Enormous Israeli demonstration for peace

Under the banners of "Leave Gaza; Start talks" and "Peace 
Now", an estimated 200,000 Israelis demonstrated in Rabin Square 
in Tel Aviv last Saturday. It was the biggest demonstration yet 
held against the disastrous policies of the Ariel Sharon and the 
Likud Government of Israel.

Peace organisation Gush Shalom reports: "For the first time in 
years, peace-minded Israelis were out on the street in force.

"The huge square started filling long before the scheduled time. 
The people were motivated by two major events of the past two 
weeks: the so-called referendum, held by Sharon among the 
registered members of the Likud Party, which had the intolerable 
result that some 50,000 people — less than one percent of 
Israeli citizens — decided a major national issue.

"Then came the shock suffered by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza 
Strip. The army learned the hard way that invading Palestinian 
towns and refugee camps inside armoured vehicles does not always 
render the Israeli forces completely immune."

Gush Shalom reports differences among the speakers at the rally:

Ami Ayalon, former [Israeli counter-intelligence and internal 
security service] Shabak head turned peacemaker: "I believe in 
the sincerity of Sharon. We must not treat the settlers as 
enemies. Settlements can only be evacuated by one who feels great 
pain and empathy." This did not go down well with the audience.

No trust in Sharon

Tsali Reshef of Peace Now said: "We have not the slightest trust 
in Sharon. We know that he wants to withdraw from Gaza in order 
to keep the West Bank. But just as he was forced to give up Gaza, 
we will force him to give up the West Bank settlements just like 
the Gaza settlements! Yes, they will!" (applause).

Reserve General turned businessman Yom-Tov Samiya: "Our armed 
forces bought a lot of time for the political echelon to make a 
plan, but they can't do it forever. I support Sharon's concept of 
limited withdrawal from Gaza and a small part of the West Bank. 
The alternative is headlong flight like from Lebanon, which will 
encourage terrorism." (scattered applause)

Yosi Beilin, head of the progressive Meretz/Yachad Party: "Those 
who refuse peace have tried everything, targeted killings which 
are not always very targeted; re-invading the West Bank and Gaza; 
destroying fields and groves and houses — 1800 houses destroyed 
— burning the fact of defeat into the other side's consciousness 
and doing it again and again and again. The one thing which they 
did not try is to make peace. Those who say that there is no 
partner are those who don't want to talk!" (The biggest applause 
of the evening.)

Humanity and social justice

Amir Peretz, trade-union leader and head of the One People Party: 
"We should end the cruel occupation, we should disengage from 
Gaza, but that is not all; we should re-engage with Israeli 
society, with the values of humanity and social justice".

Radical groups, that were excluded from the speaker's platform, 
were busy among the enormous crowd, adding points which none of 
the speakers made.

"It will not end if you don't refuse!", said the Refuser Parents 
Forum as they collected signatures in support of the six 
conscientious objectors to military service.

Gush Shalom peace bloc leaflets were distributed: "It should be 
said in clear words: Arafat is the partner; an agreement without 
his signature has no value; he is the only one who can convince 
his people to a compromise".

People flocked around the Gush Shalom stall, taking up the "Truth 
Against Truth" leaflet and their stickers "Destruction of Rafah -
- War Crime".

The whole spectrum of moderate and radical groups was there: 
Women's Peace Coalition, the Geneva Initiative, the Communist 
Youth, the Ayalon-Nusseibeh plan, the Labour Youth, Ta'ayush, 
Yachad Youth, Socialist Workers League, MachsomWatch, the Working 
and Studying Youth and the Anarchists.

There was a forest of signs, official and unofficial, printed and 
hand-made:

Evacuating settlements is choosing for life Get out of ALL the 
territories The Likud is disengaged from the people Elections 
Now! / Stop the Apartheid Wall The Likud is Against Peace and 
Against the Poor There is a partner Life is cheap — settlements 
are expensive Right or Left? History will prove that we were 
RIGHT to have LEFT We buried our sons — save those still alive 
The life of our sons is more important than the settlements Dear 
settlers, come back home Cruel barbarian

Meanwhile, well-known Israeli academic Uri Avnery prophesises the 
defeat of both Bush and Sharon. He writes:

"The strange creature named Busharon is in serious trouble. The 
front half of this animal — George W. Bush — is having trouble 
with nude photos. Not only those of the hapless Iraqi prisoners, 
with the exuberant female soldier pointing at their genitals, but 
also of Bush himself, whose nakedness was exposed for all to see.

"The saviour of the Iraqi people from a cruel tyrant, the gallant 
leader bestowing democracy on Mesopotamia, the representative of 
Western civilisation fighting against barbarism — has himself 
been exposed as a cruel barbarian.

"George Bush lost his world with the publication of these photos.

"If I may be permitted a prophecy: this week starts the countdown 
to the end of the career of George W.

"The animal's rear end — Ariel Sharon — is also in great 
trouble.

"This started with the rejection of the 'Unilateral 
Disengagement' plan by the Likud members, a tiny part of the 
population, manipulated by the settlers.

Two terrible blows

"A week after the Likud referendum, two terrible blows were 
delivered. An armored vehicle carrying a large quantity of 
explosives entered Gaza City in order to blow up buildings, and 
was hit by a roadside bomb planted by Palestinian guerillas. It 
exploded, tearing the six soldiers to pieces.

"The day after, the very same thing happened [again]. An armored 
personnel carrier full of explosives, which was sent there to 
blow up tunnels under the border, was hit by a Palestinian rocket 
and blew up with its five crew members.

"For the first time, the Israeli public saw the real picture of 
Gaza: not "terror", not "terrorists", but a classic guerilla war, 
with the whole population taking part in the struggle against the 
occupation forces.

"In such a struggle, we cannot win. One can kill Palestinians 
wholesale, destroy whole neighbourhoods, as is happening now. But 
one cannot win. The public is beginning to understand that.

"If I may be permitted a second prophecy: this week starts the 
countdown to the end of the career of Ariel Sharon."