CU Groups Attend Pro-Israel Rally

Approximately 100 Columbia students joined 15,000 demonstrators to display their solidarity for Israel in front of the Israeli Consulate yesterday afternoon, as the violence in the Middle East escalated.

The demonstrators came together to support peace and Israel, but they were unable to keep the discussion away from the violent events that took place yesterday morning.

"We showed that the Jewish community in New York strongly supports Israel," said Aaron Horwitz, CC '04, who helped organize Columbia's presence at the rally. "The rally brought out a whole bunch of people who were disgusted about the events of this morning."

The relative peacefulness of the massive rally, which extended from 42nd to 48th Streets, stood in stark contrast to yesterday morning's events in the Middle East.

At least two reserve Israeli soldiers were killed by a Palestinian mob. In response, Israeli rockets hit targets in the West Bank and Gaza.

But the demonstration, according to Alex Sicular, who helped organized Columbia's contingent at the rally, was pro-Israel and not anti-Palestinian.

"I think the goal [of the demonstration] was to show broad support for Israel," said Sicular, who is an officer in Columbia's Department of Neurology. He pointed out the diversity of the supporters of the rally, which was entitled "Solidarity for Israel," who ranged from local high-school students to members of the Anti-Defamation League to older Jewish rabbis. "American Jews are a broad category, and we're behind Israel," he said.

Much of the crowd was in favor of peace, although members of the Jewish Defense League, a more radical political group, displayed their "Never Again" motto on many posters, a reference to a history of Jewish persecution.

Ramzi Kassem, Law '03, former president of Turath, Columbia's North African and Middle Eastern Club, said that labeling the demonstrators as pro-peace was somewhat too simplistic.

"I think the main problem with that formulation is that it makes it particularly easy to say [that] pro-Israel means pro-peace, and pro-Palestinian means pro-violence. It's more complicated than that," he said. "And that's not the way the chips fall."

Today's rally was held in front of the Israeli Consulate, where Arabs from up and down the East Coast will hold a demonstration tomorrow.

Horwitz, who is a member of LionPAC, Columbia's pro-Israel Political Awareness Committee, added that the demonstrators chose this location because of its proximity to the United Nations, whose Security Council recently condemned Israel's actions.

"We are calling on America not to be an impartial observer, but to be a friend," Horwitz said, noting that the United States abstained rather than vetoed the resolution that was passed 14-0 last Saturday. "That's what Israel needs."

The speakers at the rally also heavily criticized the media coverage of recent Middle East events, at one point inciting the crowd to chant, "Tell the truth! Tell the truth!"

Sicular and Horwitz both expressed their support for Israel's missile response, but said that they, like the rally, were more focused on peace.

"Israeli soliders have been firing in self defense. It's not just Palestinians with stones, but a lot of guns and firebombs," he said. "I'm against violence on all sides. But [in response to] basically a mob lynching this morning, Israelis have to protect their citizens."

Kassem said he feels that the strong military response was not warranted.

"I thought that the Israeli response was excessive and indiscriminate, and that's been an ongoing trend in the last few days," Kassem said.

The events this morning represent a particularly violent turn in the recent Middle East violence, which has claimed over 90 lives, most Palestinian, in 15 days.

Although there are two interpretations of yesterday's events, the death of two Israeli soldiers by Palestinians is not being debated.

According to The New York Times, Israeli officials claim that a car of reserve soldiers took a wrong turn and accidentally drove into a funeral for a Palestinian who had been killed by an Israeli bullet.

Mary Nazzal, BC '01, said that this story was circumspect.

"It is extremely important to examine the details surrounding these deaths," she wrote in an e-mail. "How could they have 'gotten lost?'… I've been [in Ramallah] when Israeli troops sieged and closed the city--it is impossible to exit or enter--you cannot get lost."

Palestinian authorities have said that the soldiers were actually undercover agents sent to kill somebody who was attending the funeral, according to the Times.

Palestinian authorities led the Israeli soldiers to a local police station, where a mob of Palestinians eventually broke in and killed at least two soldiers. One of the soldiers' bodies was thrown down to the Palestinian group, which beat him and dragged him through the streets of Ramallah, according to the Times.

Palestinian authorities told the Times that the mob broke through police protection, but an Israeli officer said he had evidence that the police handed the soldiers over to the mob.

In response to the deaths, Israeli rockets struck the police station, a security forces headquarters in Gaza, and a government radio and television station that Israelis believed helped incite the violence. Approximately 16 people were injured in the attacks. Israel described its response as "limited" and "symbolic." But Palestinians viewed the missile attack as an act of war, according to the Times.

Horwitz said he and many others were dismayed by the events.

"The rally was planned basically calling for an end of [15 days of] the violence, though it was definitely affected by the events of this morning," he said. "People were shocked at the brutality."

A stage on 42nd Street and Second Avenue pointed north toward a largely supportive crowd. The speakers included New York Governor George Pataki, Democratic Party Senate candidate Hillary Clinton, and Republican candidate Rick Lazio.

With the exception of Clinton, who was booed as she spoke, protesters responded with support for the speakers, in the form of songs and cheers.