Little Gaza Protest: the More Things Don't Change


Here is a photo from the protest at the “Little Gaza” area of Brookhurst Street over Israel's violent actions against Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

But here's the twist: photographer S. Twair did not snap the shot during Sunday's demonstration, which drew about 200 people over four hours protesting Israel's attack on Hamas-ruled Gaza, where at least 345 people have been killed and more than 1,500 have been injured during three days of Israeli air assaults. No, this photo is almost a year old, from the online archives of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, which employs Twair as its staff photographer.

On Jan. 25, 2008, more than 500 mostly young supporters of Palestine protested in Little Gaza over the Israeli siege of Gaza two days prior, according to WRMEA, whose account included a quote from Muna
Kobtee
of Act Now to Stop War N End Racism (ANSWER), which also spread the word to get people out for this past Sunday's Little Gaza demonstration.

WRMEA also stated in the earlier report that
counter-demonstrators brandishing a large Israeli flag were present across the street. Jewish Internet Defense Force has been monitoring ANSWER to ensure pro-Israel protesters show up to anti-Israel rallies. In fact, JIDF links to a list of upcoming anti-Israel demonstrations and instructs its followers: “If you see your city, call all your pro-Israel friends and arrange to
be at the same places, at the same times, in large numbers, with large
signs, and megaphones to drown out the terror-supporting noise and to
counter protest. (They are constantly adding more cities to the site.)”

The link is the same one ANSWER updates for its followers, so who says the two sides have nothing in common?

In case you were wondering, the next time these crazy kids are scheduled to get together is 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of the Israeli Consulate at 6380 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. In a perfect world, pro-Palestine protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters from Orange County would carpool.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *