Hundreds of Thousands Take to the Streets!

From World Can't Wait Hawaii

In the U.S.: 5,000 people in front of the White House; thousands in front of the Israeli Consulate; an estimated 10,000 in front of the Israeli Consulate in SF; thousands rallied in freezing whether in NYC. Other demonstrations happened in Anchorage, Phoenix, Modesto, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Dearborn, Ocala, Atlanta, Chicago, Louisville, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Albuquerque, Seattle, and dozens of other cities and towns across the U.S.

Tens of thousands rallied in Lebanon, thousands in London, Paris, and Rome. More than 5,000 marched in Sydney. A brief scan of more than 800 pictures of demonstrations posted on Yahoo's photo site showed protests in almost every large city in the Middle East, as well as in Japan, Korea, Bulgaria, Malta, Greece, Spain, Mexico, Buenos Aires and other international cities and towns.

In Hawai`i:
It was early morning when a small delegation from World Can’t Wait, Friends of Sabeel and Veterans for Peace walked up to the checkpoint at the entrance to Obama’s vacation retreat to protest Israel’s massacre in Gaza. Press corps sequestered in a nearby bus sprang into action and began interviewing. Journalists initially ran out the "official line" that Obama wasn’t speaking about Israel’s assault on Gaza because he isn’t yet president, and it would be inappropriate for him to give an opinion. However, when protesters pointed out that Obama quickly condemned the bombing in Mumbai, and has spoken out almost daily on the domestic situation in the U.S., the conversation changed. Within an hour, a Reuters story on the protest was picked up by media around the globe. The story was then covered on MSNBC, CNN and others. From there it hit the blogs. Much of the media picked up on Obama’s silence on on Gaza while speaking out on others, and cited Obama’s support for Israel at AIPAC. A photo showing Obama's car passing a placard reading: "Stop U.S. Support for Israel" was broadcast broadly. The media coverage was in stark contrast to what happened later the same afternoon at a rally called by Friends of Sabeel and World Can’t Wait.

Soon after 4pm more than 100 protesters lined Ala Moana Blvd at the Federal Building holding signs and chanting. Most brought hastily made handwritten signs. Some carried Palestinian flags. It was the first time in recent history that dozens of members from the local mosque were in the streets. An elderly Palestinian spoke out against Israel’s history of genocide against the Palestinian people. People of many faiths and political outlooks stood in solidarity against U.S. support for Israel, and demanded a free Palestine. And yet this very significant outpouring of both rage and solidarity was only seen by the people passing by during evening rush hour, many of whom showed enthusiastic support by honking, or throwing a shaka, thumbs up, or peace sign.

When the protest began, a single TV station was on the scene. As the numbers began to swell he picked up his camera and left. Mainstream media was remarkably absent throughout the 2-hour protest. Instead, morning coverage in the Advertiser suggested that reporters had gone out of their way to solicit negative comments about the protest from Obama's neighbors in Kailua.

Neither did the media cover the massive outpourings against Israel's genocidal attacks on Gaza that happened throughout the world.

To see the original Reuters story: Reuters.

Events around Israel's attack on Gaza are rapidly unfolding. Check out the World Can't Wait website for coverage of the ship carrying food and medical supplies (as well as a peace delegation) was rammed repeatedly by an Israeli Naval vessel while at sea. WCW Go to Yahoo photos for visual images of protests, as well as of the carnage in Gaza. Write letters to the editors. Organize signholdings. Find ways to break the silence and support the people of Gaza!