Demonstrators Express Opposing Views over Hamas Attack
Report and photos by Phil Pasquini
San Francisco: Outside of the Israeli Consulate on October 8 in the aftermath of the Hamas rocket and missile attack on Israel, a hastily called pro-Palestinian rally, “All Out for Palestine” saw pro-Israeli counter demonstrators square off under a heavy riot police presence hurling insults and accusations at each other as they chanted and yelled in support of their separate causes.
Demonstrating their solidarity, many Palestinians and their supporters held signs calling for an end to Israel’s 75-year occupation, ending the blockade of Gaza, continued resistance and calling for ending US aid to Israel. Several skirmishes broke out during the otherwise peaceful demonstration when members of opposing views tried to disrupt each other by attempting to enter the area of their detractors only to be remanded and forced back by police.
At the end of the demonstration each group left in opposite directions.
(Phil Pasquini is a freelance journalist and photographer. His reports and photographs appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.ink. He is the author of Domes, Arches and Minarets: A History of Islamic-Inspired Buildings in America.)
