On July 21, nearly 100 people gathered at Westlake Plaza in downtown Seattle, during record-breaking heat, to raise their voices against the U.S.-Israeli war on Lebanon and Palestine. Activists have been gathering at Westlake on Friday for rush hour demonstrations since June 30. The first Friday demonstration was initiated by ANSWER Coalition Seattle (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).
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Each week the demonstration has grown. This week was the largest and loudest yet. Activists came from ANSWER, Voices for Palestine, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Women in Black, Jewish Voices for Peace, the Arab American Community Coalition, the Muslin Student Association at the University of Washington, as well as many unaffiliated people, some of whom were protesting for the first time.
The youth from University of Washington took the lead with chants. “Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine; occupation is a crime!” shouted Hala, a UW student. Another popular chant was “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!” Two young women waved large Palestinian flags at the crosswalk. Other demonstrators arrived draped in Lebanese and Syrian flags.
ANSWER activists were very busy, staffing an information table with fact sheets about U.S.-Israeli aggression. They also distributed water bottles to protestors and worked to publicize the Aug. 12 emergency demonstration. ANSWER’s signs were popular with protestors. Signs read: “Stop US-Israeli terrorism,” “Cut off U.S. aid to Israel” and “Stop the U.S.-Israeli blockade of Lebanon.”
Many passersby honked their horns in support of the demonstrators. Workers going home from the busy shopping district stopped to sign up at the ANSWER table and get a fact sheet about Israeli aggression.
