Hatred at the Pro-Israel Rally + Video

by Charles Lenchner · 2009-01-13 11:43:00 UTC
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It's biased of me to cover extremism and hatred at the rally for Gaza without some coverage of the hate emanating from the other side. Check out the article by Max Blumenthal about his experiences at the New York rally in solidarity with Israel:

Right in front of the stage, a man held a banner reading, “Islam Is A Death Cult.” Rally attendees described the people of Gaza to me as a “cancer,” called for Israel to “wipe them all out,” insisting, “They are forcing us to kill their children in order to defend our own children.” A young woman told me, “Those who die are suffering God’s wrath.” “They are not distinguishing between civilians and military, so why should we?” said a member of the group of messianic Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch group that flocked to the rally.

No one I spoke to could seem to find any circumstance in which they would begin to question Israel’s war. No number of civilian deaths, no displays of extreme suffering -- nothing could deter their enthusiasm for attacking one of the most vulnerable populations in the world with the world’s most advanced weaponry. There are no limits, no matter what Israel does, no matter how it does it.

This is consistent with what I experienced there, as a counter protestor in my own police pen with 50 or so others. We were calling for peace, waving both Israeli and Palestinian flags. Many of the folks attending the main really paused to denounce us, loudly. One man took a Palestinian flag and trampled on it, while NY's finest watched and did nothing. (Want to bet what would have happened if I took an Israeli flag from the big rally and did that?) One woman came with her sign and faced us for a good hour. Her sign read: "There are no innocent civilians in Gaza - they elected Hamas!"

Charles Lenchner
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