Posted on 05/01/2006 5:58:29 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Waving a Palestinian flag, a group of Muslims and Arab-Americans on Monday joined thousands of demonstrators in the state capital participating in the national boycott to support immigrant rights.
While their presence was welcomed by the predominantly Hispanic crowd, their message received a mixed reaction.
During speeches at a downtown park and on the steps of the Capitol, 25-year-old Lara Kiswani spoke about amnesty, the rights of workers and other issues important to immigration advocates. But she also used her speeches to criticize the war in Iraq, denounce the U.S.A. Patriot Act and rail against Israel's policies in the Middle East.
"No to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. No to the Israeli occupation of Palestine," shouted Kiswani, program director for the National Council of Arab Americans in Sacramento. "Yes to the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland."
Some in the crowd felt that message was a bad fit for a national day of protest designed to highlight the importance of immigrant laborers.
"I like the support; everybody is welcome. But I don't like the side issues being brought in," said Luis Rios, a 39-year-old Intel employee from the Sacramento suburb of Folsom. "If you bring in other issues, it dampers the movement."
John Batarseh of Sacramento, compared the Hispanic fight for immigration rights to the Palestinian cause for an independent homeland. He wore a traditional Kufia scarf around his shoulders as a sign of resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
"California is Mexican land; our land was stolen from Israel," said Batarseh, 43, a member of the Free Palestine Alliance, an activist group that promotes an independent Palestinian state.
Jamil Ibrahim, 30, a member of the National Council of Arab Americans in Sacramento and a rally participant, said Arab-Americans have just as much of a stake in the debate over immigration as other groups.
"With the heightened security after 9/11, there has been targeted discontent against Arab-Americans in the U.S so it's important for us to stand up against injustice," he said.
Fatima Castaneda, part of a group that helped mobilize Hispanics to Monday's rally in the capital, said Hispanics should empathize with Arabs, even when their message is politically sensitive.
"Anytime there's an injustice, there's controversy when you speak against it," said Castaneda, 30. "These people also have injustices, and it's important we stand with them."
But other Hispanics participating in the rally said marchers should not stray from messages related to the plight of immigrant workers.
Fidel Rodriguez, 23, a Sacramento plumber who took the day off from his job, said speeches about Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were inappropriate for the theme of Monday's demonstrations.
"I don't think that's what we're here to talk about," he said.
Blood pressure rising...
You have little patience, but what are you going to do? That's the problem. We have real jobs and if we went out to the streets to stop these rabble rousers, it would be us losing our jobs to these illegals.
OK... how about "No to the Mexican occupation of America!" instead?
I get the fur thing, although I doubt illegal aliens are buying a lot of furs, but what the heck are "Bison Rights"?
I betcha there was a lot of FBI photography goin' on today!
Perhaps they meant "Bi Son Rights"... ?
Time for INS or ICE or who ever they call themselves to do some major house cleaning.
I sure hope so, if not they've sure missed a good opportunity.
BUMP
They're just trying to buffalo you.
"Dampers"? Near as I can figure, he was trying to say either "Diapers" or "Pampers" and ended up saying both.
So, he's saying this is what the members of their movement need?
I thought the high tech mfgrs preferred workers in Chinese prisons only.
Maybe they figured to balance all of the outsourcing with a little insourcing?
LOL!
ping
The happy clambake got highjacked. Ha Ha.
Bingo.
The west coast has become America's west bank (a classic quote from 'dead'), and illegal invaders have become America's palestinians.
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