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Pro Israel Demonstration London Today

Loop | 06.05.2002 08:56

Pro Israel rally to take place in Trafalgar Sq today.

"As many as 40,000 supporters of Israel are expected to march through the streets of London - while Muslim protesters stage a counter demonstration.
But Muslims fear the event is being used to support Israel's hardline government and its policies in areas such as the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp, where an alleged massacre and war crimes are said to have taken place."

Loop
- Homepage: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/top_story.html?in_review_id=575740&in_review_text_id=542899

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

Hope for Peace

06.05.2002 09:32

This is being promoted as a strictly non political rally, showing solidarity with the people of Israel after 19 months of terror attacks. Also with the rise in anti-semitism in Europe, the Jewish people shouldn't be expected to sit and instead rightly want to highlight their concerns. As Israelis feel so isolated by Europeans, a big turnout may reduce the distrust slightly and allow some leeway for them to make serious concessions on settlements etc.

John H


Counter Productive

06.05.2002 09:39

Seeing as PSC rallies have been taking place with no pro-Israel counter demo's, i fear an aggresive muslim presence against the Pro-Israel rally today will be counter-productive (especially since theres reps from all the political parties there)???

Useless Blob
mail e-mail: biguselessblob@hotmail.com


It's a Rally Against Palestinian Human Rights

06.05.2002 09:48

Today Thousands of People have been moilised to Rally in Trafalgar square in support of Israel. The mobilisation has been fundamentally among British Jewish organisations that believe an attack on Israel is an attack on Judaism.
This demonstration has been billed as a demonstration in favour of Israel's right to exist, rather than a partisan demo favouring the current policies of the Sharon government. However, given that a key speaker will be Binjamin Netanyahu, this is clearly a lie used to propagandise for the demonstration. Netanyahu, we should remember, has been travelling between Israel and the US drumming up support for even 'tougher' and more intransigent actions on behalf of the Sharon governmnet against the Palestinians. It was Netanyahu too, when he was prime minister, who began the destruction of the Oslo peace accords.

If you believe strongly in the righ of the Palestinian people, and you don't believe the lies that any attack on Israel's policies of occupation and repression is anti-semitic, then please support the alternative protest today, to show your distaste that someone like Netanyahu is headlining a rally in Trafalgar square. It is just as if Sharon was here to tell us that we need to uproot the 'infrastructure or terror'.

Don't let the media sell this as the true view of the British public on Israel.

As Jenin still lies in ruins, and the international community has turned the proverbial 'blind eye' this is your chance to demonstrate against a pro-Israel propaganda event.

Dontforgetjenin


Don't be fooled

06.05.2002 10:03

Suspicions should immediately be raised about whether this is a rally for peace or 'non-political' by the fact that Binyamin Netanyahu is speaking. This man is placing himself to the right of Sharon (if that is at all humanly possible) and the idea that 'tens of thousands' of people might be gathering in central london to hear a racist warmonger speak is really quite disturbing. (Incidentally, didn't he have to leave office because of corruption?) If it were a proven mass murderer such as Pinochet, Kissinger or Sharon himself who were speaking rather than a potential one, I am sure the counter-demonstration would be pretty large. All I can hope is that Netanyahu will be roundly booed off the plinth by everyone in the audience with a conscience.

Koyangi


establishment demo

06.05.2002 11:33

The oprganisers of this demo will be able use massive resources and media control/ manipulation.
Where as the numbers in the anti establishment rallies are
deliberately under estimated todays will be blown up out of all proportion. It's quite simply a question of rich and influential, against the poor..
Expect reports of 2 millions, absolutely no violent images
cops on their best behavior, unless any of the countger demonstrators want their heads kicked in ....

udder side


BBC advertising pro Israel rally

06.05.2002 11:58

here is a typical BBC "advert" for the pro Israel rally.
they are expecting 40.000 people probably an invite only jobbie, they don't say where this figure comes from or how it was calculated, perhaps they all booked hotels and the info comes from the booking database, or perhaps someone told them to write that or else. Obviously has nothing to do with Palestinian control of the media ..

still it's four times the 10.000 (police guesstimates) that supposedly attended the pro palastinian march


 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1970000/1970028.stm
Monday, 6 May, 2002, 10:19 GMT 11:19 UK
Thousands expected at pro-Israel demo

The protest follows an anti-Israel rally last month
Up to 40,000 people are expected to show solidarity
with Israel at a central London rally on Monday - but
counter-demonstrations are planned by opposition
groups.

Organisers say the Israel Solidarity Rally in Trafalgar
Square could be the UK's biggest show of support for
the Middle-East country for a generation.

It has been organised to protest "for peace and the
resumption of talks in the Middle-East."

A spokesman said it was not
in support or otherwise of
current Israeli government
policies, but simply to say
there should be peace for
the people of Israel.

"The aim is to say yes to
peace and no to terror," he
said.

The demonstration will be addressed by former Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former foreign
minister Shlomo Ben-Ami.

There are also expected to be speeches from the UK's
chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the shadow foreign
secretary Michael Ancram and Labour MP Peter
Mandelson.

The gathering will be heavily policed by up to 1,000
officers.

'Provocation'

Muslims are planning a counter-rally, saying the timing
is "offensive".

Massoud Shadjareh, the chairman of the Islamic Human
Rights Commission, which is planning the
counter-demonstration, said: "We feel that in the light
of the recent massacres in Jenin it's extremely
insensitive to organise a rally and blatantly say they
support the state of Israel.

"It's extremely offensive, not just to one community but
to all of us who believe in certain absolute values."

Kumar Murshid, chairman
of the London Muslim
Coalition, said the Israeli
rally could not have come
at a more insensitive time.

"People feel this is
provocation," he said.

"If the purpose of this rally
is to support the Israeli
government and its
position then it's clearly
not a step in the direction
of peace but quite the
contrary. People feel very
strongly about that."

The Israeli Solidarity
spokesman said: "It's a
shame the Muslim groups
don't want to join in but we are calling for a resumption
to peace talks, and we aren't going to be distracted by
people looking to wind up trouble."

Members of the organisation Jews for Justice for Peace,
are also due to stage counter demonstrations.

The rallies are due to take place in Trafalgar Square at
around 1400BST.

Bitter (pint of)


Huge London Rally

06.05.2002 18:33

There were people from both the right and left of Israeli politics (Netanyahu and Ben Ami), and from Labour and Conservatives, and from Christian and Jewish representatives. It was a shame there was no muslim representation but i suppose as the rally was geared to promoting peace instead of terror, this was impossible.

Jo


supporting Israel fascist policies

06.05.2002 21:31

These bastards dont weant peace-they want order.

(A)-bomb


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