Los Angeles Demonstrates Against Israeli Brutality

By Susan Schwartz, TMO

The civilized world has once again been forced to look with horror at the inhumanity of the State of Israel as that nation once again attacks the beleaguered people of Gaza. Already suffering under the Israeli boot, Gaza has been for the past week subject to a brutal assault as a collective punishment with no distinction made between legitimate military targets and the civilian population. Even children have not been spared as they number among the innocent civilians killed. Entire families have been decimated.

Arrogantly terming their assault Operation Collective Edge, the Israelis have again victimized the people of Gaza. Gazans have even been denied access to medical supplies as ambulances and hospitals are  deemed appropriate targets for the Israeli assault.

This past week more than 300 activists in Los Angeles demonstrated in front of the Israeli Consulate on the city’s main thoroughfare. Many carried signs showing pictures of the dead, most poignantly, pictures of children. They joined spiritually with others in cities throughout the United States and throughout the world. There are more demonstrations planned.

Chanting slogans such as (the list is not complete): “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free”;  “No Justice, No Peace”, and “Netanyahu you can’t hide: We charge you with Genocide”, the demonstration lasted for three hours and attracted the favorable attention of passersby and vehicular traffic.

The demonstration called for: an end to collective punishment; release of all political prisoners and child prisoners; an end to American aid to Israel; freedom for Palestine and an end to its occupation, and an end to the assault on Gaza.

Among the groups supporting the demonstration were (the list is not complete): AL AWDA (The Palestinian Right to Return); PAWA (Palestinian American Womens Association); Palestinian American Congress; American Muslims for Palestine; JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace); SJP-Riverside (Students for Justice in Palestine); Jews for the Palestinian Right of Return, and ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).

Dr. Mona El Farra, the Director of Gaza Projects for the Middle East Childrens Alliance (MECA), has written extensively on the MECA web site about the suffering she observed first hand while using her medical skills to help the injured in Gaza.

“The shelling is continuous, crazy, and everywhere.”

Eva Bartlett, an ISM (International Solidarity Movement) activist residing in Gaza has reported that a family of 18 people was killed by an Israeli assault as of this writing {July 13th in Gaza}. Please use the following hyperlink for more details.http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2014/07/13

The Free Gaza Movement has reported that doctors in Gaza Hospital have confirmed 156 dead and more than 1000 injured. They have also confirmed Israel’s use of the outlawed weapon, Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME), an illegal lethal genotoxin. DIME casing disintegrates into extremely small particles which penetrate the body and are usually lethal at close range. Survival often means survival with a missing or useless limb as the particles can penetrate muscle and soft tissue.

Saturday there was another demonstration in Los Angeles (and there will be many more). It brought out 1,000 people. There will be many more.

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