ANSWER stands against all expressions of bigotry

ANSWER stands against all expressions of bigotry
Exposing FOX News's false and ugly smear campaign against this movement


The following is a statement from ANSWER-FL

The right wing and racist media, especially the notorious FOX News are mounting a smear campaign in an attempt to demonize and mischaracterize the mass movement that has grown up in the United States to protest the U.S.-Israeli aggression in Gaza. It is urgent that those committed to a just peace in Palestine know the truth.

FOX News, working in concert with organizations like the ADL, which defends each and every crime committed by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people, and the group that distributed the racist anti-Arab movie “Obsessions” intended to derail the Obama campaign, have created a false “news” article that they are widely circulating. They take a few selected seconds of a rally in Florida last week and then falsely attribute statements to an ANSWER organizer to smear the entire movement.  

For our part, we stand united against anti-Arab racism and all expressions of racism, including anti-Semitism. We reject the Israeli government’s attempt to make their criminal policies synonymous with the Jewish people, which can only fuel the poison of anti-Semitism.

Pro-Israeli forces counter-demonstrating at the Dec. 30 protest in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida against the bombing of Gaza provocatively yelled and screamed, "nuke Gaza, then Iran.”  Is this not an expression of extreme racism, denying the humanity of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza who have suffered more than 700 dead and more than 3,000 wounded from this high tech, aerial massacre? Where is the condemnation from the ADL and FOX News of this disgusting call for the annihilation of Arab and Iranian people?

One woman, who was not with the ANSWER Coalition, responded in outrage and anger to this call to kill more Arab people coming from those supporting the “nuking of Gaza.” Others at the demonstration, including those from the Arab and Muslim community, let her know that the content of her heated response was not appropriate and not shared.

Those who produced the selectively edited video of the Ft. Lauderdale demonstration are leading members of the WatchObessions.org campaign.  The documentary “Obsession” that the organization is distributing nationwide is full of anti-Islamic propaganda meant to spread racism and hatred against the Muslim and Arab community.  The documentary was released widely in key swing states before the November Presidential elections simply to mobilize the fear vote against Obama, implicitly linking him to so called radical Islamic movements.

The FOXnews.com coverage, along with the explicitly racist and bigoted continuing coverage of campaigns like WatchObsessions.org are embarking on a campaign to misrepresent the large and growing national, and in fact international, movement that is unifying against the siege of Gaza and the massacre of the Palestinian people.  We know, and the tens of thousands of people marching on the streets of the U.S. know, that this movement is on the correct side of justice. These other organs are simply the mouthpieces for the genocidal regimes of Israel and the United States, which are determined to maintain the colonial occupation of Palestine.

The hallmark of the Israeli aggression and its supporters has been disgusting and extreme racism directed against Palestinians and Arab people. This is used to justify the attacks that in the last 12 days have killed more than 700 Palestinian people, more than 200 of whom were children.  

On Saturday, January 10, people of all faiths and ethnic groups, including Muslims, Christians, Jews and others from different faith traditions will be standing shoulder to shoulder in demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and around the country to demand: "Stop the Massacre in Gaza," "Lift the Siege in Gaza," "Stop U.S. Aid to Israel."

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