<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1255"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Last night, Peace Now said that over 100,000 attended, and at one point a speaker said 150,000.  I was a bit skeptical of the numbers given, and believe 60-80,000 to be more accurate.  That said, it was still by far the largest Israeli anti-occupation protest since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The most surprising speaker of the evening was Dudu Topaz.  He is one of the most popular Israeli entertainment personalities. He has a show on TV which is along the lines of Jay Leno, but with a core viewership made up largely of uneducated and presumably right-wingers. There was a large amount of surprise when he took to the stage, immediately after Yaffa Yarkoni sang a couple of songs...and it must be said (though his statements were relatively cautious and conservative) that he had a lot of balls to do what he did, knowing in the present atmosphere he could risk his tv shows ratings...and threats to his life.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Other than that, it was the typical mediocre Peace Now speaker line up...only Meretz (Yossi Sarid), Labour (Yossi Beilin), Peace Now, Amoz Oz, and the obligatory Aviv Geffen, etc. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>No members of Gush Shalom, Hadash, Yesh Gvul, New Profile, Ta'ayush...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bryan</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----------------------------------------------------------      </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thousands attend peace rally; call for exit from territories <BR> <BR>By Jonathan Liss and Amit BenAroya, Ha'aretz Correspondents, and Ha'aretz Service <BR>  <BR> <BR>Tens of thousandsof peace activists gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night for a Peace Coalition rally. 1,500 security guards and police officers were securing the event. Opposition leader MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz) and former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin spoke at the rally, as did entertainer Dudu Topaz and writer Amos Oz. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Peace Now movement said that more than 100,000 people had attended the rally, while police estimates put the number at 60,000. The demonstrators held up signs calling for the withdrawal of IDF forces from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and "two states for two peoples." </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In his speech, Sarid said, "The economic crisis is threatening the entire country. Only the settlements and the government are big and fat... withdraw from the settlements and return to ourselves. The settlements are a burden, there is no concession and no prize." </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Assassination threat <BR>An extreme right-wing organization, going by the name of 'Gilad Shalhevet,' threatened Friday to assassinate singer Yaffa Yarkoni, if she performed at the rally in Rabin Square. The threat was made in a telephone call to the Peace Coalition. A Peace Coalition activist reported the incident to police, who have begun an investigation. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>'Gilad Shalhevet' has claimed responsibility for a series of anti-Arab terror attacks last year, including the shooting attack in which a Palestinian truck driver was killed near Mishor Adumin. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yarkoni was interviewed recently on Army Radio, where she was highly critical of the actions of some soldiers during Operation Defensive Shield. Her words created a public outcry, with many people calling for a boycott of the veteran signer. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In response to the threat, the Peace Coalition called on "the moderate Israeli public not to give in to the extreme right." </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Channel One reported that Topaz had also received death threats because of his participation in the rally.<BR> <BR> <BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>