Anti-Israel rallies are heating up in the United States, particularly in locations with a high concentration of Arab Americans.

Michigan

In the southeastern Michigan city of Dearborn, considered the centerpiece of the Arab American community, nearly 1,000 protestors massed in the center of town Monday night. Some 300,000 U.S. citizens of Arab ancestry live in the region.

Waving flags and carrying signs depicting casualties in Gaza, marchers braved wintry temperatures and chanted. "Gaza, Gaza, don't cry, Palestine will never die," and "Israel is a terrorist state."  Other marchers shouted in Arabic, "G-d is Great," and "A martyr is beloved of G-d," slogans that are also common to the extremist Islamic Movement in Israel.

One group of protestors bore a mock coffin on their shoulders festooned with photos of dead and wounded children, labeled "Victims of Zionism" and "US Tax Dollars at Work."

The protest was organized by the Congress of Arab American Organizations, which had also scheduled a memorial service for Gaza Arabs who died in the fighting. The service was delayed, however, allegedly because the hall could not fit all the protestors.

I can only think what would happen in this country if somebody was lobbing missiles onto our shores or across the border.

"There is disappointment and anger in our community and we need to express it toward the current U.S. administration that has given a blank check to the Israelis," said spokesman Osama Siblani, who also publishes the Arab American News.

The group is also planning other events.

Florida

A Tampa highway was lined with anti-Gaza War demonstrators on Tuesday, waving Palestinian Authority and U.S. flags and shouting slogans into megaphones, according to the Tampa Tribune.

The demonstration was organized through the Facebook Internet social networking website by 19-year-old Jehad Saleh, a University of South Florida student, who claimed "I've had cousins in the Gaza Strip who died. If their voices can't be heard, mine will."

A smaller protest pitted pro and anti-war demonstrators against each other Tuesday evening at an intersection in Ft. Lauderdale.

At least 200 demonstrators were involved in the confrontation, which involved Gaza supporters shouting, "You kill our children!" at pro-Israel supporters. "No! You kill your own children!" they shouted back.

New York

Anti-Israel demonstrators also massed outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City, waving PA flags and chanting "Free Palestine!" 

Charges of "punishing an entire population for the actions of a few" were heard from more than one protestor.

Counter-demonstrators at a smaller pro-Israel rally stood vigil across the street, where they were barricaded by police officers. One protestor brandished a sign insisting, "Israel must defend itself."

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed his support for the rocket-battered Jewish State at a joint news conference with Israeli Consul-General Assaf Shariv.

The Israeli Consul-General showed reporters an exploded rocket that killed an Israeli woman who had been out for a walk to illustrate in a more concrete manner the reason behind the military operation.

"I can only think what would happen in this country if somebody was lobbing missiles onto our shores or across the border," Mayor Bloomberg commented.

California

Pro and anti-war demonstrators rallied on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening as well.

Gaza supporters' signs urged Israel to "End the siege, end the bloodshed."  Pro-Israel demonstrators waved signs that read, "Hamas, stop using children as human shields."

Washington, D.C.

Thousands of demonstrators also gathered Tuesday outside the State Department, waving PA flags, wearing black-and-white checkered keffiyas (Arab head scarves) and chanting "Stop the Killing, Stop the War, Stop the Genocide of Palestinians."

The demonstrations, which began during the day with about 200 people, according to an AFP reporter, faded toward late afternoon but revived in the evening following a march to the White House. Protestors carried banners urging the government to "Stop US Aid to Israel" and "Free, Free Palestine." 

Among the groups involved in organizing the protest was the National Council of Arabs, according to Mahdi Bray, executive director for the Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom group, which also participated.

Bray slammed U.S. foreign policy, accusing the Bush administration of having "not been an honest broker." He said, "The Bush administration has been the worst."

Estimates of the crowd varied from between 2,500 to 5,000.