WRONG A.N.S.W.E.R.! a critique of International ANSWER
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WRONG A.N.S.W.E.R.! a critique of International ANSWER
The ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition, which has organized scores of antiwar demonstrations in the U.S. since its founding by the New York-based International Action Center (IAC) in 2001, has played a key role in inserting anti-Israel sentiment into the antiwar movement.
In addition to claims that Israel is guilty of “war crimes†against Palestinians and that Israel is a “racist state,†ANSWER events, which often attract protestors by the tens of thousands, have openly supported terror groups targeting Israelis, as well as the “resistance†fighting American forces in Iraq. This environment has led to displays of anti-Semitic sentiments, such as signs comparing Israeli leaders to Nazis or equating the Jewish Star of David with the Nazi swastika.
ANSWER, which considers Israel a capitalist outpost for Western powers, has supported anyone that counters the spread of capitalism around the world, including genocidal dictators such as Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosovic. ANSWER sees Hezbollah and the Palestinian terror organizations as being at the forefront of the war against capitalism and American imperialism. During a July 31, 2006 interview with FOX News ANSWER’s national coordinator, Brian Becker, said: “Do I consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization? The answer is no.â€
Between June and August 2006, ANSWER and IAC stepped up their anti-Israel activity, organizing several rallies to protest the latest round of fighting in the Middle East between Israel and terrorist organizations in Gaza and Lebanon. Becker said the rallies were protesting “the new U.S.-Israeli war†that is “killing the people of Lebanon and Palestine.†Demonstrators expressed support for terrorism, specifically Hezbollah, and promoted a very harsh and unapologetic message denouncing Israel and U.S. foreign policy. They have also included a proliferation of anti-Semitic expression.
For example, during the largest of these rallies, held on August 12, 2006 in Washington D.C., a speaker declared: “from this podium I salute Hezbollah.†One of the popular chants at the event declared: “Nasrallah, Nasrallah; the martyr is the beloved of Allah; the Zionists are the enemy of Allah.†At several of the rallies speakers and crowds made direct appeals for violence. One speaker at an August 5 rally in New York led the people in chants: “Nasrallah dear: bomb Tel Aviv… bomb Kiryat Shmona.†At another rally, in front of the Israeli Consulate in New York City on July 28, a speaker referred to Hezbollah, Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committee (one of the groups behind the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit in Gaza) as “resistance forces fighting a racist regime.â€