Why I’m Unsubscribing To The New York Times

Copies of the New York Times sit for sale in a rack July 23, 2008 in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

I am a lifelong Democrat, a political liberal, a Reform rabbi, and for four decades, until last week, a New York Times subscriber. What drove me away was the paper’s incessant denigration of Israel, a torrent of articles, photographs, and op-ed columns that consistently present the Jewish State in the worst possible light.

This phenomenon is not new. Knowledgeable observers have long assailed the Times lack of objectivity and absence of journalistic integrity in reporting on Israel. My chronic irritation finally morphed into alienation and then to visceral disgust this summer, after Hamas renewed its terrorist assaults upon Israel and the Times launched what can only be described as a campaign to delegitimize the Jewish State.


The Middle East conflict is complex, but the root cause of Israel’s confrontation with Hamas is not. Committed by its charter to “obliterate” Israel and kill all Jews everywhere, Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Britain, and the European Union, a designation substantiated by its raining rockets down on Israel’s civilians and tunneling under its border to kill and kidnap, indisputable war crimes.
Renowned Israeli novelist, leftist, and self-declared “Israeli peacenik” Amos Oz captured the essence of the conflict in two questions he posed to a German radio audience. “What would you do if your neighbor across the street sits down on the balcony, puts his little boy on his lap and starts shooting machine gun fire into your nursery? What would you do if your neighbor across the street digs a tunnel from his nursery to your nursery in order to blow up your home or in order to kidnap your family?”

The answers are self-evident to everyone except the New York Times. Its obsessive focus is on Palestinian civilian casualties, especially children, publishing photos of their corpses and little else, as if they tell the whole story. The deaths of innocents in wartime are tragic and heartbreaking; they diminish us all. But a newspaper committed to balance and fairness would provide context and perspective. It would show traumatized Israeli children running to shelters, cowering, wetting their beds, and suffering nightmares. It would publish photos and accounts of militants launching rockets from the roofs of mosques, a church, and a media hotel, alongside schools, refugee shelters, clinics and hospitals, and of weapons concealed by Hamas in UN facilities. It would substantiate casualty figures from Hamas, which is known to have falsified them in the past, before reporting them as fact. It would highlight Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields, its urging civilians to ignore Israel’s advance warnings to depart, so that Gazans would be killed and inflict PR damage on Israel. Such a paper would cover the threats of death that inhibited reporters and photojournalists from telling the true, full story. But the Times did not.

What it did instead is revealed by a sample of headlines: “As Israel Hits Mosque and Clinic, Air Campaign’s Risks Come Home;” “Israelis Watch Bombs Drop on Gaza From Front-Row Seats;” “Questions About Tactics and Targets as Civilian Toll Climbs in Israeli Strikes;” “Foreign Correspondents in Israel Complain of Intimidation;” “Israeli Shells are Said to Hit UN School;” “Military Censorship in Israel;” “A Boy at Play in Gaza, a Renewal of War, A Family in Mourning;” “Israel’s Supporters Try to Come to Terms with the Killing of Children in Gaza;” “Israel Braces for War Crimes Inquiries on Gaza;” “Resisting Nazis, He Saw Need for Israel. Now He Is Its Critic.”

Then there are the op-eds: “Israel’s Puppy, Tony Blair;” “Israel’s Bloody Status Quo;” “How the West Chose War in Gaza;” “Darkness Falls on Gaza;” “Israeli Self-Defense Does Not Permit Killing Civilians;” “Israel Has Overreacted to the Threats it Provoked;” “Zionism and Its Discontents;” “U.S. Should Stop Funding Israel, or Let Others Broker Peace;” “Israel’s Colonialism Must End;” “Unwavering Support of Israel Harms U.S. Interests, Encourages Extremism;” “Eight Days in Gaza: A Wartime Diary: Life and Death in the Gaza Strip.” The last column consumed nearly the entire op-ed page.

The straw that broke my subscription’s back came on Aug. 19, when Hamas violated yet another truce, sending a fusillade of rockets into Israel. The Wall Street Journal’s headline read, “Gaza Rocket Strikes End Cease Fire.” A U.S. State Department spokesperson condemned the renewed rocket fire, holding Hamas responsible for causing the ceasefire to break down. The Times headline: “Rockets From Gaza and Israeli Response Break Cease-Fire.” Seriously? A newspaper that cannot distinguish between starting a fight and defending oneself is intellectually deficient, morally obtuse, and profoundly unworthy of its readers.

I know the Times won’t miss me. The feeling is mutual.

Rabbi Richard A. Block is president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

MPAC Press Conference on Extremism

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com



Below is a video of the news conference held by the Muslim Public Affairs Council yesterday to announce their Safe Spaces initiative, which was described by MPAC President Salam al Marayati (sort of). In my view, it is long on generalities and short on specifics. Also speaking were Muzammil Siddiqi, head imam of the Orange County Islamic Center, Michael Downing of LAPD, Roberta Abner of LASD, and Maryum Ali (daughter of Mohammed Ali).

http://www.veooz.com/videos/ZHS7yuI.html

It all sounds nice, but I don't see any specifics here. It sounds to me like MPAC is saying, "Let us take care of the problem, and if we can't turn people around who look like they are thinking of joining the jihad, then we'll call in law enforcement." He also said that law enforcement has to consider the community as a partner rather than a suspect-that they can't have it both ways. If they do surveillance in the community, they are treating the community as a suspect, according to Marayati. He also said that houses of worship should be sanctuaries. I disagree. Not when we have so many subversive and hateful sermons coming out of so many mosques in the US.

As for Siddiqi, someone needs to give him a training course on how to spot suspects. Two terrorists have come out of his mosque, Adam Gadahn and Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen. Siddiqi also failed to "eject" the blind sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, in 1992 when he came to Siddiqi's mosque and gave a sermon on violent jihad, which Siddiqi translated in real time. As for Downing, when I related that little tidbit to him in 2012 during a town hall on sharia at Siddiq's mosque, his response was, "Well Gary. Some people change over time."

I should also note that both Siddiqi and Marayati have refused to sign the Freedom Letter by Former Muslims United asking for a simple statement that apostates from Islam in the US not be harmed. At least Siddiqi condemned the treatment of religious minorities and forced conversions, which he said is condemned by Islamic scholars. I am not so sure I agree with that last statement.

Let us also pick apart Siddiei's claim that Islam stands against acts of terror directed against "innocent life" and civilians. That kind of leaves the door open a bit, does it not? What is his definition of innocent and civilians? He also warned of "provocateurs' (informants?)

And if Siddiqi is truly a moderate, why does the book store at his mosque feature works by Yusuf al Qaradawi and Maulana Abul Ala Maududi and his wife?

I also took note of Abner's reference to a recent conference at the Federal law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC-in Brunswick, Ga) which included MPAC. She also referenced the establishment by DOJ of a pilot program in LA, Boston and Minneapolis. (All three of the Americans reported killed recently while fighting for ISIS came from Minnesota, where there is a heavy Somali population. Had it not been for a misguided refugee program that brought some 80,000 Somalis to the US, we would not have that problem.)

I also got  a chuckle out of Downing's reference to all the success LAPD has had with gangs by working with the community. LA is a "sanctuary city", and illegal alien gang members benefit from that policy.

In summary, this is just more propaganda brought to us by manipulators like Marayati and Siddiqi and abetted by useful idiots like Michael Downing.

Wednesday's Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Mike



Ens. John Parle
23 years old from Omaha, Nebraska
USS LST-375
May 26, 1920 - July 10, 1943



From Ens. Parle's Medal Of Honor citation:

For valor and courage above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of Small Boats in the USS LST-375 during the amphibious assault on the island of Sicily, 9–10 July 1943. Realizing that a detonation of explosives would prematurely disclose to the enemy the assault about to be carried out, and with full knowledge of the peril involved, Ens. Parle unhesitatingly risked his life to extinguish a smoke pot accidentally ignited in a boat carrying charges of high explosives, detonating fuses and ammunition. Undaunted by fire and blinding smoke, he entered the craft, quickly snuffed out a burning fuse, and after failing in his desperate efforts to extinguish the fire pot, finally seized it with both hands and threw it over the side. Although he succumbed a week later from smoke and fumes inhaled, Ens. Parle's heroic self-sacrifice prevented grave damage to the ship and personnel and insured the security of a vital mission. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

You can read more about Ens. Parle here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.

Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look. This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

A Shameful Attack on a Moderate Muslim-in His Own Mosque

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Hat tip Samira


I am cross-posting this piece in the Arizona Republic by Dr Zuhdi Jasser, of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Dr Jasser is a Muslim who has the courage to speak out against Islamic extremism and organizations like CAIR. Most recently, he has spoken out against Hamas. For that, he was excoriated in the presence of his family by a low-life named Yaser Ali at his own mosque in Arizona.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2014/08/23/muslim-intimidation-eid-sermon/14445117/?utm_source=Copy+of+%5BAIFD+Commentary%5D+&utm_campaign=Women%27s+Rights+10%2F17%2F13&utm_medium=email

"...they are not from amongst us"

To Mr Ali, I say it is you who are not from amongst us.  Your comments are disgusting. If you want to defend Hamas, a US-designated terrorist organization then it is you who are not from amongst us, Mr Ali.

Zuhdi Jasser is a shining example of an American  Muslim we should rally around and support. We need more like him and fewer like Yaser Ali.

ALL You Pro-Hamas Protesters Be on the Lookout for Fousesquawk

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


As you know, I have been reporting on the recent pro-Israel, pro-Hamas rallies going on virtually every weekend at the Westwood Federal Building (Los Angeles). On the last occasion (August 10), I was able to engage with some pro-Hamas supporters who called me a Jew and threw the F-U  bomb at me. Really hurt my feelings. On an earlier occasion, I was able to film the ugly abuse that was heaped up Steve Goldberg of the Zionist Organization of America and a lady because they showed up with an Israeli flag. Goldberg referred to my video in an email which was picked up and forwarded to the Bad Guys by an unknown person. Lo and behold, this latter site featured my picture with the admonition to "ignore his ass"!

https://www.facebook.com/events/768764416509219/permalink/784814954904165/

Well, Cindy.You can ignore my ass, but you can't ignore my sexy abs.

Not that I hold it against Cindy for posting my picture. After all, It seems I took her picture not too far back. ( I think she's the one with the blue hair.)

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2014/08/pro-palestinian-protest-in-los-angeles.html

As for who forwarded Mr Goldberg's e-mail to the pro-Hamas camp, I have no idea who it is, nor do I care, but whoever it is should not worry. We don't treat spies like Hamas does.



"So you sent our e-mail to the Israelis, eh?"

The Real Enemy The World Sees

Who Wants To Live In The Paradise Of An Islamic State?

From the Times of India

Yes, the so-called Caliphate.

Would you like to live in the paradise of an Islamic state with full-blown sharia? I mean the self-proclaimed State of ISIS or IS as they like to be called these days, inhabited and controlled by jihadists who want to turn the clock back by at least 1000 years.

All European countries are in a state of shock. Yesterday almost all the national televisions in Europe showed a glimpse of or narrated the incident in which a man speaking in a flawless British accent beheaded an American journalist, James Foley.

The video or the description of a journalist forced into an orange jump-suit being butchered by a masked man dressed in black has shocked the world. Yes, it is barbaric, and not because the life of a westerner is more important than hundreds of thousands of others who have died in Iraq and Syria, but simply because we are now confronting an Islamic terrorist organization which is not absconding but controls territory and has a state.

Welcome to the new world. Al-Qaida is no longer the most dangerous terrorist organization, but ISIS or IS. And we will have to deal with one of the wealthiest terrorist organizations ever in the known history of mankind. They have amassed wealth by controlling vast areas with oil reserves, collecting money by demanding ransom, looting banks, receiving donations, etc.

I think that the world community has to get together to solve this problem. India and Russia will have to do their part as well. Al-Qaida, which was playing a cat and mouse game in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan in the poorest region of the world, did not have the resources nor the capacity to strike back. IS/ISIS, on the contrary, has acquired sophisticated weapons, and motivated and disillusioned Muslim youths from European countries have become their ideological base. There are twice as many Brits today fighting for ISIS than there are Muslim youths enrolled in the British army.

The European countries will have to take a serious debate about those sleeping cells and how radicalization is taking place in Western countries. Meanwhile, it is important to realize that the time to act is now. The world community has to show some resolve to end this so-called experiment of a sharia paradise, where women are forced to wear a niqab or burka, where the whole body is covered and not even an inch of flesh should be seen. In this paradise the jihadist fighters can knock on any door and forcibly take young girls and force them to marry one of the fighters.

Not only are women forced to cover their bodies, even sheep and goats are forced to cover the rear parts of their bodies so that they do not tempt the holy men fighting jihad. Beheading, chopping off hands, stoning and such inhuman treatment is being handed out to people in the land where sharia is the supreme law.

Internationally, Barack Obama should quickly wind up this conflict with Russia about Ukraine. The West has enough worries to take care of. Let Russia, which historically has enjoyed influence on Ukraine, get an opportunity to act responsibly. This will motivate Russia to engage in this global fight against jihadism.

All civilized nations of the world need urgently to act before more inhuman beheadings of innocent people is carried out to weaken our resolve. India should also do its part to help USA in its effort to contain this global malaise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Actually a good idea would be to bomb the Iraqi oil fields that ISIS has taken control of.  They would be stripped of their oil money. Nor could they rebuild the fields very easily.

Just an idea.

Would take out ISIS very easily.

Boycott the Jews? You will Die Sooner

The price a real anti-Jewish boycott would cost can give you an idea of what kind of war Israel is fighting: civilization against darkness.

 

Boycott the Jews? You will die

Truth is the best disinfectant.

The boycott threat is endangering the Jewish people. Universities, pension funds, commercial chains, newspapers: there is an anti-Semitic offensive around the world.
Let's see what would happen if the anti-Semites would really boycott "everything Jewish", as Ayatollah Khamenei said.

If you contracted syphilis, you could not be cured by salvarsan since it was discovered by a Jew, Paul Ehrlich.

If you contracted gonorrhea, you could not seek diagnosis, because the method is named after a Jew, Albert Neissner.

If you had heart disease you could not use Digitalis, because it was discovered by a Jew, Ludwig Traube.

A toothache? No, because Novocaine was discovered by two Jews, Widal and Weil.
Diabetes? You will die soon because Insulin is the result of research by a Jew, Oskar Minkowsky.

You cannot get the anti polio vaccine, because it bears a Jew's name, Jonas Salk.

You must also die of Tuberculosis because a Jew, Zalman Waxman, invented the drug for it.

No hope for cancer because one of the most important tumor suppressor genes was cloned by scientists at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot (defective copies of this gene are found in more than half of all human cancers).

No chance to be saved from the "Mad Cow" disease, because Israel developed the diagnosis in Creutzfeldt Jakob genetic disease in humans with a urine test instead of a brain biopsy.

Did you get the West Nile virus? Forget the Israeli vaccine.

Forget chemotherapy that extends the lives of cancer patients, kidney dialysis machines, cardiac pacemakers or Hepatitis B vaccine.

The Muslim fanatics and their Western anti-Semitic friends can only dream of having a tiny fraction of the brain power of these Jewish scholars.

And I say it to a genius like Stephen Hawking as well, who approved the boycott of the Jewish State. Maybe he is alive because of Israeli technology. The same for Mahmoud Abbas' wife, who has just visited an Israeli hospital. Such hypocrisy.

How many Nobel prizes have the Muslims collected? 7.

How many prizes for the Jews? Of the 850 Nobel Prize winners, 177 have been Jewish and several were born in Israel. 20 % of them have gone to Jews.

This is not racism and Israel has plenty of dullards and morons. But the price a real anti-Jewish boycott would cost can give you an idea of what kind of war Israel is fighting: civilization against darkness.

If Israel and the Jews, who make up just 0,2 % of humanity, fall again, the world will be darker and meaningless.

If 6,000,000 Jews would not to have perished in the Holocaust, can you imagine how richer the world would be?

British Media Deception

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Hat tip Creeping Sharia and Diversity Macht Frei

This is not exactly breaking news. For a few years now, it has been reported that the most popular name for newborn bouncing baby boys in England and Wales is Mohammed-regardless of how you spell it. It seems the British media, however, would like to cover up that fact by breaking the name down into its alternative spellings, and thus, preserving Oliver as the most popular boys' name.


http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/mohammed-most-popular-boys-name-in-england-and-wales-media-covers-it-up/



"You see. You're number one, Ollie."

Ten bells and all's well as they used to say.

It's Alive

Hat Tip to Israpundit

Just like the child with the fake illness being prevented from getting treatment by Israel, or the thousands of dead babies who actually were killed 2 years ago in Syria, we now have the "honored dead" fighters of Hamas.

Hamas puts the FUN in Funeral!



Click here if the video fails to load.

Hamas displays victims of Israeli "aggression" in white burial shrouds. If you look closely, you can see some of the bodies make themselves more comfortable while they think the camera is not on them.

Wednesday's Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Mike



1st Lt. Vernon Baker
90 years old from St. Maries, Idaho
370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division
December 17, 1919- July 13, 2010



From Lt. Baker's Medal Of Honor citation:

For extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, near Viareggio, Italy. Then Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying enemy installations, personnel, and equipment during his company's attack against a strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked an enemy observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire. On the following night Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.

You can read more about Lt. Baker here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.

Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

GAZA DOME

Hat Tip to A Soldier's Mother



Click here if the video fails to load

After the UN criticized Israel and the US for not supplying Iron Dome for Gaza....

Here's another suggestion...

No Peace in the Middle East

Click here if the video fails to load.

Published on Nov 25, 2012
Not while Hamas is around.

Christians and Jews in Syria

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Incredible as it seems there are still a few Jews left in Syria. However, their situation is just as dire as that of the Christian minority.

The below op-ed in the Orange County Register is by my friend, staff editor and columnist Rory Cohen. With all the phony talk about "genocide" in Gaza, this piece reminds us what genocide is really all about.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/syria-630894-syrian-jewish.html

At what point does the world have the courage to stand up and tell Muslims to "Stop the genocide"?

Hypocrisy Over Gaza

The latest from Pat Condell


Click here if the video fails to load.

Israel doesn't owe a biased world any explanation for defending itself
against murderers.

Arab Christians Rally for Persecuted Christians in the Middle East

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

The symbol on the t-shirt is that which ISIS has posted on Christian homes in Mosul, which is used to denote Christian.


On Saturday several hundred Arab Christians came together at the Federal Building in Los Angeles (Westwood) to demonstrate for their persecuted brethren in the Middle East. The rally was organized by an organization called A Demand for Action. They were mostly Assyrians and Chaldeans, many of whom were from Iraq and Syria. I attended, filmed much of it, and spoke to several of the participants. Their recurring message was why is the world not paying attention to what is happening to Christians in the Middle East, especially Iraq and Syria? Where is President Obama? Where is the news media?

There were several speakers including Arab ministers and two young Iranian Muslim girls who spoke in solidarity with the Christians. The speakers told of the suffering and the forced conversions by the forces of ISIS. Again and again, they asked why the world, the media, and President Obama were ignoring their plight. 

I can't tell you how refreshing this was not just that finally people in this country were standing up and speaking out, but that it was coming from Arab Americans who painted a picture much different from that Americans are exposed to from the likes of CAIR and other like organizations.

Here is an interview I did with one of the event organizers.

Indeed, I did not see the media at the event although they showed up to cover the pro-Palestinian protest that began at 1 pm, after the Christian protest was over.

I think it behooves us all to learn more about the Arab Christian communities here in America and learn their stories. Given what is going on in the Middle East, I hope America will welcome as many of them as possible should they choose to leave the horror they are experiencing. First and foremost there must be international pressure on the UN to act on behalf of the Christians still trapped in the Middle East to provide a safe zone for them.

Video of Saturday's Pro-Palestinian Protest in LA

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Below are videos I took Saturday at the pro-Palestinian protest in front of the Federal Building in Westwood between 1-5 pm.






As the Arab Christian protesters pack up to leave, the pro-Palestinian protesters move in.






In the above clip, you see the pro-Hamas thugs swarming the man (blue t-shirt, beard, shaved head and sun glasses) with the anti-Mohammad sign chanting in his face, "Bigots gotta go." At the end, I try to get the attention of the cops.




In this video Sheriff's deputies come to the rescue of the man with the anti-Mohammad sign (bald head, blue t-shirt)




Here is an interview I did with two of the protesters. I asked them a few questions about Hamas. Listen to their answers.






This clip lasts almost 11 minutes. Watch what happens to the man in the yellow shirt holding an Israeli flag and his blond female companion with the blonde hair as they are swarmed and followed across the street until they reach a group of pro-Palestinian supporters. Only at this point are there cops there to protect them. You can here my voice trying to get the attention of the police as to the developing problem.





 "Baby killers"



In the above video, the muscular young man in the grey t-shirt with shaved head at one point (after this clip) chanted "Long live Jihad. Long live Hamas"" at the pro-Israeli protesters. I was not ten feet from him and heard it clearly. I thought I had it captured on video, but it seems I did not. I don't doubt, however, that someone else has it on their tape.

Pro-Palestinian Protest in Los Angeles UGLY

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


Protesters try to intimidate pro-Israeli protesters-without success

"Long Live Hamas! Long Live Jihad! 

That was what a pro-Palestinian protester shouted into the faces of pro-Israeli protesters today at a demonstration in front of the Federal Building in Westwood on Saturday. I was there not ten feet away. I heard it, and I saw the man clearly.

It was an ugly scene all around beginning at 1 pm when several hundred people gathered on Wilshire Blvd. They were basically a collection of Arabs and retreads from the 1960s, professional protesters from ANSWER Coalition, an organization dedicated to protesting anything and everything. If you dig women with blue hair and women who don't shave their armpits, this was for you. (Those were the Americans.)

In this demonstration I was there strictly as a cameraman and not openly taking any sides as I wanted to mingle with everyone.

The first thing that happened involved a gentleman who had showed up at the end of the Arab Christian rally with a sign that had insulting statements about the Prophet Mohammad. (This guy shows up at a lot of events in the LA area.) The leaders of the Christian demonstration were not at all pleased with his presence because it was not the message that they wanted to send. At any rate when the Palestinian protest got going, the man was swarmed by several protesters who were chanting in his face. I tried to get the attention of cops or security, but nobody was around. When I returned the man was minus his sign. Eventually, the cops arrived and stayed close to him until he left. All the time he was being harassed, he never budged.

The demonstration came just as the previous demonstration was winding up by several hundred Christian Arabs, Assyrians, Chaldeans and mostly folks from Iraq and Syria who were protesting the genocide against Christians in the Middle East. I will post on that separately.

To sum it up, this pro-Palestinian demonstration featured chants of "Free Free Palestine" and several other top forty hits, which I don't recall. Not much original. There was a guy with the green flag that read in Arabic, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger".

It was when a few dozen pro-Israeli folks showed up that things got ugly. One man and his wife with an Israeli flag were immediately surrounded by demonstrators who got in their faces and screamed at them as they made their way all the way across the street. I stayed close and filmed and at one point tried to get the attention of the LAPD and LASD who were keeping a low profile across Wilshire Blvd.

Unlike the recent pro-Israel protest on July 13, the police did not try to separate the two groups. There were a few hundred pro-Palestinians and a few dozen pro-Israelis. The pro-Palestinians kept crossing the street to confront the pro-Israelis, and at that point, the cops stayed close by. At one point when things were getting tense, I was standing next to a Sheriff's deputy and another deputy came over and told her that if anything happened not to go into the crowd.

Note the man in center with two flags, both reading, "There is but one God, Allah, and Mohammad is his messenger"

At about 3 pm, the crowd crossed the street and started marching west on the north side lane of Wilshire Blvd. with full police escort, cars, motorcycles, helicopters and all. In other words, the west bound lane of Wilshire Blvd was closed for the protesters. The 405 off ramp at Wilshire was also blocked.You would have thought it was a presidential funeral. This was in marked contrast to the July 13 pro-Israel demonstration when people were confined to the sidewalk. Different rules for different people, I guess.

Note the flags: Cuba (and Che), Venezuela and, of course, Palestinian


The protest lasted until 5, and the pro-Palestinian contingent had to be escorted by police from the scene as the mob followed yelling, "Shame on you!".

Shame on them. They acted like uncivilized idiots.

I will be posting videos shortly.