Dueling rallies outside Israeli Consulate today*

*Updated at 5:58 p.m.

Separate rallies in support of Palestinians and Israel occurred outside the Israeli Consulate in the Fairfax District as the Jewish state’s air and ground offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues for a 12th day. Officials closed a portion of Wilshire Boulevard between Crescent Heights and San Vicente boulevards.

The rallies are expected to start about 4 p.m. and extend from the intersection of West 6th Street and South Fairfax Avenue to the Israeli Consulate building at 6380 Wilshire Blvd., said Officer Julianne Sohn, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman.

Supporters of Israel say the country is defending itself against Hamas and its bombing of southern Israel. Critics of Israel say its invasion of and attacks on Gaza are disproportionate to the attacks the nation has suffered from Hamas rockets.

Hundreds of Palestinians have died and thousands more have been injured since the Israeli incursion began. So far, six Israeli soldiers, including four hit by friendly fire, have died and four Israeli civilians have been killed by rockets.

Israel’s ground invasion into the Gaza Strip began Saturday, with its armed forces taking over high-rise buildings in Gaza City.

--N athan Olivarez-Giles

Photo: Demonstrators picket Friday outside the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[JohnRJ08]

Anybody who believes ANY of the news coming out of Gaza, knowing that Hamas controls the media, is either a fool or just hates Israel. Attacking a school, intentionally or by accident, gives the IDF no military advantage and only serves to give Israel another public relations disaster to deal with. The IDF may be many things, but it is NOT stupid, and it wouldn't have attacked the school unless it had detected mortar fire coming from that location. Again, Hamas shows a total disregard for the lives of innocent people, including school children, in another attempt to manufacture rage in the Arab world. One can only hope that Arab leaders are smarter than Hamas thinks.

[Sophie]

JohnRJ08: You sound delusional.

[wendy Hollis]

Once upon a time, the Jewish people just stood and took the abuse heaped upon them. I guess that is what their role is. Now they have changed their role, and it is this for which they are being chastised. How about chastising the Palestinians, or is the politically incorrect? Palestinians can, have done, an d will continue to do, but the Jewish people are not permitted to defend themselves!!!

[Ames Tiedeman]

The Israelis have made over 90,000 phone calls telling people to leave buildings. They give people up to 45 minutes to leave. Hamas then makes phone calls telling women and children to enter these very building. They then claim Israel is is to blame. Hamas is one sick organization.

[SteveB07]

JohnRJ08,
So if you think it is Hamas propaganda, why Isreal doesn't allow journalists in Gaza so they can verify the facts as it's their job. One can hope that this war will come to an end soon in regards of all the innocent victims, and I'm not a fool, nor I hate Israel.

[Just facts]

Israeli Consul General Dayan told talk radio that the Hamas leader -cum "professor" who was killed a few days ago along with all 4 of his wives (!!! -- reflects how out of touch with the modern world/ how "theologically based" his kind is) and a dozen or so children, had been called by the Israeli Defense Forces/ IDF and warned his house would be bombed, was told to vacate ASAP -- instead, he had them all climb to their roof where they all died as "martyrs" -- and his eldest son was a recent suicide bomber/ "martyr." He and other Hamas leaders SEEK these horrible photo ops and use their women and children as fodder for their cause.

They provoked this war with Israel by refusing to form a coalition government with Fatah as Egypt has urged; the Egyptians argued that such a move would have forced Israel to negotiate for peace and forstalled this kind of retaliation. Instead, Hamas chose to keep bombing Israel in defiance of their "truce" hoping that it would provoke war and influence moderate Arab and liberal Western public opinion in their favor. They should NOT be rewarded for this.

And let's not forget the cheering in the streets of Palestine after 9/11. We have sympathy for their women and children who are victims, but they have none either for their own or for ours.

[Harold]

Riiiiiiight-- Hamas has no respect for innocent civilians, and yet hundreds of Palestinian innocent civilians have been killed, and thousands maimed. By Israel. But Israel "respects civilians".

How long do supporters of Israel think their lies will work?

[ordony]

dear johnRJ08
the IDF action are well ducumented,take a look at photo gellary of LAT
the IDF prohibit journalist from intering GAZA for a reason .the IDF is certinly
NOT stupid

[Steve]

Its all very simple. Hamas wants to destroy Israel. And Israel has a moral right to defend itself even if Hamas fires rockets from mosques or civilian living quarters. War is war. If Hamas wants to use women and children as shields then Hamas is responsible for all civilian casualties. After Hamas is destroyed, the world court must convict Hamas of war crimes against humanity along with its supplier of arms, Iran.

[JohnRJ08 is clueless]

Anybody who believes ANY of the news coming out of the Middle East, knowing that Israel/America controls the media, is either a fool or just hates life. Attacking a school, intentionally or by accident only serves to give Israel and the IDF military advantage. The IDF may be many things, but it is NOT compassionate, and it would have attacked the school regardless of whether it had detected mortar fire coming from that location. Again, Israel shows a total disregard for the lives of innocent people, including school children, in another attempt to manufacture rage in the International Community. One can only hope that World leaders are smarter than Israel thinks.

[SteveB07]

Dear Steve,
All is not that simple, it's just your understanding of geopolitics which seems very simple. So please don’t speak about “moral right” and use the word “destroy” Hamas as an objective of this war. One can just hope Israel thought about an exit strategy this time, and a much better than yours, because their last war in Lebanon wasn’t that much of a geopolitics success and lead Hamas to political power in Gaza…

[YOSINOYA]

I want to reach out but, there is only air!

Why such hatred? We cannot stop or control this acts of hatred.
If they want to KILL at least let the victims defend them self.
Do it with HONOR not hiding behind a machine gun,bomb,rocket launcher etc... Have an arena that these battles can be held to the DEATH.
Why take it out on the innocent? STOP being cowards and duel to the DEATH. Wheel the blade of the sword. These cowardly acts are from being scared of each other. You've been taught not to fear death but, death is not the one to fear¿

[RussBBinVegas@aol.com]

Sure, my Zionist Jewish friends, go ahead and defend your beloved Israel. Hey, isn't it cool that Israel is "punishing" Hamas by stacking up dead babies, cause there's no more room in Gaza's morgue. Only problem is, of course Israel will "win" this battle (with all its American-taxpayer-supplied vastly superior military hardware) but I shudder to think how Israel will ultimately lose the war, in terms of untold new hatred (& inevitable terrorist attacks, worldwide) your rightwing government is engendering towards itself.

[waawaa]

Let's all remember back in 2001 when the Palestinians were dancing in the streets upon hearing/watching the news of the twin towers go down. They are the lowest form of life on this planet. Clear that entire hell hole out.

[elihu i]

To all of the above jihadists,their syncophants and fellow travellers like
Annie Lennox in England and the self hating Jew Jeff Warner in Los Angeles

NOTHING LESS THAN TOTAL ANNIHILATION FOR ALL THE JIHADISTS
AND ALL THE ISLAMOPSYCHOTICS OF THE WORLD

[elihu i]

To the Los Angeles Times

I DARE YOU TO PRINT MY PREVIOUS COMMENT

[proud jew]

my issue is how the pro hamas people keep on talking about innocent civilians as if they care who is innocent or not, when hamas the "peace seekers" fire rockets at Israel, are they targeting soldiers or kindergartens? and then again we already know that they hate any Israeli, so of course its civilians they are targeting to kill,
but my question is why would they put their own people in danger?
because life means nothing to them besides for a propaganda number game to gain support from "peace loving" westerners who are blind to this number game and feel bad for the "inhumane" life hamas causes to the same innocent civilians they put in harms way

[Jim]

If you sympathize with the Hamas supporting Palestinians, you may want to reconsider. Fathi Hamad, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Hamas representative stated on Al-Aqsa (Hamas) TV on February 29, 2008 that he takes pride in the fact that women and children are used as HUMAN SHIELD in fighting Israel. He describes it as part of the "Death Industry" at which they excel, and explains that the Palestinians "DESIRE DEATH" the same way Israelis "desire life". Watch the video below and judge for yourself.

"For the Palestinian people death became an industry,
at which women excel and so do all people on this land:
the elderly excel, the Jihad fighters excel,
and the children excel

ACCORDINGLY [PALESTINIANS] CREATED A HUMAN SHIELD OF WOMEN, CHILDREN, THE ELDERLY AND THE JIHAD FIGHTERS

against the Zionist bombing machine,
as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy:

WE DESIRE DEATH, AS YOU DESIRE LIFE."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTu-AUE9ycs&feature=channel_page

[John Smith]

What many Americans are beginning to understand is that the top goal of the Zionist occupation is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Or put it another way: for Zionism to work, the Palestinians have to be killed - or made into refugees.

Just look at what's going on with the massacre in Gaza!

The Palestine Review
http://palestinereview.com

[Petera]

Well, I'm sure that thoughtful people on both sides would agree with this:

If the US was being bombarded by rockets coming from Mexico, and plagued by suicide bombers coming into the country via tunnels under the US-Mexico border, and if the legitimate Mexican government admitted they could do nothing to stop it, then I'm pretty sure we would make a quick trip across the border and put an end to it.

Just like any legit democracy anywhere else in the world.

[Petera]

Israel is a tiny Jewish nation surrounded by giant Arab neighbors. As far as I know, Israel has never started a conflict without provocation.

All Israel wants, really, is to be left alone. All the Arabs want is her destruction.

If the Arab nations had any control over the fanatics living within their borders, things could be quiet. But they don't. Because, unlike Israel, they have no civilized, democratic society.

And if you poke Israel in the eye she will smash you in the mouth.

Seems fair to me.

[Wejomerv]

It takes two sides to make peace and only one side to make war/violence. Israel unilaterally withdrew from 100% of the disputed land in Gaza. Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel from Gaza. Hamas threw Fatah members off rooftops to gain power in Gaza in 2007. Anyone who has read the Hamas Charter knows that Hamas is not interested in peaceful co-existence with Israel. Hamas claims they are launching rockets because of Israel's blockade but that is not a convincing argument because Egypt also had a blockade and Hamas did not launch rockets into Egypt. Hamas is recognized terrorist organization for good reason and its goal is to destroy Israel. As long as the IDF does its best to minimize civilian causalities (unlike Hamas who targets Israel civilians) the Palestinian civilian causalities are Hamas' fault. War sucks.

[Truth]

Israel is exhibiting some of the worst savagery on the planet, on top of illegally stealing the original inhabitants land.

[Jordan]

This isnt about ethnic cleansing. Its not about aggressive Israeli attacks. This is a country that has had a history of being ganged up on by nearly all of its neighbors ever since its declaration of independence in 1948. Go ahead and look up a history of its wars since its creation...Israel has been dealing with its own "dis-proportionate" wars and battles for years.

And whats this talk about disproportionate attacks anyway? What, you want Israel to make bombs in its backyard and use them to target civilians? Instead they will cautiously move into the area and do their damn best to minimize civilian casualties, something that the world refuses to acknowledge. And this despite that fact that Hamas not only targets civilians in their own attacks but also tries to get as many Palestinians involved in the violence so as to stoke the anti-israel fires.
Hamas, who does NOT want peace and repeatedly talks of its purpose as to wipe Israel off the map, has time and again broken truces with cowardly rocket-fire while simultaneously implicating the people they claim to govern in a horrible war that they FULLY know will only end poorly for both sides. Yet they want it all the same.
Israel is a country that has responded to terror attacks REPEATEDLY with nothing, and they are tired of sending the message that terror attacks will go without response.

And yet people still criticize Israel, despite the fact that they not only KNOWINGLY allow enemies to live inside their country, or send food and medical supplies to enemies, or despite even the fact that, after decades of nothing but aggression and violence from these organizations, they are still willing to coexist. If anything, Israel serves as the supreme example of humanitarianism and fairness in the Middle East.

[Zombeer]

After starving Gazans for 18 months and breaking the truce numerous times (November 1, November 4 missile strikes), how can anyone support Israel?

If you oppress a people, they WILL strike back. The Palestinians are no exception.

The world is wakening to the crimes of Israel

Long live Palestine.

[Jim]

A Palestinian girl in Gaza declares on PATV on December 29, 2008 that Hamas is responsible for all wars. Watch the video below and judge for yourself.

“I say, Hamas is the cause, in the first place, of all wars. It’s Hamas.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoi0TGyx_uA&feature=channel

[Nirv]

What I find bizarre is that there is not one single news poll or Gallup poll asking public opinion on U.S. policy toward Israel and Palesine.

When will there a poll asking point blank:
"Should the U.S. continue to provide its >$6 billion per year of financial and military aid to Israel?"

Or:
"Who do you think violated the terms of the ceasefire first? Was it:
a. Israel in their continued economic blockade of Gaza.
b. Hamas in their firing of rockets.
c. Israel in its November 4 raid into Gaza.
d. Other non-Hamas groups firing rockets.
e. Other?

Or:
"Do you approve of Israel having nuclear weapons?"

I believe the mainstream media are afraid to ask these questions and show what public opinion really is. I challenge the media to conduct some scientific polls now!

[Hajja Romi]

Israelis complain about the ineffectual, homemade rockets that Hamas lobs at towns like Sderot. Few, if any, Israelis are killed by these rockets, yet hundreds of Palestinians are now dead in Israel's latest war on Arabs.
What Israel fails to mention is that Sderot--like all Israeli towns--is built on top of an old Arab town, in the case of Sderot, it was called Najd. Najd was "ethnically cleansed" (a polite word for massacred) on May 13, 1948, just like hundreds of other Palestinian towns.

The Israelis are a good example of the victim becoming the victimizer. For years, they have milked the generous (and gullible) American taxpayer with stories of the Holocaust, as though they were the only people to have sufferend in World War II. Now, Israel has closed the borders of Gaza for weeks, and sealed it off from food, medicine, and electricity. Israel refused to let UN official Richard Falk (himself a Jew) visit Gaza, and also refused entry to representatives of the Vatican. They are refusing journalists entry into the Gaza Strip. Clearly, Israel has something to hide. Israelis want Americans to be like good Germans, who never knew what the Nazis were up to. Perhaps Americans are stupid and don't care, but the rest of the world sees through their lies, and the backlash of hate and contempt that the Israelis are creating for themselves will be devastating. Israel cannot drain America forever, sooner or later Israel will have to stand alone and face the consequences of its murder and atrocities.

[pepepinodue]

How sad that Israel, the 'peace loving' occupation force has run out of Holocast victims in order to achieve the next successful fund raiser. Instead our tax dollars support this vicious regime from Begin to Olmert...murderers to the core. I see no difference between the Nazis and the Israelis...The bombs from our F16's generate as much heat as any Nazi oven ever did. Only now, killing is considerably sanitized because of a dormant press that is not allowed to print the truth.

[Michele]

I am not pro Hamas. I want the United States to stand for diplomatic solutions and peace. This will not happen as long as Israel knows it has tacit approval from the US for its assault on Gaza. The Israel assault on Gaza would not be posible without US tax dollars. I object to my tax dollars being spent in this manner. Israel KNEW there would be civilian casualties and Israel is responsible for these deaths.

Israel does not have suicide bombers - their killers are well protected in heavy duty tanks - paid for with US tax dollars. Get US money and lopsided support of Israel out of there and a long term peace could be possible.

US unconditional defense of everything Israel does ultimately is not good for Israel. Rather than enable and encourage, a true friend intervenes when a friend is behaving in a self destructive manner.

[TheTruth]

When is the next rally I have to show my support for Palestine... and Ineed to show my support for humna rights.

[TheTruth]

This is sad... Israel is doing nothing more than ethnic cleansing. This is the same that Hitler did and american leaders want to just sit and watch it happen.

Antonio will be remembered... I will make sure i vote at the upcoming election.

[jonathan]

You Americans seem to need to label everyone as totally good or bad.
The casualties are less significant than the facts ..
That Israel doesn't and won't leave the West Bank regardless of security issues.
And that Hamas is providing the security grounds for NOT doing so by shooting from evactuated territory.

Hamas and the Israel's Right Wing are mirror images. Neither we nor the Palestinians are willing to face down our own extremists.
The USA needs to support diplomatically Israel in fighting Hamas AND deny us aid untill we remove our settlers from the West Bank: most of the populations on both sides would respect you for it.

[Mark]

The only path to peace is one that begins with forgiveness on both sides. From my vantage point both the Palestinians and the Jews in Israel are incredible people with a rich heritage and much to be thankful for.

As hard as it is to forgive each others transgressions, it has to happen if not for this generation then for the generations to come.

Best to all.

[elihu i]

I DARE ANNIE LENNOX to come to Israel, if she is not the craven coward that I think she is, and visit the towns of Sderoth, Beer Sheva or Ashdod and see
what physical and psychological damage eight years of constant
bombardment of missiles by those Islamapsychotics in Gaza have done
to the men, women and CHILDREN of these towns. If she does not. I call
on all the people of the world who hate those Islamopsychotics and their
syncophants to boycott her concerts and not to buy her records.

SIGNED A PROUD US AND ISRAELI CITIZEN WHO HAS HAD MISSILES FIRED
AT HIM

[Kira]

Let's face it, when Israel gave the Palestinians Gaza a few years ago, they were giving the Palestinians the opportunity to show they could be responsible and peaceful as a first step towards a Palestinian state. Israel took this daring step with the understanding that Israel would have the right to retake Gaza if it was being used as a base for Palestinian attacks on Israel.

Over the past few years, the Palestinians of Gaza have elected Hamas as their leadership. Hamas -- the elected government of Gaza-- has destroyed the land, free Israeli homes and high-tech Israeli infrastructure given to them and has attacked Israel while using the people who elected them as human shields.

Maybe the Palestinians of Gaza need to choose their leaders more wisely?

[elihu i]

TO JEFF WARNER AND THOSE OTHER "LA JEWS FOR PEACE" WHO SHOULD WE NEGOTIATE WITH -THE DEVIL OR YOUR FRIIENDS-THE ISLAMOPSYCHOTIC
BARBARIANS EXISTING IN GAZA. YOU AND ROSEANNE BARR CALL YOUSELVES JEWS-HA HA. WHY DON'T YOU BECOME MUSLIMS AND CHANGE YOU NAMES SO TO IDENTIFY MORE CLOSELY THE BARBARIANS.
THEN MAKE THE HAJ TO MECCA. SO ONCE AND FOR ALL WE WILL BE
RID OF YOU. ANNIE LENNOX YOU CAN DO THE SAME THING.

LONG LIVE THE IDF,ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE