Hundreds march against killings of demonstrators
Angered at the deaths of dozens of Palestinians opposing the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, hundreds of protesters marched across downtown San Francisco at rush hour Tuesday.
The protest started with a noisy rally outside the building that houses the Israeli consulate near Montgomery and Sacramento streets, then turned into a march to Market Street, then to the Federal Building at Seventh and Mission streets for a final round of speeches.
Outside the consulate, about 200 protesters gathered, many waving signs declaring “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine” and “Stop the US-Israeli war against Palestine.” Chants over megaphones echoed off the Financial District high-rises.
A minor skirmish took place after about two dozen Israel supporters, waving Israeli and American flags, showed up across the street. Police tried to keep them separated, but a young man, chanting “Free, Free Palestine” pushed his way through the crowd. He was immediately surrounded and escorted away by police.
But aside from that incident and a few coarse words lobbed by angry commuters, the event was peaceful.
Protest organizers from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center said they had planned the protests for months. May 15 is known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or “the catastrophe,” and is an annual remembrance of the day in 1948 they were forced from their homes by the then-newly formed Israeli state.
But Monday’s move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and the dozens of people Palestinian officials have reported killed by Israeli soldiers after resulting protests, added more urgency and anger to the protest.
“We’ve been planning this for months because of the 70th anniversary,” said Lara Kiswani, from the center. “But given recent developments, we are here to condemn that.”
Kiswani scoffed at President Trump’s daughter and son-inlaw celebrating the embassy’s move and accused the Israelis
“Palestinians have been met with execution-style snipers.” Lara Kiswani, Arab Resource and Organizing Center
of plotting the mass killings of the Palestinian protesters.
“Palestinians have been met with execution-style snipers shooting them in the legs, backs and heads as they are just standing, unarmed,” she said.
Sharif Zakout, also with the Arab Center, said the move of the embassy “just happened to coincide” with the Nakba, “adding insult to injury that the U.S. would continue to support the occupation.”
Across Montgomery Street, Faith Meltzer of El Cerrito stood with a group of Israel supporters. They organized informally and somewhat quickly, she said, spreading the word via social media.
“This was a spontaneous grassroots assembly to stand up to the demonization of the people of Israel,” she said. “I’m here to stand up for Israel’s right to exist.”
As Financial District workers began to pour out of buildings, protesters flowed into the street, marching down Montgomery Street to Market Street. With the aid of a mobile amplification system, they boomed out an array of chants: “Free, free Palestine,” “End the occupation” and “While you’re shopping, bombs are dropping.”
After drawing the attention of shoppers and commuters stuck waiting for them to pass, they headed to the Federal Building. There, a final few speakers urged them to continue the effort on Wednesday with a protest against former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, in town to promote a book.