Americans Sound Off: Stop Palestine Massacre

By Mark Anderson

McAllen, Texas

American Free Press covered one in a series of protests by area people who also are getting together at local colleges and other venues to stress the need for peace and how to achieve it. While their weekly demonstrations could have concluded on Jan. 9, the growing turnout has prompted organizers to continue the demonstrations each Friday at a busy street in McAllen, a city of more than 100,000 people in Hidalgo County.

“1-2-3-4 -- stop the killing, stop the war!!” the demonstrators loudly chanted, encouraging motorists to honk. Dozens of drivers did so approvingly. As far as one could tell, no one passing the demonstration openly expressed disapproval. Some drivers leaned on their horns to sustain the sound, as heard on an AFP news video posted at AmericanFreePress.net.

Among the demonstrators were young Muslim women, many of whom were dressed in traditional garb. Several of the protesters have relatives in Gaza and are shaken by the actions of Israeli military, which is using tanks, fighters bombers, artillery and ground troops against noncombatants consisting of largely unarmed villagers who, to add terrible insult to horrific injury, are barricaded in Gaza—a place where Palestinians long have been caged as Israel continues its decades-long plan to drive them from what was Palestine into small, highly-surveillanced, heavily-guarded areas such as Gaza and the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip, which borders Egypt, is just over twice the size of Washington D.C. It has 1.5 million people squeezed into it. Its west side faces the Mediterranean Sea, so their backs are against the water. Its electricity and currency come from Israel. About 80 percent of the people live below the poverty level in a place where small textile, agricultural and craft production fuels much of the economy.

Currently in Gaza, the Palestinians are not even allowed to leave what has been called “the world’s largest open-air prison,” nor are medicine and food allowed in since the shooting started in December, according to various world news reports, and confirmed by close observers who communicate with AFP. Shipments of vital necessities actually have been attacked by the Israeli military. Journalists, who have been targeted, sum it up as follows: no vital supplies go in, no sensitive information gets out.

But thanks to the Internet, camera-phones, brave reporters and other means, there is a leak that enables the truth to trickle out to the outside world.

Palestinian-American activist Hesham Tillawi—speaking Jan. 10 on the resumed radio show, When Worlds Collide*, on the Republic Broadcasting Network—told this AFP writer-host that his recent demonstration in Lafeyette, La., also went well, with more than 100 attending and passers-by expressing approval. In Tillawi’s view, the world has never witnessed abject brutality quite like this—with the world’s fourth largest military cowardly hurling heavy explosives at trapped villagers, as if it were engaging an enemy army. And to think, he said, that all that destructive power is in return for rockets fired into Israel by angry or misguided people from the Gaza side. These rockets, according to Tillawi, are makeshift fireworks with a little extra punch.

When this AFP writer was on assignment in San Antonio Jan. 4, the television news flashed death-counts of five or less on the Israeli side and nearly 500 on the Palestinian side, while trying to characterize the one-sided assault as just another “standoff” among many that have happened over the years; sort of like, “Here they go, again.”

One of the Texas demonstrators, Muslim-American Amin Abraham, said Israeli needs to abide by the Geneva Conventions. Beyond that, he expressed an even-handed outlook, saying, “We’re not here to protest one side against another; we’re here to talk justice. We’re not here to support Hamas. We’re here to protest the killing of innocent people. We need the world to stand up for what is right.”

An American demonstrator who preferred not to be named added that many Jewish people here and abroad “would agree with what we’re doing right now.” He added that he is taking part in February programs at South Texas Community College in nearby Weslaco, to continue discussing the situation in Gaza. This protester, focusing on American involvement in this matter, also noted: “This is a demonstration against U.S. policy.”

AFP talked to several protesters and could not find anyone who disagreed with the notion of eliminating U.S. foreign aid to the state of Israel, recognizing that much of that aid translates into U.S. military assistance. That includes protester Hasan Mohammed, a Muslim-American who appears on the above-noted AFP news video.

He did not mince words: “It’s little concentration camps [Gaza, West Bank and several other Palestinian areas]. They have no right to move from one place to another,” he said, adding that while the current assault is terrible, ongoing life in Gaza, a place he has resided in, is quite tragic by itself, as Israeli military and settlers will arrest, assault and sometimes kill any Palestinian who may wander into the wrong zone outside of approved Palestinian areas.

A reliable AFP source now residing somewhere is Gaza informed this newspaper: “There are anti-war demonstrations in Israel like Tel Aviv ... the situation is really bad and drastic. Unless you are actually in Gaza, the rest [of the news] is indirect ...you know what I mean, but the tragedy of Gaza is that they have not been allowed to move out or go out or something like that ... they are a sitting-duck target. Also people—children—have starved to death, too. Maybe the parents died while trying to look for food ... or a family member who lost everyone like 19 family members and being the only one left ... it is so awful that I really have no words and hope that the bombings will stop if only for the psyche and stress of the people.”

* When Worlds Collide by AFP’s Mark Anderson has returned to the Republic Broadcasting Network on Saturdays from 7 to 9 p.m. central, 8 to 10 eastern. Go to Republic Broadcasting to listen and for more information. The call-in number is 800-313-9443.

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