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New York Muslims Demonstrate For Palestinian Rights
by Dina Rashed
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - Calling for the immediate end of illegal occupation by Israeli forces on Palestinian territory, the American Muslim community in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are holding a major demonstration Friday in support of the Palestinian right of return to their homes and land.
"We hope today's event [will] raise awareness among the American public about the rights of the Palestinians, and at the same time influence the decision makers to hold a more even handed policy towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," said Magdy Mahmoud, member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Muslim Federation and one of the main event organizers, in an interview with IslamOnline.
"As people of conviction - Muslim, Jews and Christians - we are equally outraged by the continuous unconditional U.S. support of Israeli aggression and the obstruction of all 60 United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing Israeli aggression," said a statement by the Metropolitan Muslim Federation
In unity with the demonstration, several Islamic centers and local mosques will not hold Friday prayers, asking their worshipers to join the demonstration's Jummah (Friday) prayer, which is expected to attract 15,000 to 20,000 attendants despite bitter New York City cold weather, said organizers.
Sponsors are calling on the U.S. government to stop using taxpayer's money to finance the Israeli military, which in part, targets civilians in the occupied territories. They also desire that abuse of the veto right in the U.N. protecting Israeli interests end, an that the organization play a more honest role in brokering the Middle East conflict.
They are also asking the U.S. government, as a leader of democracy and justice, to make U.S. aid to Israel contingent upon Israeli compliance with human rights protections (as is the case with other countries), to enforce international laws and U.N. resolutions mandating Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories, and to establish better ties with Muslim and Arab countries.
Last October, New York's Muslim and Arab community organized a similar demonstration to protest atrocities carried out by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians and to show support for the al-Aqsa Intifada. According to media estimates, more than 30,000 protestors filled the streets for the protest.
"These demonstrations are effective," said Mahmoud.
"On the October 13th demonstration, when the Aqsa Intifada was still beginning, we called on the Congress and the American president to stop the aggression immediately, conduct a fair investigation into the massive use of force against Palestinian civilians and to bring the criminals to justice.
"Later, following the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, President Clinton spoke of the importance of conducting an investigation to look into the killings and [an] investigation committee was formed," Mahmoud stated, adding that American Muslims should pressure the government to respond to their needs and adopt a fairer position in handling the crisis.
The Islamic Association of Palestine, Muslim American Society, American Muslim Union and the Metropolitan Muslim Federation, a coalition of Islamic centers and mosques in the New York City metropolitan area are sponsoring the event.
The march, starting at noon on 800 2nd Avenue and then stopping in front of the New York Israeli Consulate, will make the final stop at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza facing the U.N. building on 47th street, where the program will take place.
Prominent speakers from the Muslim Community are expected to address the gathering of demonstrators as part of the Friday sermon and prayer (Jumuah). Speakers include Soheil Mohammed, a legal counsel from the American Muslim Union; Soheil Ghannouchi, president of the Muslim American Society; Sami al-Mansouri of the American Muslim Union Youth Group; Imam Sayed Asker, Imam of the Islamic Center of Jersey City, NJ; Imam Siraj Wahhaj of Brooklyn's Masjid al-Taqwa; Imam Yousef Estes and Ibrahim Abdelmalik, a professor at Columbia University.
In addition, the program will include human rights activists and supporters for Palestinian rights from the Christian and Jewish communities as well, including Reverand Khader al-Yateem of Salam Arabic Lutheran Church; Rabbi David Wisrol Wiess, spokesman for the Neturea Karta International, a Jewish group opposing Zionism; Paul Findley, former congressman from Illinois; Richard Curtiss, director of the American Educational Trust and Roger Norman, director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights.
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