An estimated 1,600 people stood at the United States Federal building at 11000 Wilshire. Men and women were holding signs, children waved flags ferociously. It was almost another typical day in Los Angeles, with sunny skies, with a subtle breeze that stirred the air. But on the lawns of the Federal Building, the subtle breeze seemed to whip the burning passions that emitted from the mass of Palestine and Israel supporters.
It was largely a Pro-Israel rally supporting Israel's decision to launch air and artillery attacks in response to unguided missiles fired by Hamas sixteen days earlier. From a distance, I noticed the yellow tape that barricaded the Israeli supporters on one side of the building, and the Palestinian supporters on the other side. Cars and motorcycles that zipped by honked to show their support, typically with a cheer to their respective side. Pasted on street poles were large stickers with the following message: Hamas = Little Hitlers. Not so far away, I saw a man holding a sign that read: Free Palestine. Stop U.S. Funded Massacres.
I decided to speak with the Israeli supporters first, them being the overwhelming majority of the protest rally. I met a middle-aged Jewish lady, probably in her 50's and 60's. Unlike many of the people there, she did not hold up a typical protest sign, but a painting. Hanna was a painter and on the canvas was a picture of the Israeli flag, with thick blue stripes that decorated the top and bottom of the piece. Between the two stripes, Hanna painted a large heart on the canvas with the Star of David in its center, and the inner hexagon of the star nested a picture of a dove. "The heart represents our love for the world, and the dove represents us. We are people of peace," Hanna told me. She further explained, "...the whole world is screaming at Israel when Israel decided to act. We strive for peace...I love my people, we have a track record of peace. We want to live in peace in our home....The only place we want to occupy is our home." Hanna believes that Israel only wants to claim its legitimate homeland.
I was walking around the Federal Building, near the parking lot. The event was coming to an end and people were walking back to their cars. I happened to be in the middle when the two groups intersected. The LAPD on their speakers continually repeated, "Return to your cars. Please avoid unnecessary conflict." LAPD back-up and the SWAT team were probably 30 seconds away, and did not arrive quickly enough to put an early halt to the clash that occurred. An angry man in his 40's, an obvious supporter of Israel, walked straight up to the opposing group, pointed his finger, and continuously shouted, "Are you a Nazi?! Are you a Nazi?!" A young boy, probably in his early teens stepped forward and exchanged words with this grown man. Waving the flag of Palestine in his right hand, and his left middle finger to the man, he yelled, "Fuck you! Bitch! Fuck you!" The man responded by spitting directly at the ground in front of him, a symbol of contempt. Cultural differences are learned, and with the enculturation of this young boy, it seems that ethnic strife had also been passed on to him from previous generations.
For about 15 minutes, the crowd at the parking lot grew larger, and so did the chaos that entailed. The SWAT team and the LAPD were trying to keep the two groups apart, but the people were restless with an anger that could not yet be quenched. The supporters of Israel chanted, "Terrorist! Terrorist! Terrorist!" I maneuvered myself to the side of the Palestinian supporters, and sure enough, they too were chanting, "Terrorist! Terrorist! Terrorist!" At the center of the chaos were mainly middle-aged men of both sides.
Both nationalities, the Israelis and the Palestinians are claiming the same land as "rightfully theirs." I spoke with an older man who exhibited his support for Palestine more "passionately" than many others through his actions. He continually waved the flag of Palestine and was frequently observed to participate in many verbal quarrels and exchanges of verbal abuse with counterparts that stood on the side of Israel. This man was not a Palestinian, but a Muslim from Morocco. He explained to me, "This is self-defense. Look at history, history does not lie. In 1948, there were only 2% Jews in Palestine. Now?...The Jewish people control everything." Aasia Rehman, a Palestinian-American, current UCLA graduate student and originally from Michigan, agreed. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Palestine. She told me, "The Palestinian people are oppressed by the Israeli government. They want to get rid of the Palestinians. The Israeli government are controlling the border. We want freedom...free access to food and water." Both the Moroccan man and Rehman agreed that Hamas are "not terrorists, but freedom fighters."
However, according to Benard Nichos, this was not the case. Nichos, a man in his 70's, wearing a cap with the flag of Israel on it and a shirt with the American flag, told me, "the Arabs buy up everything" and that the Palestinians "celebrate when their children are killed. It's propaganda." Then, a man in his 40's, who served in the Israeli army earlier in his life decided to join the conversation. He said, "Everyone is human. Israel came in, took homes What is war? It's all about 'Me! Me! Seizing land!', that's why the Palestinians are angry." He continued and said firmly, "This land belongs to everyone." But Nichos responds, "Hell no! God promised this land to Abraham!" The other man looks at him, shakes his head, and points at Nichos, "This is what's wrong with Israel."
The protest rally demonstrated the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, both nationalities claiming the same geographical region as their homeland. Most participants of the rally hold strong nationalist sentiments. The ethnic conflict has caused civilian casualties on both sides. They wave their flags relentlessly, displaying their love for their nationality and fighting for what they believe is their nationality's legitimate rights.
