'It's not Judaism': Protesters in US capital seek end to Israeli onslaught on Gaza

Thousands gather near US Capitol to demand ceasefire and end to Israel's brutal siege on 2.3 million inhabitants of bombarded Gaza.

NOURELDEIN GHANEM



Pro-Palestine demonstrators gather during a rally outside Capitol Hill. / Photo: TRT World


Washington, DC — As thousands of Muslims held a rare Friday prayer and absentia prayer for the Palestinians in besieged Gaza near US Congress building, they were surrounded by hundreds of non-Muslim protesters, demanding end to Israeli bombardment on Gaza.

But a few metres away, a Jewish rabbi was encircled by the news reporters.

"Every minute we are standing here the Palestinians in Gaza are being bombed and killed," Yisroel Dovid Weiss told the media including this TRT World reporter.

An American Jew known for his staunch opposition to Zionism, he was one of many non-Muslims who were present at the pro-Palestine rally to express solidarity with the Gaza's victims.

He said the world is silent on the bloodshed of Palestinians and whenever someone calls Israel out, "they [Israel] accuse everyone of being antisemitic," adding the creation of Palestinian resistance groups is the result of the Israeli occupation.

"How dare they [Israel and its allies] try to ignore the root issue and punish the people who are trying to stand up for human rights?"

Rabbi Weiss said that Jews lived with Muslims for hundreds of years in peace and harmony without a problem despite the difference in religion, blaming Israel for the current divisions.

"We lived together for hundreds of years in peace. That's a fact. We lived in every Arab and Muslim country, and we flourished," he said.

During the crusades [religious wars initiated by Christians on Muslims], "it was the Arab and Muslim countries that embraced us," he said, adding Zionism destroyed "the beautiful fabric of the holy land."

"It’s [Israel] not a Jewish state, mind you. This is nationalism," he said.

"It's not Godly. It's not Judaism. It's against the Torah to kill or steal. It's against the Torah to even have a state since the destruction of the temple, and we haven't attempted to do that. They are using our name."

Yisroel Dovid Weiss, an American Jew, is known for his staunch opposition to Zionism.


Rallies in US

Rallies have been held across the United States, urging President Joe Biden to press Israel against bombarding Gaza's population and property. Biden has so far remained silent on truce and has instead sought billions of dollars from Congress to boost Israeli military's capabilities.

During Friday's protest, demonstrators chanted "Free Palestine" and "End Genocide" slogans. Two US congresswomen also addressed the crowd.

Congresswoman Cori Bush told the crowd that "We stand together, and you are not alone."

She also highlighted her "Ceasefire Now Resolution" to Congress, emphasising the call for an end to violence in the Middle East.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was also present.

Tlaib asserted that war crimes are occurring in Gaza and "genocide is happening right now as people are staying silent."

She called on Biden to take sufficient steps to reach a ceasefire.

'We shouldn't fund oppressors'

Alisa Greenwood, 32, said as long as there is an oppression in any part of the world, everyone is vulnerable.

"It’s important to stand up when you see it," she told TRT World.

Greenwood, a white American who had her two children with her — one of them a toddler — said she brought her kids because she wants them to stand against oppression too.

She also blamed President Biden for backing Israel, which she said has further fuelled the massacres against Palestinians.

"It absolutely should be Biden and the Congress' job to say that we won’t support this, we won't fund Israel dropping bombs on Gaza," Greenwood said.

"We can't sit here and say we're the land of the free, and we hate oppression but support oppressors."


Demonstrators performed the prayers led by prominent imam, Omar Suleiman.

Reaction of wronged people

"When you see such carnage in Palestine, there is no way for you to take it. You have to come out and speak against it," said Hassan Edjlali, 85, a protester.

Edjlali said while Hamas' surprise operation against Israel on October 7 may not have been the best thing to do, Israel was responsible for wanton killings and destruction that unfolded.

The blitzkrieg killed 1,400 Israelis and Hamas managed to detain some 200 people as well. Since then Israel has incessantly bombed Gaza with air and land strikes, killing at least 4,137 Palestinians, including more than 1,000 children.

"For a long time, these people [Palestinians] have been mistreated, pushed to the corner, pushed to the edge," Edjlali told TRT World. "They have been even called animals."

"If they are pushed to the corner, what do you expect them to do?"

Thousands join pro-Palestinian rallies in Australia amid Israel-Hamas war

Organisers say 15,000 people attended Sydney rally amid warnings of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Thousands of people in Sydney, Australia have marched in support of Palestinians [File: Roni Bintang/Getty Images)

21 Oct 2023

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Australia’s biggest city to express solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

About 15,000 attended the rally in Sydney on Saturday, organiser the Palestine Action Group said, with protesters chanting “free, free Palestine” and “down, down Israel”.

Thousands more Australians attended rallies in Perth, Brisbane and Hobart, with more pro-Palestinian events scheduled to take place on Sunday in Melbourne and Adelaide.

“It’s difficult, what has been broadcasted in the Western media is definitely not reflecting what is on the ground,” Abdullah Ali, who attended the Sydney rally, was quoted as saying by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“What I see is different … I see parts of children being put in plastic bags, it’s extremely hard for anyone to see.”

At least 4,137 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the enclave in response to attacks by Hamas on October 7, according to Palestinian officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to continue the offensive on Gaza until the Palestinian armed group is eliminated amid expectations that Israeli troops will soon launch a ground invasion of the enclave.

Oxfam and United Nations agencies have warned that the enclave is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as residents risk contracting cholera and other deadly infectious diseases due to the collapse of water and sanitation services.

Saturday’s rally went ahead peacefully after receiving last-minute approval from police, following controversy over a previous event that featured anti-Jewish slogans.

Organisers had warned that anti-Jewish chants, flag burning and flares would not be tolerated during the event.

There were no reports of arrests.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns had earlier promised “zero tolerance” for violence or hate speech.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Pro-Palestine demonstrations rock Muslim world after Friday prayers

Thousands of people hold protest rallies in Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Tunisia, Somalia and other countries calling for an end to the suffering of Palestinians.


Egyptians protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, at Azhar mosque in Cairo.

Amid Israeli heavy bombardment of Gaza, mass demonstrations in solidarity with suffering Palestinians have begun in many Arab nations following congregational Friday prayers.

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across Egypt in support of war-torn Gaza on Friday, with large crowds flooding into Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square.

The protesters raised slogans in solidarity with Gaza and against the displacement of Palestinians from the besieged city.

Thousands of Jordanian people participated in two solidarity demonstrations with one near the Israeli Embassy in the capital Amman.

A solidarity vigil was held in the Rabieh area in Amman where the Israeli Embassy is located.

Donning Palestinian flags, people took out a solidarity march in the downtown area in front of the Husseini Mosque towards Palm Square.

The demonstrators denounced the attacks and demanded the opening of borders with Palestine.

"With our soul and blood, we will sacrifice for you, O Al Aqsa," was among the slogans raised by the demonstrators in Jordon, who also demanded that the Israeli Embassy be closed in Amman.

However, Jordanian security forces prevented people from reaching the border with Palestine.

Hundreds of people in Jordon also held funeral "prayers in absentia" for slain Palestinians, following congregational Friday prayers.

'Stop the war crime'

In Tunisia, judges observed a "national day of rage" against Israeli attacks on Palestinians across all courts.

They also carried out demonstrations in judicial uniforms in front of the Palace of Justice in Tunis and the rest of the headquarters of the Courts of Appeal.

In Mauritania, simultaneous demonstrations were held in front of the embassies of the US, Germany, and France, rejecting the "Israeli aggression" on Gaza.

People in the Somali capital of Mogadishu also took to the streets to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and to show solidarity with Palestinians.

Protesters, including religious figures, youth, and women, chanted anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian slogans.

Some of them were also seen carrying Palestinian flags and placards with slogans such as "Stop the war crime," "Free Palestine," and "We demand an end to the genocide in Gaza, Palestine."

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Qudra said on Friday that at least 16 Palestinian Christians were among those killed in direct Israeli attacks on a Greek Orthodox church on Thursday evening in Gaza City.

Qudra added the death toll in Gaza due to Israel's ongoing bombardment has climbed to 4,137, including 1,524 children and 1,000 women. The number of injured has risen to 13,300, he told a news conference, adding that over 1,000 others are missing.

Supporters of Sadr, Iraqi Armed Factions Protest Near Jordan Border over Gaza

Iraqis gather during a demonstration at Tahrir square in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in central Baghdad, Iraq, 13 October 2023. (EPA)

Baghdad: Hamza Mustafa

21 October 2023 

AD ـ 06 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1445 AH

Hundreds of supporters of the Sadrist movement and some armed factions in Iraq held protests near the Iraqi-Jordanian border over the Israeli escalation in Gaza.

Head of the Sadrist movement, influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had called for supporters to rally in locations as close to Israel as possible.

Iraq does not share a border with Israel, but that did not stop the loyalists and backers of pro-Iran factions from heading to the Iraqi-Jordanian border, hoping that the Traibeel crossing would be opened so that they can be allowed passage to the kingdom’s border with Israel.

Jordan is unlikely to open the crossing. The Iraqi government has also not issued a statement regarding the movement of the Sadrists and supporters of the factions.

The protesters did set up tents near the border. It remains to be seen if that will impact relations between Baghdad and Amman.

The protesters said they would remain there until the Israeli siege is lifted off Gaza.

On Thursday, Sadr had called on “Islamic and Arab peoples and all lovers of peace to rally peacefully”. He called for protests to be held along the borders with Israel in neighboring countries Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.

He urged them to remain there until the siege is lifted and humanitarian aid is delivered to the Palestinians.

The call attracted the Sadrists, as well as the pro-Iran factions that are Sadr’s political rivals.