Israel rally critical of Bush

Pro-Israel demonstration supports Sharon -- and the lone Bush official gets booed.

By Anthony York

Apr 16, 2002 | Thousands gathered at the Capitol Mall Monday, most of them American Jews, in what organizers called the world's largest pro-Israel rally in the United States since the state was created in 1948.

But while organizers billed the rally as a show of solidarity with both Israel and the U.S. war on terrorism, the tone of the protest was highly critical of Bush administration efforts to lean on Israel to end its military activity in the West Bank, and the lone Bush official was the only speaker to provoke boos from the crowd. It was enough to cause some liberal co-organizers of the event to express regret over how the event was staged.

But the vocal crowd had no regrets, loudly booing Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz when he spoke of international support for a Palestinian state and pointed out that Palestinian civilians were among the victims of the last 18 months of violence. By contrast, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu railed against Bush administration efforts to end the military activity in the West Bank and denounced Bush's decision to have Secretary of State Colin Powell meet with Yasser Arafat on Sunday.

Netanyahu was clearly the main event as far as speakers went, a surprise visit from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani notwithstanding. Always the consummate politician, Netanyahu began his speech by expressing support for Bush, saying, "No greater friend of Israel has ever been in the White House." He then spent 15 minutes arguing strenuously against the Bush administration's shifts in Mideast policy since April 5 when Bush decided to send Powell to the region on a peace mission.

Netanyahu compared Arafat to Hitler and Osama bin Laden, articulating a sentiment revealed on many of the handmade signs in the crowd. He referred to the West Bank as "Arafatistan," and called the Palestinian leader "the quintessential terrorist."

"Arafat does not want a Palestinian state next to Israel, he wants a Palestinian state instead of Israel," Netanyahu said as the crowd roared its approval. "He's nothing more than Osama bin Laden with good P.R."

Among the speakers warming up for Netanyahu were Giuliani, who received a hero's welcome from the crowd; former drug czar William Bennet; and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky, who also called for a hard line against Arafat's Palestinian Authority. "Every compromise with Palestinian terror will encourage terrorists everywhere," Sharansky said. "Make no mistake about it: Arafat is at the root of the terror."

But many American Jewish leaders had hoped the rally would be a more general expression of support for the state of Israel, not necessarily an endorsement of all the policies of the Sharon government. Organizers of the rally carefully parsed their words, billing the rally as a support of the U.S. war against terrorism, but not necessarily of Bush's decision to seek a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. An ad taken out in Sunday's New York Times by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the rally organizer that is an umbrella organization for both conservative and liberal Jewish groups, urged demonstrations "in support of the war against terrorism," but made no mention of Bush's efforts to jump-start the peace process.

By contrast, other groups, like the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, were circulating online petitions urging people to write to elected representative in Congress to express support for Israel and for American engagement in the region.

Next Page: Rally rankles some organizers

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