Posted on 07/24/2006 6:30:21 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
Jul 23, 2006 8:10 pm US/Pacific
Governor, Mayor Attend Pro-Israel Rally (CBS) LOS ANGELES Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attended a pro-Israel rally Sunday in Los Angeles, drawing criticism from Muslim leaders concerned about violence in the Middle East.
Meantime, a Los Angeles-based relief agency announced it is sending medical supplies to help victims of the hostilities in Lebanon and Gaza.
The pro-Israel rally, which drew an estimated 10,000 people to the Jewish Federation on Wilshire Boulevard near the heavily Jewish Fairfax District, was meant to "show this community's support for Israel and to promote peace during this time of conflict," according to a statement from the federation.
Wilshire between Crescent Heights and Robertson boulevards was closed to accommodate the crowd. Helicopters circled overhead while Israeli and U.S. flags flapped in the hot summer air.
Pro-Israel signs were abundant, particularly those of the Tarzana-based Council of Israeli Community that read, "Wherever I am, I am with Israel,"
About a dozen motorcyclists roared north on Crescent Heights at the start of the rally, sporting Israeli flags on their bikes.
One sign read "Free Lebanon," and one person was arrested when a small group of counter-protesters clashed with ralliers.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave back-to-back speeches, both in support of Israel's right to exist and defend itself.
"We are all here to do one thing," said Schwarzenegger, "and that is to support the state of Israel -- every nation has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks."
The governor also said he is praying for peace for the people of Lebanon.
"They have been affected by these terrorists as well," he said.
The governor talked about the many trips he has taken to Israel, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
"I have been to Israel many times," he said. "I started in the '70s as a body-building champion. I went back in the '80s as the Terminator. I went back in the '90s to open my Planet Hollywood restaurant, and Israel was the first country that I visited after I became governor of the great state of California."
The governor ended his speech with his often-used line from the Terminator movies -- "I'll be back."
Villaraigosa greeted the crowd with the Hebrew word for peace, "shalom," and also voiced his support for the Jewish state.
"I know for many of you it may feel like a small thing to come to a rally in West Los Angeles on a hot and balmy Sunday afternoon," he said. "But to the families in Haifa -- who have been terrorized in recent weeks by relentless rocket attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah -- this gathering is no distant gesture."
"We are here to be counted and to demonstrate to the people of Israel that we can be counted on," he said. "We are here to stand up and demonstrate the strength of our solidarity. And we are here today, each and every one of us, to affirm our mutual commitment to peace."
Rabbi Steven Z. Leder of Wilshire Boulevard Temple expressed gratitude for non-Jews supporting Israel.
"I want to thank members of the non-Jewish clergy and elected officials," he said. "They are here today to stand for us as we stand for Israel. They represent people outside of the Jewish community who care about us."
In addition to the governor and mayor, speakers included other elected, religious and community leaders, but Muslim leaders who met Sunday aimed their criticism at Schwarzenegger and Villaraigosa, as well as the Bush administration.
"We take issue with the governor and the mayor taking sides on this issue -- the pro-Israeli side -- without consulting residents of California and Los Angeles," said Salam Al-Marayati of Muslim Public Affairs Council. "The mayor and the governor should not drag us into this foreign conflict."
In addition to rallying, the Jewish Federation is raising funds for Israeli children facing rocket attacks in Israel.
The federation has advanced $100,000 to the United Jewish Communities as part of a national initiative to raise $1 million a week for Israeli children. The funds will help provide emergency kits, counseling, aid to the elderly and disabled and summer camp in safer areas of the country for children, among other needs.
"The people in Haifa, Sderot and other Israeli towns under siege by rocket fire are suffering," said John Fishel, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.
"Their security is threatened, and most are understandably terrified and traumatized," he said. "As a result, the federation will continue to provide emergency support above and beyond our regular and ongoing support of the people of Israel."
To support the national fund-raising effort, the Los Angeles federation has created an "Israel in Crisis Fund." All donations to the fund will be sent to Israel immediately, without any portion going to overhead, according to the federation.
Donations can be made by calling (866) YOUR-FED or from the federation Web site at www.jewishla.org.
LAPD and LAFD maintained peace and order throughout the huge rally. LAPD helicopters kept watch from the air. The huge police presence was no doubt due to the propensity for violence or chaos perpetrated by radical Islamic extremists and due to the presence of the California Governor and other high profile politicians and community activists.
I would honestly have to say that there were a more than the 100 counter-protesters as reported in the PE; perhaps 200 to 250. Still compared to the 10,000 turnout in support of Israel, it was like a flea on an elephant's rump.
I carpooled up to L.A. with a group of Republicans from the Temecula area. We brought along a few Protest Warrior signs, anti-terrorism signs, U.S. flags and Israeli flags in support of the rally and to demonstrate American unity with Israel. I tried in vain to search out some other FReepers, but the crowd was just too large.
Anyways...I will post some additional news links to the rally report below.
Someone needs to carry a large FreeRepublic logo at events.
Other news links covering this rally in Los Angeles:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1153291983753&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rally24jul24,0,2769769.story?coll=la-home-headlines
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California2/CA_Pro_Israel_Rallies_246512CA.shtml
http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_204231223.html
http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_204194837.html
http://lafd.blogspot.com/2006/07/los-angeles-fire-department-stands-by.html
And the following link goes back to the FR posting that originally announced this event:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1666861/posts
Watch this one. Villaraigosa is the best Democrat I have seen in a very long time. He is positive and upbeat.
Where did you post last night? I posted to DogByte on the original announcement thread when I got home; didn't know about this one as I was not pinged to it.
I was there also and so glad I went, took a couple of photos but not digital so need to get film developed. I only had a few pictures left on my camera so used it for the motorcycle guys. I was not too far from the stage for quite a while, then I walked back to San Vicente Blvd. to see what kinds of confrontations might be going on.
It was a beautiful thing to see so many strong, joyous Israelis but heartbreaking in terms of the so-called "diplomacy" that has been practiced and is being practiced by this administration.
While the speakers were praising the U.S., they were being sold out at the same time.
You could not be more completely and utterly wrong. Do you live in Los Angeles, or anywhere near?
Yes to ISRAEL, No to terror!
I thought the same thing afterwards, Enterprise.
Little Green Footballs was there, selling their gear.
May I suggest that you ping people to these posts, especially when they've already shown an interest? I only found this post by accident, wondered why you had not responded to my after action post on the other thread. Well, maybe you missed it. What area were you in?
I tried also to spot you, but did not see any Protest Warrior signs. I have made several reports on various threads re this rally.
Does not Antonio belong to groups that advocate returning the Western USA to Mexico? I also believe these groups are sympathetic to Palestine and are against Israel.
"Watch this one. Villaraigosa is the best Democrat I have seen in a very long time. He is positive and upbeat."
Unless you're a revolutionary, be careful what you wish for. I suggest you do your homework on L.A. City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, regarding his past and/or present connections with La Raza, MecHa, Aztlan etc., to take over the Southwest.
When Antonio started speaking yesterday, I commenced to walk in a direction away from the stage and found other things to do, etc. He used the word "Uh" several times as even he could not believe how badly he was lying.
Let's see, wasn't it just last week that he was honored at the national convention of La Raza, saying how proud -- how very proud -- he was of the protests of illegal aliens last March and how PROUD he was to be a part of it? In fact, he was the ringleader of the mob.
He even threw a little bit of that "we are all immigrants" crap into his speech yesterday.
You are kidding.. right???
Impressive turnout! One way to make sure contact would be made with other FreePers would be to scout out the site ahead of time and pre-arrange a spot to meet. We learn, one event at a time. Good job with the photos.
SO SORRY I missed you. One problem was that I arrived approx. 4:20 p.m. It was then, at first sight of the crowd, that I laughed and said, How could I find someone I don't even know? I brought my home-made sign "Long Live Israel" and was wearing a 9/11 t-shirt with photo of the firefighters raising the U.S. flag on the back.
Thanks so much for the photos. I don't recall seeing your signs and there was SO MUCH to see. I particularly enjoyed the rowdiness along San Vicente Blvd. towards the end of the program.
I will check the StandWithUs site for further activities, hopefully we can congregate in Westwood again... I'll be there.
Gorgeous pics on this thread. Good Job !!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.