Went to an Anti-Israel/Anti-U.S. protest in Manhattan on January 9, 2011. A Sunday. It was a very cold but VERY sunny day. Actually it was a very pretty day with the sun bouncing off everything.
Bright and cold, and as always, deeply disturbing.
One of the first things I saw was this truck drive by their protest.
That was it. Never saw him again. The rest of the time at Herald Square it was all their familiar signs and hateful speeches; their agitprop. And it got me thinking about how tiresome this has become.
With hate so much in the news lately, I wondered, has the press ever stood for hours and listened to these hate-mongers lie about Israel and the U.S.? over and over?
Hateful rhetoric clothed in smirks and creepy smiles meant to incite and recruit more radicals like themselves. And they do. In our colleges in particular.
Baffling to me that there should be so many groups that hate the U.S and Israel while living in free and safe in this country. Yet they yearn to live in a totalitarian hell-hole and drag the rest of us with them.
Their list of groups that support terrorism and sedition. That promote HATE.
End the Seige of Gaza march was sponsored by: Al-Awda NY -The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, US Palestinian Community Network-NY, International Action Center, Hunter Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine-NJ, American Muslims for Palestine-NY, Existence is Resistance, Palestinian Club – Brooklyn College, Columbia U. Students for Justice in Palestine, FiRE-Gabriela USA, Siege Busters Working Group, United National Antiwar Committee-NY, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, BAYAN USA, New York City Labor Against the War, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Labor for Palestine, International Socialist Organization, Socialist Action, ANSWER-NY, WESPAC
So many familiar faces near the end of 2008, like these Castro/Chavez loving Code Pinkos. It was another Gaza March.
And this young girl (in 2008). Is she still smiling in 2011? Has she ever lived in Gaza under the murderous Hamas? Or Iran? Or Pakistan.
The police escort in 2008. Always a police escort for these marches.
Not much has changed in 2011.
And the radicals, blocking the sidewalks, going outside the barriers; and the police having to accept their disregard for protocol…. As in 2008….
And in 2011. They are all over the sidewalk instead of in their enclosure….
While our side obeys and stays within the confines of their “pen”…
EXCEPT for these guys. Wish we had LOTS more of this confidence to go ‘outside the box”.
These guys were great!
Yet, the same band of anarchists,with a heavy police escort, were spilling out of their enclosures and blocking the sidewalks again on January 9, 2011.
In the video below (Part 1) you can see how they walked slowly…very slowly … to the Israeli consulate. They didn’t have as large a crowd as usual. They only filled the block from 34th to 33rd street about half-way. But, they are very skilled at stretching themselves out so they seem to be a larger group. They drag their march out as the cross town as long as they can….
It’s frustrating to see our counter-rally groups given tighter restrictions. We get positioned blocks away from the rally we’ve come to protest; hidden behind bus shelters and buildings, seemingly at the request of the radicals’ green-hatted security. I’ve witnessed the police cow-towing to that security as they’ve pushed our people to an out of sight/out of mind location.
And the police did it again on January 9th, Changed the location that was planned. That was to be visible. Now, even those who came to join-up with the our supporters couldn’t the counter-rally, they were so far away from 34th and 6th Ave. they couldn’t be seen.
Except for this guy, I wouldn’t have know they were at Herald Square:
But, at 42nd street it was great to finally see this small put hearty bunch that had come in support of Israel standing so visibly on the S/E corner.
and they even this:
At one point I heard one of the officers suggest they were going to move the pro-Israeli contingent further away. Again? Blocks away. Not sure what happened. But, I don’t think they were moved.
Part 2 (video) is at the Israeli Consulate, January 9, 2011. I was (again) harassed and bumped around by the radicals (in front of the police)
Have our police been told to be hands-off with the ‘palis’ and the Marxists. Something’s not right.
Even though I’ve been documenting the assaults & harassment of photographers, I continue to be disappointed by how the police ignore the blatant harassment that borders on assault.
As my report in 2009 reveals when a NY post photographer and I were assaulted and pushed around in full few of the police . Videos are posted here>>
Why an assault on a photographer from a major paper? They told him. We don’t want (need) your pictures. And they are just as brazen in 2011.
Like this ‘fearless bully of a ‘leader’ ( below). He is so NOT afraid of the police (As you can see in the video above – In Part 2 at the Consulate) He can always be counted on to do something that infringes on free-speech, and he did. At this rally, he decided to do a sort-of “soft body-slam as he “herded” me around the street . All in front of the cops, who ‘look away’ and tell you they didn’t see anything.Very obnoxious behavior.
There is also the cigarette /coffee chugging *itch who loves to scream at me like she’s got ” friends in high-places. ” She DEMANDS I be removed from a public-street. She insists that I cannot take pictures of their rally. She did this in 2009 as you can see in the videos posted here>>
UPDATE: Our cig/coffee harasser has a name: Lamis Deek.
She’s a lawyer in Brooklyn. Born is Nablus and raised in NYC.
Continuing: On January 3, 2009, this same woman (Lamis Deek) brought traffic to a halt at 42nd and Broadway by screaming at the police that they had to stop movement of the protest march; in the middle of the intersection (with the ubiquitous cigarette and coffee always in hand) And amazingly, the police stopped and blocked the intersection for 10 minutes or so. (this is documented in the video below)
True to form, she was at it again in 2011 (See recent video, Part 2, from January 9, 2011 rally)
She pushed me around (with a cop in between us) but for a change, I wasn’t removed.
Finally, the assault – ‘team’ is fleshed out by this ‘cutie’ who managed to do her block-the-camera dance at the Waldorf in 2010
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And again this Sunday, in 2011, at Herald Square. (see Video above – Part 1) She blocks me with her body and her camera yet the officer seemed more annoyed with me than with her.
However, the fellow (who is pictured above in 2009 at the Marriott-Marquis assault above) wasn’t so interested in me this passed Sunday. Perhaps he’s been promoted (or demoted) cause now he’s one of their many, MANY photographers.
The only person missing was Bill Doares (who also loves to attack photographers) You can see him in action in many of our videos. But, he was in rare form attacking the NY Post Photographer
Some observations post-rally.
I attended a presentation by J Street this evening (January 11) The two-man discussion was to be about an Israeli-“Palestinian” Peace-Deal. BUT, it wound-up being short one of the speakers. Attalah bailed because of the predicted snowfall (coward).
Daniel Levy was quite enough for one tedious evening. He’s is a Brit, about 30 years of age, and is MOST impressed with how smart he is. Levy gave us lots of ” U.S. is bad. America is bad.” And the U.S. with its controlling agenda is the problem. The U. S. created an Israel that has been indulged and caused the OCCUPATION. A word we heard as much as the U.S. is to blame.
So, 90 minutes later it was clear, the U.S. caused the problems between Israel and the “Palis” by indulging Israel. I’m rather glad I didn’t have to sit through two of them supporting each other with this example of their radical anti-Israel AGENDA. Levy complimented J-Street and said it was up to them to End the Occupation. As though only they could fix it.
It was all made even more obvious, who J-Street is and what they intend, when an orange-suited Gitmo “prisoner” rose out of the audience (with a pin that that said Habeas Corpus).
How can we hope to win the media-war with organizations like J street and friends marching and preaching against Israel and the U.S. with their lies and propaganda.
Perhaps it’s our turn to do a major march across town. The Fifth Column marches on and so should we! Would J-Street join us? With police escort and signs and flags in support of Israel held high. Wonder if Bloomberg and Company would let us have a permit. Isn’t it about time that we demanded the same rights?
And if not a march, how about this. Here’s some suggestions posted by a Boris B. for our next counter-demo. He posted a practical breakdown in several tiers:
“Tier 1: Greeting people in the subway platform. There will be people with
large yellow signs with bold black lettering reading: “Caution: Hate-Speech
Ahead”
Tier 1.5: Also in Subway will be people handing out various informational
packets, especially next to EVERY PRO-PALI nut-job, handing out their stuff.
Tier 2: Basic pamphlet distribution on the streets. Key areas are anywhere
they’re going to be giving out info, just stand right next to them, or right
across street. Point is to make sure each passerby gets two pamphlets, so
they’ll look at them both and proceed to trash em’, but the point is they
won’t read theirs.
Tier 3: Dozen(s) (but not more) people decked out in Israeli gear just
walking around, and being genuinely nice. These people WILL NOT get into
heated debates about core issues.
Tier 4: MAIN GROUP OF EDUCATED PEOPLE. Will be in plain clothes, and blend
in as much as possible. These people will walk around and engage people in
conversations like “Do you believe these guys?, etc” Slowly throw in facts
about the situation, details, etc. Key is not to overwhelm, but utilize the
fact that they’ll be screaming and yelling, while we’ll be actually talking
to people and influencing their opinions.”
I leave you with my final video . A compilation of pictures from the rally and the counter-rally.
It’s time for a New Game. New Rules. A New Year!
