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Monday's solidarity rally in London was the largest pro-Israel demonstration ever staged by British Jewry. (AP)
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| By Debbie Berman May 7, 2002 |
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More than 50,000 people gathered yesterday in London's Trafalgar Square to show their solidarity with Israel in the largest demonstration ever staged by British Jewry. Thousands of Israeli flags filled the square, along with banners declaring: "Yes to peace, no to terror" and "Suicide bombers kill people and peace." The rally came one day after New York's annual Salute to Israel parade, arguably the the largest pro-Israel gathering ever held.
The London rally was organized by a wide-range of Britain's Jewish groups with the help of Israeli organizations. The gathering was described by organizers as an apolitical event, but its speakers included Israeli and British political officials, as well as Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and an Israeli mother whose daughter was injured in a terror attack.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Britons for their support, and reminded them of their resistance to the Nazis during World War II. "Britain must choose between two opposing paths. The path of appeasing terror or the path of confronting terror," he said.
Netanyahu, whose speech was received with loud applause, called on Britain and other nations to support Israel. "Israel is determined to fight. The question isn't whether Israel will fight but whether we will fight alone," he said. "The path to peace does not go through [Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser] Arafat, it does not go around Arafat, it must go over Arafat," Netanyahu said, calling to oust the Palestinian leader. "Arafat was and will remain a terrorist," he declared.
One of the more emotional speeches was delivered by Peter Mandelson, Labour MP for Hartlepool and the former Minister for Northern Ireland Affairs, whose father is Jewish. "The Holocaust is the reason for Israel's existence and for it's right to live in security." Mandelson emphasized that the route to peace lay in talks, not in military action.
Richard Harris, the Bishop of Oxford, was jeered by the crowd when he stated that suicide bombings were representative of the Palestinian people's lack of hope.
Police officials reported that a thousand extra officers were positioned throughout Trafalgar Square and patrolled the surrounding streets in central London to guard against potential violence, but the rally passed peacefully. A small pro-Palestinian counter demonstration was held nearby. Two demonstrators there were arrested for disturbances.
Jewish peace groups boycotted the rally and held up banners at their own small vigil decrying Israeli military actions. "This rally is a PR exercise to lend international respectability to Sharon's extreme rightwing government," said Abe Hayem, of Just Peace UK.
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Nearly a million spectators at New York's Salute to Israel parade
Under tight security New Yorkers came out in force on Sunday for this year's Salute to Israel parade. Judy Kaufthal, president of the Israel Tribute Committee, which organized the parade, said 100,000 people registered to march in the parade, which the New York Times described as a "dizzying streetscape of signs, floats, flags and T-shirts." An estimated one million spectators lined the packed sidewalks along the parade's route, making the event arguably the largest pro-Israel gathering ever held.
The annual New York parade celebrated 54 years of Israeli statehood and paid tribute to the heroes of the September 11th terror attacks, with the theme of "Israel and America now and forever, united we stand."
The gathering focused on solidarity with Israel, without the criticism of Arafat that served as a central theme of the London rally. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), who marched in the parade with his daughter, said, "Showing solidarity with Israel today is showing solidarity with Americans in the war on terrorism."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended along with New York Governor George Pataki. Former New York mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Edward Koch were at the parade as well. "Given what's gone on in the Middle East, it is terribly important that New Yorkers send a message to the world: We are behind Israel and we are against terrorism," Koch said.
A few hundred pro-Palestinian supporters gathered on a street adjacent to the parade route, but no incidents were reported.
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