Nearly one hundred anti-war activists protested outside a fundraiser for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Thursday afternoon, calling the corporation a terrorist organization.

Protesters gathered in front of the Hyatt Regency Plaza in Century City around 4 p.m. where the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) was congregating that evening. The participating organizations held a news conference that included speeches from members of pro-Palestinian organizations calling for an end to the killings, blockades and expropriations of land and resources by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people.

Jim Lafferty, director of the National Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles, was one of the organizing groups that spurred the protest and said that his organization was tired of the billions of dollars the American government sends to Israel to support their military forces.

"This hotel gathering will raise millions of dollars of private money to give to Israeli Defense Forces," he said. "And [American taxpayers] give at least $3 billion every year to Israeli forces by way of military aid."

Lafferty said that there were a few dozen organizations at the protest that disapproved of how Israel has used America's aid money. 

"Israeli forces have destroyed so much of Palestinian life," Lafferty continued. "We need to stop funding this Israeli war machine that is enacting genocidal practices against the Palestinian people."

From 2000 to 2009, military aid from the U.S. government has amounted to at least $24 billion and that number is scheduled to rise to almost $30 million by 2018, according to Lafferty.

"America keeps giving Israel a carte blanche to go on killing Palestinian civilians," he said. "We need to stop this policy."

The FIDF did not issue a statement about the protest but affirmed that they do support Israeli soldiers in other ways besides donating funds to the Israeli military. The organization fundraises to help former Israeli soldiers acheive higher education goals through their IMPACT! program. The organization also works to increase opportunities for Israeli soldiers to complete 12 years of formal education and receive a high school completion certificate by the end of their military service; supports the Isreali Defense Forces medical scholarship program; and builds, refurbishes, and maintains recreation and sports centers, cultural and educational facilities, synagogues, memorial rooms, auditoriums and “soldiers’ homes” for soldiers throughout Israel. The organization recently raised $26 million for Israel's soldiers in March.

Stevie Wonder canceled a scheduled appearance at the FIDF fundraiser, citing "a recommendation from the United Nations to withdraw," and "the current and delicate situation in the Middle East."

FIDF Director and CEO Israeli Army Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Gershon expressed "regret" over Wonder's decision in a statement, and reaffirmed that "FIDF is a non-political organization that provides much-needed humanitarian support regardless of religion, political affiliation or military activity."

Lafferty said Wonder's sudden cancellation was because of his and other pro-Palestinian organizations mobilization to gather thousands of signatures to ask the singer not to attend.

Many of the protesters were not of Palestinian descent but chose to "stand in solidarity" with Palestinians against Israel. A horde of honking cars shared the same sentiments.

Carol Watson, a long time member of the Los Angeles Lawyer's Guild, decided to come to this protest to support a friend's pro-Palestinian organization, Women in Black. Watson also disapproves of the U.S.'s monetary relationship with Israel and believes that President Obama's administration should stop funding the Israeli army.

"I think the United States is too close to Israel and we need to take a courageous stand against its policy and help the neighboring people who are oppressed. It's disappointing," she said.

Watson added the Israeli government does not define the views of the Jewish people as a whole.

"The Israeli government's position is distinguished from the Jewish people, because its position on Palestine is against human rights laws and violates innocent people," she said.

Many protesters also linked U.S.'s support of Israel to support of war against Palestine and held up large signs reading, "U.S.-Israel War Machine" and "End U.S.-Israel Occupation of Palestine."

Other signs belayed much harsher statements and allegations: "What Would Anne Frank Say?" "Why do Palestinians have to pay for the Holocaust" and "End Israeli Genocide in Gaza."

The protesters huddled around the small news conference as a handful of speakers from pro-Palestinian organizations and support groups railed against Israel, the FIDF and Obama.

Shakeel Syed is the executive director of the Islamic Shura Council for Southern California and a member of other pro-Palestine groups, like American Muslims for Palestine and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Syed told the crowd, "Palestinians today are the South Africans of yesterday," and that America does not have the spine to stand up and intervene, and shamed President Obama for remaining "appallingly silent" about the situation in Gaza.

"We are here to protest three groups: the Israeli Defense Forces; Friends of the Israeli Defense forces, who are enemies of Justice," Syed continued. "And finally, we are here to protest our own nation."

Another speaker from the Middle East Fellowship said, "Palestinians are cooped up in the world's largest concentration camp," while fellow protesters clapped and shouted in agreement.

Mike Peled, the son of Israeli Gen. Matti Peled who helped found the Israeli Defense Fund, addressed his Jewish heritage and explained that many Jewish people strongly disagree with Israel's policy on Palestine.

"I am an Israeli whose father was one of the pioneers who started the IDF, an organization that started the ethnic cleansing and brutal massacres against the civilian population of Palestine." Peled said.

He demanded all funding to IDF and all weapon shipments to Israel be halted immediately, and that a "no-fly" zone be imposed over Gaza immediately. Peled whose son attends UCLA, also addressed recent claims against the UC system for limiting anti-Israel protests on its campuses, saying criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic.

"If criticizing Israel means you hate Jews, first of all why are there so many Jewish people here today?" he asked. "What does it mean if you support a state that drops bombs on innocent civilians?"

Protesters also donned placards around their necks with the names and ages of Palestinian civilians killed in the most recent Israeli operation in Gaza last month. There were about 170, said Huda Bayaa of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.

Founded after 9/11, the anti-war organization Act Now to Stop War and End Racism expressed its opinion that Israel is one of the biggest terrorists in the world today, and reiterated earlier sentiments accusing Israel of keeping Palestinians in a system of apartheid.

"It's a colonial-settler state," said Peta Lindsay, an ANSWER national organizer. "We don't want our tax dollars going to slaughter Palestinians."

 

 

 

 
Reach Staff Reporter Brianna Sacks here.