     Hakim | Tuesday, October 03, 2000 - 03:35 am
Arab And Muslims In North America Protest Israeli Atrocities
Major demonstrations by Arab and Muslim Americans, as well as American human rights activists, have been rallying in U.S and Canadian cities to protest the brutal force used by the Israelis against Palestinian civilians since last Thursday when the uprisings began.
The current round of protests in occupied Palestine initiated after the visit of Ariel Shoran, a hardline right-wing member of the Likud party.
Organized by several Arab grass root organizations, the demonstrations started on Friday in London and continued throughout the world, including American cities such as Houston and New Haven, CT.
In New Haven, protestors passed by the house of vice presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman.
On Monday, the cities of Chicago, Ann Arbor, Montreal, Los Angeles, New York and on the campus of University of California at Berkeley, expected to have similar demonstrations.
Other protests are scheduled within the cities of San Francisco and Philadelphia on Tuesday.
In U.S. cities where there are Israeli consulates, protestors rallied in front of them to demonstrate their anger concerning the ongoing mass killing of civilian Palestinians.
"Many of our people have family members in the line of fire. We are shocked and angered at the loss of innocent life and the extreme brutality used by the occupation forces.
"We feel that Israel's assault on the Islamic Holy Places in Jerusalem was a deliberate provocation to test the will of the Palestinian people," said Rafiq Jaber, President of the Islamic Association for Palestine.
The bloodshed began on Thursday, September 28, after Israeli General Ariel Sharon forced his way, accompanied by 1,000 heavily armed troops, into the Haram Al-Sharif, Islam's holiest site in Jerusalem,.
Palestinians protesting this provocation have been brutally suppressed by the Israeli army. As of Tuesday, at least 49 have been killed in the violence. As of Monday, 31 of the dead were Palestinians, with more than 1000 wounded.
Violence by Israeli forces at the site is not new. In October 1990, occupation forces massacred 17 worshippers at the Haram Al-Sharif, and again stormed the compound in September 1996, killing three.
Ariel Sharon was the mastermind behind Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which claimed more than 20,000 Palestinian and Lebanese lives, and the notorious massacres of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon the same year.
The rallies protesting Israeli atrocities are sponsored by several organizations in the United States, including the Arab American Action Network, the Islamic Association Of Palestine, the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition (Al-Awda), American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice, the Friends of Al-Aqsa, and many others. |
| MAD MAC | Tuesday, October 03, 2000 - 10:56 pm
I would take umbrage with the quote that Sharon forced his way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque with 1,000 troops. In fact, Sharon, like all Jews, Musilms and Christians, are authorized to visit this site.Sharons visit, however, came at an inopportune time and was very provocative. Why did he do it? To undermine Barak, that's why. Sharon opposes the peace process. He wants the conflict with the Palestinians to continue until they're all dead - his resolution to the problem. But Sharon isn't Israel any more than Hamas is Palestine.
I am happy to see that in the US, the Muslim population is organizing peaceful protest to air its viewpoints. This is what the Palestinians should have done. They need to read up on how Mahatma Ghandi won Indian independence. |
| fatiha | Wednesday, October 04, 2000 - 01:09 am
Yawn, am so bored to see your postings everywhere. They are starting to look like bird drops. I am having a difficult time swallowing your views about everything. Why don't you take a vacation? Get lost for a while because am starting to really PUKE just to see your "name". Why don't you go to Israel and finish off those innocent Palestinians because that's what your paid to do, motherfucker. |
| MAD MAC | Wednesday, October 04, 2000 - 01:49 am
Fatiha
I love you too.
Frankly, I don't have a dog in this fight. I couldn't care less if they all kill each other. I don't know any of them and I don't care about any of them. Most of them are simple minded, book thumping (whatever book they happen to thump) morons. They all want to kill each other over some old, worthless building, fine. I'm just pointing out that if you want to live in a free society there are certain ways to accomplish your goals. Also I'm trying to point out to all the knuckleheads out there that Allah is not going to suddenly appear on the battlefield and turn the tide, so you'd better execute a reality check. |
| formerguest. | Thursday, October 05, 2000 - 12:38 am
<I don't know any of them and I don't care about any of them. >
I find it hard to swallow this confesssion. Have you seen the trail of responces you laid in the forumss to shore up a positive immage of the killings by calling them it had to be done, or it was not the jewish blame to shoot kids?.
<Most of them are simple minded, book thumping (whatever book they happen to thump) morons.>
What book do you thump mad?. |
| MAD MAC | Thursday, October 05, 2000 - 01:22 am
Formerguest
What book do I thump? I don't. I don't believe in fixed religion. I don't believe there is one truth. I believe there a multiple paths to the same place. And I don't pretend to know the nature of that place.
As for presenting the other view point. What I'm trying to explain to the knuckleheads (not with much success I'm afraid) is that as a basis of discussion you have to consider the other sides point of view. Sitting back and calling the other side names and vowing jihad is counterproductive. If I were on a Jewish page I'd be highlighting how they need to do the same thing. However, the Jewish point of view is much more fractured than the Islamic point of view. Many Jews recognize that the Palestinians got a raw deal and are looking for ways to bridge the gap. Unfortunately the extremists on both sides manage to find ways to undermine the rationale thinkers and appeal to the religious freaks. In these camps everyone is convinced that God is on their side. You can't reason with that. That is why I am contemptuous of religious intolerance. This crises could be solved were it not for the fanatics who are convinced (and have been convinced for the last 50 years) that divine intervention stands on their side. |
