January 2, 2009
1300 hours
Pro-Hamas Protest
Whereabouts: Los Angeles, California
I arrive early at the scene to scope out the terrain. Media trucks are camped outside the Israeli Consulate. An NBC photojournalist emerges to greet me, unaware of who I am.
“Is there going to be a protest today?” I feign ignorance.
“Yeah, the Israeli side over there [he points to the north side of Wilshire Boulevard], the other side over here,” [pointing to the south side of Wilshire, in front of the Israeli Consulate].
“I’m curious,” I begin, doefully, “How do you guys go about framing these stories?” 
“Mainly the producers. Everyone thinks we’re biased but we just go in, shoot and come out with whatever we get. We don’t know what the story’s going to be. Which side are you on?”
I’m strategically dressed to blend in with either side–jeans tucked into motorcycle boots, black pashima, cable knit beanie. “I’m Jewish,” I reply.
“We met with the Israeli Consulate this afternoon. He was really cool. I couldn’t believe it. I was surprised. Hope it doesn’t get real crazy out here tonight.”
“It’s Shabbat so a lot of the Pro-Israeli’s might not be here,” I respond.
“Oh, we totally forgot about Shabbat! I can’t believe we missed that.”
Police with bomb sniffing dogs begin to scour the area for explosives. LAPD cars line the blocks. Protestors are sparse, but continue to trickle in at a steady pace.
Through the fog that envelopes the city of angels, I see the Israeli fence that separates Israel from Gaza. 
The Israeli side on the north and Gaza to the south, with Wilshire Boulevard as the fence between the warring factions. I cross the fence into Palestinian territory. My Jewish brethren I leave behind who eye me quizzically need to understand I need to research the opposition.
Veiled Muslim women begin screaming at the Pro-Israeli’s, “F***king Jews, you’re not f***king sons of Abraham! A Palestinian man joins in, “F***king Jews, you’re f***ing Nazi’s.” A Palestinian girl, age six, holds a protestor’s banner sitting right next to the anti-Semitic agitators. Other Palestinian children peep in and out of the Pro-Hamas crowd. Although the Pro-Israeli demonstrators fire back in self defense, there are no toddlers, or profanity coming
Pro-Israeli Demonstrators
Palestinian Girl Amidst Pro-Hamas Agitators
from their side. Despite heroic efforts on the part of StandWithUs.com, they’re a smaller group compared to the other side. Make no mistake about it–this media war is an asymmetrical fight with the Jews as the underdog.
In an instant, media cameras rush in to catch the media spectacle of the Pro-Hamas agitators screaming profanities. The visual of the Palestinian child holding the banner, smiling for the cameras as her elders scream obscenities–the indoctrination, would never make it to prime time television. Later that night, Pro-Hamas agitators however, would be shown on TV, swinging from the rafters, in this case traffic lights.
Pro-Hamas agitator demographics: A large, diverse group, varied ages, from toddler, young adult, middle aged, to senior citizens; Caucasions, Palestinians, a few Afro-Americans, but my eyes settle on an innocuous looking Asian guy in glasses holding an AnswerLA.org banner. I spark up a conversation with
AnswerLA.org's Chief Organizer
him. “Hi, I’m curious, what’s your background, what brought you here today?” That Israel Girl asks.
“I’m here to fight for the oppressed Palestinians in Gaza,” he replies in soft spoken cadences.
“How did you get involved?” I ask.
“I’m the chief organizer for AnswerLA.org. My parents raised me to fight on behalf of oppressed peoples.”
His group, AnswerLA.org, is dedicated to the organization and funding of Pro-Hamas agitators. If you check out their website however, you’d think they were simply peace advocates for Gaza.
“Where do you go to school?”
He hesitates. “Uh, well I go to L.A. City College.”
“So I take it you think Hamas are the oppressed.”
“Hamas are representing the Palestinian people who are oppressed by Israel supported by the United States. You know, in 1948, the Jews were just a small group in that part of the world. Now they’ve taken over. Zionism must end. It’s an evil oppressor.”
“I’m confused,” I begin, “It’s my understanding that Israel left Gaza with every intention of peace with the Palestinian people.”
“Israel occupies Gaza. They’ve had a total blockade of Gaza, trapping all of the Palestinians inside, leaving them starving, with no food or medical supplies. They can’t get out.”
His facts are wrong. Further, the blockade is an act of self-defense by the Israeli’s.
“So you view the blockade as the same thing as an occupation?” I ask.
“Yes, of course. It’s an occupation,” he insists.
Out of the blue, he switches the conversation to Muslim gender stereotypes. “It’s not true all the stuff they say about the way Muslim women are treated. It’s just a way to distract from the real issue of occupation.”
“What about honor killings and Palestinian graffiti that says women who don’t wear the veil are collaborators, and all collaborators will be shot,” I offer.
“That’s just the US government trying to distract from the issue of the apartheid state Israel has created. Israel is an apartheid state. The apartheid must be destroyed.” He shrugs, “Yeah, the Muslim women are backwards but that’s their culture. We can’t put down their culture.”
“Are you in favor of missiles being thrust upon Israel by Hamas?”
He shrugs, “Their rockets don’t hit anything. They’re not sophisticated weaponry like Israel has.”
“I heard Hamas blows up gas and energy centers that generate power for the Palestinians,” I add.
He looks away, then shakes his head. “Not true. That’s just not true. Hamas wouldn’t do that.”
“I don’t think Hamas is as nice as you think they are,” I mention.
“They’re not supposed to be nice. They’re the oppressed fighting against a superpower. In this case–the US and Israel,” he states.
Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal’s really oppressed living fat in Damascus sending thousands of Palestinians to their deaths. Endangering the lives of thousands more by hiding ammunition, weaponry, and more in 
civilian homes, but that’s Israel’s fault according to the PR hit job against the Jews. In this media war, Hamas sets fire to their own Reichstag, then blames the Jews to consolidate power. Still, I’m silent.
“Will there ever be peace?” I ask.
“Peace will come when the Palestinians return to their homes,” he’s emphatic.
“Then what about the Israeli State?” I ask.
The self-proclaimed “chief organizer” of AnswerLA.org looks away, then at the Pro-Israeli demonstrators across the street. He can barely look me in the eye. “We want to dismantle the State of Israel.” He nods, looking ahead. “That’s our goal. Of course–we will dismantle the Israeli State.”
There we have it–the truth about Pro-Hamas agitators. Their talking points on peace–all a ruse.
Sources:
(1) “Iran-Backed Terrorists Continue to Shoot Rockets at Israeli Civilians,” www.theisraelproject.org, Dec. 8, 2008
(2) “Moral Clarity In Gaza,” by Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, Jan. 2, 2009
(3) “Fiction vs. Fact: Israel and the Situation in Gaza: 6 Common Fabrications,” www.theisraelproject.org, Jan. 2, 2009
