REPORT ON DC PROTEST

By Anne Gibbons

The dreadful news of the massacre in Gaza all week compelled us to attend the LET GAZA LIVE protest in Washington, DC yesterday. We were glad to find a bus leaving from Yonkers, a convenient location for us. We didn't know that it was organized by the Andalusia School, the only Muslim school in Westchester, which turned out to make the experience extraordinary. We were warmly welcomed and introduced to the many students and parents on the bus. Much of the travel time was spent talking with the principal of the school and an art teacher whose parents emigrated from Palestine in 1947. Many of the families on the bus were Palestinian. We and two women who weren't from the school were repeatedly thanked for our concern and participation. Adults and children shared reasons why they decided to come to the protest.

There was a great turnout from all across the country that packed Lafayette Park between the White House and the hotel where Barack Obama is staying. Speakers including leaders from Palestinian, Muslim and Jewish organizations, religious and secular, as well as Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader and others condemned the massacre in Gaza, called for an immediate cease fire, denounced the Senate and House resolutions that wholeheartedly support the Israeli assault and stressed that an end to the occupation is critical for peace in the middle east and the world.

We came away from this experience with a stronger understanding of how important it is to distinguish Zionism from Judaism. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all religions stemming from the same roots. Zionism is a political ideology that came into being about 100 years ago that called for the complete displacement of the Palestinians from their ancestral lands and is responsible for the ethnic cleansing and genocide that we see today. Without addressing this injustice we will never have peace in the middle east.

We need to educate ourselves about the US role in this crisis. The website "If Americans Knew - what every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine" is an excellent source of information. http://ifamericansknew.org/

Peace and good wishes,

Anne Gibbons & Ivan Braun
New York City


LONDON, ENGLAND


Woman speaker at London January 10, 2009 Gaza protest