Love Park Pro-Israel Rally
As I walked to my favorite restaurant for a bite to eat, I noticed a gathering happening at Love Park in Center City Philadelphia.
It turned out to be a rally in support of Israeli actions in Lebanon. I stayed for about an hour after getting a small Israeli flag and took these pictures using my Motorola e815.
Here is a “protest babe”. There were other beautiful women of various ages, but I’m not used to taking pictures of women without them knowing it. Besides, I find it somewhat creepy…
This creature was wondering around – a Jewish war veteran I believe – not a homeless guy there to get free stuff.
I’d estimate the crowd at about a thousand. The atmosphere was pretty bubbly and pleasant, about what you would expect at a sururban neighborhood picnic or carnival. Most of the people had come from the suburbs on trains, housewives, retirees and students – however there were quite a few well-dressed attendees obviously spending their lunch hour like me supporting Israel. A well-dressed man walked through the crowd, handing out flyers stating “Senator Rick Santorum Fully Supports Israel’s Right To Defend Itself Against Hezbollah Terror Threat.” Santorum is in a tough fight for re-election in this blue state – although I’d peg that his re-election will be successful and not as close as many Democrats believe.
Another guy was handing out a flyger advertising the ZOA Middle East Report radio show, whose previous guests included Bat Ye’or, Sec of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Daniel Pipes – not a bad listing of guests for a radio show I”ve never heard (or will, given that it’s at 12:30 pm on Wednesdays) .
The rally started a few minutes late with the Star Spangle Banner followed by the Hatikva - Israel’s national anthem. The latter is quite a beautiful piece, and one that I am not as familiar with as I should be given my near life-long support of the state of Israel. I stood in the group, watching people and debating whether it would be rude to eat a double-cheeseburger with observant Jews around.
Hunger eventually set in so I had to return to the office. I worked my way out of the center of the crowd and towards the edges. As I walked back, I passed a small group of self-hating Jews holding signs that read “USA and Israel are the Real Terrorists”, and “Bombing Problems Won’t Solve Them.” They stood quietly with their backs to the backs of the pro-Israel supports, vastly outnumbered by the police who stood around looking bored but effective. Given their ages, I would say the small group of about 12 was comprised of lifelong protesters along with their grand-kids. Both groups looked dejected – even slightly malnourished. One kid wore a “Free Mumia” t-shirt, faded from too-many washings and also a bit baggy on his lanky frame.
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