"We're protesting on behalf of Iraqis, but also for Palestinians and Israelis," chanted protestors in Paris anti-war rally

PARIS, March 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Americans and Iraqis, pro-Palestinians and French Jewish associations, festive students and torch-bearing grandmothers turned out in Paris Wednesday, March 5, to protest against war on Iraq, in a show of global resistance to U.S. plans for military action.

High school and university students, marching by the thousands, chanted and danced their way down the Boulevard Saint Michel from the Luxembourg Gardens in a festive mood, no doubt boosted by the general daylong boycott of classes, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Student organizations were responding to a call from their U.S. counterparts for a day boycott of classes, to be replaced by demonstrations against President George W. Bush's plans for war.

Some protestors started their activism early. Two-year-old Barbara was attending her second peace rally, according to her father.

The march, which gathered up to 20,000 people, according to police estimates, notably linked the Iraqi crisis to the need for peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

"We're protesting on behalf of Iraqis, but also for Palestinians and Israelis," said Richard Wagman, head of the International Jewish Union for Peace. "(Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon is Bush's ally. So we must fear the worst."

A group of marchers floated a gigantic Palestinian flag, which spanned the boulevard, while others blasted Arabic music and chanted "We are all Palestinians."

A Christian Activist

Jacques, climbing out of the metro to join the protestors, found it was "a good day for a protest". Describing himself as a "Christian activist", he said.

His sign, alluding to the Roman Catholic period leading up to Easter, read: "Ash Wednesday, day for prayer, for peace, in the street, a day of action."

A group of 30 Iraqis waved their starred flags silently and moved forward in the peace rally, not far from a contingent of France-based US citizens.

Julie Warden, who has lived here for 25 years, denied that anti-U.S. sentiment had mounted since the beginning of the crisis. When her “Americans Against War on Iraq” group marches in rallies, she said, "People applaud us. They're against Bush, but so are we."

But Randy, another American who has lived in Paris for the past 30 years, sighed, "I've got mixed emotions about this whole thing.... When you see the people who rule those countries (in the Middle East), they're tyrants. (Saddam) is like (former U.S. president Ronald) Reagan and those cats: they get insane after a while."

"Books Not Bombs"

"The point is that this war does not need to happen now and we do not need to shed blood for these purported reasons," agreed the American students

Students from hundreds of high schools and colleges across the United States also joined hands with French protestors and walked out of their classes on Wednesday as part of a nationwide day of action against war with Iraq.

The strike, organized under the banner "Books not Bombs," was coordinated by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, an organization of 15 student groups that came together after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"We're walking out of our classes because it's completely ridiculous that students in Iraq, who are exactly the same as us, will have to face the consequences of a unilateral war," said coalition spokeswoman Amanda Flott.

"Also, at a time when many students are already priced out of higher education, the increase in funding for the military will decrease the money available for education, all to support a war that in my mind is not justifiable."

The coalition said student groups at more than 300 high schools and colleges had agreed to take part in the strike.

"No Need for Blood"

In New York, several hundred students gathered in Union Square in downtown Manhattan, prior to a protest march with other groups that were scheduled to end with a large rally at Hunter College in midtown.

Similar protests were planned in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston and other cities.

In California, hundreds of students brandishing anti-war placards and chanting slogans marched out of their classrooms despite warning by their schools not to do so.

"We don't care about the consequences including possible fines against us," one student told reporters in Los Angeles referring to school jitters over legal liability.

"There are people out there who could die and it's important that we try and make a difference in our community."

"The point is that this war does not need to happen now and we do not need to shed blood for these purported reasons," another protester said.

Several hundred students marched through downtown San Diego as part of the protest, police there said, while 18 people were arrested in a separate anti-war protest in Los Angeles after refusing to disperse.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard University, 14-year-old Anna Ostow was among some 100 students who chose to leave their classrooms and speak out against any war with Iraq.

"We don't agree with it. Who says we can be the boss? Who says we can be the ones to decide who is safe enough to have weapons?" Ostow said.

"We feel like hurting more people is not going to solve any more problems," she added.

The protests were part of a global action that saw students walking out in a number of countries, including Canada, Spain, Australia and Britain.

In London, thousands of students with ages range form 13 to 16 converged outside Prime Minster Tony Blair's residence to protest their opposition to war.

The demonstrations in the United States are of a great importance given that governments in both countries are attempting to convince the world that military aggression against Iraq is necessary.