Middle East

Day of protests in Copley Square

adamg — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:02:32 +0000

Occupy Boston moved over to Copley Square for a "general assembly" today even as Syrian expatriates and supporters were protesting for a free Syria. Richard Beaubien was there.

Copyright Richard Beaubien. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Occupy Lobby: Scott Brown vs. anti-Israel protesters

adamg — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:54:50 +0000

A small group of Occupy Boston protesters marched from Dewey Square to Park Plaza Friday evening and held a brief sit-in in the lobby of the office building that houses the Israeli consulate.

The protesters, who chanted against "Israeli apartheid," did not actually get up to the consulate and were ushered out by police after about 15 minutes.

Sen. Brown, however, today denounced this "invasion of the Israeli consulate in Boston:"

It was shocking to hear the protestors chanting anti-Israel slogans in support of the terrorist-backed intifada uprising, which has created so much misery and death in Israel. There should be no mistaking which side America is on in the fight against terror, and I want to make it clear that I stand with Israel.

Fighting fire with hummus

adamg — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:58:41 +0000

Martin Solomon reports (with photos) that pro-Israel demonstrators countered a pro-Palestine protest outside the Park Street T stop the other day not with megaphones of their own but with tables from which they gave out samples of Israeli hummus:

Commuters flocked to the tables to sample the delicious spread.

Libyan protest in Copley Square

adamg — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:41:53 +0000

BostonTweet (above) and Neal Gaffey took photos of the protest against the Libyan government today.

Photos copyright BostonTweet and Neal Gaffey, respectively.

Did the roots of Egyptian regime change grow in East Boston?

adamg — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:45:56 +0000

The Daily Beast profiles Gene Sharp and his Einstein Institution, which preaches non-violent revolt:

For the last half century, Sharp has been writing about nonviolent protest, and trying to make his ideas accessible to dissidents the world over. No mean feat, given that his signature work, The Politics of Non-Violent Action, weighs in at 900 pages and was published in 1973. But it's working. Thanks in part to a distillation of his ideas entitled From Dictatorships to Democracy, which can be downloaded from Sharp's website in dozens of languages, his gospel of upheaval has apparently become essential reading for budding revolutionaries in Cairo and parts beyond.

Via EastBoston.com.

Any local celebrations of events in Egypt?

adamg — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:03:01 +0000

If you know of any, please post.

Anti-Mubarak protest in Cambridge, Boston

adamg — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 18:49:24 +0000

Young protester. Photo by Jillian York.

John Pouliot tweets on the protest that started in Central Square:

300+ ppl Signs: "Freedom for Egypt" "Down with Mubarak" & in Arabic.

More protesters. Photo by ChinatownKicks.

Protesters in the Back Bay. Photo by Nancy & Ronan.

Scott Eisen took lots of photos of the march. More photos by York.

Top photo used under this Creative Commons license by Jillian York. Second photo copyright ChinatownKicks. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr. Third photo copyright Nancy & Ronan. Tagged as universalhub on Flickr.

Gay friendly center cancels talk on gay oppression in Iran when they realize Jewish group was going to co-sponsor it

adamg — Sat, 08 May 2010 01:39:28 +0000

Hillel Stavis reports on the dustup between Spontaneous Celebrations in Jamaica Plain and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Anti-Israel protesters choose a Saturday to protest Israel in Brookline

adamg — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:28:48 +0000

Gosh, why would they do that? Martin Solomon posts some e-mail from one of the organizers:

The effect of a silent march through the (mostly but not entirely) liberal Jewish neighborhood on the Sabbath with a banner saying Freedom and Equality for Palestine! should be strikng indeed...

And yes, there will be pro-Israel counter march, with people standing outside the temples along the route.

Solemn moment in the rain in Copley Square

adamg — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:43:53 +0000

Scooterdude, the guy you see sailing around Copley Square with his plastic sail, was out yesterday enjoying a ride (yes, in the rain), when a family got out of a car and walked to the center of the park with a flag and then stood there:

... I approached them and asked about the flag and their purpose.

They explained that it was the flag of Iran and that they were there to continue a witness to the ordeal the Iranian people are currently suffering in their homeland.

I couldn't help but admire their solitary witness, their commitment and resolution that, despite this dismal day of wind and wetness, they came out to stand for their people and for the democratic principles that all of us share. ...

Rally for Iranians in front of City Hall today

adamg — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:36:17 +0000

5 to 8 p.m. in City Hall Plaza.

Not banned in Boston - or Stoughton

adamg — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:36:05 +0000

Solomonia reports that Geert Wilders, the Dutch lawmaker banned from Britain for criticizing "the creeping tyranny of Islamization," will speak at a Stoughton temple on Feb. 25.

Boston Police step up patrols around Jewish temples, schools and businesses

adamg — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:33:52 +0000

The Bulletin reports it's a particular issue in Allston/Brighton, which has a relatively large Jewish population, but that police are keeping a closer eye on institutions across the city.

Lots of Israeli flags in Copley Square

adamg — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:54:31 +0000

Be posts some video of a pro-Israel rally in Copley Square last night.

Report from the front lines in Coolidge Corner

adamg — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:54:54 +0000

Dennis Fox held a sign in support of Gaza in Coolidge Corner yesterday:

... I had two decent conversations with supporters of Israel that went beyond sloganeering, until in both cases they had enough and moved away. I don't believe such conversations will change many minds, and I doubt that changing individual minds will change Israeli policy, but it was more pleasant than mutual screaming.

One of my fellow protestors asked me what I thought made sense to do. I didn't have a good answer.

Miss Kelly, meanwhile, notes a pro-Gaza rally at 5 this afternoon in front of the Israeli consulate in Park Plaza, urges Israeli supporters to attend:

... Please go and show your support for Israel tomorrow. Don't let the Hamas-supporting, Muslim Brotherhood-backed Boston Muslim American Society get all the press coverage.