Day of Action for Palestine at UC Berkeley. A photo essay

Via Emunah:

Today was the  Day of Action for Palestine at UC Berkeley.  And by "action", apparently, they meant screaming angry words into a microphone.

Anti-Israel activists from on campus and off gathered in Sproul Plaza.

Marina Gutierrez and the map that lies

Hassan Fouda is a professional Israel hater. Rusty Bates sells bumper stickers on Telegraph Ave. They both took time off from their busy schedules to protest the only democracy in the Middle East

The SJP fundraising booth stood empty.  No one was buying what they were selling.

Photo from Tikvah- Students for Israel

Tikvah, Bears for Israel, and even representatives from J street countered the event with a silent protest , steadfastly ignoring provocations from the other side.

From the Algemeiner

Josh Woznica, president of Bears for Israel, said that his group and fellow pro-Israel organization Tikvah are “coming together for the first time to present a strong, united front” against Thursday’s “International Day of Action for Palestine” demonstration. In previous years, he said, students at these rallies have gone so far as to openly call for terrorism against the Jewish state.

Woznica said that the counter-protest, which he expects will be attended by over 100 people, is not aimed at anti-Israel students, but rather at the “70 percent who pass by and don’t know anything about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our intent is to have a silent protest opposing the anti-Israel messaging of the ‘Day of Action,’ highlighting the importance of academic freedom and ending the double standard applied to Israel. We are not trying to convince the other side. We want the students to see there is another perspective. Anti-Israel groups scream and chant really catchy slogans, such as, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ and present a false picture of what is happening in Israel. Our goal is to expose this.”

The people united will never be defeated.  It was particularly gratifying to see all the pro-Israel students working together to counter intolerance at UC Berkeley.

UPDATE:
From Campus Watch:

Israel Bashing Profs Abdulhadi and Bazian Play the Victim at Berkeley

US Flags fly at half staff to honor Shimon Peres

President Barack Obama has ordered the United States flag be flown at half-staff in memory of Shimon Peres,  Nobel Peace prize recipient and former President and Prime Minister of Israel.

The proclamation reads:

“As a mark of respect for the memory of Shimon Peres, former President and Prime Minister of Israel, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia, and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on September 30, 2016. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.”

This rare honor has also been extended to Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, King Hussein of Jordan, Yitzhak Rabin and Anwar Sadat.

From Bears for Israel, UC Berkeley

h/t JM

Across the bay at San Francisco State University, Obama's directive was pointedly ignored by SFSU President Les Wong.