Tel Aviv 22/7/2006 - "STOP SHOOTING! START TALKING!" zope.gush-shalom.org
They came from all over the country, Jews and Arabs, from the air-raid shelters of Haifa and Nazareth and the still safe neighborhoods of metropolitan Tel-Aviv.
The third demonstration against the war in Lebanon attracted much greater numbers than the first ones. While the first had 100 participants and the second reached already about 1000, this time (July 22) some 5000 took part.
"Olmert get out of Lebanon -- the war is a disaster!" the protesters shouted. "We hall neither die nor kill - in the service of the USA" "Peretz, Peretz beware - in The Hague they are waiting for you! "Olmert, Olmert resign - you are not wanted anymore" "All the cabinet ministers are war criminals" and more.
After marching from Rabin Square to Cinemateque Square, the protesters held a rally that filled the square and flowed over into the neighboring streets.
The first speaker was former minister and Israel-Prize laureate Shulamit Aloni, who condemned the war in the harshest terms. She was followed by former MK Issam Makhoul for Hadash, former MK Uri Avnery for Gush Shalom, Youth movements' representative Yael Leirer, Yishai Menuhin for "Yesh Gvul", Awad Abd-al-Fatah for Balad, and Abeer Kopti for the Haifa group "Women Against War". The rally was conducted by Huloud Badawi of Ta'ayush and Jana Knofowa of the "Women's Coalition for Peace".
All speakers demanded an immediate end to the war and the start of negotiations, before we get sucked into the Lebanese quagmire the same way as in last war.