10,000 in Sydney rally for Israel

by Danya Levy 
The Australian Jewish News
April 29, 2002
http://www.ajn.com.au

AMID a sea of blue and white clothes, balloons and Israeli 
flags, an estimated 10,000 Sydney Jews cheered, sang and 
wept in solidarity with Israel on Sunday in the largest 
public gathering in the history of the New South Wales 
Jewish community. 

Demonstrators from a wide cross-section of the community 
converged near the Israeli Consulate, carrying placards with 
photographs of Israeli victims of terror, as well as banners 
and posters. 

One called for support for "Israel's right to survive". Another 
read "End the occupation - of suicide bombers". Yet another 
proclaimed "Oslo, Tenet, Mitchell, Wye, Camp David - Israel 
wants peace". 

The gathering, which included large numbers of youth as well 
as nuns and church representatives, fell silent as the names 
of 97 Israelis killed by terrorists since Pesach were read out. 

An emotional letter from former Australian Arnold Roth - whose 
15-year-old daughter Malki was killed by a suicide bomber at 
the Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem last August - was read by 
Australasian Union of Jewish Students national president 
Jason Hadassin, followed by a letter from 41 Australian 
students currently in Israel on youth programs. 

"Israel has always been there for the Jews. Now it is time 
for Jews to be there for Israel," they wrote. 

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president Stephen Rothman told 
the crowd that Jewish communities in New South Wales, Australia 
and around the world were strongly united during this time of 
crisis. 

"We are united because Israel's enemies are our enemies and 
they are seeking openly and obviously the demise of Israel as 
a Jewish state. Not since 1948 has the very existence of 
Israel been so much the subject of attack by our enemies," 
he said. 

Israel has offered the Palestinian people what no Arab state 
has, he said - "a Palestinian state". 

"But we will not do so at the expense of the existence of Israel 
as a Jewish state... We have the right to defend ourselves; 
we have the right to dismantle the infrastructure of terror; 
we have the right to arrest terrorists." 

Israel and the Diaspora had celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut last 
week with a "heavy heart", Israel Consul-General Ephraim 
Ben-Matityahu told the rally. "Many people feel our struggle 
for independence is not yet finished. Our unity is the key to 
our success." 

Israel's struggle was always for its own existence, he said, 
"not for the destruction of someone else's existence". 
Mr Ben-Matityahu said Israel faced two other fronts: the wider 
Arab world and "missionary journalism". "They [the media] have 
created their own courts where pictures are their judgment - 
not truth, not context." 

Member for Vaucluse Peter Debnam concurred, adding that the 
media bias against Israel had been "relentless". 

"I call on all critics to go and see Israel. It is a democracy 
defending itself against terrorism." 

Zionist Federation of Australia president Ron Weiser saluted 
the 10,000-strong crowd. Condemning the incessant attacks on 
Israeli civilians, he said: "[Suicide bombers] are nurtured 
and recruited. They are incited and brainwashed. They and 
their families are supported financially. There is a culture 
of violence and terror that is encouraged."