By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews
For 30 minutes on Tuesday, April 30, a large cross-section of the greater Seattle Jewish community — from across the political, religious and demographic spectrums — gathered together in support of Israel.
About halfway through the downtown rally in support of Israel and America’s war on terrorism, everyone carrying a sign espousing one particular political point-of-view — mentioning support for Palestinian rights — was given three choices by the police: put away their signs, move across the street or be arrested. While most of the about 1,500 people in attendance were listening to speakers and singing along with local rabbis and cantors, a small group of perhaps 15 or 20 people were talking to the police and either putting down their signs or moving across the street.
Two Jews who refused to put down their signs, which expressed support for the people of Israel along with advocating for human rights for everyone, including Palestinians, were arrested.
Rabbi Drorah Setel, spiritual leader of Kadima, and Jonathan Rosenblum, a member of her congregation and a Seattle labor organizer, were arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct and obstructing.” They both admit they refused to put down the signs they were carrying as part of a Jewish group called Pursue the Peace, nor would they move across the street. After being told by police that they would be arrested for failing to obey that order, they both accepted that result.
Setel is quoted in the incident report from the Seattle Police Department as saying — after being told five times by Sergeant Brady to “please” leave for her own safety as well as others, and being advised that she would be arrested if she did not — “Then arrest me.” Her story of the incident jibes with the police report.
Organizers of the rally told this newspaper that they were not aware of the arrests until after the rally and did not tell the police to ask people carrying a certain kind of sign to put them away.
Brian Goldberg, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, who coordinated the rally with Rick Harkavy, executive director of the American Jewish Committee’s greater Seattle chapter, said a few days after the rally, “There were over 1,500 people there. I can’t account for everyone…. During the rally, no one came to me to say we have a problem.”
Harkavy said, in a separate interview also a few days after the rally, that he had nothing to do with the arrests and didn’t even know they were happening at the time. “It was an internal police matter,” he said.
The police report offers a different scenario, however, indicating that at least one of the coordinators of the rally was consulted before the arrests.
Although the names of the “complainants” are blacked out of the police report given by the Seattle Police Department to The Jewish Transcript, they are clearly identified in the report’s narrative as “coordinators” of the Anti-Defamation League and also as the people who worked with the police department before the rally and filled out an application to use the plaza in front of the Federal Building.
The report says: “At approximately 1730 hours, Suspects Setel and Rosenblum as well as several others were observed in the Israeli rally carrying the same signs [identified in the report as those held by members of Pursue the Peace]. Numerous Israeli demonstrators were yelling, ‘They do not belong here!’ As the pro-Israeli crowd escalated, complainant [name blacked out but identified in the report as a coordinator of the Anti-Defamation League] confirmed that they were not part of their group and wanted them to leave.”
Goldberg said both the organizers and the police were aware in advance of the rally that there would be “counter-demonstrators.”
“Pursue the Peace were part of the counter-demonstrators,” Goldberg said. “There were [Pursue the Peace] signs across the street.”
There may have been some confusion, both Goldberg and the leadership of Pursue the Peace agreed. Rainer Adkins of Pursue the Peace said there was another Jewish group in downtown Seattle that afternoon, which stood across Second Avenue from the Federal Building and never tried to join the pro-Israel rally. This group, which is calling itself Jewish Voices Against the Occupation, includes people who have split off from Pursue the Peace, but people in both groups remain friendly. Adkins says that as people went over to greet their friends from the other group, Pursue the Peace signs ended up on both sides of the street and this may have confused the police.
“One thing I wanted to be absolutely clear about: We told people to go and join the rally and present a balanced perspective. We were accused of starting a counter-demonstration and we did not,” Adkins said. “It was a rather confusing situation for [the police]. To them it probably looked like Jews fighting each other.”
Both Setel and Rosenblum say they didn’t go to the rally with any plans except to join their fellow Jews in expressing support for Israel. Rosenblum said he spent some time across the street with the counter-protesters but he couldn’t hear the speakers and also felt it was important to cross the street and stand with his community.
“My place was in the federal plaza. It wasn’t on the other side of the street,” Rosenblum said. “I was a little bit horrified at some of the other signs in the crowd, which were extremely hostile … [but] I respect their right to express their view even though I disagree vehemently with it, because they are also part of the community, this community of diverse opinions.”
He characterized the rally as “very non-confrontational, with some minor exceptions.”
Setel said when the police first approached the people holding the Pursue the Peace signs, she went in search of a rally organizer to try to find someone to “cool things down.”
“I was quite astonished” that the police were talking about arresting people, Setel said. “I wasn’t able to get anyone to help me.” She did say, however, that she had a conversation with Harkavy at the time, which others characterized as a heated discussion.
Harkavy said he was dismayed that there has been a lot of “misinformation” about the rally going around.
“As Jews, we are taught to avoid lashon hara, gossip or half-truths. I find it very disturbing that people are making accusations and half-truths,” Harkavy said. “It’s very troubling that a few people are disseminating this misinformation.”
Harkavy added, “It is my belief — I have no doubt in my mind at least — that this whole thing was staged to get publicity and to cause this kind of turmoil.”
He also expressed sadness that the arrests have overshadowed the success of the rally. “It was an absolute success. When Brian and I first thought of the idea of having a rally, we didn’t expect such a large turnout,” Harkavy said. “We got unbelievable support and response from a large cross-section of the community…. There was a wonderful feeling afterward; people were very upbeat. I’m hoping that people will focus on the positive.”