Hey Mike-
I also happened upon that rally- on my way home to see my daughter. There were about 100 anti-semites standing there (just as you described) handing out all types of anti- Israel/ America / Jewish propaganda. There were also a group of people just standing around looking dumbfounded by what they were seeing. Although I missed seeing my daughter that night, I couldn't just stand there and watch Israel and the Jews get bashed without any response. So I took it upon myself to start up an "anti-anti Israel rally." It worked out pretty well. Once the onlookers saw someone stand up and fight for Israel and the Jews little by little we attracted a crowd of pro Israel demonstrators. At that point the cops put out the metal barracades to keep everyone apart. So what did I learn from this experience.
First of all, the demonstrators were filled with pure hatred toward Israel and the jews. Their chanting included "Yes to the Intifada", "Israel is a nazi state" " Israel won't stop until they have the whole middle east"- The list goes on and on. There were protesters on the other side calling me a jewish pig, telling me to go back to Europe, and one told me to go back to Scarsdale. I was also cursed out in Arabic a bunch of times. All I was chanting was "Am Yisrael Chai" - "The Jewish Nation Lives On"-- (By the way, regarding the guy with the pony tail who was handing out the biased UN report- I stayed and spoke to him for 30 minutes trying to find out why he would want to hand out flyers with inaccurate and unproven "facts" about the Israeli hit on the UN post. I wasn't able to change his obviously biased opinion, but I left him with the knowledge that at least there are plenty of moderates on our side of the fence. He was not able to answer where the moderates on the other side were.)
The most important thing that I learned was that as Jews in an overall (but muted) anti-Zionist, and anti- Semetic society, we must be very vigilant. Not by using violence as our method, but by speaking out against those who lie and spread their hateful thoughts about Israel and the Jews. We must remember that the world and the Jews have seen a time like this once before, when in Pre Nazi Germany Anti- Semites were able to spread their hate filled Anti- Semetic rhetoric without anyone standing up and defending the Jews.
We now are faced with a somewhat similar situation and once again we are sitting back and letting the hate be spread unabated. We must respond to each of these so called "peace rallies " (bull shit) with protesters of our own. Obviously we will not be able to change the minds of the anti semites who are looking across the metal barricades at us, but we need to at least show them that we are here to stay, no matter what they say or try to do. Also when we show up at rallies, we are there to try to show the onlookers (who just watch cnn, and see Israel bombing the crap out of Lebanese civillians)the truth about the situation in Israel. They must know how difficult it is for Israel to survive as a democratic, peace loving state, when all of her neighbors are bent on her destruction. There is a lot of work to be done on this front!

AM YISRAEL CHAI

Drew

Yeah, keep believing those self deluding lies. The world knows just how undemocratic the Jewish state of Israel is and how war loving it really is. Just remember; what goes around, comes around. Your lack of respect for your fellow man and your land thefts will come back to haunt you.