-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=14375
16 April 2002 / 3 Safar 1423 Bush welcomes big pro-Israel rally By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News Correspondent WASHINGTON, 16 April — Tens of thousands of demonstrators, encouraged by a message from President George W. Bush, chanted and cheered solidarity with Israel at the US Capitol yesterday, equating the military onslaught on Palestinian militants with Bush’s war on terrorism. The rally, held as US Secretary of State Colin Powell struggled to mediate between the historic enemies and secure a cease-fire after months of violence, heard emotional speeches from US and Israeli politicians and Jewish activists. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, representing Bush, told the crowd the president “wants you to know that he stands in solidarity with you. We stand with you in this time of trial.” Wolfowitz, a staunch advocate for Israel, was interrupted and booed when he said Palestinians have also been victims of Mideast violence. “Israelis are not the only victims of violence in the Middle East. Innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying in great numbers as well,” he said. “It is critical that we recognize and acknowledge that fact.” But he added that Palestinians “must also recognize another fact — that suicide bombers are the single greatest obstacle to ending their suffering and to realizing the Palestinian state that the whole world is prepared to recognize.” He said since Sept. 11 the United States had one more thing in common with Israelis: Americans now know what it is like to be attacked by suicide bombers and why it is essential to fight terrorism. Wolfowitz, the second-ranked official at the Pentagon, was one of dozens of speakers at the massive gathering. Hours after the rally began, people continued to stream. They came in on charter planes from New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston. Jewish groups also brought in more than 1,200 busloads of supporters from more than 15 states and Canada to gather in the warm sunshine on the west side of the Capitol. “What is surprising to us is the widespread response we received,” said Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of US Jewish Organizations, and editor-in-chief of US News & World Report. “This rally is to show the president our support of his Mideast policy and to show our support for Israel in defense of its citizens in the wake of Palestinian terrorist attacks over the past year and a half.” Other speakers, including former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, and members of Congress, who all drew the link with the hijack airliner attacks on America. Netanyahu, a hard-liner seen as a prospective challenger for the premiership in elections next year, declared: “Israel and the United States are today fighting the same battle, waging the same war, confronting the same evil.” “The people of Israel will see today that we stand with them at this difficult time when so many have been victims of terrorist outrages including scores of suicide bombings. Jews and non-Jews who care about Israel and the global fight against terrorism stood together in Washington and let their voices be heard,” said United Jewish Communities Chairman James Tisch. Most of the speakers conveyed similar messages: “We can’t expect Israel to stand idle while its citizens are being slaughtered,” said Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat. House Republican leader Richard Armey of Texas said: “We reject any theory of moral equivalence that would compare a homicide bomber with her victim, that confuses an act of self defense with the act of terror that provoked it.” “Terrorism must not be supported, condoned, or rewarded as we work for a resolution to this conflict,” added House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri. Desperate attempt The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement calling the rally “a desperate attempt to put positive spin on (Israel’s) brutal occupation of another people.” Council Director Nihad Awad said the rally would not convince ordinary Americans that complicity in Israel's denial of Palestinian rights is anything but a strategic liability. Powell’s mission came amid Israel’s 17-day offensive in the West Bank and a string of deadly Palestinian suicide bombings. His meetings with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have yielded little progress. Bush has declined to label Arafat a terrorist, citing his participation in the Middle East process after the Palestinian leader signed the historic 1993 Oslo peace accords. Observers say Bush will be unable to ignore the message from yesterday’s rally. With elections in November in both the House and Senate, his main supporters are said to be conservative pro-Israel Jews and right-wing Southern Christian groups. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
