 |
 |
 |
|
|
Demonstrators fill Zion Square and the Ben Yehuda Street mall
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By israelinsider staff September 13, 2004 |
|
| |
Tens of thousands of nationalists packed Jerusalem's Zion Square Sunday night to demonstrate against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement" plan that would expel some 8000 Israelis from their homes and destroy all Jewish communities in the Gush Katif bloc of Gaza and four small settlements in northern Samaria.
While some protestors held up inflammatory signs, usually taken down quickly by a team of ushers, the tone was relatively restrained, both in the crowd and on the podium. A midnight report by Channel Two estimated the crowd at 100,000, one of the largest demonstrations in Jerusalem or anywhere else in recent years.
The main slogan of the rally was, "Disengagement is tearing apart the people." Some smaller signs held up by individuals included: "Sharon is a dictator," "Sharon sneers at the people," or "Sharon is disengaged from the people."
Another placard portrayed Yonatan Bassi, the much-reviled head of the "Disengagement Authority," above the slogan "We will not forgive."
However, the overall tone of the event was restrained, with organizers seeking to reduce tensions by distributing "10 Commandments of the Settler," an ethical guide to conducting the political struggle, which included among its principles:
- The struggle will be determined but non-violent.
- Physical or verbal abuse of security forces, even those who uproot settlements illegally, is forbidden.
- Civil war is a catastrophe that must not be avoided at all costs, and both sides should work together to prevent it..
- Promoting the disengagement plan while trampling democratic principles places the onus for divisiveness on the Prime Minister.
The organizers decided to not invite political figures to speak, but instead called upon residents of communities that would be destroyed under Sharon's plan.
The head of the Gaza Coast Municipality, Avner Shimoni, called on the prime minister to "Return the mandate granted to you by the people. It appears you are unable to manage this nation. We are not sheep on your ranch that you can herd from place to place. Our resolve against your plan will cause it to be dumped into garbage can of history."
Colonel Yohar Gal, a reserve IAF pilot and brother of songwriter Naomi Shemer, who died last month, addressed Sharon: "You have no right to hand over parts of our land. Just imagine Arafat on the steps of the Mukata declaring: 'I expelled Sharon from Gaza and northern Samaria.' Arik, the people are against the withdrawal. We are the people."
Sharon unmoved:"Everything will go on."
While the rally was starting in Jerusalem, Sharon addressed a gathering of Likud political activists in Tel Aviv for a New Year's toast. He demanded an end to "the hatred and incitement, saying "this cannot go on, it simply cannot go on, because our plans will be implemented in all fields.
Everything will go on and progress. It can be done in good spirits or it can be done with difficult struggles that are unnecessary."
The Prime Minister said he wanted "to believe that among the leaders of the opposition there is responsibility and that all the talk that has been heard will cease and that nobody will dare lift a hand against a soldier or policeman or any member of the security forces."
He said that the Likud "is the only political body these days that can run the affairs of state but it is essential for there to be unity in the party," adding that "regrettably there are things that have come to light that definitely make it difficult for the Likud to run the affairs of state."
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
