600 Rally in West Hills to Urge Peace Talks in Mideast

Showing their support for the peace process, about 600 people gathered in the San Fernando Valley Thursday night to urge Israelis and Palestinians to resume talks.

The rally at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus in West Hills was organized by Los Angeles-area Jewish organizations amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Police patrolled the campus, and guests were required to pass through a metal detector.

“The events of the last 24 hours show how fragile obtaining peace can be,” said Todd Morgan, chairman of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, one of the event’s sponsors. “We are greatly saddened by the deaths of today, whether they are Jewish, Muslim or Christian. It seems our prospects for peace are dimming hourly.”

Morgan was referring to reports that two Israeli soldiers had been killed by an angry mob and that six sailors aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer docked in Yemen were killed in a suspected terrorist attack.

Local Arab organizations, to ensure that their viewpoint is heard, plan to hold several rallies in Los Angeles and Orange counties over the next few days.

“We feel there isn’t any avenue to express our voice in the political arena, so this is the only means we can do that,” said Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “This is also a chance for both Arabs and Jews to speak out against any type of backlash that could affect our two communities.”