Posted on 03/24/2004 12:56:37 PM PST by SeenTheLight
On Saturday, March 20, members of the anti-war movement came out to mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq with a ''global day of action.'' The resulting rallies were a bizarre hodge-podge of pacifism, socialism, and Islamism. Nowhere was this more apparent than in San Francisco, ground zero for leftist politics in America.
The San Francisco rally was co-organized by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (a front for the communist Workers World Party), United for Peace and Justice, and other leftist organizations. That A.N.S.W.E.R has questionable ties to North Korea and the former Baathist regime in Iraq wasn’t remarked on, nor were the pro-Castro leanings of United for Peace and Justice.
The rally was also endorsed by various Arab and Muslim groups such as Al-Awda (the Palestine Right to Return Coalition), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Muslim Students Association--ties to terrorism being the common denominator among them. Flyers were thoughtfully provided in both English and Arabic to accommodate such participants and judging by the overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian slant of the rally, they were the ones setting the agenda.
Indeed, the issue of Iraq seemed almost peripheral to the main thrust of the event, which was virulently anti-Israel. Even some of the peaceniks I spoke to were a bit perplexed by the dominance of Palestinian groups. The banner under which the protesters rallied, ''End Colonial Occupation from Iraq to Palestine and Everywhere!'' pretty much said it all. ''Colonial occupation'' translated into American and Israeli foreign policy, while Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, the mythical ''Palestine,'' and many other countries, were thrown into the mix of so-called victims.
Despite the efforts of local media to boost turnout beforehand, the results didn’t even approach those of a year ago. No more than 7,000-10,000 people showed up, although the organizers will undoubtedly do their best to exaggerate the numbers. One of the speakers at the rally, Richard Becker (of International A.N.S.W.E.R.), claimed that 50,000 people were in attendance, while extolling the ''millions'' that allegedly turned out around the world. In fact, the numbers worldwide were much smaller than expected.
In San Francisco, the anti-war protesters did not go unopposed. Members of the Russian-Jewish community, joined by others sympathetic to their politics, turned out for a ''March for Israel.'' Around 200 of them gathered on the corners of Market and Van Ness Streets, waving American and Israeli flags and holding signs that said ''Stop Glorifying Murder,'' ''Suicide Bombings are Crimes Against Humanity,'' and ''We Mourn Madrid 3/11, New York 9/11, Jerusalem Daily.'' No mainstream Jewish organizations endorsed the event, although one member of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) showed up. Of course, members of Jews for a Free Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace could be seen among the anti-war crowd at the Civic Center. When asked why Russians are the only members of the local Jewish community who organize pro-Israel activism, one of the participants, Alex Ravinsky, said that, ''Russian Jews came from the Soviet Union. We know what hate is. It’s nothing new for us.''
Later, the group marched to the Civic Center and set up shop in front of City Hall. They were joined by 50-60 members of ProtestWarrior.com, who added a much-needed sense of humor to the occasion. Signs such as ''Except for Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism, War Has Never Solved Anything,'' ''Say No to War! Unless a Democrat is President'' and ''Communism Has Only Killed 100 Million People--Let’s Give It Another Chance!'' led to much confusion on the part of leftist onlookers. Most stood around with baffled expressions on their faces, not knowing what to make of the ''protest warriors.'' The irony was completely lost on one woman, who said that she agreed with them that ''war is bad and socialism is preferable.'' Another person wondered aloud whether they were ''Greens or perhaps vegetarians?''
A line of police officers stood between the counter-protesters and the hostile masses attempting to argue with them. At one point, a large group of Muslim youth wearing keffiyehs, hajibs, and waving Palestinian flags and Arabic banners, confronted the pro-Israel crowd. A woman in a headscarf hurled insults at them only to be answered by sarcastic cries of ''Can you vote?'' and ''Liberate oppressed Arab women!'' Looking like something out of a Hamas recruiting video, the youth marched in unison, chanting ''From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,'' the battle cry of Palestinian terrorist groups seeking to obliterate Israel.
It turns out that most of them were members of Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association, which happens to be under investigation for financing terrorism. So it was hardly surprising when one young woman told me that, ''America is the problem…we are supporting terrorism…with our foreign policy towards Israel.'' She said that, ''Palestinians blow themselves up because there’s no hope.'' In regards to the Patriot Act, she maintained that, ''No matter what anyone says, it’s not a war on terrorism, it’s a war on Islam'' and that the ''radical stuff…really doesn’t exist.'' When I asked about the 9/11 attacks, she shot back: ''What about Hiroshima? If that’s not terrorism, then what is?'' A young man I spoke to from the same group extolled the virtues of ''understanding'' what motivates terrorists instead of simply ''hitting back.''
Strewn among the literature tables were various anti-Israel offerings. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) table displayed posters of Rachel Corrie (the ISM member who was accidentally killed by an Israeli bulldozer) as martyr for the cause. Palestinian propaganda videos were broadcast on a laptop and flyers urging volunteers to ''Join ISM in Palestine for Freedom Summer 2004!'' were strategically placed nearby. And next door, the table for IfAmericansKnew.org, a rabidly anti-Israel organization, pushed the work of Australian journalist and anti-Semite John Pilger, along with conspiratorial pamphlets on ''Neo-Cons, Israel, and the Bush administration'' and our ''Special Relationship with Israel.''
Other than the pro-Palestinian crowd, the rally contained the usual smattering of lefty loonies and hippie types. Wishful thinking ''Kucinich for President'' signs and T-shirts could be seen among the crowd. ''Grandmothers for Peace'' marched alongside dogs festooned in ''Paws 4 Peace'' signs. Hippie kids in lotus position meditated (presumably on world peace), while the smell of Beaties wafted through the air. A sign reading ''My Heroes are Rape Survivors'' offered no further explanation. A woman holding high a Native American dream catcher towards the counter-protesters explained that she was ''collecting negative energy.'' A guy wearing a hot-pink spandex jumpsuit and riding on a unicycle competed with a woman in a camouflage hoop skirt for best costume award. And lest it be thought that pacifism was the rule of the day, the ''Peace Isn’t an Option: Stop U.S. Imperialism'' sign served as a reality check.
Pro-Democrat labor groups rubbed shoulders with various communist, nationalist, and anarchist outfits. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) marched with signs saying ''Down with the Patriot Act: Bush’s War on Terror = War on Workers,'' while the ''Teamsters for Kerry'' manned a table nearby. The Maoist International Movement, the International Communist League, and the Spartacist League were all represented. And the ever-present Anarchists marched with red and black flags, their faces covered by black bandannas. Koreans United Against the War, MECha, Zapatistas, and various other ethnic organizations were present. The National Committee to ''Free the Cuban 5'' focused on the five Cuban ''political prisoners'' being held in U.S. jails, but said nothing about the hundreds of journalists and other ''dissidents'' currently rotting away in Castro’s prisons.
Signs conjuring up 9/11 conspiracy theories were particularly popular. One read, ''Real Terrorism: Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld—Guilty of 9/11. Why? Oil, Drugs, Power.'' Others were more to the point: ''Investigate the CIA Over 9/11,'' ''Stop the 9/11 Cover Up,'' and ''Bush Hearts 9/11.'' Along the same lines, flyers were handed out advertising for an ''International Inquiry Into 9/11'' to be held at Herbst Theater at the end of March. Esteemed panelists include French left-wing author Theirry Meyssan, whose book ''The Frightening Fraud'' alleges that the attack on the Pentagon was a hoax.
But by far the most virulent sentiment was reserved for President Bush himself, who was represented as evil incarnate. One sign featured George Bush Sr. holding up a baby with his son’s face and the accompanying text: ''I Will Raise Him to be Evil.'' The ''BushonCrack.com'' table featured charming ''Abort Bush'' T-shirts, and George W. Bush voodoo dolls were on sale nearby for the bargain price of $5 each. One particularly vicious sign said, ''Throw Bush Into a Wood Chipper,'' no doubt in reference to one of Saddam Hussein’s favorite pastimes. ''Bush Lied, They Died'' was a constant theme, as were comparisons between Bush and Hitler. ''Reject the Fuhrer, Resist the Reich, Restore America,'' ''Just Say Nein to the New U.S. Empire,'' and ''It’s Happening Again'' underneath a picture of Bush wearing a Hitler moustache, were just a few examples. And others focused their wrath on Bush and Cheney. ''Empty Warheads in Washington D.C,'' ''Bush/Cheney: They Hate Us for Our Freedom,'' and the vague but ominous ''Impeachment is Too Good for Them'' sign rounded out the collection.
While the measly turnout at the rally and the off-the-wall offerings of many of its participants make it easy to disregard, that would be a mistake. San Francisco’s ''anti-war'' activism provides a glaring example of the growing link between leftist and Islamist organizations. It behooves those who are pro-America and pro-Israel to keep an eye out on the fringe left in San Francisco. Their rage is palpable and if they are thwarted by the re-election of George W. Bush in November, it could spill over into the unimaginable. As the Muslim protester who so cynically justified terrorism said, ''Palestinians blow themselves up because there’s no hope.''
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