On Summit Sidelines, Jewish Groups Square Off
FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY: Small but vocal contingents of both right (top) and left wing (bottom) activists took to Annapolis’s streets
By Nathan Guttman November 28, 2007
Relatively few Jewish activists took to the streets here Tuesday to express their views on the Middle East peace conference that was taking place at the United States Naval Academy.
FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY: Small but vocal contingents of both right (top) and left wing (bottom) activists took to Annapolis's streets
An estimated 100 people attended a rally arranged by a coalition of nine dovish Jewish groups in support of the peace process. The coalition struggled to obtain permission to demonstrate after local police revoked, at the last minute, its permit to stage a rally near the conference’s venue.
The dovish groups were eventually able to hold the demonstration on the grounds of a nearby church, with participants coming from New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Organizer Doni Remba, executive director of Ameinu, said the diverse turnout at the rally proves that pro-peace Jewish groups can work together and that they should cooperate in the future.
A demonstration by hawkish Jewish groups protesting talk of dividing Jerusalem won a better spot than their left-wing counterparts, just outside the gates of the Naval Academy. Several dozen protesters showed up for the event, which was organized by Shalom International and by Americans for a Safe Israel.
All protests ended peacefully and did not disrupt the conference, which took place in isolation at the Naval Academy under strict security measures.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
