Middle East Takes Center Stage at D.C. Rallies

District police officials said the crowds were larger than they had anticipated, and put their numbers at about 75,000. Organizers of a Palestinian-rights rally at the Ellipse south of the White House said the gathering was the largest demonstration for Palestine in U.S. history.

Walking down the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Justice Department as thousands filled the street, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey praised the decorum of the demonstrations. "The organizers did an outstanding job," said Ramsey, baton in hand. "This is really what protests ought to be."

By about 4 p.m., no arrests were reported, and no major clashes broke out between police and protesters. The events were a stark contrast to April 2000 demonstrations in Washington, when protests against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund led to a virtual shutdown of the downtown area and sparked clashes between police and demonstrators that ended in mass arrests.

Protesters adopted many of the tactics of their counterparts from the 1960s, with hundreds of homemade signs denouncing Israeli leaders and variations of anti-Vietnam war chants including "One, Two, Three, Four—We Don't Want No Mideast War." Some placards and protesters compared Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Adolf Hitler.

"Sharon and Hitler are the same. The only difference is their name," protesters chanted through megaphones.

Thousands of activists began arriving in the early hours of Saturday. They came from across the East Coast, disembarking from a caravan of buses this morning, groggy from the overnight bus ride but already chanting "Stop the U.S./Israeli War!"

"We would have brought more people, but it seemed every bus on East Coast was already reserved," said Steve Gillis, 43, a steelworker from Boston. "We saw hundreds of buses on the road. The rest stops were jammed all the way down."

A group of about a dozen students marched toward the IMF carrying a sign that read "Nerds against the War." They had driven through the night from MIT.

On the Washington Monument grounds, there were touches of the 1960s with tie-dyed T-shirts, granny skirts and peace symbols on hats, shirts and faces. Most signs were hand-made with messages such as "Stop Killing In My Name with My $" and "Has America Gone Bad?"

Also reminiscent of the earlier protests, several American flags were flown upside down – the traditional signal of distress – and worn as capes or shawls.

Among the veterans of earlier peace demonstrations was Sister Claire Surmik, 67, of Erie, Pa. Her well worn sign said "Benedictines for Peace."

"It looks like things have gone full circle back to the '60s," she said. "We seniors must tell the truth, we must give our wisdom. It's our obligation. We are old nuns and the younger ones will come behind us."

The day was not without its tense moments. About 1 p.m. at H and 16th streets NW, a small scuffle broke out on the streets between about members of the New Black Panther Party--wearing black, military-style uniforms--and a man intent on disrupting their march down H Street. There was some pushing and shoving amid chants of "Death to Israel" before members of the crowd broke up the altercation and the march continued.

Earlier in the day, tensions were high as several pro-Israeli protesters confronted Palestinian supports at Florida and Connecticut Avenues NW.

Outside the offices of Citibank at 18th and H Streets, a group of about 100 chanted "Drop Debt not Bombs." At the same time, another group danced and shouted slogans across the street from the World Bank headquarters while speeches were made by the Mobilization for Global Justice group in the center of the park declaring their demands for economic equality.

Meanwhile this morning, about three dozen protesters, who were arrested after a swirling bike ride through the District's rush hour traffic last night, were released from jail. Six protesters remained in jail, apparently unwilling to provide police with identification, said Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer.

The arrests came about 6:30 p.m. Friday during a raucous bike ride downtown during evening rush hour. The group's trek, which snaked from Capitol Hill through downtown, Georgetown and Dupont Circle, started off peacefully. But when protesters began zig-zagging through traffic, chanting "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" police moved in.

Other demonstrations are planned for Sunday and Monday near the Washington Monument grounds and outside of the Washington Hilton, the site of a pro-Israel lobby group's annual conference.

Washington Post staff writers Arthur Santana, Avram Goldstein, Sylvia Moreno, Tom Jackman, Linda Wheeler, Graeme Zielinksi, Manny Fernandez and Monte Reel contributed to this report.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company