Protesters rally for Palestinians

The rally takes place peacefully. Suspended USF professor Sami Al-Arian receives the most applause.

[Times photo: John Pendygraft] Mohammad Hajaz, 10, wears a headband that says "Jerusalem is ours" at a rally Friday outside Tampa City Hall. The crowd chanted slogans such as "Stop the killing, stop the crime. Israel out of Palestine."

By GRAHAM BRINK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 13, 2002

TAMPA -- Several hundred demonstrators marched Friday outside City Hall in a rally to raise awareness for the Palestinian cause.

The crowd chanted slogans such as "Stop the killing, stop the crime. Israel out of Palestine," and carried signs that said "Give me liberty or give me death" and "Killing children is no game."

The march was sponsored by the Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace, a committee of the Concerned Citizens for Peace in the Middle East. The group paid for a full-page ad in the St. Petersburg Times to promote the rally.

A few onlookers watched from across Kennedy Boulevard. Others peered out of office windows. Some passing drivers yelled curse words at the demonstrators.

Otherwise, the rally appeared to proceed peacefully. Police at the scene reported no arrests or disturbances.

"These rallies make a difference," said Abdullah Akbar, who saw the ad and decided to take a few hours off work to attend. "They raise awareness. For too long the Palestinian cause has been ignored. Swept under the rug."

After circling City Hall, the crowd gathered near Kennedy Boulevard to hear several speakers, including representatives of the Green Party and the Nation of Islam, who told the crowd that the Palestinian cause was worth fighting for.

The loudest applause went to suspended University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian, who ended the rally with a fiery speech that denounced Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Al-Arian, currently under investigation by federal authorities for possible links to terrorism, called the occupation a "war against human dignity."

"You will not break the strength of the Palestinian people," Al-Arian said. "If you want peace, end the occupation."

The crowd chanted "end the occupation" several times before the rally ended.

-- Contact Graham Brink at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com.

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