A pro-Israel rally last Thursday outside the United Nations was nearly swallowed up by a variety of other protest groups, each of which was restricted by police barricades to separate sections of 47th Street between First and Second Avenues.
Iranian-Americans held by far the largest demonstration. They had giant TV screens set up throughout 47th Street so that its hundreds of participants could see speakers, who spoke in both English and Farsi, denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In addition, they expressed concern about the safety of 3,500 Iranian dissidents who live in Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
At the other end of 47th Street on a stage just off Second Avenue, Iran 180 staged its mock wedding between actors wearing masks of Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashir Assad. Ousted Libyan strongman Moammar Kadaffy presided over the ceremony. Watching the street theater were passersby, many of whom stopped and happily snapped pictures of the event with their phones.
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
