[News] SF protestors call Olmert war criminal - disrupt speech

Fri Oct 23 11:37:37 EDT 2009

San Francisco protestors call Olmert 'war criminal'

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupt former 
prime minister's speech, week after similar 
incident in Chicago. Woman identified as a Jews 
shouts at him, 'No more genocide in my name'

Ynet http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3794282,00.html
Published: 10.23.09, 10:11 /

VIDEO AT URL ABOVE and 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMJLe3Pfgj0&feature=player_embedded

- Former prime minister under attack – again. 
Pro-Palestinian protestors disrupted 
<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3283691,00.html>Ehud 
Olmert's speech in a San Francisco hotel on 
Thursday night, exactly one week after the former 
Israeli premier was 
<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3791236,00.html>verbally 
attacked at the University of Chicago over 
<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3777382,00.html>alleged 
war crimes committed by the Jewish state during the Gaza war.

"You are a war criminal and a murderer," one of 
the protestors shouted at Olmert during the 
speech before being removed from the auditorium by security officers.

Another protestor shouted, "You are a war 
criminal. San Francisco should be ashamed to have a war criminal here."

A young woman, identified by the person who 
documented the incident as a Jew, stood up and 
shouted, "No more genocide in my name." Another 
woman waved her hands, which were painted red.

The people who documented the protest did it 
secretly using a cellular phone, as cameras were 
not allowed into the lecture, and posted the clip on YouTube.

As opposed to the disturbance at the Chicago 
speech, this time the guards appeared to have 
acted more firmly against the protestors. One of 
the demonstrators was even removed from the 
auditorium by policemen grabbing his arms and legs and carrying him out.

During the speech, one of the protestors screamed 
at Olmert, "A hospital has been destroyed," 
referring to the Israel Air Forces' air strikes 
in Gaza during 
<http://www.ynetnews.com/home/0,7340,L-7022,00.html>Operation Cast Lead.

The former prime minister appeared calm 
throughout the disturbances, and didn't stop speaking despite the commotion.

The clip's creators who documented the incident 
said they were proud to have managed to shut down 
Olmert's message through the protest inside and 
outside the auditorium. "We shall protest every 
speech until the war criminal is indicted," they wrote at the end of the clip.
****************************************************************
San Francisco calls Olmert war criminal
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:38:54 GMT
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=109402&sectionid=351020202

[]

Security guards forcibly remove a protestor after 
interrupting Ehud Olmert's, lecture about the 
challenges of the Middle East and the 
Israeli-Palestinian peace process during a World 
Affairs Council event at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

More than 200 people representing a coalition of 
Palestinian and Muslim groups along with other 
pro-Palestinian protestors have disrupted Ehud 
Olmert's speech in a San Francisco hotel over 
Israel's crimes during the Gaza war.

"You are a war criminal and a murderer," one of 
the protestors shouted at Olmert during the 
Thursday night speech before being removed from 
the auditorium by security officers. Another 
protestor shouted, "You are a war criminal. San 
Francisco should be ashamed to have a war criminal here.”

A young woman stood up and shouted, "No more 
genocide in my name." Another woman waved her hands, which were painted red.

During the speech, one of the protestors screamed 
at Olmert, "A hospital has been destroyed," 
referring to the strikes by the Israel Air Forces 
on Gaza during the war on the coastal strip.

Approximately 30 activists disrupted a lecture 
given in Chicago by former Israeli prime minister 
on October 15, which was hosted by the University 
of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. 
While Olmert's speech was disrupted inside the 
lecture hall, approximately 150 activists 
protested outside the hall in the freezing rain.

Protesters inside the hall read off the names of 
Palestinian children killed during Israel's 
assault on Gaza last winter. They shouted that it 
was unacceptable that the war crimes suspect be 
invited to speak at a Chicago university when his 
army destroyed a university in Gaza in January.

Olmert had given a speech at the University of 
Kentucky a week earlier that also drew dozens of protesters.

More than 1,500 Palestinians were killed during 
Israel's three week-long land, sea and air 
assault, Operation Cast Lead , in the 
impoverished coastal sliver. The offensive also 
inflicted $ 1.6 billion in damages on the Gazan economy.

***********************************
Ex-Israeli prime minister heckled on San Francisco visit

By Brooke Donald

Associated Press
Posted: 10/23/2009 07:44:03 AM PDT
Updated: 10/23/2009 07:44:04 AM PDT
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13626325

SAN FRANCISCO  Protesters heckled former Israeli 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a speech in San 
Francisco Thursday, denouncing him as a war criminal and demanding his arrest.

As soon as Olmert took the stage at the Westin 
St. Francis Hotel  and following a warning by 
the discussion's moderator that no disturbances 
would be tolerated  a woman and man rose from 
their seats and shouted: "war criminal," "mass murderer."

Minutes after they were pushed out by police, 
another person stood up and yelled, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

All in all, more than 20 people interrupted 
Olmert's 90-minute appearance, during which he 
answered questions on Middle East peace, Iran, 
the Lebanon War in 2006 and last winter's Gaza 
offensive, which was the point of attack for the protesters.

A United Nations report has accused Israel and 
Palestinian militants of committing war crimes 
during the three-week operation aimed at halting 
years of Palestinian rocket fire. Each side has rejected the allegations.

Some 1,400 Palestinians, including civilians, 
were killed, according to human rights 
organizations and the Palestinian government. 
Thirteen Israelis, including four civilians, also died.

Olmert, who was prime minister during the 
offensive, was unfazed by the jeers, even saying 
that one of the protesters likely traveled from 
Chicago, where Olmert was greeted similarly last week.

"He was unsuccessful there,"

Olmert said as the man was dragged away by police. "Let him shout. Who cares."

After another interruption, Olmert said he was 
"impressed by the amount of energy that some of 
them have," but added, "they know nothing about the facts."

Olmert rejected the report, calling it distorted, 
because, he said, it failed to address the background of the war.

"To come to Israel ignoring the fact that for 8 
years Israel was attacked almost on a daily basis 
by rockets and missiles, and to talk only about 
the reaction of Israel is unfair, is unjust, is 
unacceptable, is intolerable and Israel will not cooperate with it," he said.

The protesters inside were part of a bigger 
demonstration that took place outside the hotel in downtown San Francisco.

On one side of the street, people carried 
placards with the names of children who they said 
were killed during the Gaza war and signs that 
said "Let Gaza Live" and "Israel X-prime minister Ehud Olmert mass murderer."

Jim Harris, of Berkeley, said Olmert should be 
"held accountable" for his actions.

"He should be facing the Hague," he said.

On the other side of the street, less than a 
dozen counter-protesters carried Israeli flags.

Marshall Schwartz, a board member of "San 
Francisco Voice for Israel," said his group was 
there to show their support of Israel.

"There certainly was no plan except to protect 
the people of Gaza as much as possible while 
achieving the goal of stopping relentless rocket 
fire," he said of the offensive.

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20091023/b4aa35c1/attachment.htm>