LET GAZA LIVE! - a global outcry

Too bad we can't all just get along!

USA



A demonstrator carries a photograph of a dead Palestinian boy as he carries a fake coffin during a funeral march through the streets of Boston, Massachusetts January 10, 2009, to mourn for the Palestinian dead and call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.
REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES)



Demonstrators opposed to the Israeli attacks on Gaza protest near the White House and President-elect Barack Obama's hotel in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)



Children participate in a march on the streets of Washington, calling for an end to the Israeli attacks in Gaza after a rally in front of the White House in Washington, January 10, 2009. Several thousand protesters marched in rain to protest against Israel's offensive in Gaza.
REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang (UNITED STATES)



A protester holds up a sign during a march on the streets of Washington, calling for an end to Israeli attacks in Gaza after a rally in front of the White House in Washington, January 10, 2009. Several thousand protesters marched in rain to protest against Israel's offensive in Gaza.
REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang (UNITED STATES)



A man protests during a demonstration against Israel's actions in Gaza, in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)



Children protest during a demonstration against Israel's actions in Gaza, at the federal building in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon

More USA



A man hangs a banner from a traffic signal during a demonstration against Israel's actions in Gaza, in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)



Protesters march through Westwood Village during a demonstration against Israel's actions in Gaza, in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon



Demonstrators protest during a pro-Palestinian rally outside the White House in Washington, DC. Several thousand protesters -- 10,000 according to organizers -- descended on the White House Saturday in support of Palestinians in Gaza, on the heels of other protests across major world capitals.
(AFP/Yuri Gripas)



Demonstrators protest during a pro-Palestinian rally outside the White House in Washington, DC. Several thousand protesters -- 10,000 according to organizers -- descended on the White House Saturday in support of Palestinians in Gaza, on the heels of other protests across major world capitals.
(AFP/Yuri Gripas)



Demonstrators carry fake coffins as they stage a funeral march through the streets of Boston, January 10, 2009, to mourn for the Palestinian dead and call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza

Mexico



Residents light candles as they demonstrate against Israel's military strikes on the Gaza Strip in a beach next to the U.S.- Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)



Shoes are hanged next to a Palestine Flag on a fence in front of the U.S. Embassy, during a pro-Palestine march in Mexico City January 10, 2009. Demonstrators shouted anti-Israel slogans to protest against the air strikes and the military action in the Gaza Strip.
REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO)



A demonstrator throws a burnt shoe outside the U.S. Embassy as people take part in a pro-Palestine march in Mexico City January 10, 2009. Demonstrators shouted anti-Israel slogans to protest against the air strikes and the military action in the Gaza Strip.
REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO)



A demonstrator shouts as she holds up a painted doll during a pro-Palestine march in front of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City January 10, 2009. Demonstrators shouted anti-Israel slogans to protest against the air strikes and the military action in the Gaza Strip.
REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO)



Canada]



Protesters carry signs during a march calling for the end of the Israeli attacks in Gaza in downtown Montreal, January 10, 2009. The sign reads "Carnage in Gaza! Zionist state does not care about laws! And what is the United Nations doing with its' laws!".
REUTERS/Christinne Muschi (CANADA)



Protesters carry peace signs during a march calling for the end of the Israeli attacks in Gaza in downtown Montreal, January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Christinne Muschi (CANADA)

Excellent thread, Endy. Well done.

Incidentally, I can vouch for a rally held in Melbourne, Oz, last Sunday, because I was there. Not a huge affair, but big enough to make the news.

Britain

Scotland



A shoe and red paint is seen on the street near the United States consulate after a demonstration organised to protest at the Israeli involvement in the conflict in Gaza, in Edinburgh, Scotland January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/David Moir (BRITAIN)



Edinburgh, Scotland January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/David Moir (BRITAIN)



Edinburgh, Scotland January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/David Moir (BRITAIN)



A protestor throws a shoe outside the United States consulate during a demonstration organised to protest at the Israeli involvement in the conflict in Gaza, in Edinburgh, Scotland January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/David Moir (BRITAIN)

Britain

England - London



British police and protesters confront each other during a protest against Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip in front of the gates to the Israeli Embassy in London, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009. 100,000 people, many carrying Palestinian flags, marched from Hyde Park to the Israeli Embassy.
(AP Photo/Akira Suemori)



Protesters against Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip attack a Starbucks Coffee shop as they clash with British police in front of the gates to the Israeli Embassy in London, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.



Protesters opposed to Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip demonstrate outside the Israeli embassy in west London. Police were bracing Sunday for demonstrations supporting Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip after Saturday's pro-Palestinian rally in London ended in violence.



London



A placard bearing a portrait of U.S. President George Bush is burned outside the Israeli Embassy during a demonstration against the conflict in Gaza, in London January 10, 2009.



London

How big was the protest in Gaza against allowing civilians to be collateral damage by launching rockets (against Israel) from civilian areas?

Spain



Thousands of demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in central Barcelona January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino(SPAIN)



Protestors burn a swastika symbol during a pro-Palestinian protest against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, during a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.



Thousands of demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in central Barcelona January 10, 2009. The signs read "Gaza yes we can".
REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino (SPAIN)



Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.



Thousands of demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in central Barcelona January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino (SPAIN)



Catalan singer and songwriter Lluis Llach (front C) and thousands of demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in central Barcelona January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino(SPAIN)



Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.

France




People demonstrate with candles in Paris to denounce Israeli's offensive in Gaza and express support for the Palestinian cause. Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied across Europe on Saturday to call for an end to Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
(AFP/Pierre Verdy)



Paris



A pro-Palestinian demonstrator lights a candle during a protest in Paris against Israel's offensive on Gaza January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (FRANCE)




Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest in response to the Israeli air strikes on Gaza, in Paris January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes (FRANCE)



Four young girls are seen holding posters saying, 'Its Palestine that we need to save' during a pro Palestinian demonstration against violence in the Gaza strip, in Paris, Saturday Jan. 10, 2009.
(AP Photo/Michel Euler)



Marseille, January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier (FRANCE)

Switzerland




Berne, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.




Demonstrators protest against Israel's attacks on Gaza, in Berne January 10, 2009. Some 6,000 people took part in the demonstration on Saturday.
REUTERS/Ruben Sprich (SWITZERLAND)



More then 6,000 demonstrators protest against Israel's attacks on Gaza, in Berne January 10, 2009



About 7,000 participants of a demonstration against Israel's military actions against the Gaza Strip wave banners and Palestinian flags in Berne, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.

Germany





Berlin



Berlin



Berlin



Norway




Norwegian finance minister Kristin Halvorsen (L) takes part in a demonstration in front of the House of Parliament in Oslo January 10, 2009, in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Poster at right reads "USA and Israel the biggest axels of evil". REUTERS/Lise Aserud /scanpix (NORWAY).



Oslo

http://pmw.org.il/Bulletins_Dec2008.htm#b2912083



Young Children Convinced of Death as a Shahid as Ideal

Two 11-year-old girls articulate their personal goal to become shahids [people who die for Allah], explaining that "all Palestinian children" see Shahada [death for Allah] - because of its promised grand Afterlife - as more worthwhile than living.

Interviewer: You described Shahada as something beautiful. Do you think it is beautiful?

Walla: Shahada is a very beautiful thing. Everyone yearns for Shahada. What could be better than going to paradise?

Interviewer: What is better, peace and full rights for the Palestinian people or Shahada?

Walla: Shahada. I will achieve my rights after becoming a shahid. We won't stay children forever.

Interviewer: Ok, Yussra, would you agree with that?

Yussra: Of course. It is a good [sweet] thing. We don't want this world, we want the Afterlife. We benefit not from this life but from the Afterlife. All Palestinians, not like other youth, are hot tempered, they choose Shahada, since they are Palestinian.

Interviewer: Do you actually love death?

Yussra: Death is not Shahada.

Interviewer: No, I mean the absence after death, the physical absence, do you love death?

Yussra: No child loves death. The children of Palestine adopted the concept that this is Shahada. They believe that Shahada is very good. Every Palestinian child, say someone aged 12, says, O Lord, I would like to become a shahid.
[PA TV June 2002]

http://pmw.org.il/asx/PMW_Walla_7.asx

Jordan





Jordanian Christian demonstrators hold candles at a vigil organized by the Jordanian Churches Higher Council, protesting the Israeli offensive in Gaza, in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.



Jordanian Christian clergymen holds candles at a vigil organized by the Jordanian Churches Higher Council, protesting the Israeli offensive in Gaza, and showing solidarity with Palestinians, in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.

Lebanon




Leabnese Hezbollah supporters, march during a demonstration to protest against the Israeli ground attack on the Gaza Strip, in the southern market town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Saturday Jan. 10, 2009.



A young Lebanese girl, holds a shroud representing a dead Palestinian child during a demonstration held by leftist groups to protest against Israel's ground attack on the Gaza Strip, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday Jan. 11, 2009. Up to 2,500 people marched in pouring rain in downtown Beirut near a building housing UN offices in Beirut. Sunday's protesters held Palestinian flags and banners calling on the international community to stop the Israeli offensive.
(AP Photo)

India




A girl shouts anti-Israeli slogans during a protest organised by the General Union of Palestine Students Organisation, against the attacks on Gaza, in New Delhi January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA)


Pakistan



Pakistani medical students chant slogans during a rally to condemn Israeli military attacks on Gaza, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 in Karachi, Pakistan.
(AP Photo/Fareed Khan)


Indonesia




Justice Party (PKS) attend a rally in Jakarta January 11, 2009 against Israel's attacks on Gaza.
REUTERS/Supri (INDONESIA)



Monks participate during a street rally against the Israel military attacks in the Gaza Strip, in Jakarta January 11, 2009.
REUTERS/Dadang Tri (INDONESIA)

Philippines




Police and security personnel clash with protesters who attempted to conduct a demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in Manila January 11, 2009 against Israel's attacks on Gaza.
REUTERS/John Javellana (PHILIPPINES)



Police and security personnel clash with protesters who attempted to conduct a demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in Manila January 11, 2009 against Israel's attacks on Gaza.
REUTERS/John Javellana (PHILIPPINES)

Japan




Line of riot police surround as students of leftist students' organization march in a protest rally against Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip on a street of Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009.




A student activist of a leftist organization, speaks in a rally against Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip in a Tokyo street, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. The banner in the background reads, 'Impeach Blood-thirsty Israeli Aggression on Gaza.'
(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)


Japan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009.
(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Bosnia





Demonstrators hold banners and flags as they shout during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza, in central Sarajevo January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)



Sarajevo January 10, 2009.
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)



Sri Lanka







Nairobi



Demonstrations took place in Africa

Also - 50,000 Egyptian have protested in the city of Alexandria

I will leave these wise words from a Jewish man I greatly admire
***********************************************************


Published on Saturday, January 10, 2009 by Haaretz
The Time of The Righteous

by Gideon Levy

This war, perhaps more than its predecessors, is exposing the true deep veins of Israeli society. Racism and hatred are rearing their heads, as is the impulse for revenge and the thirst for blood. The "inclination of the commander" in the Israel Defense Forces is now "to kill as many as possible," as the military correspondents on television describe it. And even if the reference is to Hamas fighters, this inclination is still chilling.

The unbridled aggression and brutality are justified as "exercising caution": the frightening balance of blood - about 100 Palestinian dead for every Israeli killed, isn't raising any questions, as if we've decided that their blood is worth one hundred times less than ours, in acknowledgement of our inherent racism.

Rightists, nationalists, chauvinists and militarists are the only legitimate bon ton in town. Don't bother us about humaneness and compassion. Only at the edges of the camp can a voice of protest be heard - illegitimate, ostracized and ignored by media coverage - from a small but brave group of Jews and Arabs.

Alongside all this, rings another voice, perhaps the worst of all. This is the voice of the righteous and the hypocritical. My colleague, Ari Shavit, seems to be their eloquent spokesman. This week, Shavit wrote here ("Israel must double, triple, quadruple its medical aid to Gaza," Haaretz, January 7): "The Israeli offensive in Gaza is justified ... Only an immediate and generous humanitarian initiative will prove that even during the brutal warfare that has been forced on us, we remember that there are human beings on the other side."

To Shavit, who defended the justness of this war and insisted that it mustn't be lost, the price is immaterial, as is the fact that there are no victories in such unjust wars. And he dares, in the same breath, to preach "humaneness."

Does Shavit wish for us to kill and kill, and afterward to set up field hospitals and send medicine to care for the wounded? He knows that a war against a helpless population, perhaps the most helpless one in the world, that has nowhere to escape to, can only be cruel and despicable. But these people always want to come out of it looking good. We'll drop bombs on residential buildings, and then we'll treat the wounded at Ichilov; we'll shell meager places of refuge in United Nations schools, and then we'll rehabilitate the disabled at Beit Lewinstein. We'll shoot and then we'll cry, we'll kill and then we'll lament, we'll cut down women and children like automatic killing machines, and we'll also preserve our dignity.

The problem is - it just doesn't work that way. This is outrageous hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Those who make inflammatory calls for more and more violence without regard for the consequences are at least being more honest about it.

You can't have it both ways. The only "purity" in this war is the "purification from terrorists," which really means the sowing of horrendous tragedies. What's happening in Gaza is not a natural disaster, an earthquake or flood, for which it would be our duty and right to extend a helping hand to those affected, to send rescue squads, as we so love to do. Of all the rotten luck, all the disasters now occurring in Gaza are manmade - by us. Aid cannot be offered with bloodstained hands. Compassion cannot sprout from brutality.

Yet there are some who still want it both ways. To kill and destroy indiscriminately and also to come out looking good, with a clean conscience. To go ahead with war crimes without any sense of the heavy guilt that should accompany them. It takes some nerve. Anyone who justifies this war also justifies all its crimes. Anyone who preaches for this war and believes in the justness of the mass killing it is inflicting has no right whatsoever to speak about morality and humaneness. There is no such thing as simultaneously killing and nurturing. This attitude is a faithful representation of the basic, twofold Israeli sentiment that has been with us forever: To commit any wrong, but to feel pure in our own eyes. To kill, demolish, starve, imprison and humiliate - and be right, not to mention righteous. The righteous warmongers will not be able to allow themselves these luxuries.

Anyone who justifies this war also justifies all its crimes. Anyone who sees it as a defensive war must bear the moral responsibility for its consequences. Anyone who now encourages the politicians and the army to continue will also have to bear the mark of Cain that will be branded on his forehead after the war. All those who support the war also support the horror.
© 2009 Haaretz
Gideon Levy is a reporter and commentator for Haaretz.

Like I say, the good news is that the government of Israel has ceased listening to the idiots, appeasers, and kumbaya crowd and has finally started listening to its own long suffering people.