After what was an otherwise-peaceful protest against “the massacre in Gaza,” a cameraman affiliated with the pro-Israel/anti-Islamic group The United West hit the video jackpot: a group of men who couldn't control their tempers and a few dozen demonstrators chanting in favor of holy war and Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
"I’m gonna kill you ************, you and all the Israelis!” one man says, after flipping two middle fingers.
And…. Cut! That's a wrap, folks.
"Miami HAMAS ATTACKS Jewish Reporter!" the YouTube headline from The United West blares. It was uploaded six days after the July 20 rally and quickly blazed across conservative websites.
The event’s organizers, who staged the rally near the Israeli consulate, say nothing about Hamas on their Facebook page. So it’s an after-the-fact inference to assume that the scores of demonstrators pictured at the event back Hamas.
“In solidarity with our occupied sisters and brothers of Palestine, activists are uniting in South Florida to support peace, liberation, and human rights,” the organizers, a coalition of Muslim- and Palestinian-rights groups,said on Facebook.
Some complained that at least one pro-Israel demonstrator was scary.
“A large and impressive turnout and I was proud to lend my voice in support of the besieged people of Gaza!” a man named Michael Deibert wrote afterward. “A side note: Does anyone know who the pro-Israel fanatic who showed up with a gun and had to be disarmed by the police was?”
As with any dispute rooted in the Middle East, it’s tough to tell who did what exactly, who started it, who’s more at fault and what the ultimate truth is. The video posted by The United West is edited. We don’t know the whole story.
But we probably never will. We’re left with anger, provocation, charges and countercharges. And video.
To what degree the United West-affiliated cameraman was being provocative doesn’t fully matter. He has a right to shoot video in public. The demonstrators could have thwarted him peacefully by blocking his camera with signs or the kaffiyehs some wore. At least one man on scene yelled at his friends to leave the cameraman alone.
No need to hit or shove. No need to threaten. No need to get angry about someone shooting video at a rally because a big part of being at a rally is to be seen.
“We’re not here for a problem!” he said. “Let him do whatever the **** he wants!”
To be clear, the video indicates that the entire crowd was not chanting in favor of Hamas and jihad. The pro-Hamas group (and the even smaller band of angry men) was one clique out of many. The event’s organizers include the Al-Awda Coalition, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)-FL, POWIR, Broward Green Party, CAIR, National Lawyers Guild (South Florida), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) - FAU, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) – FIU.
“We call for an end to Israel's massacre on the Palestinians of GAZA,” the organizers said. “We call on the US government to condemn Israeli aggression and human rights violations and to immediately cut off the $3 billion of U.S. taxpayer dollars that the U.S. sends to Israel annually. We call on mainstream U.S. media to stop with its biased reporting and to hear more Palestinian voices.”
Hope to see some video.
