Zionists

 What a day! It started with the coach that was supposed to take us to the Palestine march in London failing to arrive. Most of the group dispersed, but a few of us decided to drive down to London. The trip down was as uneventful as driving in central London can be. But, as we were reaching our destination, we got the news that the US and Israel had rescued four hostages by smuggling in special forces disguised as a humanitarian convey. To create a diversion for the rescue, they had bombed a nearby refugee camp, killing more than 200 Palestinians. Our hearts curdled in anticipation of how Israel would paint this as a justification for genocide and the breathless media  celebrating the rescue while ignoring the deaths of Palestinians. At least, we felt better about our decision to make it to London today. As were putting up the Bristol banner, a Zionist plucked a flag from an angels-wings prop that one of our group was wearing on her back, and started to walk away. Her response was fiery and she ran after him, trying to snatch it back. Although I hadn't seen what had happened, I ran and joined her when I saw the confrontation. I guess the combination of her passion and my size put him off a confrontation, and he tossed the flag down and walked off. Although I initially felt that my response could have been more aggressive, I am glad the situation didn't escalate because a) I could have gotten hurt b) or arrested. The Zionists and Islamophobes are angry. In almost all the recent actions I have been on, there have been confrontations with Zionists. I don't know if they are trying to instigate violence to discredit the marches, or whether their denialism is taking a violent form. In the face of overwhelming evidence of Israel's atrocities, any doubts that might creep up have to be drowned out with anger and aggression. Like an angry ferret stuck in a hole which will bite the hand that tries to rescue it. I have more respect for these people compared to the armchair Zionists because at least they are putting themselves in harm's way. And, I feel an ever deeper sense of antipathy towards silent Zionists and de facto Zionists--people who don't have Zionist beliefs, but propagate Zionism by their steadfast dedication to their won careers and the status quo that that depends on.