From a friend in Miami:steboJanuary 5 2009, 17:10:34 UTC
"Yesterday there was a big protest outside the Israeli Consulate in downtown Miami--one side of the street were the pro-Israel supporters, waving flags and holding signs extolling their support for "The Promised Land," while on the other side of the street were hundreds of Muslims, praying and waving the Palestinian flag. On the pro-Palestine side, people were dressed mostly in black, with the men covering their heads in...what are the scarves called?...and the women were draped in hajibs. Some of the men used the scarves to cover their faces, which seemed a bit threatening. The fact that they were screaming "Kill them!" didn't help. Although in response, the pro-Israel side was chanting "Drop the bomb on Hamas!" which wasn't a very nice thing to say either.
Police tried their best to keep both sides separated, but of course impetuous young men occasionally strayed to the opposite sides of the street, taunting the opposition. But the police would tell them to go back, and they would.
But then a group of men from the Palestinian side marched across, and there were too many of them for the police to handle; the Israeli side began to swarm around them, shouting in their faces as the young men dared someone to throw a punch. The police began to panic, blowing whistles and wedging themselves between the protestors as people were posturing and waving their arms around. It got pretty tense.
Then out of nowhere, a short woman from the Palestine side marched across, fists clenched, and jumped right in the middle of the fracas. And WHACK, she turned to the boys from her own side and popped one of them square in the chest with both hands, sending him back a few steps. It stopped everyone in their tracks. She shouted at her boys and wagged her finger in their faces, briefly turning back to the Israel group and assuring them she would take care of it. And push push push, she rounded them up like she was herding goats.
Much to the relief of the police, the boys walked away. The crowd dispersed. As the Palestinian guys moved down the street, the woman trailed them, shouting at them to keep them all in line. And everyone just paused a little, watching them walk away.
I believe we should send her to Israel and have her smack everyone around a little bit."
Police tried their best to keep both sides separated, but of course impetuous young men occasionally strayed to the opposite sides of the street, taunting the opposition. But the police would tell them to go back, and they would.
But then a group of men from the Palestinian side marched across, and there were too many of them for the police to handle; the Israeli side began to swarm around them, shouting in their faces as the young men dared someone to throw a punch. The police began to panic, blowing whistles and wedging themselves between the protestors as people were posturing and waving their arms around. It got pretty tense.
Then out of nowhere, a short woman from the Palestine side marched across, fists clenched, and jumped right in the middle of the fracas. And WHACK, she turned to the boys from her own side and popped one of them square in the chest with both hands, sending him back a few steps. It stopped everyone in their tracks. She shouted at her boys and wagged her finger in their faces, briefly turning back to the Israel group and assuring them she would take care of it. And push push push, she rounded them up like she was herding goats.
Much to the relief of the police, the boys walked away. The crowd dispersed. As the Palestinian guys moved down the street, the woman trailed them, shouting at them to keep them all in line. And everyone just paused a little, watching them walk away.
I believe we should send her to Israel and have her smack everyone around a little bit."
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