SF Shout Out For Palestine

San Francisco Shout Out for Palestine!

On Monday, July 3rd, 2006 the A.N.S.W.E.R. Collation sponsored an emergency demonstration at the Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery, San Francisco.

The event could hardly be more timely. On June 28th Israel initiated an assault into Gaza. Israeli forces destroyed 3 bridges and a power plant. The 1.4 million residents of Gaza have had their basic necessaries for sustaining life severely curtailed. The United Nations has warned that a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

This is in addition to the already existing condition of 9000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, 1000 of which are "administrative detainees" - held without charges or trial. A considerable number of the remaining 8,000 prosecuted on confessions obtained through torture.

According to Normal Finkelstein, professor of Political science at DePaul University in Chicago: "Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in September 2005 ‘til today, the estimates run between 7,000 and 9,000 heavy artillery shells have been shot and fired into Gaza."

On June 12 Huda Ghalia, a young Palestinian girl picnicking on a Gaza beach with her family lost her father, step-mother and 5 siblings to an Israeli shell.

The protest was loud and spirited - and well it should be with the festering outrage of American complicity in such atrocities. The shout out in support of the Palestinians out shouted the counter demonstration held at the same spot at the same time.

Lastly, the San Francisco Police Department did an excellent (and appreciated) job doing only was necessary in keeping the peace and all matters within the law.

Here are some pictures: