Around 400 to 500 students and members of the Jewish community turned out for the rally — a triumph for some on campus. “This is the proudest day in my six years on campus,” said Fred Astren, a professor in the Jewish Studies program at SFSU. “The voice of Jews was heard.”
“The pro-Palestininians have been more vocal on campus,” said Dustin Jacobsen, a Jewish student who said he was anxious to hear the other side of the story. He was one of about 100 bystanders who stood listening outside the plaza. “They’ve had more protests and been more visible.”
According to S.F. Hillel Executive Director Seth Brysk, there have been a number of events on campus which have caused tension, including a flier that alludes to “blood libel,” or the ancient myth that Jewish people sacrifice people of other religions for food. A large pro-Palestininian demonstration during a Yom HaShoah commemoration, where some Jewish students were threatened, said Brysk, was the last major confrontation on campus.
Against the backdrop of a large sign reading “Israel Wants Peace: We Have No Partner,” a Holocaust survivor named Gloria, who went by first name only, started the rally by defending Israeli military action as a fight against terrorism.
“I ask you,” she said, “what Israelis have ever been suicide bombers — or have blown up buses…[or] have attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11? There is a difference in the way Israel’s enemies attack and the way Israel defends itself.”
“Everybody has the basic human right to be able to get on a bus, to be able to go to a café…to be able to live their lives without the fear of people using bombs as a political tactic,” said Mark Schickman, president of the Holocaust Center of Northern California.
Representing an organization called JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa), Gina Waldman and Joseph Wahed spoke of the many Jewish people who had been displaced from Arab countries.
“In 1967, like many hundred thousand Jews…my family was expelled from Libya,” said Waldman. “All of our assets were confiscated. I was 19 years old at the time.
“I am not here to seek revenge for the 900,000 Jewish refugees — I am here to seek recognition,” she added.
“We just assimilated wherever we went,” said Wahed after the rally. “We Jews from the Arab world deserve some respect.”
Yitzhak Santis, director of Middle East affairs at the Jewish Community Relations Council, referred to “racism and apartheid” in the Arab world. “In countries like Iraq — there are non-Arab minorities, the Kurds, the Assyrians — ask them about their civil rights…about their demand for self-determination,” he said. “Bring real peace to the Middle East. Bring democracy for all Middle Eastern people.”
John Rothmann, host of a local radio show on KGO, gave his retrospective on Israel’s history. “This is not the first time I have stood here in this plaza. I stood here in 1967…and there was the same voices you hear today chanting for Israel’s destruction.”
In between the speakers, students led the crowd in chants like “Two-four-six-eight/Teach your children not to hate.”
Sophomore Gabriana Marks encouraged students to come to Hillel and repeated the words: “Don’t be afraid to be a Jew.”
The counter-rally was organized by the General Union of Palestinian Students. About 100 people held flags and signs, including one sign that read: “Master-subject relationship: creates anti-social behavior.” Throughout the speeches, they chanted “No peace — no justice,” “End the occupation now,” “Free, free Palestine,” and “Israel is a racist state.” Occasionally there were yells of, “Go back to Europe.”
One young man carried a Palestinian flag and wore a “Hello My Name Is” sticker which read “F— Sharon.”
The Palestinian supporters expressed demonstrable hostility. After the rally ended, several of the people in that group tried to take over the stage. Thwarted by campus police, the pro-Palestinian contingent clamored for the removal of a banner which said “We stand with Israel with hope for peace” and also wanted two Israeli flags taken down.
“Why do I have to look at this s—?” said Joseph Jada, a member of the pro-Palestinian group, complaining about the flag. Of the rally, Jada said, “It’s terrible — we were behind barricades.”
“They have the right to protest,” said Hillel’s Brysk.
He expressed regret that campus police had to step in and escort the remaining group of Israel supporters to the edge of campus after the rally, but was generally positive about the event. “This is the first time in a very long time where Jewish students were able to express themselves and stood up in the face of intimidation.”