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Hundreds set to turn out for anti-Israel demo in NY
By E.B. SOLOMONT, JPOST, 09/03/2010
NEW YORK Nearly a thousand people are expected to turn out for a large anti-Israel protest outside a fundraiser for the Israeli Defense Forces on Tuesday in New York City.
Focusing on IDF actions during the Gaza war, protesters plan to march outside the Waldorf Astoria hotel, where the Friends of the IDF will host a $1,000-a-plate dinner. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, who is traveling to New York and Washington this week for talks with senior American officials, is scheduled to deliver the dinners keynote address.
But Ashkenazi will be traveling with an extra layer of security amid reports of the protest, with one article calling him the Butcher of Gaza. The protest is being sponsored by a broad coalition of about 25 left-wing groups, including American Jews for a Just Peace, Codepink, Gaza Freedom March and Jewish Voice for Peace. Organized by Jews Say No!, the protest was endorsed by the Israeli groups Coalition of Women for Peace and Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian Call for BDS From Within.
We think its inappropriate for an American organization to be feting the Israeli army, when the Israeli army is implicated in violations of international law, said Rebecca Vilkomerson, director of Jewish Voice for Peace. She said Operation Cast Lead opened up peoples eyes to the role that the Israeli army plays. The Goldstone Report also made people consider the notion that the IDF is fallible, she added.
Definitely, it has opened up a big conversation in the Jewish community, she said, observing that in the past year more Jews have begun questioning the idea that Israel is always right.
Ahead of Tuesdays protest, organizers said they expect a thousand people to turn out. The protest itself will be somber, to reflect the gravity of last years Gaza war. Protestors will be dressed in black, and will march through the streets of New York City carrying signs.
Meanwhile, a smaller counter-protest is also being planned by a coalition of groups led by Americans for a Safe Israel. Groups including National Council of Young Israel and the Zionist Organization of America will participate.
Well be as much of a presence as we can be, AFSI executive director Helen Freedman said, describing IDF protestors as ultra-liberal leftists who sympathize with Arab aggressors.
But left-leaning critics who disagree plan to raise their voices on Tuesday.
We are out to oppose the Israeli government and the Israeli governments brutality and war crimes in Gaza, specifically, said Hannah Schwarzschild, of American Jews for a Just Peace. She said AJJP members plan to travel to Manhattan from upstate New York, Boston and Philadelphia. There is definitely a gathering momentum to speak out against the crimes of the IDF, she said.
While the protest seeks to encourage people to boycott and divest from Israel, Schwarzschild said a main focus will be the Goldstone Report and Israels actions during the war.
If there were a dinner celebrating crimes and brutalities committed by any other people in the world particularly Palestinians there would be widespread outrage, she said.
Hundreds set to turn out for anti-Israel demo in NY
By E.B. SOLOMONT, JPOST, 09/03/2010
NEW YORK Nearly a thousand people are expected to turn out for a large anti-Israel protest outside a fundraiser for the Israeli Defense Forces on Tuesday in New York City.
Focusing on IDF actions during the Gaza war, protesters plan to march outside the Waldorf Astoria hotel, where the Friends of the IDF will host a $1,000-a-plate dinner. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, who is traveling to New York and Washington this week for talks with senior American officials, is scheduled to deliver the dinners keynote address.
But Ashkenazi will be traveling with an extra layer of security amid reports of the protest, with one article calling him the Butcher of Gaza. The protest is being sponsored by a broad coalition of about 25 left-wing groups, including American Jews for a Just Peace, Codepink, Gaza Freedom March and Jewish Voice for Peace. Organized by Jews Say No!, the protest was endorsed by the Israeli groups Coalition of Women for Peace and Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian Call for BDS From Within.
We think its inappropriate for an American organization to be feting the Israeli army, when the Israeli army is implicated in violations of international law, said Rebecca Vilkomerson, director of Jewish Voice for Peace. She said Operation Cast Lead opened up peoples eyes to the role that the Israeli army plays. The Goldstone Report also made people consider the notion that the IDF is fallible, she added.
Definitely, it has opened up a big conversation in the Jewish community, she said, observing that in the past year more Jews have begun questioning the idea that Israel is always right.
Ahead of Tuesdays protest, organizers said they expect a thousand people to turn out. The protest itself will be somber, to reflect the gravity of last years Gaza war. Protestors will be dressed in black, and will march through the streets of New York City carrying signs.
Meanwhile, a smaller counter-protest is also being planned by a coalition of groups led by Americans for a Safe Israel. Groups including National Council of Young Israel and the Zionist Organization of America will participate.
Well be as much of a presence as we can be, AFSI executive director Helen Freedman said, describing IDF protestors as ultra-liberal leftists who sympathize with Arab aggressors.
But left-leaning critics who disagree plan to raise their voices on Tuesday.
We are out to oppose the Israeli government and the Israeli governments brutality and war crimes in Gaza, specifically, said Hannah Schwarzschild, of American Jews for a Just Peace. She said AJJP members plan to travel to Manhattan from upstate New York, Boston and Philadelphia. There is definitely a gathering momentum to speak out against the crimes of the IDF, she said.
While the protest seeks to encourage people to boycott and divest from Israel, Schwarzschild said a main focus will be the Goldstone Report and Israels actions during the war.
If there were a dinner celebrating crimes and brutalities committed by any other people in the world particularly Palestinians there would be widespread outrage, she said.
Hundreds set to turn out for anti-Israel demo in NY
