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Peace Process

Israelis again say ?NO!? to retreat


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
October 15, 2004

As many as 150,000 Israeli Jews gathered in town squares throughout the country Thursday evening in yet another mass demonstration against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to uproot Jewish Gaza and the northern Samaria settlements.

The unprecedented event involved 100 simultaneous rallies in 100 Israeli towns.

At the central event in Jerusalem, more than 10,000 settlers and their supporters crammed into Paris Square, just meters from the prime minister’s official residence. Reports from the scene indicated the square was full to its utmost capacity.

Benzi Lieberman, head of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip (Yesha), reminded the gathering that “Sharon has neither a moral nor an electoral mandate to implement the plan.”

The so-called “disengagement” plan “intends to steal away 2,000 years of Jewish history and has the goal of crushing the Jewish people,” Lieberman said.

Prior to his speech, Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post that cabinet ministers in Sharon’s government had called to encourage him to continue with the public relations struggle against disengagement.

They said the efforts of the settlers and their supporters were paying off, as was evidenced by Monday’s symbolic Knesset vote, in which Sharon’s speech focusing on the Gaza retreat was rejected.

Later in the evening, Binyamin Regional Council head Pinhas Wallerstein called on Sharon halt his bulldozer tactics, and turn to the people to see what they think of his plan.

"We believe that any decision needs to be made by the people and not by Sharon. A majority of the people wants new elections or a referendum, and this demonstration sends that message loud and clearly to the prime minister,” Wallerstein said.

Sharon has vehemently rejected the idea of holding a national referendum on his plan, claiming it would delay implementation by more than a year.

Recent public opinion polls show a majority of Israelis are opposed to Sharon’s current political maneuvering, and would prefer he seek a mandate from the people for his policies.

The Israeli media and leftist political parties and organizations attempted to play down the night of protests, pointing out that the organizers had originally hoped to attract more than half a million participants.

[ Ed. Note - In a nation of only 6 million citizens – only 4.5 million of which are Jews - a 150,000-strong gathering represents a sizable portion of the public. ]

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