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When a small delegation from World Can’t Wait, Friends of Sabeel and Veterans for Peace pulled up to the checkpoint at the entrance to Obama’s vacation retreat to protest Israel’s massacre in Gaza, the press corps sequestered in a nearby bus sprang into action and began interviewing. Journalists initially ran out the official line that Obama wasn’t speaking about Israel’s assault on Gaza because he isn’t yet president, and it would be inappropriate for him to give an opinion. However, when protesters pointed out that Obama quickly condemned the bombing in Mumbai, and has spoken out almost daily on the domestic situation in the U.S., the conversation changed. Within an hour, a Reuters story on the protest was picked up by media around the globe. The story was then picked up by MSNBC, CNN and others. Much of the media picked up on Obama’s silence on this issue while speaking out on others, and cited Obama’s earlier support for Israel at AIPAC. The media coverage was in stark contrast to what happened later the same afternoon at a rally called by Friends of Sabeel and World Can’t Wait.
Soon after 4pm more than 100 protesters lined Ala Moana Blvd at the Federal Building holding signs and chanting. Most brought hastily made handwritten signs. Some carried Palestinian flags. It was the first time in recent history that dozens of members from the local mosque were in the streets. An elderly Palestinian spoke out against Israel’s history of genocide against the Palestinian people. People of many faiths and political outlooks stood in solidarity against U.S. support for Israel, and demanded a free Palestine. And yet this very significant outpouring of both rage and solidarity was only seen by the people passing by during evening rush hour, many of whom showed
enthusiastic support by honking, or throwing a shaka, thumbs up, or peace sign.
When the protest began, a single TV station was on the scene. When more than a dozen people showed up to protest he picked up his camera and left. Mainstream media was remarkably absent throughout the 2-hour protest, and instead chose to spend their time soliciting interviews from residents in the up-scale neighborhood surrounding Obama’s retreat to discredit the early morning action.
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