San Francisco Holds Peaceful, Pro-Israel Rally

For the first time since war between Israel and Hamas broke out, hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators in the Bay Area showed up in front of San Francisco’s City Hall on Sunday.

The event was organized by three Stanford University students, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Sunday’s rally made for one of the biggest pro-Israel rallies in San Francisco since the war began. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have rallied at City Hall several times since the start of the conflict.

Over 40 Jewish Bay Area organizations joined forces and gathered “showing loyalty to Israel and unanimous disdain for Hamas militants,” the Chronicle writes.

“Within Judaism, there is nothing more important than human life — it doesn’t matter whose life,” Elliot Fine, 27, told the Chronicle. “But it’s important to note that Israel needs to defend itself. Hamas is using all its money and resources on weapons and tunnels,” his brother Ari, 25, added. Both men served in the Israeli Defense Forces between 2005 and 2010, and their sentiments were mirrored by almost every Israel supporter there. 

One of the students who helped organize the rally, Guy Amdur, said, “We always want peace and want a cease-fire, but we need a partner for that… We think Hamas is a problem for the Israeli and the Palestinian people.” 

Despite a few verbal blows between pro-Palestinian supporters and pro-Israel supporters who were gathered there, no reports of violence were reported. The Chronicle notes that, at one point, a man named Pete Soskin even offered the pro-Palestinian group some garlic hummus and pita chips. 

The situation was a bit different in Southern California, where a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday resulted in an attack on a Christian Zionist. The protest coincided with one which was being held that same day in Washington, D.C., where a pro-Israel Marine Corps vet was harassed by a mob, who kicked him, punched him, and spat on him because he was holding up a flag of Israel in one hand and an American flag in the other. One pro-Palestinian protester attempted to set fire to the Israeli flag.