Dr. Charles Jacobs is President of the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) in Boston. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and on ABC, NPR and CBS. Last April, he witnessed the redemption of 2,953 slaves in Sudan and he received the Freedom Award by Coretta Scott King.
The anti-Israel Lobby organized a protest and practically nobody came.
The protest in Washington D.C. was announced with much fanfare back at the beginning of the year by the usual anti-Israel groups in conjunction with socialists and groups opposed to the Iraq War. The radical left-Muslim alliance was very much on display in the planning of this event, which was scheduled of course to coincide with the anniversary of the Six Day War.
But it is a supreme irony that the Washington, D.C. protests against the "occupation" may have been smaller than the one in Tel Aviv. The rally on the Capitol steps attracted a few thousand at the most. Actually, it may have only been a few hundred, but it is hard to say since the U.S. Park Police and U.S. Capital Police, which release the authoritative estimates for big events, took no notice. Nor did either of Washington?s major newspapers or any of its television stations. Instead, crime dramas dominated the news, the never-ending saga of former Washington mayor and convicted felon Marion Barry, Hamas men thrown off apartment building roofs by Fatah men in Gaza and vice versa, and the finale of The Sopranos.
Though late to organize, pro-Israel groups including The David Project and Stand With Us were on the ground in force. A pro-Israel media unit was also present, documenting both events. Youtube has interesting clips.
Does the lack of a turnout for the pro-Palestinian/anti-Iraq War event mean the pro-Israel cause is won? Absolutely not. The public protests were only the tip of a political iceberg drifting through Washington that weekend. At the same time the public protests were beginning, the national meeting of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee was ending. This event, the showcase for the American Arab community to flex its political muscles, was dedicated to two causes, profiling and Palestine. The delegates who were encouraged to join the protests were more importantly encouraged to spend the next day lobbying members of Congress about ending US support for Israel.
The results of this latter protest, perfectly legal but out of sight, remain to be seen. As the example of England shows, those who wish to see Israel destroyed are active in every sphere of life, with corrosive side-effects. The objectivity of the media has been compromised, universities have been turned into incubators for jihadists, and labor unions obsess about boycotting Israel rather than their members' quality of life. All the same processes are at work here in the US.
The difference here is that Israel's supporters, though small in numbers, are unafraid and dedicated. We don't believe that things will simply blow over, rather that we need to push back and forcefully make Israel's case. Perhaps the lack of interest in the Washington protest also shows that the other side's message of hate really doesn't resonate with Americans.
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