The Jewish Presence at the End The Occupation of Palestine March

[Washington, D.C. June 10, 2007]In solidarity with the International Community, over 5,000 truth, justice and peace activists converged on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for the historic national demonstration against the Israeli occupation on a hot humid Sunday afternoon and declared:

"40 years of Israel’s occupation are enough!"

Mitchell Plitnick, Director of Education and Policy for Jewish Voice for Peace and one of 7,000 truth, justice and peace seeking Jews labeled as "self-hating and Israel-threatening Ediots" by Zionist hatemongers who established the Jewish S.H.I.I.T.E. List; exclaimed, "Forty years is not just enough; it is too much!"

Another designee on the S.H.I.I.T.E. List, Phyllis Bennis, journalist, author, scholar and Director of The New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies whose specialty is the Middle East and United Nations issues acted as M.C., "This day is historic and has global importance. While we say no to US support for Israeli occupation, our counterparts from all around the world are saying the same message to their own governments. From South Africa to Brazil, from Australia to Canada, from Britain to Malaysia, Ramallah to Tel-Aviv, today is a day of international action. The world says no to occupation and we say no to U.S. support of occupations...There are now 535 checkpoints and there are 535 members of Congress. Perhaps those checkpoints should be named for them."

The diversity of America was well represented, individuals and members of over 300 sponsoring organizations marked the 40th Anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, to demand that both Israel and America uphold International Law and Universal and inalienable human rights for the four million Palestinians who have been denied them.

Dozens of Orthodox Jews United Against Zionism, http://www.nkusa.org/ who refuse to recognize the existence and authority of Israel, based on their understanding of the Torah and Judaism, marched holding American and Palestinian flags increasingly aroused the hundreds of Zionist counter protestors who booed and yelled as the justice and peace activists marched towards the White House, guarded by the D.C. Police.

This reporter stopped counting when I got to 100, the number of protestors who displayed stickers printed: "Another Jew Against the Occupation."

Another member of the S.H.I.I.T.E. List, Rabbi Jeremy Milgrom, Co-founder and co-director of Clergy for Peace, an Israeli/Palestinian interfaith initiative of Christians, Muslims, and Jews working for justice and peace in the Middle East, who also completed three years of active duty and sixteen years of reserve duty in the Israeli Army, the last eight as a conscientious objector and who works with Rabbis for Human Rights informed the activists, "Land theft devours its inhabitants, it devours its children. The majority of Israelis want the occupation to end. We have problems with our governments, not with people. We rabbis must empower those rabbis who are not here to speak to their congregations of American Jews. We Jewish people are small in number, but a few committed people can make a difference and we can make this happen. The occupation will end when we free Jewish hearts from fear and liberate their minds of propaganda."

Learn More:

www.endtheoccupation.org

e
http://www.wearewideawake.org/