An Evening at "Zucchini" Park & OWS Day 42

Last Friday, October 28, 2011, Day 42 of the "Occupation"was also the day before the early snow storm that crippled so much of the area around Manhattan. AND it was the day the illegal generators were confiscated by the Fire Department. Perhaps that's why the park seemed so dark as I left between 7 and 7:30. It was a challange to get video and pics. 

As I arrived, this was the scene on the West side of "Zucchini":

 





 

Not as many kids as on the weekends ( just these two perhaps)





The Soc/Commie/Dem/Anarchists (saw some Green Party faces, too) were still hanging out, as well as Anonymous (not sure these guys are FOR anything)



 

Well..they are for SELLING T-shirts ( Captilalism by any other name, is OKAY)

As I walked East, I saw some of our police...calmly earning lots of over-time....

 

This is the South Side of the park that's now a NO-GO Zone (even for the police.) The druggies and hard-ass criminals are squatting here. Seems these guys are the only ones who can actually move the "Occupiers" OUT of this area, this NO-Go zone. Once it's dark, Stay OUT.

 

Apparently theft goes hand in hand with panhandling cause I'm pretty sure this is some of the police netting the 'peaceful' occupiers just happened to have 'take' during a 'peaceful' march (or maybe it's just a ...coincidence?)


 



 The East Side of Zucchini. More fun and Games with familiar faces....







 Is she scary, or what?




They most activity here, the East and N/E side of the park, considered a safe -zone (safe from those thugs in the S/W area) and where they have a bicycle generator. BTW- it ONLY takes 10 hours of pedaling to power up a hair dryer. Amazing.... but these tools are buying into this "Return to the Dark Ages."





 Child Safe Zone, but it's not a Child Care Zone, just a '''Safe Place". Maybe that's why there are no kids here...way too confusing....

 

And some 'light' reading material for the curious... Get your hijabs right here....

Holding posters high, handing out flyers and booklets. all talking at the same time. What a mess!








My favorite sign of the day:





But, I had actually returned to Zucchini" to catch a glimpse of "Occupation Kuffeya" night .

 

Hosted by a group of angry 20-somethings eager to spew their hatred for all things Jewish, promoting BDS (they claim the Jews stole their Hummus. Really) and made no secret of their main goal: NO State of Israel. EVER. There is No "Two State Solution" in their plans. "From The River To The Sea" . I am ever so pleased to report that their little occupation fell flat.



"Zucchini" Park is now bursting at the seams. Everyone hoping to lay claim to the few optimal spots on the East stairs. This was the spot they wanted, but a group of Spanish 'mic checkers' were there and showed no signs of leaving


 

All the stairs were jammed so Occupation Kuffeya was relegated to the low visibilty park floor.

 



 Surrounded by the teaming masses of squatters and lookie-loos.... who had no interest in their silk-screening and petition... They took pictures and did interview for themselves.

 

 

Oh, they did send Kilt-Man (who wore shorts this evening) over to the stairs to share a brief Pas de deux (with his Kuffeya) with moi. Ho-Hum...yawn....

 This is "Kiltman" on the left as he arrived....



 
Caught the fun in my video (scroll down). But it was brief. Kiltman grew weary and returned to his nest of Kuffeyas.... and I finished filming the non-event.....Then I headed west for a look-see of  "Zucchini" as I left the Kuffeyas behind...

 


The night setting on my video cam may be be unsettling to some (visually) but if you are game please watch Part 4 of the videos. It ends with these OHM Prayers on the West side of the park across from the Burger King, I finally saw their 'secular' altar area in use by some Yogi-type..... The drums were "in bed"...in the mounds on the steps....so I was actually able to hear every intoned "OHM". 

Guess some of this "Good Neighbor" Policy is being implemented:





The Marxist/Socialist/Anarchists have created a moral void. Religion has been secularized. Emptied. And those who are searching (and gullible) knelt at this altar for a VERY long time...intoning over and over...For what? To Change The World? One TONE at a time?

Ohmmmmmm

 




The squatters and dabblers looking for love in all the wrong places. 

 

 Interesting sign at this altar of "peace and love" An  altar we're asked to respect. I guess that's kind of like how they're respecting the park, maybe.....Or not....




Wonder when our NYPD and Bloomie and the VERY "LIBERAL" City Council will decide that enough is enough. Will they? Can they?

As this report from Oakland reveals, the Occupiers/Unions/Thugs have made the next move with a MANDATORY STRIKE DAY (Nov 2) What will happen to the businesses that don't shut down as THEY demand?Will the police be able to protect them?

The plaza where the encampment is located is once again covered in brightly colored tents and tarps. Protesters estimate that several hundred people are sleeping at the camp nightly.
During the strike, protesters intend to march from downtown to the Port of Oakland and will try to close it down. Protesters also said they would picket banks, businesses, schools, libraries and any employer who tries to discipline striking workers.

 Is each city going to continue to roll-over?  One occupation at a time? Is this INSANE or WHAT? 
__



VIDEO LINKS ARE NEXT

Part 1  ( 5:30 PM)  Before I checked out the Kuffeya escapade on the East side of "Zucchini" Square I passed by the drummers on the West Side. The mess, the filth crammed into and spilling out of this public/private park is appalling. The police stand around (getting lots of overtime ) and Bloomberg and Company says that's okay cause it's all about "Free Speech"  








Part 2 With big plans of hitching a ride on the OWS bandwagon, a group of  20-somethings supporting Death to Israel gathered at "Zucchini"-ville to show off their Kuffeyas and to silk screen t-shirts. Ther was LOTS of competition. The ubiquitous Kiltman (who never bathes) danced a Kuffeya Dance just for moi and then back to silk-screening...








Part 3. It's now about  6:30 PM . At one point, as the Kuffeya occaption limped along, I heard "mic check" from a group on the South side of the park. Came through clearly. A vivid example of how the drums as well as the constant chanting and mic check are destroying the peace and quiet of those who live down there.  ( Ther ewas also a late night saxophone and trumpet)






Part 4  - Signs of Anarchy, T-shirts ,a salad-bowl of malcontents.  Midway thru this video there was very little light in the park. Still, I wanted to walk thru and give a sense of how packed it had become with squatters. There are a few large tents, not just the squatter pup-tents. And the west end of the park, across from the Burger King, I finally saw their 'secular' altar area in use by some Yogi-type..... 





****

 slide show of pics




________

Pro-Israel Activists Counter SJP Anti-Israel Conference at Columbia University

Anti-Israel Conference permitted at Columbia to plot "Israel Apartheid Week 2012 "

October 16, 2011 This was a 3 day conference ( October 14-16)

The 1st National Students for "Justice" in "Palestine" (SJP) Conference 

 From the Jewish Forward:  

Pro-Palestinian Student Activists Plan Push

College Chapters Hope To Unite and Strengthen Protest of Israel

" SJP demonizes and delegitimizes Israel as an “apartheid”, “colonialist”, “oppressor” state and openly advocates and practices boycotts, divestments, sanctions (BDS) against Israel, creating an openly hostile environment for Israel supporters.

Organizers said they expected 300 attendees, all of them members or recent alumni of pro-Palestinian campus groups, and many of them members of campus groups that use the SJP name.

Since the founding of the first SJP at the University of California, Berkeley in 2001, the number of SJP groups has grown to over 75, according to the ADL.

Not all conference attendees will be members of groups that call themselves Students for Justice in Palestine. The Brandeis chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, an activist organization harshly critical of Israel, is sending a Brandeis junior named Morgan Conley as a representative.

“JVP definitely shares the same beliefs and goals that SJP has, so I think representing Brandeis JVP at the conference is an act of solidarity with SJP’s cause,” Conley said. “I think it’s definitely a really good way to start networking between the two groups.

Salahi said that Palestinians and Jews make up the largest national and religious groups on the conference’s steering committee. "

The Anti-Israel Conference, unopposed, was held ON campus at Columbia University.

Of course, the conference isn't the first time these students were fed such a heavy dose of racism.


("Conference organizers wore easily-distinguishable red shirts featuring the organization’s name on the back and an intricate design of a keffiyeh and a dove on the front")

But, we were pleased to see a counter-protest outside the campus gate.

This was on the third and final day of the Students for Justice in Palestine “teach-in". 

"Some protesters came independently, alerted by e-mails or social media.  Others were members of groups such as Americans for a Safe Israel, Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam,  Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns, National Council on Jewish Affairs, and Liberals for Israel. " **

A peaceful counter protest meant to expose the lies that will be taught during Israel Apartheid Week 2012.

The unfettered hatred for Jews and Israel that is encouraged on our college campuses throughout North America by the conference.

Like the street theatre antics below, it must all be challenged. 

 "Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Chicago simulated an Israeli checkpoint"


In support of the SJP Conference, I found this blog post that tried to debunk the assertions of anti-Zionism at the 'teach-in. The writer presents a smug critique of an article written by JanSuzanne Krasner, 

He says,

"... neither Krasner or NCJA provide any evidence as to how this conference intimidates pro-Israel Jewish students. The conference is not anti-Israel and, thus, it is not an anti-pro-Israel-Jewish-student conference..." 

Fortunately, the video I made outside the conference (scroll down) quickly exposed his lies.  Many of the students speaking to us were clearly anti-Zionists. BTW- the kids in the red t-shirts were the planners of the conference not just participants... 

                                        

(Found info and pictures of conference at a blog called "16 minutes to Palestine" )

 

"Attendees and organizers, in red shirts, listen attentively during the SJP Conference’s opening"

I was impressed by how graciously our side reached out and genuinely listened to these kids, even though it must have been difficult to let them drone on spewing school-sanctioned propaganda, but they did. They listened.

This anti-Israel, anti-Jewish agitprop is all meant to provoke and we did have a few moments on our side when emotions flared, but that was it. Always a brief moment and then we would recover.

 On camera I caught one particular student who was determined to correct our LIES. ( the girl in burgundy)  She was listened to with the most courteous of objections. She calmly left and even returned to continue her assault on the truth and still she was treated with respect. However, at the end, she is one of those leading the hateful genocidal chants "From The River to the Sea" and "Israel is a terrorist State". "Fair and Balanced" was not on the SJP Conference Agenda....


OUR VIDEO:





Observing the counter-protest was CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager, Cyrus McGoldrick. He happens to be  a convert to Islam; grew up Roman Catholic. After taking a few pictures, he just stood and watched. I spoke to him briefly. He puts on quite a friendly face and he's a Hip Hop / Poet, not just the CAIR- NY mucky-muck.  During our chat he reminded me that he, too, is an American and mentioned he was very uncomfortable with what some of our signs said.

 What is it with these Muslim kids and HIP HOP? It's so aggressive but perhaps that's all we need to know. It appeals to these disaffected youths because it is angry 'music' for angry kids.

 "Revolutionary hip hop artist and activist Immortal Technique blesses us with a new free mixtape filled with amazing features like Cornel West, Dead Prez, Styles P, Vinnie Paz, Joell Ortiz and top notch producers like the legendary J. Dilla and DJ Green Lantern. Support independent hip hop artist who support the people."

I've come nose to nose, literally, with one particularly violent 'fakestinian' female, Nancy. She's so obsessed with Hip Hop that she even manages Hip Hop 'artists' like  IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE (when she isn't on the streets spewing her venom against those....ZIONISTS!)

Nancy "The Brit". She's a monster of aggression towards the opposition when we photograph their rallies. Always wheres a kuffiya on her lovely face. Points and yells,  "ZIONIST" while she assaults and blocks cameras on a public street. (Kind of silly really, but it's her favorite past-time)

And the police just watch. Sometimes not even capable of hiding their scowls towards our Pro-Israel side . After all, they've just heard the buzz word "zionist" and "fascist". Guess all that CAIR Sensitivity Training is finally paying off (sarc intended)

 This is Nancy. Nancy Mansour. She's British. Uses the handle Harrabic Tubman and runs an vile anti-Israel organization  " Existence is Resistance" and she Hates Jews.




Nancy "Harrabic Tubman" is also an active participant in the Apartheid Planning Conference, hosting a Hip Hop Concert evening (of course)

These are some of the disrespectful, anti-Jewish antics of Nancy, nurtured and bred in such training sessions on our college campuses.

Nancy's anti-Semitic vandalism at left. A display she created in the mid-town Garment District.









Lots of Street Theatre when Fakestinians are around so #OWS was on the agenda. The SJP kids went down to the Occupation on Sunday the 16th, after the conference, to show their  support for the "occupation". Probably arranged by Cyrus since he and CAIR  are encouraging a Muslim presence at Zuccotti which continues at #OWS. (mostly on Fridays and Saturday)

"One SJP Conference organizer waits for the rest of the SJP contingency on its way to the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City."

Found this video of Cyrus at the OCW Jummah Prayers Show (on the 21st) Cyrus starts the video and speaks til about 2:25 (he returns at 9:54) It is a very  'pretty ' video of "Jummah Day".  Produced with pretty, pretty music. Lulling us into a peaceful state as we listen to the gentle, peaceful words. Just listen... listen...listen to the music.....

These kids are never going to stray from the 'party-line'





 More pictures in the Slide Show of our counter- protest:

 

UPDATE:

I took these pictures right after the arrest, I didn’t actually see what happened but, Fern Sidman apparently did. Here is a quote from her article that’s linked at the bottom of this post:

“Julian Rappaport, one of the demonstrators engaging with passers-by at the university’s gate, contended that the anti-Israel conference inside was not an expression of free speech, but “to give only one, incorrect side of the picture.Columbia has the responsibility to be more critical of what’s going on.” 

During a heated confrontation with an SJP member, who called for “the complete obliteration of the racist Zionist entity,” Mr. Rappaport was arrested by police for allegedly kicking the student and was charged with disorderly conduct. He was released soon thereafter and returned to the demonstration.”

The young man who made that offensive statement, calling for the ”obliteration of the Zionist entity”, is in the picture right after the handcuffs. He’s in shorts and is talking to the officer.

Next, the  article from Fern Sidman reporting on our Counter Protest  here

Am Yisrael Chai!