Protest at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, July 13, 2006
The recent fighting in and around Israel spilled over onto the streets of San Francisco on Thursday, July 13, when Palestinian and left-wing groups staged a protest in front of the Israeli Consulate in the city's Financial District. An equal number of pro-Israel counter-protesters showed up to make their voices heard as well, and from the start the two sides were battling it out with a war of words and symbols.
The protest was organized by Al-Awda (a group devoted to dismantling Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian state), A.N.S.W.E.R. (a communist group) and a coalition of other Islamic and socialist organizations.
(Editor's note: The pictures by me on this page were taken with a hidden camera, which is why some of them are out-of-focus or at odd angles. Other pictures, as noted, were sent in by contributors.)
The police separated the two groups onto opposite sides of the street, to prevent any physical altercations. The Palestine supporters on the left directly in front of the Israeli Consulate building waved Palestinian flags, while the Israel supporters on the right waved Israeli and American flags. Montgomery Street served as a demilitarized zone between the warring factions. There were about 200 to 250 activists on each side, which is the largest counter-protest organized by the pro-Israel side that I've ever seen in San Francisco.
Some of the men on the Palestinian side dressed like this, making masks out of kaffiyehs so as to look like, uh, "militants" or "terrorists," depending on whom you ask.
A T-shirt vendor was doing brisk business selling shirts that declared, "I Am Democratic, I Voted for Hamas." Many of the people on the Palestinian side were overtly pro-Hamas, as evidenced by their chants and signs.
The pro-Palestinian side also declared their unequivocal support for Hezbollah (as well as Hamas), as shown in this video (QuickTime mpeg video, 4.3mb) (video courtesy of D.K.):
(Clicking on the link above -- and on all the similar links below -- will open a QuickTime video file in a new window. Below each one is an exact transcription of the video. The first phrase of each paired couplet is spoken by the chant leader; subsequent phrases in italics are responses by the crowd.)
Pro-Palestinian protesters:
"Black, red, brown, white!
Black, red, brown, white! We support Hezbollah's fight!
We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight!
We support Hezbollah's fight! Black, red, green, blue!
Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue!
Black, red, green, blue! We support Hamas too!
We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too!
We support Hamas too! Viva viva Palestina!
Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina!
Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina!
Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina!
Viva viva Palestina! Black, red, green, white!
Black, red, brown, white! Black, red, green, white!
Black, red, brown, white! We support Hezbollah's fight!
We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight!
We support Hezbollah's fight! Black, red, green, blue!
Black, red, green, blue! Black, red, green, blue!
Black, red, green, blue! We support Hamas too!
We support Hamas too! We support Hamas too!
We support Hamas too!"
"Long live the intifada!
Long live the intifada!
Long live the intifada!
Long live the intifada!
Intifada intifada!
Intifada intifada!
Intifada intifada!"
The vendor was also selling another T-shirt design that said,
"To: Israel
From: The Resistance
We did it your way.
NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE AK"
with a picture of an AK-47. (Photo by B.J. of Dafka)
I also took this blurry shot of the same shirt.
Several people were wearing them.
Many of the signs and chants at this event (and similar events) involve the phrases "stop the occupation" and "Palestine will be free." Otherwise reasonable people may mistakenly assume that these phrases mean "stop the occupation of the West Bank" and "Palestine (i.e. the West Bank and Gaza) will be free." However, anyone who still believes this is dangerously naive. While the media and the moderate Left want you to believe that "Stop the occupation" is a reasonable request, the people actual making these demands have something entirely different in mind. They are calling for the dissolution of the entire state of Israel, most likely accompanied by the expulsion of all Jews, and the establishment of a new country called "Palestine" that would encompass all the territory on which Israel, Gaza and the West Bank now stand. The term to describe this is "river to sea" Palestine, meaning all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. If you have any doubt that this is what these protesters are demanding then watch this video to see that they really are calling for the destruction of Israel in its entirety (QuickTime mpeg video, 1.4mb) (video courtesy of D.K.):
Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea!
Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea! Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea!
Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea! Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea!
Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea!
A contingent of men in fundamentalist Islamic garb showed up and occasionally shouted confrontational slogans. Here are two of them conferring.
The anti-Israel side held up this mysterious sign, which might be considered rather offensive, depending on your interpretation. (Photo by Dr. Mike.)
One group of Palestinian protesters relentlessly taunted their opponents. (Photo by D.K.)
Notice the left hand of the masked protester. (Photo by D.K.)
One of them repeatedly made a "money-grubbing Jew" gesture. (Photo by D.K.)
This video of the Palestinian protesters chanting in Arabic features a subtitled English translation of what they were saying (video courtesy of Y.S.):
Palestine is Arab!
Palestine is Arab!
Palestine is our land!
The Jews are our dogs!
Palestine is our land!
The Jews are our dogs!
Palestine, Palestine!
A view of the action from the pro-Israel side.
One of the main speakers from Al-Awda, the co-sponsor of the rally, accused Israel of using chemical weapons, a bizarre claim vociferously denounced by the Israel supporters (QuickTime mpeg video, 2.5mb) (video courtesy of D.K.):
Speaker: We are here today to protest Israeli crimes. Israel has three dirty secrets. The first dirty secret, the first dirty secret is that it's an apartheid state built on the principles of racist Zionism.
Pro-Palestinian Protesters:[Cheering.] Speaker: The second dirty secret is that the Palestinian Ministry of Health has just uncovered that Israel is using new kinds of chemical weapons in its explosives. The explosives --
Pro-Israel Proesters: Liar!
Speaker: The explosives it's dropping on children of Gaza --
Pro-Israel Proesters: Liar! Liar! Liar!
Speaker: The explosives it's dropping on children of Lebanon are amputating limbs and carbonizing body parts. Israel's --
Pro-Israel Protesters: Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar!
The counter-protesters held up signs like this, while across the street the protesters chanted phrases in favor of Hezbollah and Hamas.
This protester's message implied that he is prepared to fight to the death against Israel. (Photo by B.J. of Dafka)
On a side street, a pair of Palestinian supporters were getting ready to enter the protest, using a window as a mirror to make sure their kaffiyeh-masks looked just right. I got a blurry snapshot of the moment.
Unfortunately for them, a pair of cops noticed their preparations. When the protesters said they weren't planning to do any violence, one of the cops asked, "Then why are you dressing up like a terrorist like that?" while the other made them empty their bags to make sure they didn't have any weapons. I didn't see how the situation resolved itself.
I waded through the crowd with a hidden camera.
This young protester was one of several wearing kaffiyehs that show the Dome of the Rock Mosque, reflecting the agenda of the "Al-Awda" supporters in the crowd to reclaim Jerusalem as the capital of a "river-to-sea" Palestine.
A jolly time was had by all.
A.N.S.W.E.R. supplied freshly printed signs to the protesters, reflecting events (such as the fighting in Lebanon) that had transpired just hours earlier.
Some of the A.N.S.W.E.R. signs echoed the Hamas talking point that the 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails had all been "kidnapped" by Israel.
The firebrand previously made an appearance at the Bus 19 event in San Francisco where he spouted bizarre anti-Jewish conspiracy theories (scroll to bottom of linked page for video). (Photo by B.J. of Dafka)
"Black, red, green, white!
Black, red, green, white! We support Hezbollah's fight!
We support Hezbollah's fight! We support Hezbollah's fight!
We support Hezbollah's fight! Viva viva Palestina!
Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina!
Viva viva Palestina! Viva viva Palestina!"
At one point the police brought in the paddy wagons. I thought there were going to be mass arrests...
...but instead the police just used them to block the view between the rival groups on either side of the street, apparently to defuse some of the tensions and verbal hostilities.
A police helicopter hovered overhead.
The pro-Israel side. (Photo by D.K.)
A group of young guys showed up to wave American flags. (Photo by D.K.)
Senior citizens joined the pro-Israel side as well. (Photo by D.K.)
Where indeed? (Photo by D.K.)
A sight rarely seen in San Francisco: a vigorous pro-Israel and pro-America crowd. (Photo by D.K.)
The protest dissipated between 6:30 and 7:00pm, and luckily the police presence helped to ensure that there were no physical confrontations either during or after the rally.
This video shows a breakaway group of Palestinians after the main rally was over going through San Francisco apparently saying anti-Semitic statements. (QuickTime mpeg video, 2.8mb) (video courtesy of B.J. of Dafka). The words, unfortunately, are hard to make out, though several readers have confirmed that the protesters are saying "The Jews are our dogs!" in Arabic. "Yahud" (audible in the video) is the Arabic word for "Jew."
"Takbir!
Allahu Akbar!
Takbir!
Allahu Akbar!
Takbir!
Allahu Akbar!
Takbir!
Allahu Akbar!
[Phrases in Arabic, which according to the final portion of this subtitled video, are as follows:]
Falastin beladna!
Wel Yahud kelabna!
Falastin beladna!
Wel Yahud kelabna!
Falastin beladna!
Wel Yahud kelabna!
[Translation:
Palestine is our country!
And the Jews are our dogs!
Palestine is our country!
And the Jews are our dogs!
Palestine is our country!
And the Jews are our dogs!]
Beerooch, beedam, neefdeek ya Falastin.
[Translation: 'With spirit, with blood we will free you, oh Palestine'.]"
To see more photos of this event at Getty Images, click here.
