Plea-for-peace rallies rock the Valley

Sponsors said the protest will continue until U.S. policies change.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Several dozen members of the community took time away from the start of the weekend to come together in protest against the violence in the Middle East and United States policies in that part of the world.
The Valley Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Arab American Community Center and Peace Action Youngstown sponsored a rally at Stambaugh Auditorium on Fifth Avenue to protest the wars.
There will also be a rally and vigil with remarks from clergy and activists from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Arab-American Community Center on Belgrade Street in Liberty Township.
Members of the Arab community from the very young to the more seasoned citizens lined the sidewalk in front of Stambaugh on Friday afternoon. Some waived Lebanese or Palestinian flags while others expressed their sentiments with clothing such as shirts with "made in Palestine" inscribed on the front.
Sign of support
Virtually everyone in attendance held signs of support for Lebanon or Palestine and some held signs expressing disgust for the Bush administration and its policies. All of those signs were held high for passing cars, and the blare of car horns could be heard from many passing motorists.
Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, director of Jewish Community Relations Council, said there were no formal plans in the Jewish community to attend either rally. She said a lack of attendance from the Jewish community is not a protest.
"I would suspect there are viewpoints being expressed at this rally with which we do not agree," she said.
Awareness
Martha Katz, one of the event organizers, said the rallies are an expansion of the groups' ongoing protest to the war in Iraq. The rallies, she said, are simply meant to raise awareness.
"Our group has a vigil every week against the Iraq war and U.S. policy in the Middle East. With these rallies we are focusing on U.S. policy supporting Israeli disproportionate actions resulting in the killing of hundreds of civilians," she said.
"We want to bring to many people's attention that there are those against the savage attacks against Lebanese and Palestinians and America's support of those attacks."
Ray Nakely, one of the event organizers, said people in the community are generally supportive of the group's rallies.
Some, he said, express dislike, but the general response is favorable. Still, he said, until the government changes its policies, the protests will continue.
"Without the underlying causes being addressed in that region, we will be back here protesting again and nothing will change," he said.