A headline on the front page of the New York Times today asserts: “Israelis United on Gaza War Even as Censure Rises Abroad” (Ethan Bronner, 13 January 2009). The article goes on to claim that “antiwar rallies here have struggled to draw 1,000 participants” (emphasis added). To be sure, the very first antiwar rally in Tel Aviv was small, as you can see in this video by No Comment TV:
“Tel Aviv, Israel 26.12.08,” No Comment TV, 27 December 2008
But that rally was held on the night of 26 December 2008, before “Operation Cast Lead” actually began on 27 December — in other words, when no one in the world was protesting it yet.
By now, antiwar rallies in Israel, even outside the predominantly Arab areas, have become much larger than the New York Times would have us believe, as documented by Israel’s Social TV:
“Thousands of Israelis Protest against the War in Gaza, Tel-Aviv, 3-1-2009,” Israel Social TV, 6 January 2009
Add the antiwar actions of the Palestinian citizens, who make up nearly 20% of the Israeli population, to those of anti-war Jewish citizens and others, it is safe to say that at the very least more than 100,000 in Israel have rallied against the Gaza massacre. That is huge in a country whose population is just 7.4 million.
Social TV is an Israeli initiative for independent media and public education for social change.