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Was Local Palestinians Protest of U. S. Increase in Israeli Aid A Prophecy for 9-11

A local Philadelphia writer (who will remain nameless) came across this story a few weeks before the destruction of the World Trade Towers in New York. The writer took the story to the paper they worked for and the publisher and editor immediately refused to run it saying that it was not "local" enough and that it was not "relevant" to their target community. The writer then tried to shop the article, but it was continually turned down. One brave publication chose to run it. Was this story a prophecy of things to come? Read for yourself and decide.

Nobody Listened

PHILADELPHIA, PA-Philadelphia is known as the cradle of democracy. It all began here. Thus, it has also become the
most popular place in the world for organizations and individuals to stage political protests. Friday, August 10,
2001 is a good example. It was on that day that more than a thousand people from all over the world gathered in protest
of the incarceration of Death Row journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Despite the seriousness of the subject, Jamal’s supporters remained orderly. The same can be said of a group of
protesters that gathered on the corner of 15th and Locust Streets later that day. Along side a very vocal plea for
peace in the Middle East was the quiet distribution of information. “In Defense of Jewish Dissidence” a
leaflet, written by Robert Silverman and Bruce Katz. The document was circulated throughout the crowd. Silverman and
Katz are both Jewish, but they are not supporters of the expansionism of the State of Israel in the Palestine.

The document stated that as a faith Judaism underscores the sanctity of the relationship of Man and God. It went on to
say that the test of true Judaism involves the integrity, and the morality of individuals and that it should over ride
any loyalty to governments. Silverman and Katz pointed out in the leaflet that the Occident describes the historic
prominence of faith over the State and that the resistance to the kings is what bred many of the original Jewish
thinkers. Dissidence it said, is a sense of duty. Silverman and Katz go on to challenge the Jewish reader to question
the current situation in the occupied territories of Palestine.

Holding the protest on the corner of 15th and Locust Streets was not a coincidence. It was a matter of strategy and an
attempt to change some minds. The Center for Jewish Community Studies (CJCS) is located on one of the upper
floors at 1515 Locust St. The vocal protesters stood just across the street from the high-rise with the hope that they
might attract some attention. Tawfiq Barquwi, the representative for the Palestinian Resistance group holding
the protest had a gripping message.

Palestinian Protesters Gather on the corner of 15th & Locust Streets
(Photo by Hadiyah In'am Faizah Hajj)

“We are here to condemn the Israeli massacre against our citizens. We are here to call on the U.S. government to stop
the aid, because American weapons are killing innocent children and civilians. We are demanding that the
administration, Mr. Bush, to take the Middle East situation from the freezer and do something to stop the killing of
innocent children and civilians.”

“We think that the only qualified country in the whole war to put an end to the massacre of the Palestine is the United
States of America. It’s the only superpower so far and it is the only country that has influence with the Israeli
officials. The failure of Camp David II in September, was the father of the recent uprising in Palestine, because
Palestinian people realized that the negotiation table was not bringing any peace. There has been a 52% increase in the
Israeli settlements from 1996 until now. They have brought in more than half a million people. These people are not
from the Middle East, but they are taking our homeland by force and America is helping. They could not do it without
the help of the United States,” he said.

“If there is room to bring in Jews from Russia, then there is room for Palestinian refugees living in camps to go back
to their own homes. The Israelis keep saying that there is no return for Palestinian refugees, no Jerusalem and those
are the two principles that no Palestinian or any of the two billion Moslems in the world would ever consent to. We would
never give up the holy places in Jerusalem. We don’t have the right to. New born children in Palestine have the right
to the Holy Land. The same thing is true with the Palestine Christians and the Israelis have no right to occupy it,“
Barquwi stated with conviction.

“Last week they occupied the Orient House, which is the headquarters for the Palestinian Peace Chief. That was where
the negotiations started. So, by occupying that place tells the Palestinian people that ‘we want no peace with you’.
We acknowledged all of the agreements that we signed. The solution for this is very simple. All we ask for is for
Israel to obey international law. We are tired of resolutions by the Security Council. 194, 442, 33F any one
of them will do. All we have to do is to implement international law.”

“America will acknowledge violence and human rights in China, but what about Israel? The administration becomes
blind when it comes to Israel. I’m sure that they are bombing civilians in Iraq right now. America has given
Israel superior weapons. In America Jewish lobby controls the administration, the media and the flow of correct
information.”

”If Bush wants to follow his heart and do the right thing he would stop increasing the Israelis amount of weapons.
There is no balance of power. A couple of months ago, Bush asked the congress to increase the military aid to Israel by
750 million dollars. We had a meeting with Bush’s Council for Middle Eastern and South Asia Affairs at the White House
to ask America to stop adding to this, not to stop it, but to decrease it. It that an unreasonable request?” He
asked.

“When you use the Apache helicopter to target individuals in their homes with missals, regardless of how many children
or civilians are involved, because the mission is to kill one person, there is no difference in that and in a suicide
bombing in Tel Aviv.”

“We are not playing,” a masked member of the protest said. “We are finished playing with the U.S. You will see
bombs blowing up in the most unlikely places, in your schools, your offices, your supermarkets and your
library's. You and your children will likely die, just as ours has and America will lose because this is not a
conventional war it is a holy war and by Allah we will win one way or another. This will all happen because the United
States is helping Israel to kill us and to take away our birthright and we will not tolerate it. We will not stand for it.”

Members from The Center for Jewish Community Studies and the Israeli Consulate could not be reached for comment.

One day short of a month, on September 11th, the U.S. tragedy occurred in New York, Washington D.C. and in
Pennsylvania, sending thousands to their graves and physically, emotionally and spiritually

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