Sunday, June 5th, Support Israel Rally, Phoenix

Support Israel Campaign
©2010 By David Talbot
June 6, 2010

Phoenix, Arizona: A small, but vocal, group of supporters of Israel, gathered on the side of a busy intersection in Central Phoenix this morning. Their purpose was to voice their support for the Jewish State, and to counteract mounting world-wide pressure to punish Israel for the incident that occurred last week as several ships attempted to break the blockade of Gaza. The gathering was totally peaceful and was repeated around the United States and several capitols around the world.

Several speakers, including Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, Rabbi Arthur Levinsky, Devin Speer, and Farley Weiss, spoke of Israel’s right to detain and inspect cargo ships attempting to run the blockade. They detailed the rationale for the blockade and cited historical animosity of Hamas controlled Gaza. This included firing over 7,000 rockets into Israel with the specific purpose of murdering innocent men, women and children.

Rabbi Arthur Levinsky, spiritual leader of Beth El Congregation in Phoenix, called for participants to contact President Obama and members of the administration to stand up for Israel, “This is the time for us to communicate effectively; to call the White House, or to e-mail President Obama and let him now that the time has come to act unapologetically and unequivocally in Israel’s defense in the face of international condemnation. Now is the time to declare that Israel was not only justified in guarding her borders; it was imperative for her to do so. A strong message from Pennsylvania Avenue must be sent to counter the lies against Israel, and the voices of appeasement.”

The speakers debunked the theory that the blockade is illegal under international law, and that stopping vessels on the high seas, in self-defense, has been a legal tactic of many governments around the world, including the United States blockade of Cuba to keep Soviet ships from delivering weapons of war.

In speaking of the nine individuals who perished during the operation, all expressed regret for their deaths. However, they praised the Israeli soldiers for their restraint in defending themselves for 45 minutes of brutal attacks before they finally had to fire their pistols.

In ending the support rally, all speakers promoted the need to stand up, in every community around the world, to the lies and tactics of Hamas and their supporters.. They indicated that rallies like these will continue over the coming weeks and months as Jews around the world are reminded that peace cannot be attained at the point of a gun or rocket attacks coming from schools or hospitals. Until Hamas changes it’s charter and accepts Israel as a full partner there can be no peace.

David Talbot