Albuquerque had not only one anti-Israel protest on Jan. 30, but two! Aren’t we cosmopolitan! The first was at noon, sponsored by the local anti-war/anti-Israel/anti-defence industry group, which has many of the same members as the anti-Israel group, MEPJA (Middle East Peace and Justice Alliance). Their shindig was at 5 pm, a candle light affair with poetry and talks by “religious” leaders, who support the genocidal aims of Islam and the Palestinian Arabs. Both were held in public, at different locations downtown.
Three of four local stations and the Albuquerque Journal covered the evening event. The local public broadcasting station and the paper covered the noon protest.
At 5 pm the local Jewish community also got together for an Israel Solidarity rally at the JCC. One Channel, 13, covered it. Much of the Jewish community wasn’t there, of course, because they were busy rallying against Israel, or being ambivalent or uninterested. It doesn’t look like current PR strategies are working very well, because it’s not a PR matter.
Noticeable at these anti-Israel protests as compared with protests of earlier years was the vocal presence of local Arabs from Israel, the many kefiyehs and Palestinian flags, and the rowdiness of the young people and young adults. Evidently they feel more confident now than in previous years, or have moved out from under the council of prudence. Perhaps conditions are such that they are moving into phase II or III of a plan. The honking of passers-by to show support was much more frequent than in earlier years, and many of the drivers were Muslim, but more weren’t.
Anti-Israel sentiment is growing in Albuquerque in main part because it is growing throughout the world and the US, and has become socially acceptable. To most of the public, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish are synonyms. The bigotry has also been growing in part because the local “pro-Palestinian” groups have been active for years, patiently and successfully working to produce this sentiment in schools, the university, the media, local government and the public at large. Indeed, some synagogues and Jewish leaders have promoted this movement.
The part of the Jewish community that supports Israel works little with the general public, preferring to limit our work to public officials, clergy and the media. This is short sighted and is less and less successful. Where do the members of the city council, the senate, the media, the clergy come from? From the public which has been patiently infected for years with anti-semitic and anti-Israel views. The time is soon coming when these people of influence will no longer be influence-able on behalf of Israel or Jews, although that is not true yet. However, the resistance to pro-Israel (pro-Jewish) action is already being felt.
In other parts of the western world and South America, the same “work only behind the scenes and don’t make trouble” strategy has been employed by Jewish leaders, and we see how this strategy is working: Jewish people, buildings and graveyards being attacked more and more, and national leaders who are outspokenly prejudiced, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel.
If we Jews were attacked because we displayed bad behavior, it would make sense to avert trouble by being on our good behavior at all times. However, we are attacked because others hate us, independent of our character or actions. The hatred is in spite of our behavior and contributions, not because of them. Showing weakness and timidity and working behind the scenes is not the way to counter growing hatred: it encourages attacks on all levels and feeds existing conspiracy theories.
Parts of the local Jewish community tend to spurn the evangelical and “Messianic” supporters of Israel–and vice versa. The prejudice is certainly not one-sided. We have the problem of potential allies who dislike each other. Nevertheless, a potential ally is a potential ally. You don’t have to like their theology or jargon to work with them toward the common goal of survival.
At the evening protest, two passers-by joined me with my lone pro-Israel sign, and we held up an Israeli flag and took the harrassment of the Arab young people together, which made us stronger, even later, when there were only two women. None of us knew each other, but the two supporters were both Messianic. Coincidence? To us, Messianics seem strange, but many have courage and conviction in this matter, that others lack.
Because I was the only Jew with a Pro-Israel sign at the anti-Israel protests, I got my picture taken and got interviewed three times. I doubt my statements were aired. My statements that Israel is right to attack Gaza, and if the Arabs of Gaza are suffering, they brought it on themselves by electing and supporting genocidal terrorist leaders, is socially unacceptable in polite gentile society. Indeed, it is unacceptable in polite Jewish society, but it is true.
At these protests I saw a stridency and rowdiness in the Arabs who showed up, that was not apparent in earlier protests. I saw that the majority of passers-by were either active supporters of their view, or non-committal. While we pep-rallied privately in the the JCC, with security, the public was turned a shade more against us, and we had no effective response.
