Jewish protests against the the United States are usually polite affairs while Muslim protests often involve effigy-burning, shoe-stomping and other forms of acting out. However, a protest planned for 7:00 p.m. Monday outside the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv could be a sign that Jews have begun taking some pages from the Muslim protesters' book. The event's organizers say they have prepared a large effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama, which protesters will hurl shoes at to protest the way Obama is “stepping all over us.”
“The current American government’s feeble Middle Eastern policy has ultimately caused a substantial amount of damage to the State of Israel,” the organizers stated. “The policies, which are based on appeasing the Islamic states, have unsurprisingly increased hostility and tension in the region.”
The activists accuse the US of “blackmailing” Israel's leaders, "violating agreements" and lacking even “an ounce of regard towards the safety of Israeli citizens.”
“The Israeli public wishes to make its opposition heard. Before further damage is caused to both our country and the region as a whole, we wish to raise our voices in objection to the appalling brutal and intimidating attitude of President Barack Obama. This attitude involves exerting unreasonable pressure on Israeli leaders, forcing them to act against the interests of the state.”
“Ultimately,” they say, “we bear no ill feeling towards the American public or the vast majority of the American leadership, and wish to strengthen the connection between both sides. In fact, it is this connection that inspires us to protest the current American policy – before the situation deteriorates and this connection ends.”
The organizers' Hebrew language Facebook page features videos from yet another unconventional Tel Aviv protest that employed Arab-style techniques: the July demonstration outside Turkey's Tel Aviv embassy, in which a Turkish flag was allegedly set on fire. Rumors at the time said that the active nucleus behind the protest was a group of soccer team fans.