Dec 31, 2008 12:08 pm US/Pacific
Pro-Israeli, Pro-Hamas Forces Square Off In L.A.
Protest Held In Front Of Israel's Consulate
LOS ANGELES
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Protestors and supporters faced off in support and against the violence on the Gaza Strip.
CBS
Hundreds of Palestinian supporters took to Wilshire Boulevard Tuesday, lashing out at Israel for what they call a "barbaric attack" on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Protestors and supporters of Israel faced off across the boulevard late Tuesday, staking out their positions in front of the Israeli Consulate. Another, smaller protest also took place outside the Federal Building in Westwood.
"The amount of suffering is totally unacceptable under any pretext," said Maher Hathout, senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council, at a morning news conference.
A spokesman for the Israeli government in Los Angeles said the nation is only defending itself after Hamas unilaterally ended the cease fire, a shaky agreement that Palestinians said was supposed to end a crippling blockade.
"Israel's disproportionate response is cruel and unacceptable to any human being by any standards," Hathout said. "This is not the way to change government."
Muslim-American community leaders announced their support for a multimillion-dollar national fundraising campaign by Islamic Relief USA to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian victims.
As part of the effort, Friday prayer meetings at more than 70 mosques throughout Southern California will be dedicated to victims of the attacks. There are an estimated 650,000 Muslims living in Southern California.
Protests were also scheduled for later in the day at the Westwood Federal Building and the Israeli Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard just east of Beverly Hills.
At the Westwood protest, actor Mike Farrell said he is "one of those people horrified by Israel's over-reponse
"Not that I'm in favor of Hamas by any means, because firing rockets into Israel is not the way these things get resolved in a productive way," the longtime activist said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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