Santa Ana Rally Shows Support for Palestinians

Fearful over the worst violence in the Middle East in a decade, Orange County Arab Americans joined Friday to pray for peace and to protest Israel’s use of bombs, guns and tanks in the place their hearts call home.

About 100 Arab Americans rallied peacefully under the watchful eyes of police outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in downtown Santa Ana for about three hours Friday afternoon. They chanted slogans such as “Stop the killing. Stop the crime. Save the children of Palestine,” and raised placards, one of which said “Israel out of Palestine now.”

About 35 Santa Ana officers with helmets and gas masks at the ready had expected a crowd of as many as 1,000. They surrounded the smaller group, and no disturbances were reported.

An Arab American march that attracted 600 people in the city of Riverside on Friday also was peaceful, police said.

The demonstrations came on the heels of a week of escalating violence, including the bombing of a U.S. naval vessel in Yemen, the lynching of two Israeli soldiers and a helicopter attack on the residence of Palestine Authority President Yasser Arafat.

During the Santa Ana protest, a row of Muslim men and women bowed their foreheads to the pavement in a traditional Friday prayer, as they asked God to return Palestine to them.

Orange County resident Mahasen Kayyalli cried as she lay on a typical black and white scarf or hattah, her head covered by a shawl.

“We pray for God to save our children, so we can go back to our homeland, so our land can be turned over to us. If our eyes are not crying, our hearts are crying. We have lost everything. We are here in America and we are asking America to stand with us,” she said.

Protesters said they were frustrated with media coverage that they believe favors the Israelis. They said they resented U.S. government officials’ continued support of Israel, despite heavy attacks against Palestinians in recent days.

They complained that there was too much sympathy for the Israeli soldiers and not enough for Palestinian children killed by Israelis.

“The media and the administration are calling for Palestinians to stop the violence instead of asking the Israelis to stop the killing,” said Hassan Essayli, who led a prayer and chant wearing a prayer hat called a takiah.

Although most of the protesters were women and children, police maintained their positions. Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna said of the large police presence Friday: “There’s a safety issue. But we don’t want to overreact. Whenever we have a situation like this, we call a tactical alert. We have to be prepared.”

Jewish leaders reached Friday disagreed with Palestinian viewpoints, even as they deplored the violence and the breakdown of the Middle East peace process.

Rabbi Stephen Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley said Palestinians should not been seen as passive in the wave of recent violence.

“You can’t throw rocks at the police or army and not expect a response. I feel terrible that young people have been injured and killed. I do,” he said. “There is a desire for the Palestinians to paint a picture that they have suffered so much. I’m not saying they don’t have a right to a place, but this isn’t the way to do it.”

Added Rabbi Shelton Donnell, president of the Orange County Board of Rabbis and rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Santa Ana, “This touches us to the core. . . . Here we were, so far along on the road to peace and it seems like the rug was pulled out from under us.”

Times staff writer Elaine Gale contributed to this report.