Palestinian activists sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians beg for the support of Rep. Keith Ellison on the State Capitol steps today where they held a rally to protest.
January 5, 2008
Dawud Walid wrote about the protest in his blog entry,
Re Ellison on Gaza and Myopic Perspectives
Perhaps these hecklers didn’t know that Rep. Ellison had just spoke on the House floor against the disproportionate attacks and killings of civilians in Gaza.
You can see the video here:
Did you watch it? They booed Rep. Ellison because he said he wasn’t condemning either side. What really bothered me is when one speaker began his diatribe about some Zionist conspiracy controlling government. Nobody booed the conspiratorial speaker. Not only were his statements farfetched and ineffectual, but they are completely detrimental to the Palestinian cause. He sounded just like a klansman talking about some Zionist Protocol nonsense. The reason why our government doesn’t pay attention to American Muslim viewpoints is because we aren’t involved in the political process, we don’t have a lobby, and as a community we don’t have a unified political front.
Palestinian activists, he’s on your side!! And this is what angers me so much about such blatant disrespect. In fact, it is this type of behavior that makes me not want to join any rally. First, it just seems like these rallies are about venting anger, as opposed to changing people’s opinions. I’m sorry, but you’re not going to get anywhere with that type of conduct. What is the point of protesting, when you won’t have a dialog with those who can actually make a difference? This perhaps, is the greatest reason why you don’t see me at these rallies/protests.
Margari Aziza 