in Istanbul, burning
Israeli and U.S. flags and reciting funeral prayers for the victims. The
state-run Anatolia news agency says similar protests were held in
several other Turkish cities.
In Syria, some 2,000 marched in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus,
carrying Palestinian flags and chanting “jihad will unite us,” and later
burned an Israeli flag.
In Sudan, thousands marched in downtown Khartoum from mosques to the
main Martyrs Square, urging Muslims to jihad and denouncing Israel and
America.
Small protests erupted as well in the Palestinian territories.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, thousands demonstrated in solidarity
with Gazans, calling for Palestinian unity and accusing Arab leaders of
silence over Israel's bombardment.
Ex-Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox and other celebrities, including
activist Bianca Jagger, comedian Alexei Sayle and politicians including
former London mayor Ken Livingstone, held a press conference in London
demanding Israel halt the onslaught.
In Bern, Switzerland, hundreds of people marched, calling for an
immediate cease-fire in Gaza and demanding that the international
community impose sanctions against Israel.
Russian authorities detained about 37 people after a small protest
outside the Israeli Embassy in Moscow demanding an end to attacks on the
Gaza Strip. The protests included members of Russia's many Muslim
minorities.
Hundreds of Muslims held a rally at the main mosque in the Kenyan
capital of Nairobi after prayers, hoisting banners that said
“Palestinian Blood Is Human Blood” and shouting for Kenya to sever ties
with Israel.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=70896
2009-01-12
International
European protesters call for halt to Gaza carnage
Afp, London
Anti-Israeli protesters march on the street during a demonstration in
front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in US and European cities on
Saturday as Israel vowed to escalate its war in Gaza that has left
nearly 900 Palestinians dead so far. Photo: AFP
Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied across Europe on Saturday to
call for an end to Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The two biggest protests took place in London and Paris, with largely
peaceful demonstrations in both capitals turning violent as the day wore on.
In London, angry demonstrators hurled sticks and stones at police
outside the Israeli embassy as officers in riot gear and on horseback
charged the crowd to keep them away from the building in the upmarket
Kensington district. Police made 24 arrests.
Veteran left-wing campaigner Tariq Ali, who had led the march, said:
"The most appalling violence is happening in Gaza -- a few punch-ups
outside the Israeli embassy is neither here nor there."
Organisers hoped 100,000 people would attend the London rally, which
began in Hyde Park before progressing to the Israeli embassy. Police
estimated the crowd at 12,000.
About 30,000 people marched through Paris, the interior ministry said,
and more than 90,000 joined protests in more than 120 towns and cities
elsewhere in France.
In the capital, thousands of French men and women of Arab origin
carrying Palestinian banners joined forces with left-wing militants amid
cries of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greater) and "Israel murderer."
Protesters smashed a bus shelter and a telephone box in central Paris,
and bottles were later thrown at riot police and shop windows smashed.
Police fired teargas after mobs overturned motor scooters and set them
on fire.
A march in the southern city of Nice descended into violence. Seven
police were hurt and 11 rioters arrested as youths broke off from a
2,500-strong crowd of protesters and smashed shop windows.
Demonstrations took place on the streets of other European cities
including Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Oslo, Sarajevo and Stockholm.
Israel's offensive on Gaza went into a third week on Saturday as planes
carried out more air strikes, while troops clashed with Hamas fighters
despite international calls for a ceasefire as the death toll rose above
800.
Meanwhile, Hamas and other armed groups fired at least 13 rockets into
Israel, wounding four people, the Israeli army said.
In Sarajevo, peace activist Svetlana Broz told a 1,000-strong
pro-Palestinian demonstration that the city knew better than others
"what happens when the world remains silent at a time when innocent
civilians suffer", referring to the bloody siege of the city in the
1992-95 war in the former Yugoslavia.
Police in Oslo fired teargas after a small group among a crowd of 2,000
pelted them with stones, and up to 5,000 demonstrators gathered outside
the Israeli embassy in Stockholm to call for an end to the military
campaign.
More than 6,000 people gathered for a peaceful rally in Berlin, with
similar shows of support for the Palestinians in Munich and Cologne.
In western Germany, some 10,000 people, largely from the ethnic Turkish
community, protested in Duisburg. Police briefly intervened when
demonstrators threw snowballs at a window bearing two Israeli flags.
Innsbruck in western Austria staged a peaceful protest of 3,500 people
waving banners saying "Stop Israeli terror" and 7,000 protestors turned
out in Bern, Switzerland.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008614524_gazaprotest10.html?syndication=rss
Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Comments (15) E-mail article Print view
Fiery protests against Israeli offensive erupt in Europe, Lebanon
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Europe and in
Lebanon on Saturday, shouting protests against the Israeli offensive in
Gaza.
By DAVID RISING
RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A protester throws a shoe against the U.S. embassy in Mexico City on
Saturday during a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli military
offensive in Gaza.
BERLIN — Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across
Europe and in Lebanon on Saturday, shouting protests against the Israeli
offensive in Gaza.
Protesters burned Israeli flags in Sweden and threw shoes at the U.S.
consulate in Edinburgh, Scotland. In central London, three officers were
hurt when demonstrators hurled shoes and placards at police outside the
Israeli Embassy. One officer was knocked unconscious.
But in Innsbruck, Austria, volunteer security personnel arranged by the
Islamic 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.
Israel says its 2-week-old offensive is intended to stop Palestinian
Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel. Palestinian medical officials
say more than 800 people have been killed.
A crowd of 12,000 gathered in London's Hyde Park carrying placards
reading "Gaza: Stop the massacre" and chanting "free, free Palestine."
Police said 15 people were arrested after a group of about 2,000
demonstrators clashed with police guarding the Israeli embassy. Two were
detained on suspicion of assaulting police officers.
Scores of marches were held across France, the biggest of them in the
capital, where police estimated 30,000 people took part. Paris police
scuffled with a small group toward the end.
Police estimated that 30,000 people protested in the northern Spanish
city of Barcelona, some carrying bloodstained blankets and mock dead
bodies of children.
The demonstration had been called by around 300 Catalan groups that have
asked the Spanish government to back cease-fire initiatives and to stop
all trade, especially arms, with Israel.
In Italy, several thousand people carrying Palestinian flags marched in
Milan, Florence and Venice to protest the Israeli offensive.
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 people 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 of
Nabatiyeh in a protest organized by the militant Hezbollah group, a
strong ally of Hamas that fought its own war with Israel in the summer
of 2006.
They waved Lebanese and Palestinian flags and some carried posters of
bloody Palestinian children. "Gaza is the nation's battle," read a
banner carried by several of the protesters.
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.
Protesters in Sweden tried to break through sealed-off areas at Israel's
embassy in Stockholm after a march through the city by 3,000 to 5,000
people.
Thousands of demonstrators in Edinburgh, Scotland, threw shoes at the
American consulate — a gesture evoking an Iraqi journalist who threw his
shoes at President Bush during a recent Baghdad visit. Organizer Ian
Hood said the group was angry with the United States for failing to stop
the bloodshed in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Athens were joined by several Greek
leftist groups to form a crowd of about 2,000 who marched to the Israeli
Embassy.
On Friday, more than 60 people were injured during a large demonstration
in Algeria's capital, many by stone throwing, the Interior Ministry
said. One journalist was left in a coma.
The Interior Ministry said the demonstration was "infiltrated by
troublemakers" who looted some shops, damaged cars and destroyed bus
stops and other public facilities.
Associated Press reporter Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Lebanon, and reporters
across Europe contributed to this report.
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Protests-held-around-the-world.4840219.jp
Protests held around the world over Israel's bombardment of Gaza
Members of the South African Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) set a
poster of US President George W. Bush on fire during a protest. Picture:
Getty
Published Date: 02 January 2009
Thousands demonstrated against Israel's attacks on Gaza across the
Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Similar protests have been held daily across the Middle East since
Israel launched the bombing campaign last Saturday.
But today's gatherings were larger – mainly because Friday prayers are a
traditional gathering opportunity for Muslims – and seemed to be more
far-reaching in the number of countries where protests occurred.
In Tehran, a crowd of about 6,000 stretching for a half-mile marched
from prayers at Tehran University to Palestine Square, chanting "Death
to Israel" and "Death to America" and burning Israeli flags.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Israel that entering
Gaza "by land will be the biggest mistake of the Zionist regime." He
vowed Israel would be "defeated" in a ground attack.
Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, giving
it millions of dollars and weapons and rockets, according to the US and
Israel.
In Egypt authorities clamped down hard to prevent protests. Hundreds of
riot police surrounded Cairo's main Al-Azhar Mosque, where a rally had
been called, and scuffled with would-be protesters, keeping most from
approaching.
Police also arrested 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition
group that had called for pro-Gaza rallies.
More than 3,000 people marched in solidarity with Gaza in the northern
Sinai city of el-Arish, Egypt's closest city to Gaza.
Many governments in the Arab world such as Egypt have been wary about
protests at home over Israel's Gaza assault lest they spiral out of control.
In Jordan police fired volleys of tear gas and scuffled with dozens of
protesters who tried to push through barriers to reach the Israeli
Embassy in Amman. A few of the protesters threw stones at police, but
the security forces dispersed the group, arresting several.
About 30,000 Jordanians gathered at a stadium in Amman shouting their
support for Gaza and calling for the abolition of the Jordanian-Israeli
peace treaty signed in 1994.
More than 10,000 Muslims marched through Indonesia's capital Jakarta
aiming fake missiles labelled "Target: Tel Aviv, Israel" at the US Embassy.
Protests were also held after prayers in other cities in the world's
most populous Muslim country, in what was the largest turnout since
Israel began the operation.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul about 3,000 people gathered outside a
prominent mosque, according to police estimates. Men in the crowd threw
stones and shoes at an effigy of President George Bush.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered in the Philippines capital Manila,
carrying placards saying Israel is a "butcher of children" and accusing
it of war crimes.
In Turkey, Israel's closest ally in the region, 5,000 people denounced
the Israeli raids outside a mosque in Istanbul, burning Israeli and US
flags and reciting funeral prayers for the victims.
In Syria 2,000 marched in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus,
carrying Palestinian flags and chanting "jihad will unite us," and later
burned an Israeli flag.
In Sudan thousands marched in Khartoum from mosques to the main Martyrs
Square, urging Muslims to jihad and denouncing Israel and America.
Small protests erupted as well in the Palestinian territories.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah thousands demonstrated in solidarity
with Gazans, calling for Palestinian unity and accusing Arab leaders of
silence over Israel's bombardment.
In Bern, Switzerland, hundreds of people marched, calling for an
immediate cease-fire, demanding that the international community impose
sanctions against Israel.
Russian authorities detained about 37 people after a small protest
outside the Israeli Embassy in Moscow demanding an end to attacks on the
Gaza Strip. The protests included members of Russia's many Muslim
minorities.
Hundreds of Muslims held a rally at the main mosque in the Kenyan
capital of Nairobi after prayers, hoisting banners that said
"Palestinian Blood Is Human Blood" and shouting for Kenya to sever ties
with Israel.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-01/2009-01-10-voa1.cfm?CFID=165982093&CFTOKEN=94136251&jsessionid=8430f0f7b1ea3be3eeec65783d726c472742
Worldwide Protests Against Gaza Operation
By VOA News
10 January 2009
Demonstrators protest over Gaza in Alexandria, Egypt, 9 Dec 2009
Tens of thousands of Muslims took to the streets Friday from Amman to
Jakarta to protest the Israeli action in Gaza.
An estimated 50,000 people rallied in the Egyptian coastal city of
Alexandria after Friday prayers. The demonstrators waved Palestinian
flags and shouted slogans against Israel, and in support of Hamas.
In Amman, Jordan, police fired teargas on a crowd of some two-thousand
people to prevent them from marching to the Israeli embassy.
In Israel's occupied West Bank, police in Ramallah and Hebron also used
teargas to disperse Palestinian protesters.
Other demonstrations were reported in Turkey, Algeria, Kenya, Indonesia
and Malaysia.
Some of the demonstrators expressed anger at Arab leaders for failing to
ease the plight of people in Gaza. Egypt has kept its border with Gaza
largely closed.
The European Jewish Congress said earlier this week it was planning
pro-Israel rallies in London, Rome, Berlin, Vienna, and other locations.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/02/world/main4695928.shtml
Global Protests Condemn Gaza Attacks
Demonstrators Decry Israeli Bombardment Of Gaza Strip As Radical Muslims
Call For Holy War; Arrests In India, Russia, Egypt
Comments 1324
Jan. 2, 2009
Kashmiri Muslim protesters throw stones at Indian paramilitary soldiers
during a protest against the ongoing bombing raids in Gaza, in Srinagar,
India, Jan. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
(CBS/AP) Protests against the Israeli bombardment of the Hamas-run
Palestinian territory, now in its seventh day, have swept several
Mideast capitals and other major cities worldwide as demonstrator
condemn Israel's air strikes which have killed more than 400 and wounded
about 1,700 others.
More than 10,000 Muslims marched through Indonesia's capital on Friday
to protest the ongoing bombing raids in Gaza, aiming fake missiles
labeled "Target: Tel Aviv, Israel" at the U.S. Embassy.
Men, women and children attending the rally in Jakarta organized by the
Islamic-based Justice and Prosperity Party waved Indonesian and
Palestinian flags and shouted "Allahu akbar," Arabic for "God is great."
Many wore traditional white robes and held banners that read: "Save
Palestine from Israel, the terrorist." They marched to the U.S. Embassy,
which was guarded by hundreds of police.
"President-elect (Barack) Obama, we're watching you," party leader
Tifatul Sembiring told the crowd. "If you want peace in the world,
change the U.S. attitude toward Israel, don't support
Israel."
Police estimated that at least 10,000 people were at the demonstration
in Jakarta, but Associated Press reporters at the scene said the numbers
were much higher.
Protests were also held after Friday prayers in other Indonesian cities,
in what was the largest turnout since Israel began the operation last
Saturday, intended to end weeks of intensifying rocket fire from Gaza.
The vast majority of Indonesian Muslims practice a moderate form of
Islam. Although they support the creation of a Palestinian state, most
oppose violence against Israel.
Iranian Protestors Label Gaza Bombardment A "Real Holocaust"
Emotions in Mideast capitals, where demonstrations began shortly after
Friday prayers, were hotter. Similar protests have been held daily in
Tehran, Cairo, Amman and Damascus since Israel launched its bombing
campaign last Saturday, but these gatherings were larger - mainly
because Friday prayers are a traditional opportunity for Muslims to
assemble in great numbers.
In Tehran, a crowd of about 6,000 stretching for a half-mile marched
from prayers at Tehran University to Palestine Square, chanting "Death
to Israel" and "Death to America" and burning Israeli flags
They also carried banners reading: "Don't kill Children" and "Real
Holocaust is happening in Gaza," while some vowed to "fight and defend
Gaza."
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran's most powerful
politician-clerics, said in a sermon to several thousand worshippers
that an Israeli military defeat in Gaza would be a "scandal" for its
government and that, even if the Hamas government there collapses,
Palestinian "resistance" will only expand.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Israel that entering
Gaza "by land will be the biggest mistake of the Zionist regime." He
vowed Israel would be "defeated" in a ground attack.
Iran is a major backer of Hamas, giving it millions of dollars. Israel
and the U.S. accuse Iran of providing the Palestinian militant group
with newer, more sophisticated rockets, but Tehran denies arming the group.
In his prayer sermon, Rafsanjani said Hamas had a new anti-tank weapon
that it had not used before but would unleash if Israel ground troops
move in, but he did not elaborate.
In Srinagar, capital of Indian Kashmir, hundreds of protesters fought
pitched battles with security forces on Friday while protesting against
the continuing Israeli raids on Gaza.
The protesters gathered outside the Jamia mosque after Friday prayers
and burnt Israeli and American flags while shouting anti-Israel slogans.
Protesters pelted stones at the security forces who charged at them with
batons and tear gas.
U.S.-allied Arab governments like Egypt fear that Hamas and the Lebanese
militant group Hezbollah are giving a foothold for Iran. They have been
critical of Hamas - which took over Gaza in 2007 in battles with
loyalists of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - and of Syria for
backing its allies Iran and Hamas.
Pro-U.S. governments have been wary about protests at home over Israel's
Gaza assault, which Israel says is aimed at silencing Hamas rockets.
In Jordan, police fired volleys of tear gas and scuffled with dozens of
protesters who tried to push through a barrier to reach the Israeli
Embassy in Amman. A few of the protesters threw stones at police, but
the security forces dispersed the group, arresting several.
Hundreds more protesters marched peacefully nearby the embassy, calling
for its closure and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. Jordan and
Egypt are the only two Arab countries with peace agreements and
diplomatic relations with Israel.
Egypt clamped down hard to prevent protests Friday. Hundreds of riot
police surrounded Cairo's main Al-Azhar Mosque, where a rally had been
called, and scuffled with would-be protesters, keeping most from
approaching.
At another Cairo mosque dominated by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood,
police set up security checkpoints and inspected worshippers' ID cards.
Around the capital, police arrested 40 members of the Brotherhood, which
had called for pro-Gaza rallies.
In the southern Cairo suburb of Maadi, one mosque preacher called for
holy war for Gaza and several protesters marched nearby, shouting: "Let
us go to jihad," or holy war.
More than 3,000 people marched in solidarity with Gaza in the northern
Sinai city of el-Arish, Egypt's closest city to Gaza. On the border,
dozens of Sinai Bedouins raced around in cars in the town of Rafah,
firing their guns into the air.
In Syria, some 2,000 marched in Damascus' Palestinian refugee camp of
Yarmouk, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting "Jihad will unite us,"
and later burned an Israeli flag.
In Sudan, thousands marched in downtown Khartoum from mosques to the
main Martyrs Square, urging Muslims to jihad and denouncing Israel and
America.
Small protests erupted as well in the Palestinian territories. In an
Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem, a group of youths threw stones and
smashed large blocks while Israeli anti-riot police on horseback
dispersed them.
Three dozen Palestinian women marched out of Jerusalem's Damascus Gate
chanting, calling for revenge and urging Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah to hit Tel Aviv with missiles. Police dispersed the crowd.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, thousands demonstrated in solidarity
with Gazans, calling for Palestinian unity and accusing Arab leaders of
silence over Israel's bombardment.
Effigies Burned In Afghanistan
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, about 3,000 people gathered outside a
prominent mosque after Friday prayers, according to police estimates.
Men in the crowd threw stones and shoes at an effigy of President George
W. Bush.
Kabul Police Chief Ayoub Salangi said some 250 Afghan police monitored
the gathering to make sure it remained peaceful. No violence was reported.
A cleric who spoke to the crowd said Afghans supported a "holy war"
against Israel, in support of the Palestinian people. The cleric
condemned America's support of Israel and led the crowd in chants of
"Death to America" and "Death to Israel."
Leaders at the Afghan protest asked the crowd for volunteers to help in
a Palestinian fight against Israel.
Asadullah Shahid, a protestor, said he had gathered to condemn the
Israeli attacks and "announce our support to innocent Palestinians."
Another, Sayed Mushtaba, said that all "Afghan youths will stand against
Israel, America and Jews till the last drop of their blood and we will
defend Palestine."
Meanwhile, in Moscow, protesters marched on Friday outside the Israeli
Embassy in Russia.
Clutching Palestinian and Azerbaijan flags, the protesters chanted "God
is great," as well as anti-Israel and anti-American slogans.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian police arrested some protesters, dragging them into police vans,
before herding the rest of the protesters away.
Rashit, a Muslim from Moscow, said that children, women and old men were
being killed in Palestine, and that while people around the world were
protesting "we are banned from telling the truth."
In the Philippines, dozens of demonstrators gathered in Manila, carrying
placards saying Israel is a "butcher of children" and accusing it of war
crimes.
Organizer Reihana Melencio accused Israel of genocide.
"This is one of the strongest militaries on earth and attacking a people
who can only shoot back some old rockets, sticks and stones," she said.
Preparations For Demonstrations In London, Los Angeles
In London, celebrities and politicians lent their voice on Friday ahead
of a planned demonstration on Saturday, to condemn Israel's actions as
well as Hamas' rocket-fire response.
The high-profile campaigners called for an immediate end to the Israeli
operation in Gaza.
(AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox, former London mayor Ken
Livingstone, comedian and writer Alexei Sayle, and human rights advocate
Bianca Jagger were among the speakers.
The demonstration on Saturday, which is expected to draw thousands of
people, will march on Whitehall to call for an immediate end to the
violence.
Lennox said the issue went beyond religion, Jewish or Muslim.
"There has to be a place, ultimately, where people come to the table,"
she said. "How many more people will be slaughtered before we get there,
and is this the way to go about it? I, absolutely, don't think so."
In Los Angeles, Palestinian demonstrators plan to rally today, as
pro-Israel supporters hold their own protests.
The demonstrations come after hundreds from both sides protested in
front of L.A.'s Israeli Consulate on Tuesday.
Pro-Israel demonstrators say they plan to rally today outside of the
Federal Building starting at 11 a.m. PST.
Pro-Palestinian supporters have announced an emergency demonstration set
for 4:30 p.m. outside of the Israeli Consulate. Supporters of Israel
have also planned a counter protest at the location.
http://www.indymedia.org/or/2009/01/918835.shtml
Worldwide Protests Escalate in Response to Israel's Ground War on Gaza
08 Jan 2009 11:26 GMT
On Saturday January 3rd, Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip with the
stated goal of destroying the elected government in Gaza, Hamas, and the
suspected goal of helping two senior Israeli politicians in upcoming
elections (see [1] | [2] | [3]). The ground assault came after eight
days of air strikes, which were launched in response to small scale
rockets that killed four Israelis. At writing, at least 660 Palestinians
have been killed and 3000 injured, an estimated 50 percent of which are
civilians. Reports: IMEMC.org | Cyprus Indymedia | Indybay
Resistance and solidarity continues to grow in Israel and the West Bank
([1] | [2]), despite serious repression. Three demonstrators in the West
Bank have been killed and hundreds in Israel have been jailed for
protesting the killing spree. In Gaza, seven medics killed by Israeli
forces, five since the ground invasion began.
As the troops were amassing, protests were taking place in hundreds of
cities across the globe calling for Israel to cease aggressions, and
have continued to grow since. At least 700,000 people have rallied and
marched on embassies and politicians' offices around the world, calling
for international intervention and decrying silence as complicity. In
Norway, over 7,000 people have joined Socialist Left Party's Facebook
call for expelling the Israeli ambassador. On Wednesday in Toronto, a
group of Jewish women occupied the Israeli Consulate until police
removed them by force (Audio Report Here). In the United States, a
nation-wide demonstration has been called for Saturday, January 10.
Internationally, a growing network of organizations is calling for
coordinated boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel and
Israeli corporations ([1] | [2]). Roundups of Protest Coverage:
Aotearoa: Jan4 and Dec30 | Australia: Jan4 and Dec29-31 | Ireland |
United Kingdom | United States: Dec31 and Jan4 | | | IMEMC.org |
endtheoccupation.org | tadamon.ca
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054524.html
11/01/2009
Anti-Israel protesters try to attack U.S. consulate in Karachi By The
Associated Press Tags: Gaza, Pakistan, Israel, Hamas
Security forces used tear gas and batons to repel anti-Israel protesters
who tried to attack a U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, as
tens of thousands of people demonstrated worldwide against Israel's
offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Tens of thousands of angry demonstrators protested Sunday across the Arab
world, in Europe and Asia.
"Some 2,000 protesters in the Pakistani port city of Karachi burned U.S.
flags and chanted anti-Israel slogans, and several hundred of them
marched on the U.S. Consulate," senior police official Ameer Sheikh said.
"They were in a mood to attack," Sheikh said. "They were carrying
bricks, stones and clubs."
A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Islamabad, Lou Fintor, said the protesters
did not get close to the consulate, which was closed Sunday.
Washington provides a large amount of foreign aid to Jerusalem as well as
military and weapons assistance. Israeli aggression is often perceived
in the Muslim world as being financed and supported by the U.S. While
Pakistan's government is a U.S. ally, anti-American sentiment is
pervasive in the Muslim majority country.
In Spain, as many as 100,000 people attended rallies in Madrid and the
southwestern city of Seville, urging Israel to Stop the massacre in Gaza
and calling for peace initiatives. Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos will tour the Middle East starting Monday to promote solutions
to the conflict.
An estimated 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians meanwhile protested
peacefully in downtown Beirut, waving Palestinian flags and calling on
the international community to intervene in the Israeli attack.
A convoy of some 15 ambulances from an Islamic medical society sounded
their sirens for 20 seconds in solidarity with Gaza medics. Leftist
participants set fire to a large Israeli flag, while children taking
part in the protest held bloody dolls representing Palestinian children
killed in Gaza.
The death of children in the Gaza assault has become an enduring theme at
protests.
Children carrying effigies of bloody babies headed a march attended by
thousands in Brussels, Belgium. In the West Bank city of Ramallah,
demonstrators held up dolls wrapped in red-stained shrouds and
photographs of bloodied children.
Jewish communities appeared divided on the Israeli operations. In London,
thousands of people gathered at Trafalgar Square to support the action in
Gaza, while anti-Israeli protesters held a counter-demonstration nearby.
In a letter published in Britain's Observer newspaper Sunday, 11 leading
British Jews urged Israel to end its Gaza campaign and negotiate a
settlement for security reasons.
We are concerned that rather than bringing security to Israel, a
continued military offensive could strengthen extremists, destabilize
the region and exacerbate tensions inside Israel with its one million
Arab citizens, the letter said.
In Syria, as revolutionary songs blared from loudspeakers, demonstrators
accused Arab leaders of being complicit in the Gaza assault. "Down, down
with the Arab rulers, the collaborators," the crowd in Damascus shouted.
Separately, activists protesting the Israeli campaign were driving from
Turkey to Syria in a convoy of 200 cars, and participants hoped Syrian
protesters would join them at the border Monday, according to Nezir
Dinler, an activist with the Istanbul-based Solidarity Foundation.
A few thousand people marched in largely peaceful pro-Palestinian
rallies in the Italian cities of Rome, Naples and Verona. In Rome,
municipal authorities were dispatched to erase graffiti - including
Stars of David and swastikas - that had been scrawled on Jewish-owned
stores and restaurants overnight.
Philippine policeman used shields to disperse Filipino student activists
outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila to condemn the Israeli assault in
Gaza. They held signs reading, Stop U.S.-Israel Aggression against
Palestine.
About 100 members of a leftist students' organization marched in Tokyo
against the Israeli military action.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/01/2009110134856498809.html
Mass protests held against Gaza war
Protesters in Germany demand and end to the Israeli bombardment and the
Gaza blockade [AFP]
Protesters have staged rallies around the world to voice their anger as
the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip entered a third week.
Thousands of protesters marched on the Israeli embassy in Britain, while
others took to the streets of Germany, France, Lebanon, Australia and
the West Bank.
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said that the number of
protesters in London was far bigger than at previous demonstrations in
the UK capital.
"That is an indication of how far things have moved on in the last week,
deteriorating quite rapidly in the Gaza Strip with the Israeli ground
offensive," he said.
"That has filtered through to public opinion with far more people coming
out onto the streets in London and capital cities across Europe.
"There have been calls for the Israeli embassy to be closed down, for
diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and Israel to be broken."
Palestinian cause
One of the protesters told Al Jazeera that she had not been able to
contact her family in the Gaza Strip for five days.
"I don't what has happened to them, are they alive, are they not alive?"
she said.
"That crowd of 100,000 people, probably more, has come out today to show
their support to the Palestinian people despite the fact that all the
leaders are not supporting the Palestinian cause and are supporting Israel.
"We will outnumber the leaders ... and we will do whatever we can. We
will boycott Israeli goods, we will demand, we will protest and protest
and protest as much as we can until we free the Palestinian people."
The rally was backed by Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London, who
has called on European nations to withdraw their ambassadors from Israel
and suspend trade agreements with the Jewish state.
Tens of thousands of people chanting "We are all Palestinians" joined a
protest in the French capital Paris.
"We want to point to the hypocrisy of an international community which
votes for tons of resolutions that it never enforces," Olivier
Besancenot, leader of France's Revolutionary Communist League, said.
Elsewhere in France, pro-Palestinian rallies were held in Lille,
Grenoble, Nice and Toulouse.
Engin Karahan, one of the organisers of a march in the German city of
Duisburg, said the protesters wanted to show "our solidarity with the
victims in the Gaza Strip, and signal our opposition to the oppression
and violence in Gaza".
The demonstrators, many from the large ethnic Turkish community, called
for an immediate end to the violence and a lifting of the Israeli
blockade of Gaza.
More than 6,000 demonstrators gathered in the German capital Berlin, and
other rallies were held in Munich and Cologne.
Protests in Americas
Later, at least 10,000 people gathered in a park in Washington DC to
voice their solidarity for the Palestinian people.
At least 10,000 people gathered in Washington to voice their solidarity
with Gaza [Gallo/Getty]
"The United States has a role to play because US weapons are being used
... so we need a drastic policy change," Cynthia McKinney, the Green
Party nominee in the recent presidential contest, said.
The protesters descended on the White House, chanting "free Palestine"
as protest leaders and activists spoke from a podium.
"There are many young people. We feel it's one of the most important
demonstrations for Palestine ever in the US," said Eugene Puryear, a
coordinator of the Washington protest, which was organised by the ANSWER
(Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition.
Protesters waived Palestinian flags, wore keffiyeh, a traditional
Palestinian headdress, and waived signs, some of which read "Stop the
Gaza holocaust" and "Free Palestine, let Gaza live."
They then led a march passing in front of the headquarters of The
Washington Post newspaper to protest "its hard pro-Israeli line,"
Puryear said, before heading to the offices of construction equipment
giant Caterpillar and military contractor Lockheed Martin.
A dozen buses filled with protesters came from New Jersey and another
seven buses drove in from New York.
Thousands more protested across several Canadian cities, calling for an
"immediate ceasefire" and especially targeting conservative Stephen
Harper, the Canadian prime minister, for his support of Israel.
In Montreal, some 2,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanted "Israel
the assassin" and called for a ceasefire in the impoverished Gaza Strip.
Some brandished dolls spattered with red paint that they said
represented children killed by the Israeli army.
Several hundred protesters also gathered in front of the US embassy in
Mexico City in opposition to what they called the "criminal aggression"
in Gaza.
Some protesters set shoes ablaze and hurled them against the embassy gates.
'Nation's battle'
Almost 20,000 demonstrators carrying Lebanese and Palestinian flags
marched through the streets of the Lebanese market town of Nabatiyeh in
a rally organised by the Hezbollah group, which fought a 34-day war with
Israeli in 2006.
Protesters in London burned placards outside the Israeli embassy [Reuters]
"Gaza is the nation's battle," read one banner carried by the
demonstrators.
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in protests that have
been staged every day since Israel began to bombard the Gaza Strip 15
days ago.
In the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, hundreds of
Palestinian children took to the streets calling for an end to the war.
Palestinian youths also gathered in East Jerusalem.
"It is to [express] our anger about the massacre in Gaza, this voice ...
[says] Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian territories [and] that
Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state," Hatem Abdel
Al-Qader, an adviser to the Palestinian prime minister, said.
"It is a big voice ... that supports our citizens in Gaza against the
Israeli massacre."
Several hundred people rallied outside the Israeli embassy in the
Australian capital of Canberra, throwing shoes at the building and
chanting "Free Palestine".
http://www.necn.com/Boston/World/2009/01/10/Global-antiIsrael-protests/1231622345.html
WORLD: Global anti-Israel protests continue TOP VIDEOS
(NECN) - Demonstrations continued across the world on Saturday to
protest against Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Similar protests have occurred almost daily in the Middle East and
elsewhere since Israel launched its operation on December 27, in an
attempt to stop rocket fire from Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The demonstrations have been fueled by the rising death toll in Gaza,
which currently stands at over 800 Palestinians -- roughly half of them
civilians, according to Palestinian medical officials. Thirteen
Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have been killed.
In London, England, about 12,000 demonstrators rallied in Hyde Park in
support of the Palestinian cause, carrying placards marked "Gaza: Stop
the massacre" and chanting "free, free Palestine". A police officer in
London was knocked unconscious as some protesters turned violent, with
some throwing sticks and missiles at riot police.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, thousands of demonstrators in the Scottish
capital of Edinburgh gathered in front of the American consulate to toss
shoes at the 19th century town house.
In the Lebanese capital Beirut, a large group gathered outside the
Egyptian embassy to express anger towards the Egyptian authorities for
closing the Rafah border crossing with Gaza. In Beirut protesters hung
posters of injured and dead Palestinians on barbed wire around the
Israeli embassy.
In Nabatiyeh, Southern Lebanon, nearly 20,000 people
gathered for a march organized by the militant Hezbollah group, a strong
ally of Hamas that fought its own war with Israel in the summer of 2006.
The thousands of demonstrators who marched through the streets waved
Lebanese and Palestinian flags and some carried posters of bloody
Palestinian children.
In Athens, Greece, more than 2,000 mostly Arab demonstrators, joined by
several Greek leftist groups, marched to the Israeli embassy in protest.
And In Paris, France, thousands of protesters marched to show solidarity
with Gaza's Palestinians, a week after 21,000 marched in the French
capital for the same cause.
Demonstrators in Paris chanted: "We are all the children of Gaza" and
waved Palestinian flags to protest Israel's deadly offensive. Last
week's march degenerated into violence in a main shopping district with
cars burned and windows broken.
In Sanaa, Yemen, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis were demonstrating in
the capital Sanaa and other Yemeni cities in support of the Palestinian
people in Gaza.
Video courtesy of APTV and Yemen TV.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052263.html
Last update - 05:03 03/01/2009
Thousands protested Friday against Israel's air offensive targeting
Hamas at demonstrations in the Middle East and several continents.
Similar protests have been held daily across the Middle East since
Israel launched the bombing campaign last Saturday. But these gatherings
held mostly after Friday prayers were larger - mainly because Friday
prayers are a traditional gathering opportunity for Muslims - and seemed
to be more far-reaching in the number of countries where protests occurred.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 400 Palestinians and
sparked outrage among the Arab public. Israel says its offensive is
aimed at silencing Hamas rockets.
In Tehran, a crowd of about 6,000 stretching for a half-mile (kilometer)
marched from prayers at Tehran University to Palestine Square, chanting
"Death to Israel" and "Death to America" and burning Israeli flags.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Israel that entering
Gaza "by land will be the biggest mistake of the Zionist regime."
Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, giving
it millions of dollars. The U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of giving
weapons and rockets to Hamas, though Tehran denies arming Hamas.
In Egypt, authorities clamped down hard to prevent protests Friday.
Hundreds of riot police surrounded Cairo's main Al-Azhar Mosque, where a
rally had been called, and scuffled with would-be protesters, keeping
most from approaching.
Police also arrested 40 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood
that called for protests.
More than 3,000 people marched in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish.
Many governments in the Arab world such as Egypt have been wary about
protests at home over Israel's Gaza assault lest the protests spiral out
of control.
In Jordan, police fired volleys of tear gas and scuffled with protesters
who tried to reach the Israeli Embassy in Amman. A few of the protesters
threw stones at police, but the security forces dispersed the group,
arresting several.
About 30,000 Jordanians gathered at a stadium in Amman shouting their
support for Gaza and calling for the abolition of the Jordanian-Israeli
peace treaty signed in 1994.
More than 10,000 Muslims marched through Indonesia's capital Jakarta to
protest the ongoing bombing raids in Gaza, aiming fake missiles labeled
"Target: Tel Aviv, Israel" at the U.S. Embassy.
Protests were also held after Friday prayers in other cities in the
world's most populous Muslim country, in what was the largest turnout
since Israel began the operation.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, about 3,000 people gathered outside a
prominent mosque, according to police estimates. Men in the crowd threw
stones and shoes at an effigy of President George W. Bush.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered in the Philippines capital Manila,
carrying placards saying Israel is a "butcher of children."
In Turkey, Israel's closest ally in the region, some 5,000 people
denounced the Israeli raids outside a mosque in Istanbul, burning
Israeli and U.S. flags and reciting funeral prayers for the victims.
In Syria, some 2,000 marched in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus,
carrying Palestinian flags and chanting "jihad will unite us."
Syrian President Bashar Assad talked with UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon Friday and called on the UN Security Council to adopt a
resolution forcing Israel to immediately halt its Gaza offensive,
Syria's official news agency SANA reported.
In Sudan, thousands marched in downtown Khartoum, urging Muslims to
jihad and denouncing Israel and America.
Protests erupted as well in the Palestinian territories.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, thousands demonstrated in solidarity
with Gazans, calling for Palestinian unity and accusing Arab leaders of
silence over Israel's bombardment.
There were also protests in the United States. Thousands gathered in
Washington to express outrage over Israel's attacks, marching from the
Israeli embassy Friday to the Egyptian embassy to criticize Egypt's
handling of the attacks.
In Los Angeles, about 350 protesters and counter-protesters
demonstrated. The pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the
Israeli Consulate, while supporters of Israel lined the opposite side of
the street. No incidents were immediately reported.
Ex-Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox and other celebrities, including
activist Bianca Jagger, comedian Alexei Sayle and former London mayor
Ken Livingstone, held a news conference in London demanding Israel halt
the onslaught.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil almost 200 people led by local Muslim leaders
gathered outside the Sao Paulo Art Museum to protest the Israeli
offensive in Gaza. Several demonstrators carried Palestinian flags, and
banners reading "End the Genocide in Gaza."
In Bern, Switzerland, hundreds of people marched, calling for an
immediate cease-fire in Gaza and demanding the international community
impose sanctions against Israel.
Russian authorities detained about 37 people after a small protest
outside the Israeli Embassy in Moscow demanding an end to attacks on the
Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of Muslims held a rally at the main mosque in the Kenyan
capital of Nairobi, hoisting banners that said "Palestinian Blood Is
Human Blood" and shouting for Kenya to sever ties with Israel.
Meanwhile, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, the leader of al-Qaida in Islamic
North Africa, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, has
issued a message urging Muslims to attack Jews everywhere, according to
the SITE Intelligence, a group which monitors extremist Web sites.
The message was issued on jihadist forums on Thursday, SITE said.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1111203/Cities-world-platform-hundreds-thousands-protesters-Gaza-fighting.html
Cities across the world become platform for hundreds of thousands of
protesters against Gaza fighting
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:07 PM on 11th January 2009
Cities across the world became the platform for protest on Israel's
military action in Gaza today.
Organisers said more than 250,000 people marched through Spain's capital
of Madrid, with other European cities including Athens, Brussels, Rome,
Naples Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin also the focal points of protesters.
The protest in Madrid was the largest of demonstrations across Europe,
although there were expressions of both support and opposition for the
Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Enlarge
Thousands of protesters take part in demonstrations in downtown Madrid
on Sunday
One protester makes his feelings known at the Madrid rally on Sunday
Madrid protesters filled downtown boulevards carrying banners saying
'Peace' and 'SOS Gaza' placards above pictures of a red-stained hand and
mock blood-spattered bodies of children.
Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem's mother Pilar, addressed a crowd
estimated by organisers to number 250,000.
She said: 'The Spanish government has to do something. The Gaza Strip is
now practically a concentration camp.'
'It is my duty to call on Israel to implement an immediate cease-fire,'
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told the protest in Ourense.
Thousands of supporters of the 'Imamia Students Organization'
participate in a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan
Protesters in Jakarta take to the streets
In Brussels, children carrying effigies of dead and bloodied babies were
at the head of a march through the Belgian capital as demonstrators
there also demanded a halt to Israel's military campaign.
Protesters burned an Israeli flag during the demonstration.
In London's Trafalgar Square, up to 15,000 demonstrators called for an
end to Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and voiced support for Israeli
attempts to protect the country's citizens.
'The basic, simple goal of the people of Israel is to be allowed to live
in peace, without violence, without fear, and without terror,' Israeli
Ambassador Ron Prosor told crowds gathered in the British capital.
'We tell the terrorists, "enough is enough." They, and not us, will be
defeated.'
A Philippine policeman scuffle with a student activist during a rally in
front of the U.S. embassy in Manila
But in a letter published in Britain's The Observer newspaper, 11
leading British Jews said Sunday that Israel's government must end its
military action to achieve security.
'We are concerned that rather than bringing security to Israel, a
continued military offensive could strengthen extremists, destabilize
the region and exacerbate tensions inside Israel with its 1million Arab
citizens,' their letter said.
Signatories included Baroness Julia Neuberger and Rabbi Tony Bayfield,
the head of Britain's Movement for Reform Judaism.
A few thousand people in Italy marched in pro-Palestinian rallies in
Rome, Naples and Verona. In Rome, municipal authorities erased graffiti
- including Stars of David and swastikas - that were scrawled on
Jewish-owned stores and restaurants overnight.
A total of more than 3,000 people joined protests in support of Israel
in the German cities of Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.
In Athens, dozens of children, and their parents, carrying effigies and
photos of bloodied children marched in the Greek capital to protest at
continued Israeli operations in Gaza.
Other demonstrations were held in the Phillipines and Jakarta and other
cities across the world.
Thousands turned up for protests in Trafalgar Square on Sunday
The demonstrations passed off peacefully compared to violence seen in
London on Saturday.
Violent clashes occurred between police and around 20,000 protesters
outside the Israeli Embassy - with an estimated 100,000 protesters
airing their views around the city.
Windows were smashed and policemen were injured - with one officer
knocked unconscious in the running battles and two requiring treatment
for facial injuries. A Starbucks coffee shop was completely wrecked as
protesters went on the rampage in Kensington.
It is hoped a further demonstration today in London's Trafalgar Square
will be more peaceful as thousands of pro-Israeli demonstrators "reclaim
the public space" from their political opponents.
Yesterday's protesters - mainly young men - knocked down barriers threw
missiles including eggs, red paint, sticks and shoes as 300 officers in
full riot gear tried to maintain the peace.
Police try and hold back the protesters outside the Israeli embassy,
Kensington, as thousands show their anger at the worsening situation in Gaza
Barriers are broken down as the protest turns ugly, with at least one
police officer hospitalised by the riots
Clean-up in Kensington: Demonstrations and vigils have been held all
week, reaching a crescendo of 100,000 on Saturday
There were reports that some protesters had tried to set fire to police
vans.
The violence, which broke out in front of the Israeli Embassy, appeared
to be led by a hard-core of masked and hooded youths.
A national demonstration against Israel's attack marched from Speakers'
Corner at Hyde Park today to the Israeli embassy in High Street Kensington.
It was estimated there were around 100,000 protesters in total across
London, including the Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park and Kensington protests.
During today's demo, protesters waved Israeli flags and placards bearing
the slogan "End Hamas Terror!" and cheered speakers who defended
Israel's actions in Gaza.
A small group of counter-demonstrators gathered on one side of the
Square chanting anti-Israeli slogans under the watchful eyes of police,
attracting some retaliatory chanting from the pro-Israeli demonstrators.
Attacked: Protestors go for horse-backed officers in Kensington
A protester pushes down barriers as police try to maintain calm amid
missile-throwing and window-smashing
Demonstrators let off fireworks outside the Israeli Embassy in London as
they call for the fighting in the Gaza region to stop
Blood can be seen on the outside of Starbucks, with windows were
smashed, and the inside was extensively damaged
Henry Grunwald, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews told
the crowd: "The atmosphere on the streets of London has been very
unpleasant in the last two days, we felt it important to reclaim the
public space and make our voices heard.
"Why have we turned up in such large numbers? We are here because we
believe in peace, because we believe in life, and because we want peace
in life.
"We want the people of Israel to have peace, and the people of Gaza to
have peace."
On Saturday there was a heavy police presence lining the route taken by
the protesters.
Chanting 'free, free Palestine', the crowd was led through the streets
of London by a vocal group of largely young men.
A Starbucks coffee shop in the area was stripped of chairs and had its
front windows smashed, and protestors also removed fittings from the shop.
Residents living in flats above watched the scenes from their windows,
and many people pleaded with police to let them out of the cordon.
At one point, the protesters were seen to throw shoes at mounted police
posted in the Notting Hill area.
The march ground to a halt outside the Israeli embassy as tens of
thousands of people surged past carrying placards.
At a number of points, officers asked some of the noisier and more
enthusiastic protesters to 'calm down'.
There was pushing and shoving between protesters and police in riot gear
outside the embassy building.
Demonstrators chanted noisily and tossed shoes over the heads of the
police ranks towards the embassy.
Demonstrators inside the Starbucks branch near the Israeli embassy in London
Demonstrators and the media scramble around each other soon after
fireworks were let off in a packed High Street Kensington
Burning bush: A placard bearing a portrait of U.S. President George Bush
is set alight. There were reports of rioters trying to set police vans
alight
A series of heavily policed demonstrations with up to 2,000
pro-Palestinian supporters have already been held outside the Israeli
embassy in London.
Commander Bob Broadhurst said: 'A group of people on this demonstration
have set out to deliberately confront and antagonise police officers
trying to protect the Embassy of Israel.
'We are very disappointed by the irresponsible and criminal actions of
those who have challenged police by ripping apart security barriers and
throwing objects at them.'
Protestors burn placards in High Street Kensington
Flags are burnt as the protesters make their feelings known during the riots
He added: 'A hard core of demonstrators are undermining the cause of the
vast majority of people on this demonstration, who are law abiding
citizens wishing to protest peacefully.'
Of the three arrests, one man was held on suspicion of assaulting a
police officer and another man was in custody on suspicion of aggravated
trespass.
The spokesman said they were awaiting details of the third arrest.
Thousands of mostly young male protesters marched from Hyde Park to High
Street Kensington
Hyde Park was also the center of protests, with thousands calling for an
end to conflict in Gaza
In Edinburgh, protesters hurled about 300 shoes and red paint at the
U.S. consulate in the Scottish capital.
At least three officers were injured after being attacked by a group of
60 protesters.
Pete Cannell, secretary of the Scottish Stop the War Coalition, said
10,000 attended the event.
'If we'd had a few more days it would've been twice the size,' he said.
'The response we got when we were handing out leaflets was overwhelming.'
A Thai Muslim steps on burning Israeli flags during a protest in Muslim
province of Yala, in southern Thailand
Event organiser Nick Napier said the action was taken as a result of the
'rage and anger' over the death toll in Gaza over the past two weeks.
'People are here because they know the trail of blood leads from Gaza
back to Britain and that Gordon Brown, while publicly calling for a
ceasefire, we know has instructed his diplomats in New York to support
the Americans,' he told Sky News.
A spokesman for the American Consulate declined to comment.
A South Korean protester shouts a slogan during a rally in Seoul, South
Korea
Across the Irish Sea, a 5,000-strong crowd gathered in the centre of
Belfast, in a pro-Palestinian protest event organised by the Irish
Congress of Trades Unions.
Belfast Lord Mayor Tom Hartley of Sinn Fein said: 'The full-scale
military assault on Gaza has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of
people including the slaughter of women and children.
'Our demands today are simple: The war in Gaza must end now.'
Protesters push and shove during demonstrations outside Parliament in
Oslo, Norway
Elsewhere in the world, some 20,000 people took to the streets in Berlin
and other German cities.
Protesters threw snowballs at two Israeli flags that hung from the
windows of a house along the demonstration route, but otherwise no
incidents were reported.
In Amman, Jordan, more than 2,000 took to the streets and in Syria,
another 2,000 marched in a Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus
shouting anti-Israeli slogans.
There were also demonstrations in the U.S., France, Norway, Greece,
Malaysia, Sweden, Bosnia, Lebanon, Thailand, South Korea and India.
Today, a 'rally to call for peace' was held in Trafalgar Square by the
Board of Deputies of British Jews.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2009/01/12/2003433497
Protests erupt over violence in Gaza
OFFENSIVE: Thousands of demonstrators in Edinburgh, Scotland, threw
shoes at the US consulate, evoking an Iraqi journalist who threw his
shoes at the US President
AP, BERLIN
Monday, Jan 12, 2009, Page 6
A wounded demonstrator with a blood-stained face is arrested by police
during clashes at a rally in Paris on Saturday.
PHOTO: EPA
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Europe, North
Africa and the Middle East on Saturday, shouting protests against the
Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Protesters burned Israeli flags in Sweden and threw shoes at the US
consulate in Edinburgh, Scotland. In central London, three officers were
hurt when demonstrators hurled shoes and placards at police outside the
Israeli Embassy. One officer was knocked unconscious. Some 180 people
were arrested in Paris.
But in Innsbruck, Austria, volunteer security personnel arranged by the
Islamic 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. The 3,500 Innsbruck marchers carried banners
calling for “Freedom for Palestine” and saying “Stop the Israeli Terror.”
Israel says its 2-week-old offensive is intended to stop Palestinian
Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel. Palestinian medical officials
say more than 800 people have been killed.
A crowd of 12,000 gathered in London’s Hyde Park carrying placards
marked “Gaza: Stop the massacre” and chanting “free, free Palestine.”
Police said 15 people were arrested after a group of around 2,000
demonstrators clashed with police guarding the Israeli embassy. Two were
detained on suspicion of assaulting police officers.
Scores of marches were held across France, the biggest of them in the
capital, where police estimated 30,000 people took part. Paris police
scuffled with a small group toward the end.
Police said they made 180 arrests and a dozen police officers were injured.
Police said a crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 demonstrated in Lyon, up to 4,500
in Marseille and 3,500 in Grenoble at the foot of the Alps.
Police estimated that 30,000 people protested in the northern Spanish
city of Barcelona, some carrying bloodstained blankets and mock dead
bodies of children.
The demonstration had been called by around 300 Catalan groups who have
asked the Spanish government to back cease-fire initiatives and to stop
all trade, especially arms, with Israel.
In Italy, several thousand people carrying Palestinian flags marched in
Milan, Florence and Venice to protest the Israeli offensive. 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 yelling slogans including
“Israel and USA: the Intifada is back” and “Israel lets blood flow,
Israel shoots innocents.”
Hundreds of police were deployed along the Berlin demonstration 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 people 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.
Protesters threw snowballs at two Israeli flags that hung from the
windows of a house along the demonstration route, but otherwise no
incidents were reported.
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 during a pro-Palestinian rally in the capital. Two people were
injured during the rally, and two were taken into custody, said Oslo
police spokeswoman Unni Groendal.
Protesters in Sweden tried to break through sealed-off areas at Israel’s
embassy in Stockholm after a march through the city by 3,000 to 5,000
people. The crowd was dispersed after about an hour.
Thousands of demonstrators in Edinburgh, Scotland, threw shoes at the
American consulate — a gesture evoking an Iraqi journalist who threw his
shoes at US President George W. Bush during a recent Baghdad visit.
Organizer Ian Hood said the group was angry with the US for failing to
stop the bloodshed in Gaza.
Smaller protests also took place in the northern English city of
Newcastle and in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Athens were joined by several Greek
leftist groups to form a crowd of about 2,000 who marched to the Israeli
embassy.
Children wore T-shirts sprayed with fake blood and the crowd burned
Israeli and American flags but no major incidents were reported.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/03/stories/2009010356131500.htm
International
Global protests against Gaza attacks
Atul Aneja
— Photo: Xinhua
Devastating attacks: A doctor inspects the damage in a children’s
hospital in Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike, on Thursday.
DUBAI: Israeli warplanes have bombed homes of top Hamas leaders amid a
spate of demonstrations against the attacks held across several
continents on Friday. As the conflict in Gaza entered its seventh day,
Israeli warplanes bombed 15 homes belonging to Hamas activists before
dawn on Friday. The Gaza death toll has now risen to 427. Gaza is facing
the threat of an imminent ground offensive with Israeli troops and
equipment amassed along its border. On Friday, the Israeli government
allowed around 300 Palestinians having foreign passports to exit from Gaza.
There has been an outpouring of pro-Gaza demonstrations across several
continents after prayers on Friday afternoon. In the West Bank,
thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in Ramallah, shouting slogans in
support of Gaza residents. Some exhorted fighters to “hit Tel Aviv” with
their rockets. The Hamas had earlier issued a call for observing Friday
as “the day of wrath.”
Defying the cold weather and the savagery of the Israeli attacks,
thousands took to the streets in war-ravaged Gaza. The demonstrators
also participated in the funeral of Hamas field commander Nizar Rayan,
who was assassinated during an air strike on his home on Thursday.
Egyptian police arrested at least 40 members of the opposition Muslim
Brotherhood on Friday to prevent large-scale demonstrations in support
of Gaza.
At Cairo’s Al-Azhar mosque, around 100 demonstrators shouted slogans
against Israel and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There was a huge
turnout of people in Tehran after prayers.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told demonstrators that Gaza
residents were justified in their belief that some Arab countries had
betrayed them. “We are calling for an immediate ceasefire, a halt to the
attack and aid for the population of Gaza as well as an end to the
blockade of the Palestinian territory and the opening up of all
crossings,” he said.
In Afghanistan, demonstrations were held in Kabul and Herat, where
protesters burnt the effigy of Israeli President Shimon Peres.
The Gaza fall-out was also prominently felt in South Asia.
In Srinagar, hundreds burnt Israeli flags and raised slogans against
Israel and the U.S. Many held aloft banners and portraits of Lebanese
Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. A large demonstration was also held
in Dhaka. The impact of the Gaza bloodbath was felt in Indonesia,
Philippines and Australia where a large number of people stepped out to
protest.
Meanwhile, British telecommunications firm FreedomCall has snapped its
tie up with Israel’s MobileMax on account of Israel’s military operation
in Gaza.
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090102/FOREIGN/352763171/1002/rss
Gaza protests held around the world
• Last Updated: January 02. 2009 3:28PM UAE / January 2. 2009 11:28AM GMT
In Indian Kashmir, protesters burned Israeli flags and chanted
anti-Israel and anti-US slogans. Dar Yasin / AP
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Indonesia, Australia and
India to rally against Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The demonstrations were held against the offensive, launched in response
to a wave of Palestinian rocket attacks, that is believed to have killed
more than 400 people so far.
Tens of thousands of Indonesian Muslims carrying banners and Palestinian
flags staged a peaceful protest in the capital Jakarta, police said.
The demonstrators gathered in the city centre to pray for the safety of
Palestinians before marching to the US embassy.
The Prosperous Justice Party, which organised the protest, had said it
hoped to attract 200,000 people.
The party’s deputy head Hilman Rosyad Syihab said: “This is to show the
world that Indonesians possess solidarity and understand the sufferings
of the Palestinians.”
The group hoped to raise US$200,000 (Dh735,000) for the Palestinians
from the rally, he added.
“They want to protest against the Israeli airstrikes. We can handle the
large number as long as they don’t become aggressive and throw stones or
bottles,” the national police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said.
There was heavy security for the rally, with about 500 police officers
deployed, most of them outside the US embassy, local news website
Detikcom reported. Two armoured police vehicles equipped with water
cannons also stood by.
In Australia, more than 4,000 Muslims gathered in Sydney to demonstrate
against the attacks.
In Indian Kashmir, hundreds burnt Israeli flags and chanted anti-Israel
and anti-US slogans. Carrying pro-Palestinian banners and portraits of
Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, hundreds of Kashmiri Muslims marched
through the streets of the summer capital Srinagar chanting, “death to
Israel” and “death to US”.
*AFP
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article5433528.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
January 2, 2009
Protests against Gaza attack sweep across the world
(Adek Berry/AFP/Getty)
The streets in Jakarta were filled with protesters today
Image :1 of 4
Nico Hines
From Jakarta to London, a wave of protest erupted across the world
today against Israel’s assault on Gaza.
More than 10,000 marched through the Indonesian capital and Israeli
flags were burnt and trampled upon in Asia as the Palestinian death toll
in the offensive rose above 430, including three young brothers killed
this morning.
Thirty new Israeli raids struck the Gaza Strip today as thousands of
Hamas supporters attended the funeral of Nizar Rayan, the most senior
Hamas victim of the offensive. He was killed with his four wives and 11
of his children in another Israeli raid yesterday.
Hamas leaders responded by calling for a “Day of Wrath” to avenge the
deaths as the party warned that it may resume suicide attacks against
Israel for the first time since January 2005.
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, accused Hamas of holding
the people of Gaza hostage. She said Washington was working to secure a
ceasefire but reiterated the Bush Administration’s argument that any end
to the conflict would hinge on the willingness of Hamas to stop firing
rockets into Israel.
“Hamas has held the people of Gaza hostage ever since their illegal coup
against the forces of President Mahmoud Abbas [leader of the rival Fatah
party],” she said.
“We are working toward a ceasefire that would not allow a
re-establishment of the status quo ante, where Hamas could launch
rockets,” Dr Rice said. “It’s obvious that a ceasefire should take place
as soon as possible but we want a ceasefire that is durable and
sustainable.”
In Egypt, which shares a border with Israel and Gaza, thousands of riot
police have been deployed in a bid to calm growing anger. Around 5,000
people gathered to protest in the city of Ismailia. “We demand the
expulsion of the Israeli ambassador,” read one banner.
Egyptian police detained 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo
as protests turned violent, witnesses claimed that at least one
demonstrator was beaten with truncheons.
Thousands of protesters who gathered in Istanbul burnt Israeli flags.
They marched through the Turkish city waving Palestinian flags and
chanting “Israeli murderers, get out of Palestine” and “Muslims, don’t
sleep, defend Palestine”.
Bulent Gedikli, a senior official from Turkey’s ruling party, did little
to soothe the frustration by condemning the Israeli aerial bombardment
as “a crime against humanity”. In reference to the attack on President
Bush last month, he claimed that Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime
Minister, “deserved a pair of shoes to be thrown at him".
Around 3,000 Afghans held a similar demonstration in Kabul, burning
Israeli flags and chanting anti-American slogans. A smaller protest was
also held in the Philippines where demonstrators carried placards saying
Israel is a “butcher of children” and accusing it of war crimes.
Reihana Melencio, who organised the protest, accused Israel of genocide.
“This is one of the strongest militaries on earth and attacking a people
who can only shoot back some old rockets, sticks and stones,” she said.
In Jakarta, men, women and children attending the Indonesian rally
organised by the Islamic based Justice and Prosperity Party waved
Indonesian and Palestinian flags and shouted “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for
“God is great”.
Many wore traditional white robes and held banners that read: “Save
Palestine from Israel, the terrorist.” They marched to the US Embassy,
which was guarded by hundreds of police.
In London, a group of politicians and celebrities held a press
conference to condemn the attacks ahead of a major rally to be held in
the city tomorrow. Smaller protests have been held outside the Israeli
embassy throughout the week.
Alexei Sayle, an actor and comedian, said he was speaking out because it
was important for Jewish voices to be heard.
He said: “I want to feel proud of Israel, I want to be proud of my
people but I am ashamed.”
Despite worldwide condemnation, the population of Israel appear to be
strongly in favour of the bombing campaign targeting Hamas, the ruling
party in Gaza.
A poll today suggested that some 95 per cent of Israel’s Jewish
population supports the bombardment of Hamas.
Eighty per cent of the poll of 800 people backed the operation “without
reservation,” according to the survey published in the Maariv newspaper.
Even the leftwing Meretz party, which normally opposes such operations,
gave its blessing to the offensive.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/israel-continues-assault-despite-worldwide-protests
Israel Continues Assault, Despite Worldwide Protests
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by Blue Crush | January 3, 2009 at 12:11 am
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A series of worldwide protests and continued calls from international
leaders for a ceasefire were not enough to stop the conflict in Gaza, as
Israel continued its week-long assault on Hamas targets throughout
Friday. There were also indications Friday that Israel could soon expand
its military operation with a ground invasion on Gaza.
Tens of thousands of people held anti-conflict protests across the globe
on Friday, calling for their local governments to bring sanctions
against Israel and for the fighting to come to an end.
In London, several celebrities -- including former Eurythmics singer
Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger -- voiced their opposition to the
conflict and called for Israel to halt its assault on Gaza.
A large protest in Bern, Switzerland, saw hundreds of marchers calling
for both a ceasefire and sanctions to be brought against Israel.
Thirty-seven people were detained in Moscow after protesting the
conflict outside the city's Israeli Embassy.
About 6,000 people chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" in
Tehran, Iran.
Egyptian officials sent hundreds of riot police to a Cairo mosque to
keep protesters away and police arrested 40 members of the Muslim
Brotherhood opposition group. Another 3,000 pro-Gaza supporters marched
in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish.
Some 30,000 Jordanians made their support for Gaza known at a stadium in
Amman, and 10,000-plus Muslims marched through Jakarta, Indonesia aiming
fake missiles at the city's U.S. Embassy that were labeled "Target: Tel
Aviv, Israel."
Similar anti-Israel protests took place in the capital cities of
Afghanistan and the Philippines, as well as in several Turkish cities
and in Damascus, Syria.
Syrian President Bashar Assad reportedly spoke with UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on Friday and asked for the UN Security Council to adopt a
resolution to force Israel to immediate stop its military actions in Gaza.
In Nairobi, Kenya, hundreds of Muslims held a rally at a central mosque.
Many chanted for their government to cut off its ties with Israel.
In Sudan, thousands of protesters marched through Khartoum making
anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. statements.
http://www.workers.org/2009/world/protests_0122/
World protests grow
Movement targets Israel for boycott, divestment, sanctions
By John Catalinotto
Published Jan 14, 2009 4:31 PM
In the age of the Internet, sometimes it takes only two minutes to set
an example for the world’s workers. That’s just what the Norwegian
Locomotive Union did when they stopped all trains, trams and subways in
Norway for 120 seconds on Jan. 8, telling passengers that they were
staying in the station for that extra time in solidarity with the
Palestinian people.
Within days, the members of the COSATU trade union federation in South
Africa were discussing in Cape Town how to bring that tactic into their
country. The idea is to add two minutes each day the invasion and
blockade continues. U.S. Labor Against the War posted this on its site.
As the railway workers’ action begins to gather steam, another struggle
idea has spread from country to country. This is the call for “boycott,
divestment and sanctions” targeting the Israeli state and its economy.
Again in Cape Town at a march of 15,000 on Jan. 8, the South African
Communist Party’s Richard Mamobolo put his party behind the call COSATU
had made at a Johannesburg protest earlier for the South African
government to expel the Israeli ambassador and implement sanctions
against Israel.
The week of activities in South Africa supported the right of the
Palestinians to resist. There were also protests in Nairobi, where
police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse hundreds of
Muslims who had gathered after Friday prayers, and in other cities in
Kenya on Jan. 9.
This call for boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, was common to
many of the protests the weekend of Jan. 9-11. More millions of people
took to the streets around the world to demand the U.S.-backed Israeli
war machine stop killing and pull back out of Gaza. Acting as though
they could completely ignore the cry of these millions without
consequence, the Israelis continued to rain death on Gaza.
While in the first week almost all protests were at Israeli consulates
and embassies, the second week an official U.S. building was likely to
be the target.
Thousands more protested in Tshwane, Durban and Port Elizabeth in South
Africa on Jan. 9, where they chanted support for Hugo Chávez, president
of Venezuela. People all over the world were inspired when Chávez
expelled the Israeli ambassador and broke relations with Israel over the
bloody assault in Gaza.
In Brussels, Belgium, where 70,000 mostly Arab people marched on Jan.
11, their main message was for the European Union to suspend the
Association Agreement it currently has with Israel, as long as its
massacres and blockade of Gaza continue. One group held a banner with
the slogan “Hugo Chávez, friend of the Palestinian people,” in Spanish
and Arabic.
Chávez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a phone conversation
called for organizing a global summit to find a resolution to end the
Gaza catastrophe.
‘Boycott Israel’
A protest of 25,000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Jan. 6 was the
largest in Latin America. Another 1,000 people protested in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, on Jan. 8, and demanded that Brazil break diplomatic
relations with the terrorist state of Israel, cancel the commercial
treaty between Brazil and Israel, and begin an international campaign of
boycotting the products of Zionist corporations.
In Barcelona, Spain, where organizers say 200,000 marched, and in
Madrid, where 250,000 gathered, it was obvious that demonstrations were
so huge that many non-Arabs and non-Muslims were joining in a show of
solidarity. The main slogan of the Barcelona march was “Stop the
massacre in Gaza: Boycott Israel!” Throughout the rest of the Spanish
state, there were smaller but significant marches in Burgos, Avila,
Valencia, Oviedo, Malaga and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
In France, too, the protests grew larger, with more than 100,000 in
Paris and about the same total in many cities in the rest of the country
on Jan. 10.
In Germany the major actions were 10,000 in Duisberg and 8,500 in Berlin
on Jan. 10.
There was another strong protest of tens of thousands in downtown
London, England, that ended with clashes between demonstrators and the
police. There were also protests of 10,000 in Edinburgh, Scotland, where
demonstrators dumped red paint and 300 pairs of shoes at the U.S. Consulate.
There were smaller protests in Sweden and Norway, and one for the first
time in Warsaw, Poland. In Italy there were demonstrations in Rome,
Milan, Vicenza, Verona, Venezia and other cities, totaling in the tens
of thousands. Some 7,000 demonstrated in Bern, Switzerland, and 2,000 in
Athens, Greece.
In South Korea on Jan. 10, some 300 people demonstrated to stop Israel’s
killing of the people of Gaza, called out by 75 civil society
organizations, unions and progressive parties.
Anger grows
In the Arab and Muslim world, the demonstrations took a sharper edge.
Some 2,000 protesters in the Pakistani port city of Karachi burned U.S.
flags and chanted anti-Israel slogans. Then several hundred of them
marched on the U.S. Consulate. Senior police official Ameer Sheikh
claimed the protesters were carrying bricks, stones and clubs.
In Malaysia, the police arrested 21 people, including Klang MP Charles
Santiago and several top leaders of the Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM),
at an anti-war vigil at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.
In Turkey some of the strongest actions have taken place. Anti-war and
anti-racist movement activists, social organizations, nongovernmental
organizations, solidarity committees, trade unions and parties took to
the streets. They have been organizing daily protests since Dec. 28 in
almost every Turkish city, including Istanbul, Ankara, İznir and Adana.
There were protests at the Israeli Embassy and consulates, plus marches
on the main streets of big cities.
Demonstrators in Turkey showed their solidarity with the Palestinians of
Gaza and expressed the besieged and occupied population’s right to
resist. They recognized the Israeli state as the direct criminal, the
local gendarme acting as an appendage of world imperialism—particularly
U.S. imperialism but also that of the European Union. (Global Peace and
Justice Coalition of Turkey) Turkish fans even ran an Israeli basketball
team off the court.
An estimated 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians meanwhile protested
peacefully in downtown Beirut, waving Palestinian flags and calling on
the international community to intervene in the Israeli attack. Leftist
participants set fire to a large Israeli flag, while children taking
part in the protest held bloody dolls representing Palestinian children
killed in Gaza.
In Syria, demonstrators accused Arab leaders of being complicit in the
Gaza assault.
Jewish opposition to Gaza assault
More open Jewish opposition worldwide to Israeli policies has surfaced
following the assault on Gaza than during any earlier U.S.-backed
Israeli war or incursion. A Jewish women’s group in Toronto, Canada,
occupied the Israeli Consulate on Jan. 8 “in solidarity with the 1.5
million people of Gaza and to ensure that Jewish voices against the
massacre in Gaza are being heard,” according to their statement.
The French Jewish Union for Peace spoke up early against the assault on
Gaza. In Britain, a group of Jewish intellectuals started a petition
against the ongoing assault, and in the United States, Jewish activists
held a news conference Jan. 6 at Union Square Park in New York. On Jan.
12 the group Jews Against the Occupation held a protest of 150 people
before the Israeli Consulate in New York.
Paloma Valverde, Dirk Adriaensens, Bert de Belder, Fausto Schiavetto,
Paola Manduca, Jorge Figueiredo, Manuel Raposo, Jay Hauben, Berta
Joubert-Ceci, David Karvala and others contributed to this report.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-01/2009-01-12-voa1.cfm?CFID=175085161&CFTOKEN=18098142&jsessionid=de303f56e90eb76f788d1e45797059736f2b
Gaza Protests Held in Many Countries
By VOA News
12 January 2009
Protesters shout slogans against the Israeli offensive in Gaza during a
demonstration in Madrid, 11 Jan 2009
Thousands of people in London's Trafalgar Square protested Israel's
actions, while counter-protesters stationed themselves nearby to call
out support for Israel.
Thousands also marched in Brussels, Belgium, and in Madrid, Spain. The
rallies were a continuation of the protests that took place a day
earlier in cities worldwide.
Saturday, several thousand demonstrators in Washington gathered in a
park across the street from the White House to protest Israel's
offensive against Gaza.
The protesters carried Palestinian flags and shouted slogans in support
of the Palestinians in Gaza.
In France, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the
capital, Paris. Protests were also held in smaller cities around the
country.
Gaza Protests Held in Many Countries
By VOA News
12 January 2009
Protesters shout slogans against the Israeli offensive in Gaza during a
demonstration in Madrid, 11 Jan 2009
Thousands of people in London's Trafalgar Square protested Israel's
actions, while counter-protesters stationed themselves nearby to call
out support for Israel.
Thousands also marched in Brussels, Belgium, and in Madrid, Spain. The
rallies were a continuation of the protests that took place a day
earlier in cities worldwide.
Saturday, several thousand demonstrators in Washington gathered in a
park across the street from the White House to protest Israel's
offensive against Gaza.
The protesters carried Palestinian flags and shouted slogans in support
of the Palestinians in Gaza.
In France, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the
capital, Paris. Protests were also held in smaller cities around the
country.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=19566
Massive global protests for peace in Gaza
Monday, January 12, 2009
MADRID: Cities around the world were braced Sunday for fresh rallies
against Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip as the bombing campaign
entered its third week.
More than 100,000 people marched through Spain’s capital and other
cities Sunday calling for Israel to announce an immediate ceasefire in
Gaza. The protest in Madrid was the largest of demonstrations across Europe.
Protesters filled downtown boulevards carrying banners saying “Peace”,
“SOS Gaza”, placards with the word “Gaza” above a red-stained hand and
mock blood-spattered bodies of children. Oscar-winning actor Javier
Bardem’s mother Pilar, also an actress, was among speakers who addressed
the crowd.
“The Spanish government has to do something. The Gaza Strip is now
practically a concentration camp,” she said. The organizers, which
included the Socialist Party and trade unions, estimated turnout at
250,000. But police declined to give a figure. Rallies were held
elsewhere in Spain, including Seville in the southwest and Ourense in
the northwest. “It is my duty to call on Israel to implement an
immediate ceasefire,” Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told
the protest in Ourense.
In Brussels, children carrying effigies of dead and bloodied babies were
at the head of a march through the Belgian capital as demonstrators
there also demanded a halt to Israel’s military campaign. Protesters
burned an Israeli flag during the demonstration. A few thousand people
in Italy marched in pro-Palestinian rallies in Rome, Naples and Verona.
In Rome, municipal authorities erased graffiti _ including Stars of
David and swastikas _ that were scrawled on Jewish-owned stores and
restaurants overnight.
An estimated 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians also protested peacefully
in downtown Beirut on Sunday, while hundreds of demonstrators in
neighbouring Syria shouted insults at the both the Jewish state and Arab
leaders.
Many of the protesters in Lebanon held Palestinian flags and banners
calling on the international community to stop the Israeli attack as
they marched near a building that houses United Nations offices.
In Syria, demonstrators took their anger out on Arab leaders they blame
for alleged complicity in Israeli attacks on Gaza, including Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.
AFP adds: More than 1,000 students and ethnic minorities took to the
streets of Hong Kong in a protest organised on social networking website
Facebook.
The group, holding placards and banners, marched from Victoria Park to
the US consulate general demanding the United States stop supporting
Israel’s deadliest assault yet on impoverished Gaza.
Besides, 20,000 Indonesian Muslims staged a peaceful rally Sunday in the
capital of Jakarta. Protesters from the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party
gathered at the national monument in Jakarta and marched through the
streets.
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Protester_killed_in_West_Bank;_world_reacts_to_Gaza_conflict?curid=118900
Protester killed in West Bank; world reacts to Gaza conflict
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Jump to: navigation, search
Monday, January 5, 2009
Israel
Other stories from Israel
• 3 April 2009: Mushroom corals change from male to female and back again
• 24 March 2009: IDF soldiers' account of Gaza incursion sparks new war
crimes investigations
• 6 March 2009: Mauritania cuts ties with Israel, expels Israeli diplomats
• 20 February 2009: Israeli President chooses Likud leader to form the
18th Knesset government
• 20 February 2009: Israel seizes West Bank land
Qalqilyah is north west of Jerusalem, close to the 1967 boundary with
Israel.
During a Palestinian rally in Qalqilyah in the West Bank against Israeli
attacks on Gaza, Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, was shot and killed Sunday by
Israeli forces, according to Palestinian medical officials. Meanwhile
protests around the world took place in response to Israel's latest
attacks and ground assault on Gaza.
On Friday in Chicago, 4,000 people marched from Tribune Plaza to the
Israeli Consulate demanding an end to the occupation of Palestine, and
to the raids on Gaza. Another 40,000 people gathered in Morocco to
protest what they saw as the complicity of the Arab regimes in the attack.
On Saturday, thousands of protesters in Indonesia asked the Indonesian
government to send troops to Gaza to fight against the Israelis who they
called a “terrorist” force. On the same day in Toronto, Canada, 1,000
people gathered in the business district to protest Israeli actions. In
addition 10,000 people marched past United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon
Brown's residence in London, hurling hundreds of shoes at his home.
International outcry was not limited to civilian action. Louis Michel,
the European Union's humanitarian aid commissioner said in a statement
on Sunday that “blocking access to people who are suffering and dying is
also a breach of humanitarian law.” The statement promised 3 million
euros of emergency EU aid to the people of Gaza.
Al Jazeera says that 507 Palestinians have been killed and 2,700 wounded
since Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip began in late December.
Four Israelis were killed in that same time by Hamas rockets fired out
of Gaza.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Gaza-Tens-Of-Thousands-Of-People-Protest-Against-Middle-East-Violence-In-Britain/Article/200901215200749?f=rss
Cop Knocked Out At Gaza Protest
8:19pm UK, Saturday January 10, 2009
A policeman has been knocked unconscious and two others have been
injured during a protest in London against the fighting in Gaza.
Protesters let off fireworks outside the Israeli embassy
An initially peaceful demonstration ended with a group of protesters
throwing missiles at police and smashing windows on Kensington High
Street near the Israeli Embassy.
Riot officers from the Metropolitan Police force charged at the group of
mainly young men.
Sticks and barriers were hurled at the officers by the group, many of
whom were masked.
Three hundred police in full riot gear surrounded a similar-sized group
of protesters pushing them up the street.
Twenty thousand people joined the procession from Hyde Park to the
Israeli Embassy.
Three people have been arrested.
In Edinburgh, where thousands more gathered, demonstrators threw shoes
at the US Consulate.
Actress Lauren Booth, who took part in the London demonstration,
criticised her brother-in-law Tony Blair, saying that his suggestions
for a ceasefire in Gaza would condemn Palestinians "to a slow agonising
death".
Protesters Throw Shoes In Edinburgh
Cherie Blair's half-sister said: "Tony Blair's only comment regarding
the ceasefire has been to say that it can only take place after the
tunnels in Gaza are destroyed.
"What he is suggesting means that after the massacre people will have no
access to food, kerosene and medicines that came through those tunnels.
That is not a ceasefire that is a slow agonising death."
Another group of protesters occupied an Israeli cosmetics shop in
central London.
In Belfast 5,000 demonstrators marched through the city centre and in
Newcastle 100 people gathered to call for an end to the fighting.
On Sunday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews will hold a rally
calling for peace in Israel and Gaza in Trafalgar Square in central London.
And in Manchester, 3,000 people are expected to gather for a pro-Israel
demonstration.
Protests against the ongoing fighting have been taking place around the
world.
Thirty thousand people marched through Paris shouting "We are all the
children of Gaza" and in Lille, northern France, 10,000 gathered to protest.
In Algiers, 63 people were injured after police clashed with demonstrators.
Recent Protests Against Gaza Violence
More than 50,000 people rallied in Egypt after Friday prayers;
In Amman, Jordan, police fired tear gas at protesters;
In Baghdad, people set fire to US and Israeli flags;
Police in Nairobi, Kenya, fired tear gas and water at protestors.
In Germany, 10,000 people are marching through the western German city
of Duisburg.
Protesters threw snowballs at two Israeli flags that hang from the
windows of a house along the demonstration route.
Nearly 20,000 demonstrators have marched through the streets of the
Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh in a rally organized by Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to Venezuela has left the country,
expelled by President Hugo Chavez.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=265662&version=1&template_id=37
50,000 Egyptians stage protest amid worldwide fury over Gaza
Protesters burn an Israeli flag and hit it with shoes during a
demonstration in Kuwait City yesterday
Elsewhere yesterday:
In Europe, more than 2,000 demonstrated in Athens and Thessaloniki at
the behest of the Greek communist party, setting fire to US and EU flags
outside the US embassy and the Israeli flag outside the Israeli mission.
Smaller protests, varying from several dozen to several hundred people,
took place in Bucharest, Vienna, Prague, and The Hague where the Dutch
parliament’s foreign affairs committee debated the Gaza conflict.
In Italy, a small group representing merchants in Rome,
Flaica-Uniti-Cub, called on its website for a boycott of Jewish
businesses “as a sign of protest” — an idea swiftly denounced as
incitement to racial hatred.
Riccardo Pacifici, leader of the Jewish community in Rome, said he will
take legal action against the group, while Mayor Gianni Alemanno branded
the initiative “mad and criminal.”
In Belgium, the francophone FGTB labour federation threatened its
Israeli counterpart Histadrut with expulsion from the International
Trade Union Confederation if it fails to call for “peace without
conditions.”
In Norway, six people were injured and 31 arrested when 1,000
pro-Palestinian protesters attacked a pro-Israeli demonstration in Oslo
on Thursday, in the worst such violence in the capital since the 1980s.
In Asia, about 200 women protested outside the Egyptian embassy in
Jakarta, brandishing posters of dead and wounded Palestinian children
and urging Egypt to open its border with Gaza.
“As mothers, we feel sad for the women who lost their children in
Palestine,” said Nani Handayani, of women’s welfare group Salimah or
Muslim Sisterhood. “They are in our prayers.”
In Malaysia, Islamic groups urged a boycott of US brands such as
Coca-Cola — and a former prime minister told Malaysians working for
Starbucks or McDonald’s to quit — during a protest by around 300 people
outside the National Mosque in the capital Kuala Lumpur. - AFP
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&BA008B9A60D6D45BC2257539004F40A2
Egyptians Spearhead Gaza Protests
More than 50,000 Egyptians rallied after Friday prayers to condemn
Israel's ongoing assault against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in the biggest
such protest of the day worldwide.
Legislators affiliated with the opposition Muslim Brotherhood led the
protest in the ancient Mediterranean port city that echoed to such
slogans as "Down with Israel and with every collaborator."
The anger was directed not only at the Jewish state, but at Arab regimes
deemed to be complicit in the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza that has
stopped refugees from getting out and humanitarian aid from getting in.
"Gaza, excuse us -- opening Rafah is not in our hands," went another
slogan, referring to the Gaza-Egyptian border crossing that President
Hosni Mubarak's government in Cairo is refusing to keep open permanently.
A security official put the turnout at 50,000. Riot police were seen by
an Agence France Presse (AFP) correspondent in Alexandria trying to
prevent the demonstration from taking place -- only to give up because
of the sheer numbers of protesters.
In the Egyptian capital, riot police foiled demonstrations outside a
number of mosques after the ministry of religious affairs instructed
imams not to refer to Gaza in their sermons.
"They were warned to stay away from the Hamas topic and not to incite
the masses," the security official said, adding that 35 opposition
activists had been arrested in the morning.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, fistfights broke out between
supporters of Hamas and the rival Fatah faction during a "day of wrath"
protest, prompting police to intervene with tear gas and baton charges.
Thirteen people were taken to hospital, and several others detained.
Some 3,000 demonstrated at the behest of Hamas in Hebron, throwing
stones at Israeli soldiers who responded with rubber bullets. Several
thousand meanwhile shouted "Death to Israel" in Nablus, while young
Palestinians clashed with police in Jerusalem.
In Kuwait, around 3,000 gathered outside parliament and the seat of
government, shouting "shame, shame" against Arab inaction vis-a-vis Gaza.
In Jordan, police stopped more than 2,000 demonstrators from reaching
the Israeli embassy in the capital Amman. The crowd had set off from
Friday prayers at the Kaloti mosque, about a kilometer (half-mile) away.
The protesters -- wearing checkered Palestinian keffiyehs (scarves), and
carrying Palestinian and Jordanian flags -- chanted "No Israeli embassy
on Arab territory" and "Arab rulers are cowards."
Unable to reach the embassy, protesters instead set up a symbolic
cemetery in memory of the nearly 800 killed so far in Gaza, with the
word "Gazan" scrawled on each mock grave.
Elsewhere on Friday:
-- In Europe, more than 2,000 demonstrated in Athens and Thessaloniki at
the behest of the Greek communist party, setting fire to U.S. and EU
flags outside the U.S. embassy and the Israeli flag outside the Israeli
mission.
Smaller protests, varying from several dozen to several hundred people,
took place in Bucharest, Vienna, Prague, and The Hague where the Dutch
parliament's foreign affairs committee debated the Gaza conflict.
In Italy, a small group representing merchants in Rome,
Flaica-Uniti-Cub, called on its website for a boycott of Jewish
businesses "as a sign of protest" -- an idea swiftly denounced as
incitement to racial hatred.
Riccardo Pacifici, leader of the Jewish community in Rome, said he would
take legal action against the group, while Mayor Gianni Alemanno branded
the initiative "mad and criminal."
In Belgium, the francophone FGTB labor federation threatened its Israeli
counterpart Histadrut with expulsion from the International Trade Union
Confederation if it fails to call for "peace without conditions."
In Norway, six people were injured and 31 arrested when 1,000
pro-Palestinian protesters attacked a pro-Israeli demonstration in Oslo
on Thursday, in the worst such violence in the capital since the 1980s.
-- In Asia, about 200 women protested outside the Egyptian embassy in
Jakarta, brandishing posters of dead and wounded Palestinian children
and urging Egypt to open its border with Gaza.
"As mothers, we feel sad for the women who lost their children in
Palestine," said Nani Handayani, of women's welfare group Salimah or
Muslim Sisterhood. "They are in our prayers."
In Malaysia, Islamic groups urged a boycott of U.S. brands such as
Coca-Cola -- and a former prime minister told Malaysians working for
Starbucks or McDonald's to quit -- during a protest by around 300 people
outside the National Mosque in the capital Kuala Lumpur.(AFP)
http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=615242
Global protests condemn Israeli atrocities in Gaza
Posted: 2009/01/09
From: Source
People across the world take to the streets to condemn the criminal
nation violating international law on its 14th day assault on Gaza.
(Aljazeera)
More than 50,000 Egyptian have protested in the city of Alexandria
against Israel's assault on Gaza, one of many held across the world as
the conflict enters its 14th consecutive day.
Demonstrators in Egypt, led by parliamentarians allied to the opposition
Muslim Brotherhood, chanted slogans condemning the war and the failure
of Arab nations to tackle the crisis.
"Down with Israel, and with it every collaborator," protesters chanted
after Friday prayers.
Others shouted: "Gaza excuse us: opening Rafah is not in our hands,"
referring to the border crossing between the strip and Egypt which Cairo
has refused to open despite the deaths of more than 780 Palestinians.
An AFP news agency reporter said riot police had tried to prevent the
protest going ahead but gave up because of the number of demonstrators.
In the Jordanian capital Amman, security forces stopped protesters
carrying Palestinian and Jordanian flags from marching to the Israeli
embassy.
The protesters chanted "no Israel embassy on Arab territory" and "Arab
rulers are cowards".
No clashes were reported although objects were thrown at riot police.
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations with diplomatic relations
with Israel.
Both Sunni and Shia Muslim worshippers in Baghdad staged rallies
condemning the offensive following Friday prayer services.
West bank clashes
Angry Palestinian protesters have also clashed with Israeli police in
the occupied West Bank.
Israel had placed the West Bank on a 48-hour lockdown, prohibiting
movement into and out of the Palestinian territory until Saturday except
in emergency cases.
In Kenya, police used water cannons and tear gas in an attempt to
disperse hundreds of people who had gathered outside Nairobi's Jamea
mosque to express their soldarity with the Palestinians of Gaza.
"No to shedding innocent blood," "End the massacre in Gaza," and
"Israel, stop killing innocent people," read some of the placards.
The protestors tried to march towards the Israeli embassy in the centre
of the Kenyan capital, but were stopped by a heavy security deployment.
Six people were injured and 31 were arrested when 1,000 pro-Palestinian
protesters attacked a pro-Israeli demonstration in Oslo, police said on
Friday.
During the clashes, considered to be the worst in more than two decades
in the Norwegian capital, anti-Israel protesters threw Molotov
cocktails, rocks and eggs and burned Israeli flags, Johan Fredriksen of
the Oslo police said.
Police were also on high alert in Greece, where protests against the
Israeli offensive have been planned.
Boycott call
In Malaysia and Italy, critics of Israel's Gaza assault have called for
a boycott of Israeli and US goods.
"We cannot remain silent about what is happening in Gaza. We had thought
of drawing up a list of businessmen who have links with Tel Aviv because
people do not know who they are," Giancarlo Desiderati, a member of a
small group of Italian traders who called for the boycott on its
website, said.
At least 5,000 people protested outside the US embassy in Malaysia on
Friday, and around 300 held a noisy protest outside the National Mosque
in Kuala Lumpur to urge Arab countries to cut off oil supplies to the US
and boycott goods from Coca-Cola, Colgate and Starbucks.
Addressing the crowd, Mahathir Mohamed, a former prime minister, told
Malaysians that they "will not die if they do not use the US goods" and
urged those working for US companies such as fast-food giant McDonalds
to quit their jobs.
"I hope Starbucks and McDonald's employees will stop working there," he
said.
Coca-Cola officials said any boycott would only hurt the local economy
and its citizens. #
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230456520786
Dec 29, 2008 20:13 | Updated Dec 29, 2008 21:02
200 protest Gaza op at Israeli Embassy in London
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Some 200 people gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in West London
Monday to protest the IDF counter-terror operation in Gaza, the
Metropolitan Police said.
A protester demonstrates against the Gaza operation near the Israeli
Embassy in London. [file]
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
The demonstration followed a 700-strong demonstration at the embassy in
Kensington on Sunday yesterday that saw nine people arrested for public
order offenses, including one for assaulting a police officer, a police
spokesman said in a telephone interview.
There were also a protest in Berlin, where about 2,000 marched through a
central shopping district carrying Palestinian flags and banners saying
Israel must end the Gaza blockade.
Meanwhile, protesters throwing rocks at the Israeli Embassy in Athens
clashed with riot police firing tear gas during a rally to protest the
IAF assault.
The scuffles broke out as about 300 Greek and Arab protesters waving
Palestinian flags gathered outside the embassy for one of several
rallies or demonstrations planned outside the building Monday. One of
the demonstrations, organized by a Greek communist party, was also to
pass the US Embassy later in the evening.
Police blocked off major avenues and side streets near the Israeli
Embassy north of the city center, while a police helicopter circled
overhead.
No injuries or arrests were reported in the initial scuffles.
"Hands off Gaza," the protesters chanted, while about 100 demonstrators
briefly stopped to pray, dropping to their knees in the street and
facing east.
Also Monday, tens of thousands of Lebanese Hizbullah supporters stood
under pouring rain to protest the Gaza operation.
The protesters thronged a huge square and nearby streets in the group's
stronghold south of Beirut, carrying Palestinian, Lebanese and yellow
Hizbullah flags and banners supporting the Palestinian people.
The rally was by far the largest protest in the Arab world, where
outrage over Israel's air strikes continued into a third day.
The massive rally was called for by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah
who in a speech on Sunday urged crowds in the Arab and Islamic world to
rise up in support of Gaza and declared Monday a day of mourning and
solidarity with Gaza.
Addressing the crowds on Monday through a large screen from an unknown
location, Nasrallah urged Palestinians to unite and sought to boost morale.
"Israel's air force will fail to destroy the will of the (Palestinian)
fighters firing rockets ... and the residents of (Israeli) settlements
20 and 40 kilometers away from Gaza will remain either outside their
settlements or in shelters," he said.
"Death to Israel," and "At your service, Gaza!" many in the crowd shouted.
Nasrallah warned Israel that any ground offensive will result in many
losses for the Israelis and said Israel will fail as it did when it
fought Hezbollah guerrillas in a month long air and ground offensive in
2006.
The overwhelming Israeli bombing campaign, the deadliest against
Palestinians in decades, had killed 315 people by Monday morning.
In the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, around 3,000 people also
staged a demonstration, many of them chanting slogans in which they
insulted the rulers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for perceived
complicity with Israel.
In Egypt, which has been particularly criticized for joining Israel in
closing its borders with Gaza, thousands of people rallied, calling for
the active intervention of Arab armies to protect the Palestinians.
Demonstrations were held near the parliament building and in downtown
Cairo amid a massive security presence of black-clad riot police.
Demonstrations in the tourist destination of Luxor, however, were prevented.
The largest protest, a crowd of up to 3,000 people outside the
Journalists' Union, was organized by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood,
and in an unusual move, the Islamist organization's Supreme Guide
Mohammed Mahdi Akef took part, urging the crowd to make "their
declaration of anger through peaceful means."
In the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, thousands rallied for a second day
over the Gaza operation. The protesters marched to the Egyptian embassy
calling for an opening of the Egyptian-Gaza border for supplies and aid
to the Palestinians. They also marched to the UN headquarters where they
handed over a protest note.
In Iraq, about 1,000 backers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr staged a protest in eastern Baghdad. "No, no to Israel," they
shouted as they burned Israeli and American flags.
Separately, the political party of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
issued a statement condemning the attacks and calling on Islamic
countries to cut relations with Israel and end all "secret and public
talks" with it.
Jordan's King Abdullah II donated blood to Gaza victims, telling
reporters he was "upset" by the scale of the Israeli offensive in the
coastal strip.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20090106&articleId=11635
Gaza: Protest movements around the world
Global Research, January 6, 2009
IAC
Largest protest in support of Palestinians ever in NYC
(January 4, 2009) Saturday saw sizable protests throughout the world
against the bombing and invasion of Gaza. As the Israeli military began
a massive ground invasion of Gaza, including infantry, tanks, and
artillery, hundreds of thousands of people were in the streets around
the world chanting "Free, Free Palestine!"
Possibly the largest protest took place in New York City where a huge
rally in Times Square stretched from 42nd Street south to 36th Street,
along 7th Ave. Buses came from throughout the region. Crowd estimates
ranged from 25,000 and 30,000. Just before the demonstration started the
announcement of the Israeli invasion came over the news wires. An angry
march through midtown Manhattan, shut down 42nd St, stalled mid-town
traffic and ended at the Israeli Mission to the U.N. At the closing
rally, the crowd stretched from 48th to 42nd Street, along 2nd Ave.
Many of the organizers of today's rally, including Al-Awda: Palestine
Right to Return Coalition-NY; the Arab Muslim American Federation; MAS-
Muslim American Society NY (Youth Center), National, Queens, NJ,
Yonkers; GUPS - The General Union of Palestine Students; BAYAN-USA;
Islamic Society of Bay Ridge; International Action Center; December 12
URGENT!
The International Action Center is mobilizing for demonstrations across
the U.S. to stop the attack on Gaza, and we are networking with
activists across the globe who are taking to the streets against
U.S./Israeli war crimes.
Please consider making an emergency donation at
http://www.iacenter.org/donate
to help with the costs of organizing and mobilizing.
Movement; New York City Labor Against the War; Troops Out Now Coalition;
Pakistan USA Freedom Forum; International League of Peoples Struggle;
F.I.S.T.; and others, announced plans for a rally again next Sunday,
January 11 in New York City's Times Square, beginning at 1 pm.
While much of the U.S. national media limited their coverage of world
wide protests to Europe and the Middle East, the size of the New York
protest clearly equaled or surpassed other protests. Ty Chandler,
reporting at the scene of the protest for New York 1 TV, stated on
camera near the Israeli Consulate "This massive crowd is still making
its way up 2nd Ave., and you can see the anger and frustration on their
face, this crowd is huge, it goes for blocks."
In Boston, about 1500 people took to the streets to protest the
US/Israeli Genocide in Gaza. Chanting "Free, Free Palestine", "From the
River to the Sea, Palestine will Free", "We Support the Resistance" the
demonstrators marched through main shopping area of downtown Boston,
stopping at the US Military Recruiters and the Israeli Consulate for
mini rallies. The demonstration, called by an ad-hoc coalition formed to
protest the US/Israeli massacres in Gaza, was led by a militant
contingent of Palestinian youth.
In Atlanta, hundreds turned out for a protest in front of CNN, with 2
black caskets draped with Palestinian flags, and more than 100 signs
with the names of people who have died in the assault.
More than 500 marched in Charlotte, North Carolina, where protesters,
with Palestinian & Muslim youth at the forefront, took over downtown
Charlotte with a sea of Palestinian flags & energetic chants.
Around 1,000 people stretched across the steps in front of
Philadelphia's City Hall for a rally targeting U.S. funding for the
Israeli war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The crowd
predominantly Palestinians, youthful, and militant.
Chants targeted the terrorist nature of Israel's bombing in Gaza.
Speakers linked budget cuts in Philadelphia that will close 11 libraries
to U.S. funding of Israeli bombs being dropped on elementary schools.
Passing motorists honked in support.
Behind a lead banner that read "War is Terrorism with a Bigger Budget -
Stop U.S.-Israeli War on Palestinians" demonstrators marched through the
Center City shopping area to the Federal Building and FOX News, stopping
for occasional mini-rallies to explain what the protest was about to
people who gathered to listen along the way.
At least 10,000 people gathered at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square to
protest against Israel's recent assault on Gaza. Protesters then marched
through the streets of Toronto to the Israeli Consulate and the United
States Embassy.
Thousands took to the streets in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Athens and
several Asian cities, following similar events in parts of the Muslim
world on Friday. In London, protesters, including former mayor Ken
Livingstone, marched to Trafalgar Square, chanting, "Free, free
Palestine" and "Israel terrorists!" Many stopped at Downing Street, the
Prime Minister's residence, to throw shoes at the gates, following the
example of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush
last month.
As these marches were taking place, the media announced that the Israeli
military had begun a massive ground invasion of Gaza. This invasion
follows a week of continuous bombing that has killed at least 453
Palestinians and wounded more than 2,000. According to the U.N., at more
than one quarter of those killed in the current conflict have been
civilians.
The situation of the 1.5 million Palestinians crammed into the Gaza
Strip - one of the most densely populated areas on the planet - grows
more desperate. Humanitarian agencies warned that water, food and
medical supplies were running short. And now the people of Gaza are
facing a brutal and merciless attack by infantry, artillery, and tanks.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/04/2458664.htm
Protests around the world over Gaza attacks
Posted Sun Jan 4, 2009 8:13am AEDT
Updated Sun Jan 4, 2009 9:57am AEDT
Slideshow: Photo 1 of 2
In Paris, more than 20,000 people marched in protest at Israel's Gaza
offensive. (AFP: Olivier Laban-Mattei)
• Related Story: Israeli ground forces enter Gaza Strip
Thousands of demonstrators have marched in cities across Europe to
demand a halt to Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip.
Protests were held in Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey as the Israeli offensive entered its
second week, and before Israel confirmed ground forces had entered Gaza.
Israeli Arabs held a protest march, Kuwaitis also took to the streets, a
day after bigger Middle East rallies, and peaceful pro- and anti-Israel
protests were held in New York.
In Paris, police said more than 21,000 demonstrators, many wearing
Palestinian keffiyeh headscarves, marched through the city centre
chanting slogans such as "Israel murderer" and waving banners demanding
an end to the air attacks.
Groups of protesters clashed with police. At least three cars were set
alight and about 20 overturned by demonstrators as the march ended near
some of the biggest department stores in the French capital.
In London, police said more than 10,000 people staged a march and rally
to urge an end to the Israeli offensive against Hamas militants that is
estimated to have killed more than 400 Palestinians.
Similar protests were planned in some 30 other towns.
In many cities people waved shoes - recalling the action of an Iraqi
journalist who hurled footwear at US President George W Bush in Baghdad
last month in a symbolic insult.
British demonstrators threw dozens of shoes into the street as they
passed the gated entrance to Downing Street, where Prime Minister Gordon
Brown lives, and shouted angrily at a line of 40 police officers on
guard there.
"Come to get your shoes Gordon," one woman shouted as other marchers
directed chants of "Shame on you" at Mr Brown.
A spokesman said Mr Brown had spoken again to Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert on Saturday and was pressing hard for an immediate ceasefire.
Leading the march were singer Annie Lennox, politicians Tony Benn and
George Galloway and comic Alexei Sayle.
Demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and placards with slogans such
as "End the siege on Gaza" and "Stop the massacre".
Israel says rocket attacks from Gaza by Hamas Islamists must stop before
it halts operations, but the attacks continued overnight.
Four Israelis have been killed by Hamas rockets since the offensive began.
-Reuters
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20090105&articleId=11626
Protests condemn Israel offensive
Global Research, January 5, 2009
AlJazeera
Demonstrators rallied in Istanbul to protest against Israel's offensive
[AFP]
As international protests against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza
Strip continue, Israel is facing a fresh round of condemnation from
around the world.
The protests followed on the heels of the UN Security Council's failure
to issue a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire despite hours
of closed-door talks.
On Sunday the European Commission, the executive arm of the European
Union pledged an additional $4.2 million in emergency aid for Gaza and
called on Israel to respect international law.
"Blocking access to people who are suffering and dying is also a breach
of humanitarian law," Louis Michel, EU's humanitarian aid commissioner,
said in a statement.
"I call on the Israeli authorities to respect their international
obligations and ensure a 'humanitarian space' for the delivery of vital
relief," he said.
IN DEPTH
In the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians rallied for a third day of
protests, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a man, Palestinian medical
sources said.
Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, was shot in the head in the West Bank city of
Qalqilya during a protest against Israel's military operation in the
Gaza Strip, they said.
There were also protests in Turkey, where organisers claimed 700,000
people had turned out for an anti-Israeli demonstration.
Protesters called on Turkey, Israel's only Muslim ally, to re-evaluate
ties with the Jewish state if it does not halt its incursion in the Gaza
Strip.
In Greece, demonstrators set fire to banks, threw rocks and fired flares
at police in the capital Athens.
In Morocco, a crowd of 40,000 gathered in Rabat to condemn "the silence
of Arab regimes".
Mustapha Ramid of the Islamist Party of Justice and Development, said
"the blood of Gazan martyrs has mobilised the masses in Morocco and
throughout the rest of the Arab world".
Several countries have called on Israel to exercise restraint as the
civilian death toll continues to rise.
Russia on Sunday said it was "extremely concerned" by Israel's land
operation in Gaza and said it was sending a special envoy to the region
to help bring about a ceasefire by both sides.
Thousands of demonstrators in Indonesia, the world's most populous
Muslim nation, denounced Israel as a "terrorist" force and called on the
government to send troops to fight Israeli forces.
"Indonesia's military must go to war against Israel, not just as
peacekeepers. We ask the government to send troops there, not just
medicine," Farid Wadjdi, the local head of the Hizbut Tahrir movement,
was quoted as saying by news website Detikcom.
Iranian warning
Iran, which has seen angry protests since the Israeli raids began last
week, also added its voice.
Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, praised Palestinian resistance
against the ground invasion.
"Zionists should know that Gaza will become their cemetery," he said on
Sunday.
Even Egypt, which has faced criticism from the Arab and Muslim world,
condemned the Israeli incursion, and called on the UN to work to end the
violence.
In Britain, where one of the world's largest demonstrations against the
Israeli incursion took place on Saturday, Gordon Brown, the prime
minister, took a more measured approach, saying that Israel's ground
offensive had created a "very dangerous moment" before calling for
increased efforts on both sides to secure a ceasefire.
"First we need an immediate ceasefire, and that includes a stopping of
the rockets into Israel. Secondly, we need some resolution of the
problem over arms trafficking into Gaza and, thirdly, we need the
borders and the crossings open and that will need some international
solution."
For its part, the US state department said it told the Israeli
government that any military action should be "mindful of the potential
consequences to civilians".
It also condemned Hamas, saying the group was holding the people of Gaza
"hostage" and contributing to a "very bad daily life" for the coastal
territory's residents.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/706475/world-protests-mount-over-gaza-fighting/?rss=yes
World protests mount over Gaza fighting
09:43 AEST Mon Jan 5 2009
102 days 8 hours 48 minutes ago
A demonstration in Paris backing Israel in the Gaza conflict attracted
several thousand supporters.
Demonstrations in Israel's main regional ally Turkey led swelling Muslim
protests on Sunday over the ground offensive in Gaza, as a Palestinian
demonstrator was shot dead by Israeli troops in the West Bank.
But a demonstration in Paris backing Israel attracted several thousand
supporters.
In Istanbul, organisers claimed 700,000 people had turned out for their
protest.
Police in Turkey refused to give numbers, but central Istanbul's
sprawling Caglayan square was packed with a sea of protesters.
"The bastards of the devil, go away from Palestine and the Middle East,"
said one banner in English.
Predominantly Muslim, non-Arab Turkey signed a military co-operation
accord with Israel in 1996, but Ankara also has close ties with the
Palestinians, whose cause enjoys widespread support, particularly among
Islamist circles.
Thousands of Moroccans rallied in the capital Rabat, accusing Arab
leaders of having failed the Palestinian people.
The demonstrators, about 40,000 according to police estimates, chanted
expressions of anger over "the silence of Arab regimes".
Protesters also accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having "sold
Gaza for (US) dollars".
Some in the Arab world have accused Egypt, which with Jordan is one of
only two Arab nations to have signed peace treaties with the Jewish
state, of complicity with the Israeli offensive on its doorstep.
Some of the Moroccan demonstrators trampled on a giant Israeli flag,
while others brandished shoes in an allusion to the Iraqi journalist who
threw his brogues at outgoing US President George W Bush last month.
In Lebanon, thousands demonstrated outside the UN headquarters in Beirut.
The UN Security Council met late on Saturday to discuss the crisis but
failed to agree a resolution.
Lebanese riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at some 100
protesters near the US embassy compound in Awkar, north of Beirut, an
AFP photographer said.
But in Paris, several thousand demonstrators waved Israeli flags and
sang Hebrew hymns to show support for Israel in its military offensive
in Gaza, a day after a huge pro-Palestinian rally.
About 12,000 demonstrators gathered on a street not far from the Israeli
embassy, according to organisers, the CRIF, an umbrella group of French
Jewish organisations. Police put the figure at 4,000.
On Saturday, more than 20,000 people marched in Paris to show support
for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to condemn Israel's offensive,
aimed at halting rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled territory.
In Greece, thousands of people marched for the second day running to
protest the Israeli action.
More than 4,000 people joined protests outside the US embassy and the
Israeli embassy in Athens, burning effigies of Bush and president-elect
Barack Obama and both the Israeli and US flags.
Earlier on Sunday hundreds of protesters marched in the northern city of
Thessaloniki, burning US and Israeli flags in front of the US consulate.
Thousands of people had already marched in both cities on Saturday.
Norwegian police said they had used tear gas to break up a demonstration
outside the Israeli embassy in Oslo after the protesters started
throwing rocks and eggs at them.
Several hundred people took part in the demonstration, according to
Norwegian media reports.
Earlier on Sunday, thousands also marched through central Sydney and the
southern city of Melbourne in Australia.
In the Canadian city of Montreal, some 5,000 people according to media
estimates, braved the bitter cold to march on the Israeli consulate to
demand a halt to Israel's offensive.
This demonstration followed several marches on Saturday in Ottawa,
Toronto and Vancouver, which also demanded an end to Israeli attacks on
Gaza.
In Iraq, some 200 protesters staged a protest in the southern Shi'ite
shrine city of Karbala to condemn Israel and express support for
embattled Palestinians.
http://english.sina.com/world/2009/0102/208833.html
Thousands in Chicago protest against Israel's military actions in Gaza
2009-01-03 02:04:37 GMT2009-01-03 10:04:37 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English
CHICAGO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people gathered Friday
afternoon in Chicago's downtown, protesting against Israel's recent
military actions in the Gaza Strip.
About 4,000 people gathered around 3:00 pm in the Pioneer Plaza in
downtown Chicago, chanting slogans, waving Palestinian flags and
carrying signs that read: "Stop U.S. Aid to Israel Now", "stop the siege
of Gaza now" and so on.
Protesters later spilled across the Michigan Avenue Bridge to East
Wacker Drive in front of the building that houses the Consulate General
of Israel. Police there closed off a block-long stretch to vehicle traffic.
The protest was one of many recent demonstrations around the world in
response to Israel's week-long air strikes on the Gaza Strip, a series
of assaults Israel says are meant to deter rocket attacks into southern
Israel by Hamas.
A smaller group of Israel supporters counter protested outside the
consulate. The protest was largely done by about 6:00 p.m. Police said
no arrests were reported. Organizers are planning another protest on
Saturday in Chicago's Hyde Park.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The future of the Middle East peace
process, the stability of the region and the safety of ordinary people
in the Gaza Strip have been seriously jeopardized by Hamas rocket
attacks and the "excessiveness of Israel's response," a senior United
Nations envoy warned Friday.
"Much of Gaza's infrastructure has now been destroyed. The death and
injury toll in Gaza continues to mount. Hamas rockets are now reaching
40 kilometers into Israel," Robert Serry, UN special coordinator for the
Middle East peace process, told a press conference here via video-link
from Jerusalem.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations does have contacts
with Hamas and has warned the Hamas militants against firing rockets
into southern Israel, a senior UN official said on Friday.
Robert Serry, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process,
made the statement while briefing reporters here on the situation in
Gaza at a press conference via video link from Jerusalem.
RAMALLAH, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat
announced that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would leave later on
Friday with other Arab leaders for New York to discuss the situation in
the Gaza Strip.
"President Abbas will head to News York with other Arab leaders to
achieve an Arab consensus to oblige Israel to achieve an unconditioned
immediate stop of the offensive on Gaza," Erekat told reporters in Ramallah.
GAZA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli war planes carried out four airstrikes
on targets south of the Gaza City on Friday evening, killing two
Palestinian civilians, doctors and witnesses said.
Previously, eight Palestinians were killed, including five children, in
the ongoing Israeli intensive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
TEHRAN, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran's influential cleric Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani said here on Friday that Gaza needs political, weaponry and
propagandistic support today, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Addressing the crowd at the Friday prayer, he said that "There is no
shortage of soldiers there in Gaza today but Muslim Ummah (community)
must provide political, weaponry and propagandistic support for Gazans."
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/prot-j07.shtml
Worldwide protest against Israeli violence in Gaza
By David Walsh
7 January 2009
Widespread revulsion against the murderous Israeli assault on the
population of the Gaza Strip has sparked protest on every continent.
Hundreds of demonstrations have taken place in cities large and small,
from Bogota to Manila, Sofia to Ottawa, Dublin to New Delhi, in addition
to dozens of cities in the US and major urban centers in Israel itself.
It would be impossible to provide details on every protest, but the
following is intended to convey the depth and global character of the
response.
Following the mass demonstrations held January 3 (see “Ground assault
sparks worldwide protests—Civilian casualties mount as Israeli army
slices through Gaza”), including in every major European and North
American city, protests have continued in all parts of the globe.
Thousands, for example, demonstrated in Beirut Sunday outside the United
Nations building while others marched on the US embassy. Lebanese police
used water hoses to keep the protesters away from the embassy. Hundreds
marched in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday in two separate marches.
More than 5,000 marched in Istanbul Sunday, waving Palestinian flags and
burning effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President
George W. Bush. Protesters also threw eggs at the Israeli consulate in
the Turkish city.
According to the Associated Press, tens of thousands rallied in Rabat,
the Moroccan capital, for a protest against the Israeli offensive in
Gaza. “Police estimated the turnout at 50,000.… Organizers said the
number was bigger, but did not give a precise figure.”
Thousands of Afghans rallied against Israel’s offensive last Friday in
Kabul. More than 1,000 protesters rallied outside a mosque, waving Hamas
flags and chanting, “Death to America, Israel and Britain!” About 1,000
people demonstrated in the Afghan city of Herat on Friday as well,
shouting, “Down with Israel!”
Demonstrations have taken place across Egypt, in defiance of the Mubarak
regime, since the Israeli attack began December 27. Protesters have been
met with clubs and beatings from police. Hundreds of arrests have been
made. Despite this, some 3,500 Muslim Brotherhood members took to the
streets Monday in Assiut, some 200 miles south of Cairo.
In Kashmir, Indian police used tear gas and batons to disperse hundreds
of protesters in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir’s major city. The crowd
chanted, “We’re with the Palestinians” and “Down with Israel!” Thirty
people were injured in the police crackdown and 50 detained.
Some 70 students from universities in New Delhi threw shoes at the
Israeli embassy on Monday. A student leader explained, “We are
protesting against the terror attack of Israel on the citizens of
Palestine. First it was Bush who got the shoes and now it is the time
for Israel.” The protesters threw some 200 shoes at the embassy before
police arrested them.
One hundred members of the left-nationalist Bayan Muna in Manila staged
a rally at the Israeli embassy Monday. The group condemned the Israeli
attacks that have left hundreds dead. Rep. Satur Ocampo told the media,
“We add our voices to the growing international condemnation of Israel’s
invasion of Gaza. As a former colony, we Filipinos should sympathize
with the Palestinian people who are the aggrieved party in this war.”
Saudi police arrested two activists attempting to stage a demonstration
in Riyadh last Thursday. The AFP reports, “The arrests came a day after
the interior ministry denied organizers permission to hold the rally on
the grounds that demonstrations are banned in Saudi Arabia.” Earlier,
police fired rubber bullets to break up “rare protests involving
hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Qatif and Safwa in the
eastern part of the country.”
Hundreds of people from the Palestinian community in Bogota, the
Colombian capital, protested outside the Israeli embassy last Friday.
The protesters marched from Bolivar Square to the embassy, demanding
peace for the Palestinian people. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, several hundred
people gathered outside the Sao Paulo Art Museum to protest the Israeli
offensive in Gaza. Several demonstrators carried Palestinian flags,
according to news reports, and banners reading, “End the Genocide in
Gaza.” Demonstrations have also been held in Buenos Aires.
In addition to the large protests held in various Australian cities (see
“Australian demonstrations show solidarity with Palestinian people”),
sizable rallies have also been organized in New Zealand against the
Israeli incursion in Gaza. Approximately 1,000 pro-Palestinian
demonstrators marched in central Wellington Tuesday. They delivered a
letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attacking the Israeli
offensive and denouncing the New Zealand government’s “neutral stance.”
Father Gerald Burns, a Catholic priest, sprinkled red paint, mixed with
his own blood, on a memorial to former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak
Rabin, “to mark the killing of hundreds of Palestinians and the seizure
of their land.”
Palestinian Ihab Almawajah, 19, told a reporter that “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’ ” (Xinhua).
Large demonstrations took place in London, Paris, Rome, Athens and other
European cities last weekend. Demonstrations continued in London on
Sunday and Monday, with police making 10 arrests on Sunday. Many other
British cities witnessed protests, including Birmingham, Manchester,
Liverpool and Newcastle.
Several hundred protesters assembled in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire
Monday night calling for an end to violence in the Middle East.
Local councillor Mehboob Kahn commented: “I was in Gaza two years ago to
monitor the first ever local elections that the Palestinians had in Gaza
and at the time there was a ceasefire and the elections were an
important part of the peace.
“The Israelis broke the ceasefire in Gaza and the team were bombed from
the air by Israeli airplanes—it was horrific for that to happen and to
witness it first hand.”
Safiya Abdullah, 22, according to the local press, has taken the lead in
organizing a protest scheduled for next weekend in Gloucester in
southwest England. She commented: “A group of us decided to hold the
march after seeing the news reports—we couldn’t stand seeing so many
people killed. We thought somebody should do something about it. It is
an atrocity and a massacre.
“In my opinion it has gone beyond religion and beyond nationality. It is
human suffering. We just want to express how we feel.”
In response to the news of the bombing of two UN schools in Gaza,
several hundred rallied in Dublin Tuesday at the Israeli embassy.
Politicians, academics, union leaders and members of the
Palestinian-Irish and Lebanese-Irish communities addressed the
gathering, which also marched on the US and Egyptian embassies.
On Saturday, police used teargas to disperse a protest outside the
Israeli embassy in Oslo. Several hundred protesters took part. They
threw fireworks, eggs and stones at the police and the embassy building.
“Shoes were also thrown at police officers,” Norwegian television reported.
The Associated Press reported that some 800 marchers “in the Swiss
capital Bern carried banners accusing Israel of terrorism Friday
[January 3] as demonstrators demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.…
“Several held signs equating the Jewish state with Nazi Germany, while
others accused Israel and its ally, the United States, of being
‘terrorists.’ ” Further rallies were planned in major Swiss cities for
Sunday.
Wire services reported that protests were staged in several Balkan
countries January 2 and 3 to protest the violence in Gaza. Several
hundred people demonstrated in Belgrade’s main Republic Square on Monday
against the military assault.
The Sofia Echo reports that in the Bulgarian mining town of Madan, with
a predominantly Muslim community of 7,000, some 1,000 marched in a
peaceful protest January 2 against the developments in Gaza. Shefket
Hadji, “a spiritual guide at the local mosque,” told the media that the
protest was “provoked by the inhumane way in which people treated one
another in that part of the world.” Hadji “underlined the fact that
people in Madan expressed their feelings as citizens and human beings,
and not only as Muslims.” Protesters from several nearby villages
participated in the protest.
A largely peaceful protest in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia on Saturday
turned violent, according to press accounts, when some protesters tried
to break through police lines blocking the road to the Israeli embassy.
And on Monday, the Muslim community and supporters on the island of
Malta held a protest against Israeli aggression. The protest took place
in Valletta, Malta’s capital, in Freedom Square.
Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Ottawa have all witnessed
protests against the Israeli military attacks.
Some 5,000 people marched through downtown Montreal Sunday in a
three-hour rally. The Ottawa Citizen reported that the size of the crowd
made Ahmed Benhamade “very, very happy.” Benhamade was “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,’ Benhamade declared. ‘We are here for
justice and we are here for peace.’ ” Five thousand people attended a
rally in downtown Toronto on Saturday as well.
Protests have been organized in many US cities. There have been
demonstrations, of course, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and
San Francisco, but many smaller communities have also hosted rallies
against Israeli aggression.
In Greenville, South Carolina, for example, 150 Arab-Americans and
others marched through the streets Sunday. The Greenville News reports:
“Several carried Palestinian flags and pictures of bloodied children
while the crowd chanted ‘stop the occupation’ and ‘free, free
Palestine.’ They said the incursion was killing women, children and the
elderly and that the United States should end its aid to Israel.
“ ‘We feel like our brothers and sisters are being killed,’ said one of
the protesters, Haroon Raja, 22, of Greenville.”
Several hundred people rallied in downtown Atlanta Monday evening
outside the building that houses the Israeli consulate. One protester
held a homemade sign that read, “Who killed us? Israel did.”
Another 250 people gathered in Portland, Oregon, Sunday in a protest.
The demonstrators chanted, “Occupation is a crime, from Iraq to
Palestine” and “Stop killing the children!” Arab-American youth chanted
slogans in Arabic and English. One homemade sign read, “Massacre in
Gaza: Made in USA!”
Hundreds of demonstrators in Minneapolis and Muslims living in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, marched last Friday to protest the Israeli
offensive. In Sioux Falls, protester John Koch told the local media, “We
want to get the message out that a lot of Americans disagree with our
government’s unquestioning support of the state of Israel’s actions.”
Some 200 people protested outside the Oklahoma state capitol in Oklahoma
City on Monday, chanting, “Stop the killing, free, free Gaza!” Jillian
Holzbauer of Stillwater, Oklahoma, a student at Oklahoma State
University, carried a sign saying, “This Jew supports peace in Palestine.”
Holzbauer spent the past three summers working for a Palestinian
nonprofit group in the West Bank. She told a local newspaper, “I saw
that this isn’t really a religious issue, this is an issue about people
who are living under military occupation for 40 years and they’re in a
very desperate situation.”
Approximately 2,000 people rallied in San Jose, California, January 4 in
a protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza. According to one
participant, posting on the Indybay.org web site, “At one point during
the protest, a Valley Transportation Authority bus stopped at the light
and the driver yelled out, ‘Free Palestine.’ Many passing motorists
honked in support of the protest.”
Hundreds rallied in Toledo, Dayton and Cleveland last Friday against the
Zionist onslaught. Protests were held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and
Tucson, Arizona. Opponents of the Israeli action protested in
Binghamton, New York, Raleigh, North Carolina, Des Moines, Iowa,
Bloomington, Indiana, and various towns in South Florida and Michigan.
Israel itself has been the scene of numerous protests, the largest by
Israeli Arabs in the town of Sakhnin, where up to 150,000 people
rallied. Tel Aviv and Haifa have also witnessed sizable protests.
Ynetnews reported Tuesday that “Hundreds of Jews and Arabs protested
against the Israeli operation in Gaza” in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv. In
Jerusalem, 150 Arab students protested the attack on Gaza near Hebrew
University.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli police arrested 10 students, out of some 500
protesting the military’s actions at the University of Haifa.
Ynet reports, “Wael Soued, one of the protesting students, claimed that
the demonstration started as a quiet protest until provocations came
from the Jewish students.
“ ‘The objective was to have a quiet protest with signs and posters.
They started making derogatory statements towards us, and we answered
back. Within a few minutes, a big tumult broke out. The police got
involved with batons and people got hurt,’ Soued recounted.”
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/world/01/04/09/muslim-protests-swell-following-israeli-gaza-push
Muslim protests swell following Israeli Gaza push
________________________________________
Agence France-Presse | 01/05/2009 12:29 AM
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ISTANBUL - Demonstrations in Israel's main regional ally Turkey led
swelling Muslim protests Sunday over the ground offensive in Gaza, as a
Palestinian demonstrator was shot dead by Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Organisers claimed hundreds of thousands turned out in central Istanbul,
while Moroccan demonstrators -- numbering 40,000, according to police --
accused Arab leaders of failing the Palestinian people.
After protests spread to Australia following more arrests in London,
Mufid al-Walwil, 21, was killed in the northern West Bank during a
demonstration there, when Israeli troops opened fire on youths throwing
stones.
Lebanon anti-riot police also fired teargas and water cannon at
protesters near the US embassy compound in Awkar, north of Beirut, an
AFP photographer said. Thousands also demonstrated outside the UN
headquarters in Beirut.
Further protests were expected, as anger grew over the Israeli military
push -- and diplomatic reaction, including UN failure to agree on a
common resolution, and the European Union's Czech-led delegation
initially categorizing Israel's action as "defensive" prior to a Sunday
apology.
Police in Turkey refused to give numbers, but central Istanbul's
sprawling Caglayan square was packed with a sea of protesters --
organizers claiming a turnout as high as 700,000.
"The bastards of the devil, go away from Palestine and the Middle East,"
said one banner in English.
Ibrahim Ozturk, a 25-year-old sailor, said Ankara should re-evaluate its
ties with Israel if the Jewish state does not stop its offensive in Gaza.
"It is not that Turkey should become an enemy of Israel, but it should
warn Israel when it is doing wrong. If Israel does not change its
attitude, then it should become an enemy," he said.
Predominantly Muslim, non-Arab Turkey signed a military cooperation
accord with Israel in 1996, but Ankara also has close ties with the
Palestinians, whose cause enjoys widespread support, particularly among
Islamist circles.
In Morocco, the 40,000-strong crowd in the capital Rabat chanted
expressions of anger over "the silence of Arab regimes."
Demonstrators accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having "sold
Gaza for (US) dollars."
Some trampled on a giant Israeli flag, while others brandished shoes in
an allusion to the Iraqi journalist who threw his brogues at outgoing US
President George W. Bush before the holidays.
Islamist Party of Justice and Development lawmaker Mustapha Ramid said
"the blood of Gazan martyrs has mobilized the masses in Morocco and
throughout the rest of the Arab world."
Thousands also marched through central Sydney and the southern city of
Melbourne in Australia.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/World-unites-in-protests.4841673.jp
World unites in protests
Published Date: 04 January 2009
Tens of thousands took to the streets across the world yesterday to
protest against Israel's bombing of Gaza, writes David Leask.
More than 5,000 demonstrators, including singer Annie Lennox, former
model Bianca Jagger and comedian Alexei Sayle, marched on Trafalgar
Square in London.
Hundreds threw shoes at Downing Street, inspired by the Iraqi journalist
who showed the same traditional Muslim sign of disrespect to US
President George Bush last month.
More protested in cities across Britain, including Glasgow and
Edinburgh, all demanding an immediate halt to Israeli air attacks on the
Palestinian enclave and Hamas, the radical group that runs the territory.
Mass demonstrations took place in other major western capitals and
across the Muslim nations of the Middle East.
There was violence in Amman, Jordan; Nicosia, Cyprus; and Athens,
Greece. And in Tehran, in Iran, more than 6,000 people gathered in a
procession half a mile long, most chanting "Death to Israel". In the
Israeli town of Sakhnin as many as 10,000 people, mostly Arabs,
protested against the action, which has claimed at least 430 lives.
In Britain campaigners said they were particularly angry at the loss of
civilian life in Gaza, where the United Nations reckons bombing has
killed 34 children.
In Glasgow, Barrie Levine, from Scottish Jews for a Just Peace, said:
"In common with a growing number of Jews in Israel and internationally,
we condemn the air strikes by Israel on Gaza and the likelihood of a
land assault.
"This level of military action is utterly disproportionate and will lead
to ever-mounting numbers of civilian casualties."
Levine was one of up to 500 people who gathered in Glasgow's Blythswood
Square to protest.
Protests also took place in Bristol, Liverpool, Exeter, Norwich, Hull,
Turnbridge Wells, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Swansea, York,
Caernarfon, Bradford and Sheffield.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200913101117511814.html
Worldwide protests denounce Israel
Demonstrators in Srinagar continue to rally against Israeli air strikes
in Gaza [AFP]
Angry protests against Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip are
continuing throughout the world, with large demonstrations in Kabul, the
capital of Afghanistan, and Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Rallies in other countries are set to take place later on Saturday, with
a protest in the United Kingdom expected to be attended by thousands of
people.
Protesters in Kabul pumped their fists into the air and shouted slogans
against Israel and the United States, while in Srinagar activists burned
an effigy of Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister.
In Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinians seeking national unity
marched through streets and there were clashes with riot police.
'Killer Israel'
In Ankara, Turkey's capital, about 5,000 people shouted "killer Israel"
during an anti-Israeli rally as anger mounted in a country traditionally
considered an ally of Israel.
The demonstration is the second largest in Turkey in as many days.
The protesters, who turned out in freezing weather, shouted "resist and
win freedom" in support of Hamas.
Many waved Palestinian flags and wore headbands with Arabic scripts.
The fighting has troubled Turkey's efforts to help broker peace between
Israel and its Arab opponents, forcing Turkey to suspend its mediation
between Israel and Syria and leading to resignations by some of Turkey's
politicians from a Turkish-Israeli friendship group.
In Britain, about 18 protests across the country, the largest being held
in London, are expected to draw up to 20,000 during the day.
Nadim Baba, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the British capital, said
protest organisers were expecting a big turnout.
Global outrage
On Friday, riot police clashed with protesters in Jerusalem and in the
Jordanian capital Amman, firing teargas to push back hundreds of
demonstrators marching towards the Israeli embassy. Several protesters
were beaten and arrested by police.
More than 10,000 people marched through Indonesia's capital carrying
banners and Palestinian flags.
The demonstrators gathered in the city centre to pray for the
safety of Palestinians before marching to the US embassy, which was
guarded by hundreds of police.
Protests were also held in other Indonesian cities after Friday prayers.
People shouted anti-Israel slogans
during a rally in Moscow [EPA]
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood called for marches nationwide. Hundreds
of riot police were deployed around key mosques in Cairo in anticipation
of the protests.
Egyptian police also detained 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood,
security officials said.
Thousands of people were out in Istanbul to support the Palestinians and
show their outrage at Israel.
In Australia, more than 4,000 people gathered in the Parry Park in Sydney.
Five local mosques had closed, asking worshippers to attend the vigil
instead of the traditional Friday prayers.
Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, a local imam, led the service, urging Israel to
recognise a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and agree to a ceasefire.
"Israel is committing an act of terrorism. It's the duty of all the free
people in the world to stand against it and stop this evil," he said.
Hundreds took to the streets of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka after the
Friday prayers and in the Philippines, dozens of demonstrators gathered
in Manila, accusing Israel of war crimes.
In the Pakistani capital Islamabad, demonstrators called on the Arab and
Muslim world to stop what they called the massacre committed against the
population of Gaza.
http://palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=90e853763843737524e4932a0e6dfb71&mode=details
Global Protests Slam Silence on Gaza 'Genocide'
Angry people holding banners condemning the 'genocide' in Gaza and
chanting anti-Israeli slogans were witnessed across the world as people
continued to protest Sunday against Israel's nine-day assault on the
impoverished strip.
Clashes between angry protestors and police have marred most global
demonstrations but the only reported death was in the West Bank as
Israeli troops shot dead 21-year-old Palestinian Mufid al-Walwil.
Further protests were expected, as anger grew over the Israeli military
push -- and diplomatic reaction, including U.N. failure to agree on a
common resolution, and the European Union's Czech-led delegation
initially categorizing Israel's action as "defensive" prior to a Sunday
apology.
Arab World
Lebanon anti-riot police also fired teargas and water cannon at
protesters near the U.S. embassy compound in Awkar, north of Beirut, an
AFP photographer said. Thousands also demonstrated outside the UN
headquarters in Beirut.
Students from Mauritania's Nouakchott University clashed with police
when they tried to surround the Israeli embassy calling for it to be
closed down because "it brings shame to our country."
Around 200 Iraqis staged a protest in the southern Shiite shrine city of
Karbala to condemn Israel's deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip and to
voice support for embattled Palestinians.
The crowd chanted "No, no, to imperialism," "No, no, to Israel," and
"No, no to Zionism," as they marched to the shrine of Imam Hussein,
Shiites' third imam.
Police in Turkey refused to give numbers, but central Istanbul's
sprawling Caglayan square was packed with a sea of protesters --
organizers claiming a turnout as high as 700,000.
"The bastards of the devil, go away from Palestine and the Middle East,"
said one banner in English.
In Morocco, the 40,000-strong crowd in the capital Rabat chanted
expressions of anger over "the silence of Arab regimes."
Demonstrators accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having "sold
Gaza for (U.S.) dollars."
Islamist Party of Justice and Development lawmaker Mustapha Ramid said
"the blood of Gazan martyrs has mobilized the masses in Morocco and
throughout the rest of the Arab world."
Europe
Thousands of people across Europe voiced their opposition to Israel's
military action in rallies in Paris, London, Madrid, Amsterdam,
Stockholm and Athens along with other European cities.
In London, some 10,000 demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and
chanted "Free, free Palestine" and "Israel terrorists" as they filed
along the River Thames before gathering in Trafalgar Square, an AFP
reporter saw.
Some protesters threw their shoes at the iron gates of Prime Minister
Gordon Brown's Downing Street residence to express their anger at his
refusal to condemn Israeli airstrikes, which Palestinian medics say have
killed more than 450 people in a week.
The London march, which organizers Stop the War Coalition claimed had
attracted 50,000 people, was led by singer Annie Lennox and veteran
left-wing politician Tony Benn.
Alexei Sayle, an actor and comedian well known to British TV audiences,
also took part. He said: "As a Jew it's very moving to see so many
people who are so outraged at Israel's actions.
"Israel is a democratic country that is behaving like a terrorist
organization," he said.
In Paris the crowd of 25,000 chanted "We are all Palestinians" and
"Israel killers." Many sported traditional Palestinian scarves.
Several cars were also torched or overturned and windows smashed in the
city's midtown shopping district, but calm appeared to return as of
early evening.
In neighboring Spain, more than 2,000 people rallied outside the foreign
ministry in Madrid, burning several Israeli flags. Police detained a man
who tried to break through a police barrier and injured three police
officers.
Hundreds of the demonstrators then marched through the streets of Madrid
brandishing signs such as "This is not a war but a genocide."
Protests were also staged rallies in Greek and Italian cities, with the
largest turnout reported in Milan -- an estimated 5,000 people, most of
them immigrants.
Meanwhile, scuffles took place in front of the Israeli embassy in Athens
at the end of a rally that drew about 3,000, pitting stone-throwing
demonstrators against police who responded with teargas.
Two people were arrested as more than 1,000 marched through Amsterdam
condemning the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and calling for a boycott of
Israeli goods, police said.
More than 2,300 people also demonstrated in the Austrian city of
Salzburg, police said.
(News Agencies and Alarabiya.net)
http://www.agnetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=282020
1/9/2009 7:39:00 AM
Anti-Israel Protests Target US Firms, Jewish Businesses
PARIS (AFP)--Protests against Israel's offensive in Gaza were held
Friday across a vast swathe from Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim
nation, to Italy where a call to boycott Jewish traders drew wide
condemnation.
Some 200 women protested outside the Egyptian Embassy in Jakarta,
brandishing posters of dead and wounded Palestinian children, and urging
Egypt to open its border with Gaza to ensure the passage of humanitarian
aid.
Israel's bombardment of Gaza has sparked claims by Indonesian Islamists
that they are recruiting "holy warriors" to help stop the onslaught.
In nearby Malaysia, which is also predominantly Muslim, Islamic groups
Friday urged a boycott of U.S. goods and firms such as Coca-Cola Co.
(KO), and an influential former premier said people working for
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) or McDonald's Corp. (MCD) should quit.
The salvos against the U.S., Israel's staunch ally, were fired outside
the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur after Friday prayers by some 300
protestors.
The boycott is spearheaded by the Malaysian Islamic Consumers'
Association and the Muslim Restaurant Operators' Association, which has
removed Coca-Cola from the menu at thousands of restaurants.
In Italy, a minor traders' body sparked uproar by calling for a boycott
of Jewish-run businesses in Rome, drawing immediate condemnation.
The head of the Jewish community in Rome, Riccardo Pacifici, said he
would file a suit against the organization for "inciting racial hatred."
The move has been condemned by the center-right president of the Italian
enate, Renato Schifani, and Rome's far-right mayor Gianni Alemanno, who
branded it "mad and criminal."
In Norway, six people were injured and 31 were arrested when around
1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters attacked a pro-Israeli demonstration in
Oslo, police said Friday.
Meanwhile, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has urged Arabs to volunteer to
fight alongside Palestinians, state media reported Friday.
"I appeal to Arabs to volunteer to fight (against Israel) with the
Palestinians," the veteran leader said in brief comments carried by the
official Jana news agency.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99175043&ft=1&f=1001
Protests Against Gaza Operations Grow
by Peter Kenyon
Listen Now [2 min 59 sec] add to playlist
All Things Considered, January 9, 2009 • Across the Arab and Muslim
worlds, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets today in
anger at Israel, the United States and pro-American Arab governments.
Record crowds turned out in countries like Egypt and Libya, but there
were also protests in Europe.
All Things Considered: January 9, 2009
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the
Israeli attacks in Gaza. Demonstrations were staged across the Arab and
Muslim world, revealing what appear to be new levels of anger at Israel,
America and pro-U.S. Arab states such as Egypt. NPR's Peter Kenyon
reports from Cairo.
PETER KENYON: Residents of the wealthy and tightly controlled Gulf state
of Qatar have rarely seen passionate political protest in their own
streets. But when Sheikh Youssef Alkaradawi called for a day of rage
against Israel's continued pounding of Hamas targets in Gaza, a huge
rally developed. Local journalists called it an unprecedented display of
public animosity toward the Jewish state.
(Soundbite of protests)
Unidentified Speaker: (Arabic spoken).
KENYON: Stop supporting the Jews, says this speaker, who added, quote,
"stop giving them weapons so we can fight the Jews." This is a war from
the days of our grandfathers, he said, that will never end because it
knows no boundaries. Analysts said it was shocking to hear such
sentiments in a normally quiet Gulf state that has had trade relations
with Israel since 1996. Themes of violence and revenge were woven
through a number of today's rallies. Despite the desperate situations in
Afghanistan and Iraq, there were large anti-Israeli demonstrations in
both of those countries today. Tens of thousands of people rallied in
Iraq, and they heard a statement from Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr,
calling for revenge attacks against the United States, which Sadr
described as the biggest partner of the Zionist enemy. In Turkey, tens
of thousands gathered at Istanbul's majestic blue mosque.
(Soundbite of protests)
Unidentified Speaker: (Turkish spoken).
KENYON: Some carried signs equating the Israeli Star of David with the
Nazi swastika, a particularly hateful insult to many Israelis. The anger
was not aimed solely at Israel. In Jakarta, Indonesia, some 200
protesters were arrested trying to reach the Egyptian embassy. Egypt has
faced scathing criticism for refusing to open its border with Gaza
except to certain medical and humanitarian aid. That sentiment was
echoed here in Egypt in a surprisingly large protest in the port city of
Alexandria. Demonstrators apologized to Gazans for their government's
inaction, saying the decision to open the border was not in their hands.
(Soundbite of protests)
KENYON: In Amman, Jordan, riot police used tear gas and water cannons to
disperse stone-throwing protesters marching on the Israeli embassy.
Clashes with security forces also occurred in the Palestinian West Bank,
in addition to fights between Hamas supporters and backers of the
secular Fatah movement. Police also quelled protest in Cairo. Even as
Egypt finally relented on one front, journalists at the Egypt Gaza
border reported that more than two dozen doctors, many of them Egyptian,
were finally allowed to cross into Gaza to provide a bit relief to their
exhausted and overwhelmed Palestinian colleagues. Peter Kenyon, NPR
News, Cairo.
(Soundbite of music)
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
This is NPR, National Public Radio.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/200919123947912684.html
Global protests condemn Gaza war
Police blocked protesters in Nairobi from reaching the Israeli embassy
[Reuters]
More than 50,000 Egyptian have protested in the city of Alexandria
against Israel's assault on Gaza, one of many held across the world as
the conflict enters its 14th consecutive day.
Protesters in Egypt, led by parliamentarians allied to the opposition
Muslim Brotherhood, chanted slogans condemning the war and the failure
of Arab nations to tackle the crisis.
"Down with Israel, and with it every collaborator," protesters chanted
after Friday prayers.
Others shouted: "Gaza excuse us: opening Rafah is not in our hands,"
referring to the border crossing between the strip and Egypt which Cairo
has refused to open despite the deaths of more than 780 Palestinians.
An AFP news agency reporter said riot police had tried to prevent the
protest going ahead but gave up because of the number of demonstrators.
Also in the Egyptian coastal town of al-Arish, demonstrators pelted
police with stones when they tried dispersing the crowd.
In the Jordanian capital Amman, security forces stopped protesters
carrying Palestinian and Jordanian flags from marching to the Israeli
embassy.
The protesters chanted "no Israel embassy on Arab territory" and "Arab
rulers are cowards".
No clashes were reported although objects were thrown at riot police.
Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations with diplomatic relations
with Israel.
Both Sunni and Shia Muslim worshippers in Baghdad staged rallies
condemning the offensive following Friday prayer services.
The Israeli ambassador to Venezuela was expelled after Hugo Chavez, the
president of the Latin American nation, set a deadline for Shlomo Cohen
and some embassy personnel to leave.
West Bank clashes
Angry Palestinian protesters have clashed with Israeli police in Hebron
in the occupied West Bank.
Fist fights also broke out between Hamas supporters and members of the
rival Fatah party of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, in
Ramallah. The Israeli security forces used teargas and batons to
disperse the demonstrators.
Israel had placed the West Bank on a 48-hour lockdown, prohibiting
movement into and out of the Palestinian territory until Saturday except
in emergency cases.
In Kenya, police used water cannons and tear gas in an attempt to
disperse hundreds of people who had gathered outside Nairobi's Jamea
mosque to express their soldarity with the Palestinians of Gaza.
"No to shedding innocent blood," "End the massacre in Gaza," and
"Israel, stop killing innocent people," read some of the placards.
The protestors tried to march towards the Israeli embassy in the centre
of the Kenyan capital, but were stopped by a heavy security deployment.
Six people were injured and 31 were arrested when 1,000 pro-Palestinian
protesters attacked a pro-Israeli demonstration in Oslo, police said on
Friday.
During the clashes, considered to be the worst in more than two decades
in the Norwegian capital, anti-Israel protesters threw Molotov
cocktails, rocks and eggs and burned Israeli flags, Johan Fredriksen of
the Oslo police said.
Police were also on high alert in Greece, where protests against the
Israeli offensive have been planned.
Boycott call
In Malaysia and Italy, critics of Israel's Gaza assault have called for
a boycott of Israeli and US goods.
"We cannot remain silent about what is happening in Gaza. We had thought
of drawing up a list of businessmen who have links with Tel Aviv because
people do not know who they are," Giancarlo Desiderati, a member of a
small group of Italian traders who called for the boycott on its
website, said.
At least 5,000 people protested outside the US embassy in Malaysia on
Friday, and around 300 held a noisy protest outside the National Mosque
in Kuala Lumpur to urge Arab countries to cut off oil supplies to the US
and boycott goods from Coca-Cola, Colgate and Starbucks.
Addressing the crowd, Mahathir Mohamed, a former prime minister, told
Malaysians that they "will not die if they do not use the US goods" and
urged those working for US companies such as fast-food giant McDonalds
to quit their jobs.
"I hope Starbucks and McDonald's employees will stop working there," he
said.
Coca-Cola officials said any boycott would only hurt the local economy
and its citizens.
http://www.rferl.org/Content/Egypt_Jordan_Crack_Down_On_AntiIsrael_Protests/1365933.html
Egypt, Jordan Crack Down On Anti-Israel Protests
Demonstrators at the Egyptian Embassy in Damascus demand Egypt change
its Israel policy
January 02, 2009
LONDON (Reuters) -- Jordanian and Egyptian riot police have cracked down
on protesters demanding an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza and to ties
with the Jewish state.
Israel's week-old offensive has sparked daily protests around the world.
On January 2, the Muslim day of prayer, angry demonstrations took place
in Indian Kashmir, Turkey, and Iraq.
Jordanian police fired tear gas to push back hundreds of people marching
on the Israeli Embassy in the capital Amman.
Chanting "No Jewish embassy on Arab land," worshippers set off from a
mosque to the nearby Israeli Embassy. Police fired tear gas at around
1,500 demonstrators, forcing them to retreat, and beat and arrested
several of them.
Protesters chanted slogans backing the Islamic militant group Hamas that
controls Gaza. "Revenge...revenge.... Hamas, bomb Tel Aviv," they shouted.
Watched by riot police, at least 60,000 people headed later to Amman
sports stadium for the largest rally in decades by the opposition Muslim
Brotherhood. Its leader told a cheering crowd that Palestinians should
intensify an uprising against Israel.
In Cairo, police beat opposition Islamists with batons when they tried
to stage a rally downtown, witnesses said.
A rally in the coastal town of El-Arish in North Sinai turned violent
when protesters tried to force their way through a police cordon.
"People charged at the police and pelted them with rocks," a Reuters
witness said. "Police started rounding people up and beating them."
Egypt's protests were called by the Muslim Brotherhood, the main
opposition group which has historical and ideological ties to Hamas.
"This will not prevent us from declaring our anger and expressing our
solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood
deputy leader, told Reuters. He said Egypt should break off diplomatic
and economic ties with Israel.
Egypt and Jordan both have peace treaties with Israel, and their
diplomatic ties with it often prompt accusations of a sell-out from
other Muslims and Arabs.
Protesters in countries such as Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran accuse Egypt of
cooperating with Israel by refusing to open its border crossing with the
Palestinian coastal strip.
Israel's offensive, one of the worst in 60 years of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has killed more than 420 people. Israel
says the attacks aim to stop Hamas firing rockets on towns in southern
Israel, where four Israelis have died.
It sealed off the West Bank to deny entry to most Palestinians and
beefed up security at checkpoints as people renewed protests across the
occupied territory.
In Ramallah, Hamas supporters scuffled with the Fatah faction of
Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, taunting them as
"collaborators." Elsewhere, protesters stoned soldiers at checkpoints
and some were wounded by rubber bullets.
Protests In India, Turkey, Europe
In Indian Kashmir at least 50 people were injured when baton-wielding
police fired tear gas shells to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters,
police and witnesses said.
Angry demonstrators in the summer capital Srinagar shouted "Down with
Zionist terrorism, down with Israel" and burned American and Israeli
flags near Kashmir's grand mosque Jamia Masjid.
There were also demonstrations in New Delhi, Hyderabad, and other Indian
cities.
In mainly Muslim Turkey, thousands gathered outside an Istanbul mosque
to condemn the attacks, which have prompted harsh government criticism
against its close ally Israel.
Chanting "Damn Israel, damn Zionism," up to 5,000 worshippers held a
peaceful protest after prayers in Turkey's largest city.
About 200 Iraqi men and boys gathered for an indoor demonstration inside
a Baghdad mosque, many wearing white headbands bearing the words
"Victory for Gaza." Banners read: "Gaza is in the hearts and minds of
all Arabs."
Several thousand demonstrators gathered in the central square of the
Austrian capital Vienna, freeing black and white balloons and holding
pro-Palestinian signs. Bigger protests are expected in London, Dublin,
and elsewhere in Europe on January 3.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01/03/gaza-protests.html?ref=rss
Worldwide protests urge end to attacks on Gaza
Last Updated: Saturday, January 3, 2009 | 7:04 PM ET Comments277Recommend61
CBC News
Protesters toting Palestinian flags gathered in Toronto on Saturday.
(Colin McConnell/Canadian Press)
Demonstrations were held in cities around the world to protest Israel's
military offensive against Hamas as Israeli ground troops entered the
territory on Saturday.
In Canada, rallies were scheduled in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and
Vancouver.
At least 1,000 people gathered in Dundas Square, in Toronto's central
downtown business district.
Officers on foot, bicycle and horseback patrolled the area as
demonstrators for and against Israel gathered on either side of Yonge
Street.
The rally was passionate but peaceful as people shouted at each other
from across the street.
In London, at least 10,000 people, many carrying Palestinian flags,
marched past British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street
residence to a rally in Trafalgar Square.
Once marchers stopped outside Brown's residence, hundreds of them hurled
shoes at the tall iron gates that block entry to the narrow road.
Shoe-throwing has become a popular gesture of protest and contempt since
an Iraqi journalist tossed a pair at U.S. President George W. Bush in
Baghdad last month.
Rallies also were held in other British cities — including Manchester,
Liverpool and Glasgow — and across Europe.
Protests in Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Berlin all drew thousands of people.
In Paris, police said 21,000 marched through the streets, shouting "We
are all Palestinians" and "Israel assassin."
Later, about 500 of the protesters turned violent, throwing objects at
police, burning Israeli flags, overturning and torching cars, and
vandalizing several shops, police said.
Ten police officers were injured in the clashes and 20 protesters
arrested, a Paris police spokeswoman said.
Angry protests continued for a second day in Turkey, where about 5,000
demonstrators shouted "killer Israel" in downtown Ankara.
Thousands of people marched through Amsterdam, criticizing both the
Israeli attacks and the Dutch government's failure to condemn them. One
banner declared: "Anne Frank is turning in her grave. Oh Israel!"
More than 4,000 people demonstrated in Duesseldorf, Germany, and about
5,000 in Frankfurt.
Similar rallies were held In Berlin, Salzburg, Madrid, Oslo and Athens.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=LEN20090105&articleId=11616
Global Human Rights Groups Protest Slaughter in Gaza
by Stephen Lendman
Global Research, January 5, 2009
On June 16, 2008, noted Israeli historian Ilan Pappe explained "The
Israeli Recipe for 2008: Genocide in Gaza, Ethnic Cleaning in the West
Bank." He wrote:
"Not long ago, I claimed that Israel is employing genocidal policies in
the Gaza Strip." After re-thinking this highly-charged term, he
"concluded with even stronger conviction: it is the only appropriate way
to describe what the Israeli army is doing in Gaza" because of its
repeated atrocities now greater than ever.
In his January 3 "Israel's Righteous Fury and Its Victims in Gaza"
article, Pappe updates his outrage:
Once again, "Israel is engulfed....with righteous fury that translates
into destructive policy in the Gaza Strip. This appalling
self-justification for the inhumanity and impunity....is based first and
foremost on sheer lies transmitted with a newspeak reminiscent of (Nazi
Germany). Every half an hour," radio and TV bulletins call Gaza victims
"terrorists and Israel's massive (slaughter) self-defense."
Israel is the righteous victim. Gazan men, women, and children "a great
evil....There are no boundaries to the hypocrisy....It seems that even
the most horrendous crimes, such as the genocide in Gaza, are treated as
discrete events, unconnected to anything (from the past) and not
associated with any ideology or system."
Today, as Israel slaughters Gazans, "world outrage continues to resonate
- on city streets, by solidarity activists, and by human rights groups
globally....By connecting Zionist ideology and the policies of the past
with the present atrocities, we will be able to provide a clear and
logical explanation (to galvanize) public opinion not only against the
present genocidal policies in Gaza, but hopefully (to) prevent future
atrocities."
Most important is to "puncture the balloon of self-righteous fury that
suffocates the Palestinians every time it inflates (and) end Western
immunity to Israel's impunity." Without it, "more people in Israel
(America and everywhere) will see the real nature of (these) crimes" so
their fury will be directed where it belongs.
The Global BDS Movement
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions for Palestine) Movement
demands: "Stop the Massacre in Gaza - Boycott Israel Now." From Occupied
Ramallah, it reported on the bloodbath, "far more ruthless than all its
predecessors," the slaughter of innocent civilians, young children going
to and from school, "an act of genocide against the 1.5 million
Palestinians in the occupied coastal strip. Israel seems intent to mark
the end of its 60th (anniversary year) the same way it established
itself - perpetuating massacres against the Palestinian people."
More than ever, the BDS Movement calls on international civil society to
condemn the massacre, join its efforts to end Israel's impunity, and
hold it accountable for its persistent crimes of war and against humanity.
UN General Assembly President, Miguel D'Escoto Brockman agrees, and in a
recent address before the Assembly said:
"More than twenty years ago we in the United Nations took the lead from
civil society when we agreed that sanctions were required to provide a
nonviolent means of pressuring South Africa to end its violations.
Today, perhaps we....should consider following the lead of a new
generation of civil society, who are calling for a similar campaign of
boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations."
Israeli writer/activist Uri Avnery founded Gush Shalom ("The Peace
Bloc") in 1993 "to influence Israeli public opinion and lead it towards
peace and conciliation with the Palestinian people." He calls the
killing and destruction in Gaza "a vicious folly of a bankrupt
government (that) let itself be dragged by adventurous officers and
cheap nationalist demagoguery (into a futile conflict that) will bring
no solution to any problem" - either to Israel or "besieged Gaza."
He says Israel, not Hamas, broke the truce, and the IDF followed up with
"calculated raids and killings....The war in Gaza is (Ehud) Barak's
elections campaign, a cynical attempt to buy votes with the blood and
suffering" of Gazans.
Israeli Student Protests
The Israeli news web site Ynetnews.com highlighted student and lecturer
protests over Gaza on Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem campuses. They want
an end to "Operation Cast Lead," called Ehud Barak a "child killer, a
murderer, (and) Barak, Barak, how many children have you murdered
today?" under the slogan of "Diplomatic Terror." At times heated, they
waved PLO and red flags denouncing the operation, and some shouted "In
spirit and in blood we will save Palestine....Fascism lives on." Others
held signs saying: "The war belongs to Olmert, the victims belong to us."
In Jerusalem, at Hebrew University's Mount Scopus, around 200 Arab
Israelis and Jews shouted: "Gaza, Gaza, don't despair, we will put an
end to the occupation." At Tel Aviv University, 200 students gathered
outside the campus in Ramat Aviv. Police arrested three demonstrators.
Haaretz reported that they forcefully arrested six protesters in Tel
Aviv at an "unauthorized demonstration" outside the Egyptian embassy.
They waved PLO flags and condemned Israel. One said police attacked them
with clubs, kicked them, and dragged one young woman by her head and
shoulders into a patrol car.
Israeli police launched operation "Daylight" using 12,000 officers and
2400 volunteers "aimed at keeping all roads clear." They're to stifle
protests and let Israel's slaughter continue unimpeded.
Gaza Professor Said Abdelwahed explains "What Gaza is like in the middle
of the night:"
"It's totally dark. More than 80% of Gaza City is covered by utter
darkness. One cannot see his finger in the dark! Meantime, outside,
there are drones buzzing overhead, choppers roaming in the sky (looking
for movement, targets, people or vehicles on streets, civilians to fire
at).
Inside, children won't go to bed. They fear nightmares, bad dreams,
bombing, explosions, and what not! The routine sounds of aircraft have
been going on for more than seven days and nights....Bang, continuous
bangs, explosions, other horrible explosions, blasts, flames in the
distance. Kids jump up from beds scared, anxious....they don't know what
to do!
They want to hide anywhere, but there's nowhere to go. It sounds like
the bang was under their mattresses. What to do again? Nothing but wait!
How can you convince your child to wait? For what? Next, one hears
ambulance sirens and fire brigades. Thus, one realizes he is in Gaza and
operating a small generator to send messages to the world in the new
year 2009.
I'm okay so far. There were nine air raids in my area in the last 10
minutes, and we expect the worst to come. In the morning between 3:00 -
4:00AM they raided 10 times on targets in Gaza City. Plus the shelling
from Israeli navy vessels. They also burnt more than 10 local fishing
boats on the spot! They attacked a bridge connecting north and south and
the airport in Rafah. It's getting worse and worse. It seems that a
ground offensive is imminent. I have no electricity or water. I'm nearly
out of diesel. There is no way to go out. We've been inside eight
straight days.
I have minutes to write. Nine F-16s raided Gaza. Artillery shelled a 30
kilometer strip of cultivated land. More air raids against mosques,
homes, al-Resala newspaper offices. Minutes ago, 11 men praying were
killed in a mosque. No electricity; no water; no life in the city.
Officially (as of Saturday) about 460 killed and over 2300 injured.
Mobil phone is out of order; landlines hardly work. Gaza is a city of
ghosts. Ground offensive is on the move (with pre-announcment reports)
of tanks and bulldozers."
Israeli Human Rights Groups Protest
On January 1, B'Tselem announced that Israeli human rights groups
launched a blog to provide updates on the Gaza fighting, especially the
targeting of civilians. A statement read:
"B'Tselem reiterates its demand that all parties to the hostilities
prevent harm to civilians. The rules of war (under international law)
obligate all parties to a conflict to do their utmost to defend the
civilian population. Deliberate targeting of civilians is expressly
prohibited."
Since attacks began on December 27, Israeli forces unleashed terror
bombings deliberately targeting civilians, including young children
going to and from school. Support from Washington was one-sided with
House Speaker Pelosi saying: "When Israel is attacked, the United States
must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally."
Not said is when Palestinians are attacked, America "stands strongly"
with the aggressor.
B'Tselem protested in web site comments to Attorney General Menachem
Mazuz. It denounced the bombing of dozens of houses, public buildings
unrelated to military forces, and other civilian structures.
International law requires that combatants distinguish between military
and civilian targets, and attacking latter ones is a war crime.
The First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions defines a
legitimate military target:
-- it must effectively contribute to military action, and
-- destroying or neutralizing it must achieve a military advantage.
Attacking police stations, universities, mosques, factories, power
sources, residential neighborhoods, homes, medical storage sites, a TV
station, fishing boats, civilian vehicles and more complies neither with
the above two conditions. They're war crimes under international law.
Washington knows it. So does Israel and does it anyway - willfully to
achieve maximum intimidation and weaken support for Hamas.
B'Tselem replies: "....statements by Israeli officials raise the
suspicion that the army" isn't distinguishing between civilian and
military targets. Olmert said: "Israel is not at war with the
Palestinian people but with Hamas....the objects (Israel attacks are)
selected with the emphasis on the imperative to prevent harm to innocent
persons."
In a December 30 Washington Post article, IDF spokesperson Major Avital
Liebowitz said: "There are many aspects to Hamas, and we are trying to
hit the whole spectrum, because everything is connected and everything
supports terrorism against Israel." She added that the IDF widened its
target list because Hamas civilian and military activities are linked.
"Anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target," she said.
In other words, 1.5 million Gazans - every man, woman and child even if
they're not militarily engaged. A police graduation ceremony was
attacked when 42 recruits were in formation and vulnerable. Course
participants were instructed in first-aid, handling public disturbances,
human rights, public safety, and other procedures for maintaining public
order. Israel calls them "terrorists."
Civilian government offices also were bombed, including the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labor, Construction and Housing. In
response, the IDF announced that "Hamas governmental infrastructure and
members active in the organization" are considered legitimate targets
and were struck.
These are clear civilian targets unrelated to military ones, and bombing
them violates international law. Israel claims striking them is
permissible and consistent with international humanitarian law. That's
untrue. Israel knows it, intentionally does it anyway, and by so doing
commits war crimes.
International law obligates combatants to protect civilian populations.
Targeting them is expressly prohibited. Israel does it anyway. It
conducts terror bombings to weaken popular will and the ability of Hamas
to resist, so far without success. Indications are that Hamas'
popularity has grown since December 27, and many hundreds of Gazans have
volunteered to become fighters. Kill one. Five others join up.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) on Attacking Medical Infrastructure
and Personnel
PHR-Israel received six reports of the Israeli Air Force bombing these
sites and personnel working to evacuate the wounded, including:
-- the Ambulance Management and Red Crescent offices in Gaza City;
-- the Surani Clinic in Shaja'iah;
-- a Palestinian Ministry of Health storage facility containing
medications and medical supplies in the Mal'ab Filasteen district;
-- the Gaza Center for Mental Health's main building in Gaza City; all
psychiatric and psychological services have ceased as a result;
-- attacks on medical personnel and ambulances; deaths resulted; Israel
falsely claims that Hamas uses Shifaa Hospital medical equipment for
attacks; and
-- residential areas are continually attacked by air and artillery
barrages killing civilians.
PHR-Israel also reports that hospitals aren't able to cope. They're
overwhelmed with the injured, have run out of beds, are way short of
supplies, only get 6 - 8 hours of electricity a day at most, and
overusing generators breaks them down at a time no spare parts are
available because of the siege.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHR)
Its weekly report ending December 31 called the scale of Israel's Gaza
attack "unprecedented" and proceeded to list the known toll in lives and
property destruction. It also referred to IDF phone calls and leaflet
drops ordering people from homes prior to bombings, claiming they're
legitimate military targets. Given the population density, this caused
great panic and uncertainty because where can these people go. They're
in the street, on rooftops, and in UNRWA schools set up as temporary
shelters, but even they're not safe.
As a result, OCHR said their humanitarian operations were severely
disrupted. One incident involved an IAF missile killing eight UNRWA
students and wounding 19 others in front of its Gaza City Training
Centre. Other strikes damaged 13 UNRWA schools and UNSCO, OCHA and FAO
offices plus a WFP flour storage warehouse.
OCHR reported a lack of cash and shortages of everything it needs to
function - food, fuel, electricity, medical supplies, water disinfectant
materials, as well as working under fear of being targeted.
Ten Israeli Human Rights Groups on the Dire Conditions in Gaza
On January 1, they issued an urgent appeal and reported that:
-- Gaza's electrical system is on the verge of collapse;
-- hospitals, water wells and homes are experiencing long power outages;
for up to 20 hours a day or longer because Gaza's power plant can't get
industrial diesel to operate; and
-- the availability of essential-to-life supplies is denied in violation
of an Israeli Supreme Court order.
"This shortage was well known to Israeli security officials because
(they) caused (it) deliberately, beginning October 28, 2007, and we (the
human rights organizations) repeatedly warned them of it." The current
conflict exacerbates conditions that continue to deteriorate by design.
Nonetheless, the group sent an urgent appeal to Israel's Defense
Minister "demanding that (the military) stop draining Gaza of fuel and
electricity - and restore fuel supplies to hospitals, water wells, and
other vital humanitarian institutions fully and immediately." No
response was received.
The Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel on Human
Rights Violations and War Crimes in Gaza
It urged the UN Human Rights Council to press the General Assembly to
act under its Resolution 377 ("Uniting for Peace") authority "with a
view towards the imposition of collective measures against the Israeli
government," halt the escalation of deaths, and take effective steps to
restore peace.
Along with other Israeli human rights organizations, it also demanded
the emergency evacuation of wounded Palestinians so they can receive
vital lifesaving treatment in Israel. Advanced medical care there "is
the only way to save lives" that otherwise will be lost. With rare
exceptions, Israel is unresponsive. As a result, large numbers of
"clinically" wounded have little chance to survive.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) Demands An Immediate
End to Civilian Attacks
"In light of reports on the heavy toll taken on (Gazan) civilians who
were not involved in the conflict, including children and women, the
IDF's statement that 'the civilian population is not the target' is not
sufficient." It's also untrue. "The ongoing, unlawful attacks on the
civilian population" have no legal or moral justification and must stop.
Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) On A "Not So Happy Hanukah"
Instead of joy at this time of year, RHR reflects on a "dark world.
Today, the world feels dark with hundreds of people dying and many more
being injured in Gaza." RHR calls for an end to the fighting and for
both sides to stop harming civilians at a time of "The madness of
dreaming for a better world" and so few prospects of it in sight. RHR's
statement is welcome, but it's far too weak to be effective.
The Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA) Condemnation of Israel's
Lawless Bombardment of Civilians
"The large number of dead and wounded and the timing of the bombardment
clearly indicate that civilians (including police sites) were targeted
with the aim of inflicting the largest number of casualties; this is a
grave breach of (Article 147) of the Fourth Geneva and therefore a War
Crime."
The ongoing siege, collective punishment, and destruction of civilian
facilities (including mosques, educational and medical sites)
"constitutes another crime against" 1.5 million Gazans "who are living
in an atmosphere of continued terror and intimidation."
HRA also condemns world silence in spite of repeated calls for help.
"This silence was tantamount to a green light for Israel to escalate its
siege, topped with the barbaric bombardment of the Gaza Strip and its
people," including willfully against civilians.
Amnesty International USA (AI)
Often reluctant to confront the powerful, AI this time is outspoken, if
imperfect, in these comments:
"The US government cannot continue this lop-sided blame on Hamas for the
crisis. Ask Secretary Rice to urgently express deep concern about
Israel's disproportional response and its policies which have brought
the Gaza Strip to the brink of humanitarian disaster.
Civilians in Gaza, already trapped in disgraceful humanitarian
conditions, are victims of Israeli air strikes and attacks. Israeli
blockades of humanitarian supplies continue to deny Palestinians the
food and medical supplies they desperately need."
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Their January 2 email announced weekend protests across Canada - in
Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor, Winnepeg and Vancouver, and very
likely other cities will have their own. Israel ignited the world with
virtually every corner resonating fury.
James Petras on Gaza
In his latest article, "The Politics of An Israeli Extermination
Campaign," Petras explains that Israel "sealed off all access to Gaza
and declared it a military, free fire zone, (targeting) the entire
population" in gross violation of international laws it disdains and
repeatedly violates.
Petras quotes Israeli military officials saying "...we are trying to hit
the whole spectrum (Hamas' 'vast support network'), because everything
is connected and everything supports terrorism against Israel." A top
secret police official said: "Hamas civilian infrastructure is a very
sensitive target," and as Petras explains: What Israeli officials and
IDF call Hamas "is the entire social service network, the entire
government and the vast majority of economic activity, embracing almost
the entire 1.5 million imprisoned residents of Gaza,(everyone)" now more
than ever united under Hamas against Israel, the West, America, and
complicit Arab leaders who abandoned them for their own political self
interest.
All the more reason for Petras to quote an IDF spokesman saying: "Hamas
has used ostensibly civilian operations as a cover for military
activities. Anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target,"
including women, men in mosques praying, and young children going and
coming from school.
Michel Chossudovsky on "Operation Cast Lead"
Chossudovsky calls it "part of a broader military-intelligence agenda
first formulated by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in
2001." It aims to produce a "planned humanitarian disaster." Military
targets are secondary. The main goal is inflicting mass civilian
casualties and terror - to weaken resistance, increase control, and
encourage emigration.
"Key events" preceded the Gaza attack:
-- assassinating Yasser Arafat in November 2004 (see January 3, 2007
article - http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=4309
-- "disengaging" from Gaza; resettling Jews in the West Bank under the
pretense of Washington's "Road Map" and turning Gaza into a
"concentration camp;"
-- building the Separation Wall that the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) ruled illegal in July 2004 and called for its dismantling; it's
now nearly completed on seized Palestinian land; and
-- the preordained 2006 Hamas election made possible by Arafat's death;
in January 1995, the State Department declared it a Foreign Terrorist
Organization; with that for cover, Israel planned West Bank "cantonization."
The January 3 ground attack aims to implement the 2001 "Operation
Justified Vengeance" known as the(Meir) "Dagan Plan" after retired
general and current Mossad head; its goal is "destroying the
infrastructure of the Palestinian leadership and collecting weaponry
(of) various Palestinian forces and expelling or killing its military
leadership" - in other words, rendering all Gaza opposition impotent,
maintaining a docile Fatah in the West Bank, and possibly in
collaboration with Washington "triggering a wider war."
Protests by US Human Rights Groups and Activists
Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights lists upcoming protests
and events about Gaza on its web site - in America and globally along
with reports on and opinions about the ongoing conflict. Currently it
features "Obama's deadly silence, The real goal of the slaughter in
Gaza, Is the UN complicit in Israel's massacre in Gaza?" (by its false
civilian casualty reports and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's failure to
denounce Israel's war crimes), and much more.
United for Peace and Justice demands "Action to Protest Israeli Attack
on Gaza." It urges people to get engaged, join with others, protest to
the White House, the State Department, members of Congress, the local
media, and organize or join local protests. The greater the national
groundswell the stronger the message to Tel Aviv and Washington that
world opinion condemns them. But it's not enough to stop them.
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is on this as well. It's
unequivocal in saying: "Make no mistake about it - Israel's war and
siege on the Gaza Strip would not be possible without the jets,
helicopters, ships, missiles, and fuel provided by the United States"
plus billions of dollars in annual aid and whatever else Israel requests
for war, occupation and expanding its illegal settlements.
The Campaign maintains a list of US protests nationwide (under
"Emergency Gaza Protest/Vigil/March). So far over 100 have been held in
about 65 cities in at least 30 states and more are being planned. It
urges everyone "to continue to organize protests in your community" and
spread the word to others.
American Zionist Collaborators with Israeli Aggression and War Crimes
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
(PMAJO) is "the central coordinating body for American Jewry,
representing 50 national Jewish (organizations, including AIPAC) across"
the country.
Its purpose is to:
-- "strengthen and foster the special US - Israeli relationship;
-- ensure that Israel's interests (come first for) policy makers" and US
public opinion;" and
-- "address critical foreign policy issues that impact (Israel and) the
American Jewish community."
On December 27, it voiced strong support for Israel "and its decision to
defend its people against terrorism through the" terror bombing of Gaza.
"The government and people of Israel have shown unprecedented restraint
in the face of unyielding attacks with missiles and mortars fired on
civilian targets by Hamas and other terrorist organizations" whose clear
goal "is the destruction of Israel....We hold Hamas responsible for
breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence." PMAJO urges
Israel and America to take all measures against Hamas - regardless of
the human toll, the rule of law, world public opinion, and other quaint
and old-fashioned ways of thinking.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA - founded in 1897) "is the only
organization that documents and exposes Palestinian Arab violations of
the Road Map plan (and) leads efforts on behalf of American victims of
Palestinian Arab terrorism." It says it's "Always on the front lines of
pro-Israeli activism" even at the expense of human rights and equal
justice for Arabs as well as peace and conciliation in the Middle East.
On December 31, it, too, voiced strong support for Israel's military
attack and for the Bush administration's support. As expected, it cited
"Hamas' culpability as an aggressor and terrorist organization" and for
ending the ceasefire in November. It falsely accused it of firing
rockets throughout the truce period and now "has shown its true colors"
by stepping up violence and "refus(ing) to recognize Israel's right to
exist."
It supports Israel's right "to make a sustained assault on the Hamas
infrastructure and reoccupy at least certain parts of Gaza, at least in
the short to medium term." It "trust(s) the Administration will"
continue to support Israel in its effort, regardless of the cost in
human lives that, of course, means Arab ones. Before the January 3
invasion, only four Jewish ones were lost. Fighting on the ground will
likely produce many more on both sides, mostly affecting Gazans.
"Israel's Policy Is Perfectly Proportionate" - Alan Dershowitz
Harvard Law professor Dershowitz defends the indefensible as a notorious
pro-Israeli flack. He contends that the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) applies to the rest of the world, not Israel. He calls their
justices bigots and shameless mouthpieces for their governments. He
opposes the death penalty but supports targeted assassinations, mass
slaughter of civilians and torture. He twists legal meanings to defend
Israel and America's imperial agenda. He teaches this ideology to his
students.
In a January 2 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Dershowitz is vintage
Dershowitz saying "Hamas are the real criminals in this conflict,
Israel's actions in Gaza are justified under international law, and
Israel should be commended for its self-defense against terrorism."
In reinterpreting international law, he cites Article 51 of the UN
Charter and justifies it on the grounds of "proportionality." It
authorizes self-defense, never preemptive aggression of the kind Israel
repeatedly unleashed since its "War of Independence" slaughtered and
displaced 800,000 Palestinians from their homes and land and established
the Jewish State.
Dershowitz accuses Hamas of the usual charges of terrorism, rocket
firings, deliberately targeting civilians, using human shields for
protection, and seeking Israel's destruction. "Despicable tactics" he
says plus "the claim that Israel violated the principle of
proportionality - by killing more Hamas terrorists than the number of
Israeli civilians by Hamas rockets - is absurd."
Then a Dershowitz-style international law lesson - the kind he teaches
in class:
"First, there is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of
innocent civilians and the deliberate killing of Hamas combatants (never
mind that most so-called "combatants" are civilian men, woman and
children unconnected to Hamas resistance fighters). Under the laws of
war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of
even one innocent civilian" - but no civilians called combatants.
International laws protect them, and violations are war crimes that
Dershowitz calls permissible.
"Second, proportionality is not measured by the number of civilians
actually killed, but rather by the risk posed. Under international law,
Israel is not required to allow Hamas to play Russian roulette with its
childrens' lives."
As Dershowitz knows, Hamas never preemptively attacks anyone and only
responds in self-defense when attacked as international law allows. It's
conciliatory, seeks peace, and clearly states its willingness to
recognize Israel in return for a Palestinian state inside pre-1967
borders - a mere 22% of its original homeland.
Dershowitz won't mention this or admit to 41 years of an oppressive
occupation, Israel's disdain for international law, its Basic Law
protections for Jews only, its Arab citizens treated like criminals, a
fifth column, and that torture is official policy. Instead he says
"Israel is acting in self-defense and out of military necessity - the
conflict will continue." So will the slaughter of civilian men, woman,
and children Dershowitz calls "terrorists."
Finkelstein on Dershowitz
Norman Finkelstein nailed him in the title of his 2005 book, "Beyond
Chutzpah," in which he deconstructs his mendacity and plagiarism in his
2003 book, "The Case for Israel." He's also an apologist for its most
outrageous crimes, and "in recent years has used the 'war on terrorism'
as a springboard for a full frontal assault on" international law.
According to Dershowitz, "international law, and those who administer
it, must understand that the old rules" no longer apply against a
ruthless and fanatical foe, and that "the laws of war and the rules of
morality must adapt to these (new) realities." That includes preemptive
war, torture, targeted killings, and all else in the name of national
security.
For Finkelstein, Dershowitz invokes the notion that "no one law governs
all things. (Thus) preventive war might be illegitimate for all other
States (but) it remains a legitimate option for Israel" - because the UN
is biased against it. "Accordingly, unlike all other States, Israel
cannot be held accountable to international law or, put otherwise,
international law might apply to everyone else but (not) to Israel."
Presumably not to America either as Dershowitz supported the Iraq and
Afghan wars, a preemptive one on Iran if planned, the use of torture,
targeted assassinations, and Washington's "war on terror."
Finkelstein sums him up this way:
"After all the hard-won gains of civilization, who would want to live in
a world that once again legally sanctioned torture, collective
punishment, assassinations and mass murder? As Dershowitz descends into
barbarism, (it's to be hoped) that few seem inclined to join him."
Francis Boyle on Dershowitz and Like-Minded Law Professors at "Harvard's
Gitmo Kangaroo Law School - The School for Torturers"
University of Illinois law professor and international law expert
Francis Boyle holds five Harvard Law professors culpable. He names them,
and Dershowitz makes the list. He calls him "infamous (and) a
self-incriminating war criminal."
Dershowitz "publicly acknowledged being a member of a Mossad Committee
for approving the murder and assassination of Palestinians, which
violates the Geneva Conventions and is thus a grave war crime." It's
also in violation of the US War Crimes Act that defines these crimes as
"grave breach(es) of the Geneva Conventions" subject to life
imprisonment or death in cases of multiple killings.
In addition, Dershowitz supports Guantanamo's "Kangaroo (Military
Commission) Court System despite it having been denounced by every human
rights organization, official and leader "in the entire world as well as
by the United States Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)."
He and others of the "Harvard Five" demean the rule of law, and as Boyle
puts it:
"The Harvard Law School Faculty and Deans are no longer fit to educate
lawyers, Members of the Bar, and Officers of the Court. They are a sick
joke and a demented fraud....Harvard is to Law School as Torture is to
Law." Its Faculty and Deans "torture the law. Do not send your children
or students to Harvard Law School (or allow them in Dershowitz's
classes) where they will grow up to become racist war criminals. Harvard
Law School is a Neo-Con cesspool....for the most part its Faculty and
Deans have always been viscerally bigoted and racist against
Muslims/Arabs/Asians and other People of Color since at least" 1971 when
Boyle was there.
Boyle on the Gaza Attack
He once represented Palestinians as their legal advisor. On January 4,
he called for "A World Court lawsuit against Israel for genocide;
reconvening the Emergency Special Session for Palestine by the UN
General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace Resolution (377);
comprehensive economic and other sanctions against Israel; and the
suspension of Israel from all UN General Assembly activities" as it's
empowered to do.
The Emergency Special Session for Palestine was first convened in 1997
and officially remains 'adjourned.' "
Haaretz, January 3: Israel's Ground Operation Begins
IDF Major Avital Leibovitch announced it. Israeli television showed
columns of tanks on the move. Heavy artillery shelling preceded them,
and reports are that the cabinet authorized an emergency call-up of
thousands of reservists - mostly combat units but also the Home Front
Command.
Defense officials said 10,000 troops were massed on Gaza's border,
including tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, bulldozers, and
special operations units, but left unclear how many entered the
Territory. Meanwhile, terror-bombings continue, including on the main
road connecting one side of Gaza to the other, and Palestinian
eyewitnesses said large force contingents have invaded. News reports
confirm it and fighting on the ground.
US Again Blocks Security Council Action for An Immediate Halt to
Israel's Aggression
For decades, America used its Security Council veto to block resolutions
against Israel from passing. On December 28, it vetoed one to end IDF
attacks, and on January 3, the pattern repeated. Closed-door
consultations failed to draft a statement (not a resolution) calling for
an immediate ceasefire. US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff called it
"inappropriate" at this time so Israeli terror bombing and ground
operations can continue.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum accused Washington and the Security
Council of complicity with Israel's aggression. It continues unabated.
Israel Bars the ICRC and Foreign Journalists from Gaza
The ICRC medical team notified Israel in advance of its arrival and
issued a statement saying: "It is absolutely essential that this team
get into Gaza now, as this is when they are most needed." So far, Israel
bars it from entering.
It also defies its own Supreme Court ruling to let a limited number of
reporters into the Territory. The ban has been in place since November 5
but was tightened ahead of the December 27 attack. The Foreign Press
Association called on Israel "to immediately honor the will of the court
and allow foreign journalists access to Gaza." The IDF refuses to comply.
A Final Comment
Terror bombings persist - over 700 sorties plus artillery and tank fire
as well as naval vessels shelling the coastline. Confirmed deaths exceed
500 with well over 2500 injured. A ground invasion is underway.
Casualties continue to mount. Partial occupation as well. Gazan society
has collapsed. The Health Ministry has "zero medical supplies,"
according to Dr. Mo'oawiah Hassunin, Head of the Palestinian Ambulance
and Emergency Services. What arrived earlier was used in a matter of hours.
Streets are empty. Most shops and businesses are closed. Only a few food
stores are open. Fear grips everyone. Most government buildings have
been destroyed. Few essential-to-life supplies are available, and only
the bravest venture out to find them.
In his weekly radio address, George Bush blamed the victims, not the
aggressor. Obama was conspicuously silent on vacation in Hawaii. UN
reports are that Gaza is in significant deterioration with 80% or more
of the population unable to cope. The Al Astal family buried its three
children, killed on January 2. Other families grieve for their own.
On January 3, the American International School, north of Gaza City, was
shelled. Docked fishing boats as well and neighborhoods throughout the
Strip. Israeli soldiers attacked Nil'in village West Bank protesters,
firing tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds. Other clashes continue
between youths and the IDF.
No end of fighting is in sight as Washington blocked diplomatic efforts
to end it much as it did during Israel's 33-day summer 2006 Lebanon
assault that killed around 1300, injured many more, and caused vast
destruction in Beirut, the country's south, and other chosen sites.
Palestinians bury their dead. Parents mourn for their children, husbands
for their wives, wives for their husbands, and even AP admitted that
with a million and a half tightly packed Gazans in 140 square miles
"most shelling is occurring in residential areas" meaning most deaths
are civilians.
For Amir Oren, in a January 3 Haaretz op-ed, "Israel must prepare to
turn its military might from Gaza to Iran." The IDF "must move quickly
(after Gaza to direct) its attention for the paramount task of preparing
a military blow to Iran, if diplomacy and deterrence fail." Hamas in
strength or weakness "is still easier to digest than enriched uranium."
Perhaps Oren is of the Benny Morris school advocating nuclear genocide
as he did in a July New York Times op-ed. Lebanon 2006, the West Bank
under military occupation, Gaza under terror bombings, Iran maybe next,
and what further to prove Israel the toughest bully in the neighborhood.
In partnership with Washington under Democrats and Republicans, who can
dispute it?
Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on
Globalization. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen at sbcglobal.net.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Raid-Gaza-Protests-Israeli-Assault-Against-Palestinian-Civilians-101484.shtml
Raid Gaza! Protests Israeli Assault Against Palestinian Civilians
Can gaming be political?
By Andrei Dumitrescu, Games Editor
8th of January 2009, 21:46 GMT
Adjust text size:
An anonymous user has created a game called Raid Gaza!, playable on the
Newsgrounds portal, that acts as a commentary on the situation in the
Middle East - the conflict between the Palestinian Hamas terrorist
organization and the Israeli Defense Forces. The 12 day offensive has
until now resulted in significant victims amongst the civilian
population and cease fire efforts are now being made to stop the fighting.
Raid Gaza! is pretty simplistic as far as videogames go. But the fact
that it was released on December 30, 2008 means that it was very quickly
developed and opens the possibility that videogaming can be used as a
powerful tool to make clear political statements. After playing no more
than ten minutes of Raid Gaza!, any player can see that there's a clear
political view point behind the action.
The game presents itself as a real time strategy where the task is to
kill as many Palestinians in a three minute period and is illustrated by
a comment by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding “reducing” the
number of residents in the Gaza strip. The player can build a variety of
military hardware and some buildings, like headquarters, that can be
used to assault Gaza. There's a lot of irony in the fact that hitting
civilian targets brings players extra points and in the fact that any
request of aid from the Israeli side is immediately granted.
Unfortunately, the game fails as a statement because it is completely
one sided. It can fuel the anger of those who already believe that the
Palestinian side is right and the Israelis are wrong for attacking them.
But it does not inform or teach about the situation, presenting the
history of the area and that of the conflict. After all, even those so
called mindless first person shooters like Gears of War 2 or Resistance
2 provide the player with a history of the in game universe. If Raid
Gaza! manages to do this, it could be a little more than a simple
political statement.
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/01/israel-attack-o.html
January 07, 2009
Disputed Territory: War in Gaza Provokes Protest (And Conversation) In
Second Life Israel
Protesters continue convening in SL Israel today
In Second Life there is a new Israel, appropriately called SL Israel,
which recreates in virtual form aspects of the country, from religious
landmarks of Jerusalem such as the Temple Mount, to tourist sites of Tel
Aviv. Last week when Israel began launching guided missiles at Hamas
targets in Palestine, however, SL Israel became a flashpoint of another
kind. As the airstrikes pounded Gaza, so did protesters, teleporting
into SL Israel, waving flags.
"Lots of people yelling," Beth Odets tells me. "They were going on and
on with slurring obscenities about murderous Israeli forces, etc." She
gives me a screenshot taken during the incursion, festooned with
anti-war or pro-Palestinian signs, some depicting dead Arab children.
Ms. Odets helped create SL Israel, so she maintains land permissions to
the region. She began ejecting the most obstreperous protesters. "I had
to be careful not to boot people who didn't actually do anything wrong,"
as she puts it. But the protesters kept coming, and eventually she felt
forced to close all of SL Israel to outsiders. "Just shut it down for a
little while. Just to make it stop. 'Cause people weren't wanting to be
logical, or talk."
The protesters keep arriving, however. On a brief visit to SL Israel
late last night, for example, I found a half-dozen members of something
called "Second Life International Socialists", brandishing placards and
chattering in front of a lone avatar wearing a yarmaluke.
In SL Israel, this was not the full extent of the reaction to the
ongoing war in Gaza, however. "Later came people who were wanting to
really talk," Beth adds, "like the ones here." She teleports me over, so
I can see for myself.
Which is how I found myself on the shoreline of SL Israel, amid an
impromptu colloquium between a pro-Palestinian Muslim in a kaffiyeh, and
avatar dressed as an IDF soldier, three Jewish women, and, of course, a
talking rabbit.
Along with the Arab headscarf, Clip Chau wears a "Free Palestine"
T-Shirt, and when I arrive, he is talking on the boardwalk with a
brunette named TamaraEden Zinnemann.
"... and I was the only Muslim in the class and she was the only Jew so
whenever Israel and Palestine came up, you know what happened," Chau
tells her. "She was a great teacher. Never biased, and she understood
Palestinian pain. I think she was a huge reason behind me starting to
even consider talking to Jewish people. Before that it was a no go area
for me, it was a birth hatred, I guess."
As it turns out, Ms. Zinnemann is also a teacher in real life:
"I am very cautious when my kids ask me 'Jewish' or Political
questions," she tells Chau. "I like to tell them when they want my
opinion that my job, as their teacher, is to help them make up their own
minds."
I mostly listen from the sidelines, but TamaraEden Zinnemann looks up.
"Hamlet, please write that I'm an American Jew. Clip is a Canadian
Muslim, and we are having a great time sharing our commonalities. I'm
serious."
I tell her that I will. Someone small at our feet pipes up.
"Write that I'm a bunny, OK?" Shmoo Snook demands. I assent to that as
well.
"And cute, too!" he adds.
That duly noted, the bunny proceeds to talk about the photos he saw of
IDF rescuing Palestinians from a collapsed tunnel, and complain about
the Bush Adminstration.
http://eurekadejavu.blogspot.com/2008/12/dozens-gather-in-second-life-to-protest.html
Monday, December 29, 2008
Dozens Gather in Second Life to Protest Gaza Attacks
Dozens of people have been gathering since Saturday in Second Life at a
protest of the recent attacks in the Gaza Strip. The Egypt and
Qatar-based news site, IslamOnline.net, has built a Palestine Holocaust
Memorial Museum with scores of pictures of the attacks and people
wounded in the attacks drawn news sources around the world. The museum
was previously named the Gaza Holocaust Museum, about which we blogged
in March 2008. Those who identified themselves who attended the
gathering were mostly in Egypt, but also included people in Morocco,
Italy, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, France and the United States.
The gathering is an example of the rich, textured opportunity that 3D
immersive spaces like Second Life offer for people to express their
concerns about present day issues.
Breathe Swindlehurst from IslamOnline.net offered these words to the
attendees:
This is a statement for all the children who died in Palestine.
Regardless of our political opinions, I'm sure we all agree that we
don't want those children dying. There is no place here for arguments on
which country is helping or which country is harming. Lets just agree
that we want to send out a unified message to the whole world through SL
that we are against what is happening here, and lets show them the pics
of everything happening so the world knows the disaster from our side.
http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/884?ref=rss
Army, NATO sites defaced by Mideast protesters
Published: 2009-01-09
Two high-profile Web sites — the U.S. Army's public-facing site for the
Military District of Washington and the NATO Parliament's site — joined
on Thursday the hundreds of online targets defaced by vandals protesting
Israel's military action in Gaza.
The defacements contain messages in Turkish supporting the intifada,
typically translated as the uprising against the Israeli government by
the Palestinians, and critical of Israel, the United States, and
Britain, according to defacement follower Zone-H. The attack is the
latest defacement since the end of December, when Israel began attacking
sites in Gaza following rocket launches from the territory. While some
evidence of network attacks have been detected, there are no widespread
denial-of-service attacks similar to the online conflict between
Palestinian and Israeli hackers in 2000 or the more recent attacks on
Georgia and Estonia by Russian patriots, said Jose Nazario,
security-research manager at Arbor Networks.
"This is nothing on the scale of Georgia or even more recently with the
(online) attacks on Kasparov," Nazario said. "These efforts appear to be
loosely coordinated, but not on the scale that we have seen before."
The defacements came two weeks into the war between Israel and militants
in Gaza. Israeli military forces bombed targets in the territory after
rockets were fired into Israel from the Palestinian holding. The death
toll neared 800 on Friday, but both sides dismissed calls from the
United Nations to halt operations, according to the New York Times.
Last week, several sources reported that thousands of Web sites may have
been defaced by Palestinian sympathizers. In addition, a group of
Israeli students had urged the nation's supporters to download software
to turn their computer into a botnet node which could be then used to
attack Palestinian sites, but security experts questioned whether the
software is actually a Trojan horse.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/416253.html
redhack team attacks 16 israeli websites in protest at israeli war crimes
rednblack unity | 29.12.2008 00:18 | Palestine
a group of turkish militant hackers known as the red hack team have
launched a cyber attack on israeli sites as a protest against the
israeli attacks against the people of gaza. the sites have been hacked
with a militant anti-israel, anti-U$ slogan in english and in turkish as
well as militant images and a video.
the message on the targetted sites read as follows :
ISRAEL, now you are doing the same genocide to palestine that Hitler has
done to you.You killed the 230 innocent civil people.
Do you think that you won't pay for this? One day all peoples of world
will wake up and when they wake up they will destroy your state and the
USA ,you trusted, on your heads which you built upon blood and betrayal
. you, the zionist state, will pay for this sooner or later !
People of israel, stop your states fascism ! do something about your
Palestinians brothers
Israelis and Palestinians are brothers,
The murderer is zionist Israel and the USA,
Down with fascism, down with zionism
Long live peoples of world resistance
Long live communism
Long live RED HACK
Real hack is the hack which is for the world's people
We are disaster for the rich
here are links to the sites hacked so you can see for yourself what
occurred,
followed a mirror of the site targeteted should it be repaired.
http://cpm-israel.com/
mirror :
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462482/
http://israel.elisegal.co.il/
mirror :
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462529/
http://guetta.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462437/
http://news.z10.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462552/
http://israel.z10.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462552/
http://salom.elisegal.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462531/
http://roymusic.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462508/
http://z10.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462503/
http://bromide.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462492/
http://nevehagar.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462485/
http://kmisgav.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462462/
http://orit-signon.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462453/
http://ninnun.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462454/
http://food4pets.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462435/
http://artzieli.co.il/
http://zone-h.org/component/option,com_mirrorwrp/Itemid,160/id,8462436/
rednblack unity
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