Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November/December 2014, pp. 60
Waging Peace
Protesters Greet Netanyahu at The White House
As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama met for two hours at the White House on Oct. 1, several dozen activists from CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace and Neturei Karata International: Jews United Against Zionism gathered across the street in Lafayette Square to protest the close U.S.-Israel relationship.
Calling Netanyahu a war criminal, the demonstrators decried Israel’s summer assault on Gaza and accused the prime minister of deliberately scuttling the U.S.-led peace process. Those present also expressed their belief that the U.S. should cease giving Israel more than $3 billion in American taxpayer dollars every year.
After about 90 minutes Secret Service officers brought the protest to a halt, saying that the area had to be cleared for Netanyahu’s departure. Though displeased that the police were shielding Netanyahu from protests, the demonstrators nonetheless obeyed orders and, albeit leisurely, vacated the park.
A dozen or so pro-Israel teenagers countered the anti-Netanyahu rally. The young men and women ceaselessly sang “peace songs” in Hebrew and held signs expressing their support for Israel and its prime minister. However, they never attempted to counter the numerous facts presented by the anti-Netanyahu camp.
—Dale Sprusansky
