Thousands of supporters of Israel march in New York

[Scurrilous]

Source: Newsday

<snip>

"Thousands of Israel supporters marched up Fifth Avenue on Sunday in the Salute to Israel Parade commemorating the 1948 founding of the Jewish state.

Marchers sang "Hava Nagila," and waved the Star of David flag; many carried colorful paper torches indicating that Israel is the Biblical "light unto the nations."

"It brings a tear to my eye," said Devora Cohen, a tourist from Tel Aviv who watched the parade. "I'm very happy."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg led off the parade accompanied by Mayor Uri Lupolianski of Jerusalem."



Governor of New York, Elliot Spitzer, center, walks with other politicians and dignitaries in the Salute to Israel Day Parade in New York, Sunday, May 6, 2007




Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--israelparade0506may06,0,7857692.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

[Name removed]

1. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tom Joad]

2. who remembers the victims? Over 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes

This is the 59th anniversary of the Nakba... the tragedy.
This must be remembered.

[papau]

5. Mostly scared - not forced - but its true - 750,000 (500,000 by some count - it doesn't matter) left

a land they lived in to avoid war. Doesn't really matter that those against Israel decided there must be war - the vast majority of these people just wanted to get out of the way. The fact the Ottomans did this people removal over 350 years, and that Turkey/Syria/Lebanon did the "exchange of populations" in 1918 to early 1920's with Greece, does not make the loss of a home less sad, whether or not you owned the property or were renters of Ottoman property that had been by international law transfered to whatever state was currently in control of the area in .

Curious that victory declared as independence on one side on May 14 is now celebrated on 5th of Iyyar of the Hebrew calendar (which can fall between 15 April and 15 May), while the loss is noted by the other side on May 15th. It is hard to get agreement in the Mideast on anything, but one would think a date would be easier than most things.

In any case, perhaps the focus should be less on the celebration of the victors of 48, or the pain of those that fled, and more on getting a peace that is fair and actually possible without one group destroying the other - say a Taba/Geneva based agreement?

[Robbien]

3. A parade gets a big news story

It is nice and all that a parade is held for Israel, but there is probably a parade a day being held somewhere.

Oh well, happy day Israel.

:party:

[Tom Joad]

4. Remember this also:

[UndertheOcean]

7. we do remember.

n/t

[Turbineguy]

6. Alan Sherman's version of Hava Nagila

Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Oh the day they met.

Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
No one will forget.

Harvey's a CPA
He works for IBM
He went to MIT
And got his PHD.

Sheila's a girl I know
At BBDNO
She works the PBX
And makes out the checks.

Then, came, one great day when,
Harvey took the elevator,
Sheila got in two floors later,
Soon they both felt they were falling,
Everyone heard Sheila calling,
"RING THE BELL"
But they fell,
Harv and Sheila fell in love.

Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Chose a wedding ring.

Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Married in the spring.

She shopped at A&P
He bought a used MG
They sat and watched TV
On their RCA.

Borrowed from HFC
Bought some AT&T
And on election day
Worked for JFK.

Then they went and got a
Charge-a-plate from R.H. Macy's
Bought a layette
Pink and lacey
Then they had twin baby girls
Both with dimples
Both with curls
One named Bea
One named Kay
Soon they joined the PTA.

Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Moved to west LA

Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Harvey and Sheila
Flew TWA

They bought a house one day
Financed by HFA
It had a swimming pool
Full of H2O

Traded their used MG
For a new XKE
Switched to the GOP
That's they way thing go.

Oh that Harvey he was really smart
He used his noodle
Sheila got a white French Poodle
Went to Europe with a VISA
Harvey's rich they say that he's a
VIP
This could be
Only in the USA.

[IndianaGreen]

8. Happy birthday Israel!

Israel's founding was not the "catastrophe" that one hears from those who rather see Israel pushed into the sea. It is also true that Israel was meant to be a "light unto the nations." The true lies somewhere in between.

This is what makes Israel's independence such a bitter sweat affair. Israel has become a pariah nation, blamed for all the ills that have befallen to the people of the Middle East. Never mind that the Palestinians were betrayed by the Arab governments, and that their own leaders enriched themselves while they suffered.

The best thing that could happen to Israel is the election of a Democratic President in the United States. Bush has not only been AWOL on the Middle East peace process, but he has made things worse by conducting an Evangelical military crusade in Iraq.

[Ignacio Upton]

9. Israel's safety is a key reason for why going into Iraq was a disaster

While I don't like what the IDF has done in some cases in launching incursions into the West Bank and Gaza, Israel is not like Apartheid South Africa. If you are an Arab/Muslim with Israeli citizenship (typically a descendant of someone who didn't flee in 1948) then you have the same access to the same opportunities that any Jewish Israeli has. Israel has been a miraculous success story economically as well (although I'm wondering if part of that is due to the Holocaust leading many of Europe's best and brightest to seek refuge, or if Israel could have become as successful without many of the Holocaust survivors.)

[IndianaGreen]

10. Toppling Saddam has opened the door to radical Shias and to Al-Qaeda

The situation is so FUBAR that it has destabilized the entire region with unpredictable consequences. To think that the same assholes that wanted war with Iraq now want war with Iran.