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Protesters, revelers mark Israel’s birth

 
By O’Ryan Johnson
Boston Herald

 

Boston's celebration of the 58th anniversary of the creation of Israel yesterday was a lively blend of music, dancing and food, jeered by a bizarre melange of protesters that included skinheads, fringe Hassidic Jews and Palestinian sympathizers. 
 
The event, which organizers said drew about 4,000 visitors, was intended to look beyond conflict. 
 
"It's a great event because it brings family and kids and parents together to connect to Israel in a positive way, to talk about Israel in a way that is not political," said Alan Ronkin, deputy director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. "Israel is not just about conflict."

Each group of protesters brought its own reasons, chants and placards calling for the elimination of the Jewish state. 
 
Rabbi Dovid Feldman of Neturei Karta International was backed by about a dozen Jews who traveled from New York to carry the message that God exiled the Jews and they are forbidden by His law from establishing a state. 
 
"They have no problem whatsoever with Jews," he said of the Palestinians protesting nearby. "They don't mention Jews in their message. They have a problem with Israel." 
 
The protesters were arranged in one area, gated off from the event, and guarded by dozens of police as they chanted lines such as "Israel, shut it down" through bullhorns. 
 
City Councilor Chuck Turner also was there advocating for human rights for Palestinians. 
 
Two white supremacists were kept apart from the main protesters, with their own protective cordon of police. One stood on an Israeli flag while wearing a T-shirt with an anti-Semitic slur. 
 
Boston Celebrates Israelfeatured live, daylong music by Israeli bands, dancing, balloon artists and food. Nancy Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said the annual event is a great way for Jews to celebrate their heritage. Of the protesters, she said, "It's getting old and tired."



An agency of Combined Jewish Philanthropies and a United Way beneficiary
© 2008 Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.