Rally Round Tha Family

The rain no doubt limited attendance at yesterday's Rally for Israel at the Jewish Community Center in Minneapolis. I'm not very good at estimating crowd size, but I'd guess that around fifteen hundred people were on hand (if I were an anti-war activist, I would say 150,000). The local media is curiously devoid of stories on the event with the exception of KSTP, whose piece, "Rally for Israel in St. Louis Park" (technically, I believe the JCC is in Minneapolis), doesn't include an estimate of the size of the crowd.



(Note the one media organization involved: AM1280 The Patriot)

There were a plethora of politicians on hand and it was a truly bipartisan gathering. US Senators Norm Coleman and Mark Dayton, former US Senator Rudy Boschwitz, US Representative Mark Kennedy, US Representative John Kline, and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Kloubuchar were all on the stage and, with the exception of Boschwitz, rose to speak. Also in attendance were congressional candidates Ember Reichgott Junge, Michele Bachmann, Alan Fine, Paul Ostrow, and even Keith Ellison (no Mel Gibson though). Plus a number of candidates for the Minnesota senate and house, Minneapolis city council members, local mayors, county commissioners, etc.

Of the pols, I found John Kline to be the most impressive speaker. Surprisingly enough, the most bombastic and bellicose, if perhaps a bit inappropriate, defense of Israel was delivered by Senator Mark Dayton. Dayton's passion left little doubt as to where he stood regarding Israel and you had the impression that he wanted to hop in a Merkava and personally have at Hezbollah.

The crowd was probably mostly Jewish (as evidenced by their knowledge of the prayers and songs in Hebrew), but there were some Christians representin' as well and one of the speakers was a minister from a local church. There were also a few scruffy-looking youths who showed up to distribute "anti-war" literature, but they were largely ignored until they were quietly shuffled off the premises by some of the local boys in blue.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the rally was the clarity of the message delivered by the speakers:

- Hezbollah is a terrorist organization sponsored by Iran and Syria.

- Israel has the right to defend itself and do whatever is necessary to halt Hezbollah's attacks.

- This is not just Israel's fight. This is another front in the battle of Western Civilization against Muslim fanaticism.

While there was some hope expressed that the UN cease fire would bring peace, the prevailing attitude toward the resolution and the UN in general was one of grim cynicism and the sense that it was only a matter of time before hostilities would recommence. An Israeli liaison to the local Jewish community, who was due to return to Israel today, commented that the cease fire would be celebrated as a victory by the Arab street and that no one would be celebrating in Israel.