Israel-Related Protests Rock Harvard Square

Nearly 200 people gathered in Harvard Square yesterday to protest events in the Middle East.

As planned by two Boston activist groups, the demonstration was originally set to protest Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

“We were frustrated by only holding silent vigils,” said Nicole Binder, who helped organize the event. “We wanted to do something a little more creative and conspicuous.” The protest was planned by Jewish Women for Justice in Israel/Palestine and the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights.

But some Harvard students organized a counter-protest yesterday after they learned of the planned demonstration.

“I think it’s important, if you think that a protest is wrong, to also show up and try to explain to people why it’s wrong,” said Joshua Suskewicz ’05, a member of Harvard Students for Israel (HSI). HSI was one of several student groups that notified its members about the counter-protest.

The counter-protest itself was sparked by an e-mail about the event forwarded to the Harvard Hillel list early yesterday afternoon by the academic affairs officer for the Consulate General of Israel to New England.

“We would like to bring the following information to your attention, as you may be interested in organizing a counter-demonstration,” the e-mail read.

Carrying colorful signs, Israeli and Palestinian flags, bullhorns and props, the groups arrived in Harvard Square shortly after 4 p.m. They lined opposite sides of the intersection of JFK and Brattle Streets.

Though most protestors stayed on the sidewalks, some disrupted traffic by standing in the middle of the intersection.

Protestors dressed in mock Israeli military fatigues staged a reenactment of a scene at an Israeli checkpoint, pointing fake guns at a Palestinian woman trying to carry her sick child across the border.

Organizers described the scene as a typical occurrence at the checkpoints.

“It’s like living in a war zone,” said Jen Kiok, a member of Jewish Women for Justice in Israel/Palestine. “They don’t have freedom in their own neighborhoods.”

As the scene unfolded, counter-protestors responded by chanting “checkpoints save lives” while waving signs that read “Israel has a right to self defense.”

“The checkpoints are a necessary measure against suicide bombers to protect the citizens of Israel,” said GSAS student Eliyahu Shoot.

Protestors from both sides distributed fliers explaining their views and discussed the conflict with on-lookers.

At times, shouting erupted between the two sides.

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) officers oversaw the protest, occasionally asking protestors to step out of the way of oncoming traffic.

The protests remained peaceful, aside from a brief disruption caused by a passerby who mistook the dramatization for an actual hold-up. The man ran into the intersection and punched one of the protestors who was dressed as an Israeli soldier.

“They put a gun to the woman’s head—I didn’t know it was staged,” said the man, who did not wish to be identified.

HUPD officers responded immediately, clubs drawn, but the scuffle was quickly resolved once all parties realized the misunderstanding.

—Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at shoichet@fas.harvard.edu.