Protests Against Israel Gain Momentum

A three-day sit-in protest of Israeli aggression in the Middle East staged outdoors at Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park ended Friday evening with a public rally gathering some 3,000 protestors under a banner demanding Israel to stop its attacks and a march from the park to Dolmabahce.

But protests against Israel continued over the weekend with a separate demonstration held against war by women organizations on Sunday.

Friday's rally was part of the campaign "All supporters of peace in the world unite, stop Israel" organized by Turkey's Revolutionary Workers Unions Confederation (DISK) which involves various activities against Israel including the holding of press conferences throughout the country and reading of statements denouncing the attacks at workplaces where unions are present.

Equipped with flaring torches in their hands, placards and posters against Israel and the United States, flying balloons on which "Peace" and "Murderer America Get Out of Middle East" were written, the demonstrators flowed through Istanbul's streets shouting slogans Friday night.

"Murderer USA Get out of the Middle East", "Murderer Israel get out of Palestine", "Freedom to Palestine", "Palestinian People Are Not Alone" and "Yankee Go Home" echoed through the city as the procession reached Dolmabahce square renown for Turkish protests of the past staged against the US 6th Fleet.

In a speech he made there, DISK's chairman Suleyman Celebi called on all supporters of peace to unite in strength and said the massacre and the war pursued by Israel had to come to an end.

"They tried the dirty war in Iraq" Celebi said. "But the blood was not enough. Now they are trying it in Palestine and Lebanon. The duty the falls upon us is to say 'Stop' to this. In Turkey our struggle is on the side of peace, human rights and democracy. We should be hand in hand and a single heart, a single fist against the USA".

Following Celebi's emotional speech, bottles containing messages of peace written in 12 different languages were set into the sea off the shore of Dolmabahce as the group let loose tens of balloons on which "peace" and "Murderer USA, get out of the Middle East" were written.

Sunday Rally: Women Don't Want War

Protests against Israel continued in Istanbul on Sunday with women organizations marching against war, both in the Middle East and in Turkey, from the Taksim tram station to the Galatasaray Square.

The Istanbul Womens Platform Components movement expressed its concerns over the war in the Middle East as well as Turkey's cross-border operations with slogans and speeches calling for all agreements with the state of Israel to be cancelled and an end to fighting.

"Long live women solidarity", "Fight Zionism Not the Kurds", "End Occupation and Oppression" and "Murderer Israel Get Out of Lebanon" were some of the many slogans heard.

At the end of the march where a placard inviting women to join the struggle against occupation and operations was opened, Socialist Democacy Party activist Ekin Bodur read a statement on behalf of the women.

"Militarism escalated by those in power increases violence against women" her statement said. "This was is turning the body of women into a war zone too. It means harassment and rape in the field and violence and poverty behind it".

Bodur stressed that during the migration of women and children in Lebanon and Palestine, Israel was preventing humanitarian aid reaching those displaced and that this included essential medical supplies. She added that Turkey, on the other hand, was trying to use the Israeli intervention into Lebanon to justify its own cross-border operation plans.

"As women, we know very well what the war against the Kurds means" Bodur explained. "This was reflected on the Kurdish women as economic, physical and sexual violence."

Lecturers say "No" to Israel

University Lecturers Association (UOUD) issued a separate appeal this weekend for Israeli colleagues to act to end to the violence in the Middle East and effort towards a lasting peace by raising their voices.

UOUD sent a letter to Israeli university teachers and lecturers where they were warned of an upcoming and greater disaster for the regional people saying that while putting aside the debate on who is right or wrong, they could contribute to a peaceful solution by calling for the use of proportional force and attracting attention to the ethical dimensions of the problem. (EZO/II/YE)