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I went to a protest today, Union Sq., NYC.
Nicole Binder
March 30, 2002
Hello Jewish Women,
I went to an amazing protest today that I learned about late last night. I was
up until 5 A.M., making signs, reading the news and crying.
There were at least 250 people there today, media, big and small. It lasted over
three hours. As far as I know, the demo was planned less than 24 hrs in advance.
The first thing that happened when I arrived was that I ran into an old, dear
friend from years ago. We ended up marching, chanting, side by side for two
hours.
I held a sign that said our group's name and many people were intigued. I saw
many people in cars mouthing out the words, "J-e-w-i-s-h w-o-m-e-n- f-o-r
J-u-s-t-i-c-e..." with perplexed expressions. I overheard a man happily tell his
young son, "look there are Jews here too". I was shocked to see a lot
of passersby who gave me smiles and thumbs up. Only a few gave unkind remarks.
We marched around the perimeter of the park, past outdoor restaurants where
diners had no choice but to open up their eyes and watch. conversations stopped,
forks held midair.
I met a young Jewish guy who goes to Hamphsire College, (where I went to school)
and he spoke to me about his frustration. He wants to DO SOMETHING! I invited
him to get involved in our street theater.
And I saw an old friend, very conservative, who walked by angrily, pissed that
her shopping was interrupted. I don't think that she saw me, but if she did she
might have pretended otherwise.
At the end of the march, we congregated at the south end of the park. People
spoke about their families back home, how they are afraid, how they can't reach
them by phone. A young Palestinian man spoke about a demo he went to last night.
He said that 50 Arabs went to the U.N. last night, in desperation. There was no
media. He felt like he was all alone, without support. Then today he saw Arabs,
Jews, men, women of so many races, together fighting for Palestine's freedom.
And he said that he no longer felt alone.
Peace,
-Nicole
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