Monday, May 21, 2007
Wow, huge event at Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots) yesterday. I was driving to the stadium (the event itself was actually held in the Dana Farber Field House) in a driving rain with my daughter, figuring there wouldn't be as many people there as I expected. Wrong. It was packed...really packed. They probably could have used twice the facility, and much more security to get people through faster -- after the long drive to Foxboro, it took us almost an hour and a half to get from the highway and into the event, and once in there were lines for everything and crowds everywhere.
So, I guess you'd call that a successful event with lessons learned for the next time out.
With one stain...apparently (I didn't see this happen) there was a group of assholes who showed up to disrupt the fun as best they could in the name of their pet issue -- the fact that the Arabs didn't manage to wipe out the Jews 60 years ago. You'll just have to bear with my language as I drop my usual academic facade (haha), I get a bit worked up when my kid is involved and people show up to intentionally ruin things.
I wouldn't ordinarily give them any attention, but you should go here and here, look at their pictures and remember their faces. They appear to be a part of this group, Zochrot, which has been running around doing "Nakba Day" propaganda. And look who's all over Zochrot's leadership...Neve Shalom -- the peace village. Neve Shalom actually had a booth at the event. Chutzpah. Maybe something can be done about that next year.
Update: I feel more guilty than ever about linking this, but for the record, you must see how weirdly delusional these people are by reading this account from Mazin Qumsiyeh. First, because it shows that Qumsiyeh can't tell the truth about even the most basic facts, "ofcourse it was only a small and shrinking fraction of racist and misinformed Jews in the area who joined the "celebration""...pal, it was more people than I've EVER seen at a similar event. The turnout was quite literally amazing. Then you can read how they planned for MONTHS to have a couple of women carry large banners up their skirts and stand there for 3 minutes doing their own photo-op. Cuckoo, cuckoo...
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Remember that enormously successful New England Celebrates Israel event at Gillette Stadium last week? Remember the group of numb-nuts who plotted literally for months for about a minute of standing... Read More
The Patriots held cheerleader tryouts yesterday at the Dana-Farber Field House (same place the last New England Celebrates Israel event was held. Just, uh, thought it important to note. What? You thought the title was some sort of ironic political... Read More
Actually, I think it's a good thing your daughter saw this. Our kids sometimes live in a bubble; it's important for them to personally feel (at a safe distance) that there is evil in the world and that it won't go away on its own.
Unfortunately, we arrived too late to see this demonstration, and, instead, just had a fantastically good time for the afternoon. Though I could care less about professional football, I pray that God helps the Patriots to as many victories as possible, so that people like the Krafts can continue to do good work in this world.
Just to be clear, we didn't see it, and if we had I'm sure it would have gone straight over her head. It's just the thought of it that drives me batty.
Big props to the Kraft family for the event.
I ran into some similar-minded Looney Tunes at Boston Common on Sunday the 13th; two young women (I won't call them "ladies") were making a chalk-line grid, so that they could draw a map of "Palestine" with "destroyed Arab villages" marked.
Quite frankly, I didn't see the point of even trying to talk to them. THIS is the best they can do? -- a chalk map that will be smudged by endless feet and washed away in a day or so?
(In retrospect, perhaps I should have asked them if they know what eminent domain means. Yep, Israel uses it -- and so does the United States, and so do many other Western countries.)
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Oddly enough, there's another blog post I didn't link to with a description and pictures of that very event. I happen to know someone who assisted with the greening of the common by picking up all those little pieces of paper scattered around and throwing them in the trash where they belong.
Where can we see pictures of this event (from the pro-Israel side)?
Don't know. I didn't take any photos other than one or two of my daughter. If I find any collections I'll link them.