Buses from several cities along the eastern coast have been chartered to take protestors to Washington today. The participants will demand that Bush not agree to Olmert's request for billions of dollars to aid the unilateral withdrawal. They say such a plan would follow the pattern of Ariel Sharon's Disengagement in strengthening Hamas, emboldening terrorists all over the Middle East, and displacing tens of thousands of Israeli citizens from their homes in the Jewish homeland.
Not all public Jewish organizations have endorsed the protest, however. The leaders of the Orthodox Union (OU), for instance, announced that they "believe it is inappropriate at this time to hold a rally in Washington, DC to express differences with the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel." The OU noted that Olmert is "making his first official visit to the United States, where he will meet with the President of the Jewish state’s strongest ally, and has been accorded the rare honor of addressing a joint meeting of Congress."
The American Jewish Congress, too, sees nothing to protest about. "We believe it is in the interest of the United States and Israel to try to resolve some of the dilemmas that occur in the area by giving greater certainty to Israel's borders and making it easier for Israel to defend itself," said AJC Executive Director Neil Goldstein.
The National Council of Young Israel, while also not publicly endorsing the rally, takes a more anti-Hamas stance. Executive Vice President Rabbi Pesach Lerner told Arutz-7 that he hopes President Bush will not support Olmert's plan to grant land to the Hamas terrorist organization. "We're not for giving away land, especially when you get nothing for it," Lerner told the Associated Press. "You don't get peace, you don't get security."
Many protestors at the grassroots-organized rally are not happy with the approach of the large organizations. Lee Caplan of Atlanta, who is driving with a friend over 600 miles to the rally, says,
"It is extremely important that there be a very large crowd at Tuesday's demonstration. Otherwise, the wrong message will emerge, namely, that American Jewry is fine with what Olmert is proposing. ... [O]ne of the main reasons that Sharon was able to implement his dastardly deed was the acquiescence of the American Jewish community, most of which either supported him or kept quiet. How can we forget that Sunday morning when Sharon spoke before the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, while we protested outside? Nearly all of the major organizations were inside listening to Sharon. What kind of a message could that have sent? Olmert is counting on the same thing now. We must stop it...
"We must show Ehud Olmert that we don't support his plan. We must show the American government and people that Olmert's plan is dangerous for this country, that it compromises our security. Americans don't care about Jews being expelled from their homes, Americans don't care about Israel giving away land (except for maybe the right-wing Christians), but they do care about their security. That is the message that we must transmit to our elected officials and to the American people, that Olmert's plan is dangerous for our security!"
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, a "black umbrella" demonstration against Olmert's transfer/expulsion plan is to be held at 6 PM today (Tuesday), opposite the U.S. Consulate on Agron St. Protest participants have been asked to bring black umbrellas, of the kind famously used by Britain’s Neville Chamberlain - to whose actions they wish to compare Olmert's. Chamberlain's appeasement of Nazi Germany and his consent to have part of Czechoslovakia fall to the Nazis in 1939 is credited with having led to World War II.
Not all public Jewish organizations have endorsed the protest, however. The leaders of the Orthodox Union (OU), for instance, announced that they "believe it is inappropriate at this time to hold a rally in Washington, DC to express differences with the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel." The OU noted that Olmert is "making his first official visit to the United States, where he will meet with the President of the Jewish state’s strongest ally, and has been accorded the rare honor of addressing a joint meeting of Congress."
The American Jewish Congress, too, sees nothing to protest about. "We believe it is in the interest of the United States and Israel to try to resolve some of the dilemmas that occur in the area by giving greater certainty to Israel's borders and making it easier for Israel to defend itself," said AJC Executive Director Neil Goldstein.
The National Council of Young Israel, while also not publicly endorsing the rally, takes a more anti-Hamas stance. Executive Vice President Rabbi Pesach Lerner told Arutz-7 that he hopes President Bush will not support Olmert's plan to grant land to the Hamas terrorist organization. "We're not for giving away land, especially when you get nothing for it," Lerner told the Associated Press. "You don't get peace, you don't get security."
Many protestors at the grassroots-organized rally are not happy with the approach of the large organizations. Lee Caplan of Atlanta, who is driving with a friend over 600 miles to the rally, says,
"It is extremely important that there be a very large crowd at Tuesday's demonstration. Otherwise, the wrong message will emerge, namely, that American Jewry is fine with what Olmert is proposing. ... [O]ne of the main reasons that Sharon was able to implement his dastardly deed was the acquiescence of the American Jewish community, most of which either supported him or kept quiet. How can we forget that Sunday morning when Sharon spoke before the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, while we protested outside? Nearly all of the major organizations were inside listening to Sharon. What kind of a message could that have sent? Olmert is counting on the same thing now. We must stop it...
"We must show Ehud Olmert that we don't support his plan. We must show the American government and people that Olmert's plan is dangerous for this country, that it compromises our security. Americans don't care about Jews being expelled from their homes, Americans don't care about Israel giving away land (except for maybe the right-wing Christians), but they do care about their security. That is the message that we must transmit to our elected officials and to the American people, that Olmert's plan is dangerous for our security!"
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, a "black umbrella" demonstration against Olmert's transfer/expulsion plan is to be held at 6 PM today (Tuesday), opposite the U.S. Consulate on Agron St. Protest participants have been asked to bring black umbrellas, of the kind famously used by Britain’s Neville Chamberlain - to whose actions they wish to compare Olmert's. Chamberlain's appeasement of Nazi Germany and his consent to have part of Czechoslovakia fall to the Nazis in 1939 is credited with having led to World War II.