Marching for Israel and Genocide

By Philip Giraldi

For those who missed it or chose to ignore it, there was a large demonstration in Washington in mid-November dubbed the “March for Israel,” with many posters and signs featuring “Israel We Stand With You.” I have no big problem with Americans “standing with Israel” as long as they go over to Israel to do it and in some cases at least put their own lives at risk in doing so, but that is not the way they operate.

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What I do have a problem with is the cause they are supporting, namely the ethnic cleansing of an entire nation or even, if required, a military-style genocide of the inhabitants of an area that was entirely populated by an ethnic group called Palestinians before Israel’s mostly European immigrants entered the scene and used foreign provided force majeur to steal the land and property. While so doing they were also killing thousands of locals and forcing three quarters of a million more to abandon their homes and spend their lives in refugee camps, a process of ethnic cleansing that has continued and even expanded through the creation of illegal settlements since the founding of the Jewish state 75 years ago.

The rally was organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America in solidarity with Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 surprise Hamas attack. Apart from backing the Israeli government in its devastating counterattack on Gaza, the stated goals of the rally were to support Israel in general, to call for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas, and to combat “anti-Semitism.”

“Anti-Semitism” has allegedly spiked in the U.S. and elsewhere following the Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli reaction, which has been nothing short of barbaric, that marked the start of the war. The usually cited source the Anti-Defamation League has stated that “anti-Semitism” has increased 388% in the U.S. since Oct. 6, 2023.

Of course, one must observe that the ADL is not a reliable source when it comes to monitoring “anti-Semitism” as its agenda is clearly to send the message that Jews as a group are threatened, which is just not true to anything near the extent that is being implied. The reason why “anti-Semitism” and “Holocaust denial” are used so often against critics is to discredit them without having to provide any evidence.

For the ADL, if a Jewish college student walking on campus sees a pro-Palestinian poster and becomes upset by it, it is considered an “anti-Semitic incident.” What I am saying is that this is an entirely faked exercise to convince the audience that Israel and Jews are the victims in spite of the fact that many more Palestinians have been killed and dispossessed since the founding of Israel in 1948.

If there is any real increase in actual anti-Semitism it is in response to the highly visible bestiality that the Jewish state has exhibited against the original occupants of what was once Palestine. Israel wants the Palestinians gone, and these are the first steps in what might be termed a final solution, aided and abetted by American monsters like Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who have made the United States complicit in war crimes.

Many participants in the Israel rally came by charter buses organized by Jewish synagogues and schools. Most of the crowd appeared to be Jewish but there was also a strong Christian Zionist component. Groups came from New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Boston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Miami plus other domestic and international locations.

U.S. college students were given $250 in travel and expenses money to attend as an incentive. The crowd was considerable though there is some confusion about how many were actually in attendance. The organizers predicted 60,000 which was the number initially accepted, but other estimates of the crowd were as low as 10,000 or 25,000. The numbers quickly grew in some news stories to uncorroborated estimates of 270,000 to 300,000. There is, of course, certain bragging rights in large numbers and the march was in competition with a Palestinian rally that attracted 300,000 the week before, so let’s just accept that there was a large group present on the mall.

Joe Biden did not personally attend the rally but he said on the following day “[that] Israel’s military operation in Gaza would stop when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder, abuse, and do horrific things to the Israelis.” He left out the part of continuous abuse of Palestinians going back 75 years, and clearly is not paying attention to senior Israeli government officials who are making comments that indicate that the grand objective is to remove the Palestinians from what will soon be Eretz or Greater Israel.

Speakers at the three-hour rally included Israel’s self-described protector in Congress Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Pastor John Hagee, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog (via video from Jerusalem), who praised Biden for his “moral clarity and bold actions.”

Johnson predictably declared that “calls for a ceasefire are outrageous!” while the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt also delivered on demand a plea: “Do not cower, allow no one to make you afraid.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who served mostly as an apologist for the Jewish state while in office, roamed the mall expressing his joy at developments. Other notable speakers included Natan Sharansky and actress Debra Messing.

Speeches followed the predictable narrative, with descriptions of how Israel had been attacked by terrorists who sought to destroy the Jewish state, that Israel is America’s best friend and closest ally, and how Israel is only defending itself from attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not speak, stated in an interview in Israel that if his country does not succeed in crushing Hamas, the next terrorist attacks would be directed against America, an evidence free claim to strengthen U.S. resolve, but as Netanyahu hardly ever tells the truth it should be taken for what it’s worth.

And, of course, everyone’s openly stated or subliminal message was that America must stand by and do whatever it takes to help defend its good friend and ally, including rejecting a cease fire or negotiations and letting the slaughter of Gazan women and children continue. The discredited tales of torture, mass rapes of Israeli women, and the beheading of Jewish babies, which are still being relayed by President Biden, were also part of the rally agenda and appeared as the messages on signs and posters.

What was not mentioned, however, was the systematic Israeli bombing of hospitals, schools, churches, and infrastructure, all of which are war crimes, as are the attacks on high density civilian targets which have produced more than 11,000 deaths as of this writing, mostly consisting of women and children. Targeting civilians in that fashion and in those numbers can and should be construed as genocide. Israel’s war on hospitals can also be regarded as part of a systematic campaign of genocide. The deliberate targeting of civilian populations, including children and medical aid workers, has been elevated to an Israeli government policy to drive the Palestinians from what was once Palestine.

Official Washington was on parade and in lockstep to demonstrate its unshakable loyalty to Israel even as opinion polls suggest that the American public is tired of the charade. A couple of brave peaceniks dared to move on the fringes of the crowd with signs calling for a ceasefire to end the carnage, but they were openly derided and threatened, so they kept their distance. One truly shocking attendee at the rally was former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who was present and spouting the straight Israel line about how it was the victim of terrorism.

Gabbard said:

It is inspiring to see how many people are flooding into Washington—understanding the seriousness of this moment, coming from all over the country. Many Jewish people [and] many people who are not Jewish … are coming and saying that we must stand up against anti-Semitism.

We must stand up for our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we must take a strong stand against the Islamist terrorists who seek to not only exterminate the Jewish people but also to exterminate and kill anyone who does not adhere to their radical interpretation of Islam.

She sounded something like the State Department’s despicable number two Victoria Nuland looking for another country to attack. Now that RFK Jr. has also obligingly rolled over for the Jewish state, there is no genuine peace candidate anywhere on the horizon and the beat of the war drums will continue to sound.

More out of sync perhaps was the presence as an ally of convenience evangelical Pastor John Hagee of the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) group which was well represented both at the rally and as the largest Christian Zionist component of the Israel Lobby in the U.S. Hagee has said that Hitler was a “half-breed Jew,” created and sent by God as a “hunter” to drive European Jews on a divine mission to fulfill prophecy by creating the state of Israel to bring about the End Time and the Second Coming of Christ followed by the Rapture of all true believers into heaven. Jews will have to convert to participate. One brings someone as controversial as Hagee out of the woodwork only to send a message that this is not about making sure that Jews are safe. It’s about showing solidarity with Israel, no matter what it does.

And what kind of rally against anti-Semitism includes racist signs calling for more war, more bombings, and the destruction of not just Hamas but also the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians? Or as one sign held by a masked protester read, “From the river to the sea, Israel is all you will see.”

The “Holocaust” was evoked a number of times by speakers, particularly when it came time to describe the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 as the largest killing of Jews since WWII. Of course, no one mentioned the fundamental dysfunction in the U.S.-Israeli relationship, which is that Israel calls nearly all the shots, including the killing of 34 sailors on the USS Liberty in 1967 and the more recent shooting of American citizen journalists covering Palestinian protests by Israeli sharpshooters. Israelis who kill Americans are never punished, unlike the demands for retribution being made by speakers in Washington at the rally to kill not only all of Hamas but also the Gazan voters who elected Ha­mas in the first place.

Though it is somewhat repetitive to say so, lest there be any confusion, that is referred to as genocide which is regarded as the most serious crime against humanity. And no one spoke up at the rally against the involvement of the U.S. military in the operation against Gaza, which Biden is lying about and which is opposed by a majority of the public. Nor did anyone cite recent comments by U.S. General Richard Clark that American soldiers must be “prepared to die for the Jewish state.”

Perhaps the politicians in Washington should ask U.S. soldiers whether they are “prepared to die for the Jewish state.” Or maybe a national referendum should be held asking the public whether it wants to continue arming and sending billions of dollars to Israel and to Ukraine as well?

Evidence suggests that a clear majority would oppose both policies, which have hardly been debated at all in any serious way. Americans who want to “stand with Israel” should be allowed to go there with a one-way ticket in exchange for which they have to turn in their U.S. passports as another major issue is, “Who are they actually loyal to?” I’ll bet I know the answer to that one!

Philip Giraldi is a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer and a columnist and television commentator. He is also the executive director of the Council for the National Interest. Other articles by Giraldi  can be found on the website of the Unz Review.