Rallies held a week apart in Washington provided American Jews and Arab Americans with an almost test-tube case to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both causes. The results were surprising — particularly for Arab and Muslim Americans.
The Israel lobby seemed almost desperate to show its vaunted strength at its hastily called April 15 rally. Jewish Americans were deeply concerned that current events on the ground resulting from Israel’s invasion of the West Bank would turn into a public relations nightmare. As atrocities committed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s troops came to light, they feared, it might become increasingly difficult to sell the idea that Israelis were the underdogs. Hence the need to portray “Bulldozer” Sharon’s ruthless actions to cripple the fledgling Palestinian state as the daring deeds of a sympathetic, terrorist-fighting character. Jewish American supporters of Israel used every trick in the book to increase their numbers on the national capital Mall.
Many Jewish day schools were given the day off and buses chartered to transport the entire student bodies of these dozens of schools from all over the East Coast. Kids from public schools who were Jewish simply took the day off to add to the numbers, and hundreds of pro-Israel interns from all over the United States appeared en masse. Adults from the East Coast and as far away as Minnesota and Georgia — and even some well-heeled delegations from the West Coast — converged on the Capitol grounds. The result was a good turnout, which the pro-Israel lobby estimated at 100,000 people. The problem was that the turnout was just about 100 percent Jewish. If there were any bystanders who were not Jewish, they were few and far between. The American Jewish community gave its all, in short. It had no more.
Less than a week later, on April 20, was the demonstration in sympathy with the Palestinians. Because so many Arab Americans were frightened as a result of the Sept. 11 shock and its aftermath, it was anticipated that many of them would be intimidated about showing up. That prediction, however, was totally wrong. It turned out that Arab Americans, even many who had not yet completed their citizenship requirements, were determined to take part. What surprised people on the Mall, and in smaller sympathy demonstrations in other parts of the country, was the astonishing turnout of people who never had demonstrated before.
Organizers planned to have a number of students lead the parade. This was to set the tone for those who followed and to keep the demonstration orderly and relatively decorous. Just before the group set off, however, some Palestinians said they would like to lead the demonstration. Without hesitation the parade marshals said, “Let the Palestinians take the places of honor and we’ll be privileged to follow.” The planned march then commenced.
A woman in a wheelchair led members of her family. Another marcher asked why, given the physical impediments of such a long march, the woman felt obliged to take part. The octogenarian replied simply, “I was very active in the protest movement against the war in Vietnam.” Now, she said, other members of her family understand how important such a demonstration is. “We all knew a little of what was happening in Palestine,” she explained. “Now we know what we should be doing.”
Early in the route, the marchers found themselves at an impasse. They had not planned for the fact that their route included an automobile tunnel under Dupont Circle. There was a moment of confusion, until two senior police officers said helpfully, “Just follow us and we’ll get you where you want to go.” As the marchers headed down into the tunnel, they discovered that the walls amplified their chants, drumbeats and the other musical percussion instruments. As the leaders emerged from the tunnel, it was clear that some of the shouters hated to leave because they were having so much fun with the sound effects they were creating.
A few Arab-American demonstrators from Libya had planned to meet and march together. A newly married couple had come too late to find their relatives and friends, and realized they would have to join in at random. As the march progressed and they spoke to the other marchers they saw that the crowd around them were all “unhyphenated” Americans. By the time the rally broke up they saw that not just Arab Americans but everyone, regardless of background, felt just as strongly about Palestine.
Some tourists from Virginia made an even more spontaneous decision. One of the volunteer parade marshals was helping them find their bearings and pointing out the various groups they might be looking for. When the volunteer finished her set speech, the tourists told her, “We weren’t really planning to meet anyone there. We just asked how to get to one of the museums. But what you’re doing sounds much more interesting and we do believe that the Palestinians are deeply misunderstood. Could we join your parade?”
There were many additional details. For example, the marchers in support of Palestine took a long route that dispersed them. Hungry, thirsty and tired after walking for miles across Washington, most looked for places to eat afterward. As a result it was very difficult to estimate the numbers of that crowd compared to the one for Israel.
Although some US media understated the number of pro-Palestinian protesters, aerial photographs and reporters on the ground indicated that each rally attracted about 100,000 supporters, The April 15 marchers, however, comprised only Israelis or Jewish Americans, while the April 20 march was the biggest such pro-Arab demonstration in US history. There were no arrests from either side.
There were, however, problems two days later, on April 22, when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held its annual three-day convention in Washington. This year, however, the two demonstrating groups outside were too close together. Things became heated several times when pro-Israel demonstrators tried to enter the pro-Palestinian throng. At the end of the event, a pro-Israeli participant announced that he had been spat upon. Fortunately, policemen on the scene said there had been no such incident. This would have been unremarkable except that seasoned reporters noted that similar allegations have been reported every time an AIPAC banquet has taken place.
All this was just background noise, however. The important thing was to contrast the two events. It appeared that the Israelis were going all out to impress their own supporters. But, as has happened before, the lobby can go only so far because its base constituency is so minuscule. There are only so many Israeli Americans to draw from, and the American Jewish community is declining precipitously because of intermarriage and disinterest. Israeli Americans realize that half of each generation of American Jews end up marrying non-Jews. Arab Americans, on the other hand, whether Muslim or Christian, are increasing.
Judging from the two rallies — one purely Jewish and the other made up of Americans of conscience, of every religion and heritage — Israel-firsters might want to take a hard look at the current American political landscape. It would behoove them to quit while they are still ahead, and begin to back Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah’s offer to share the Holy Land with Israel.
