Allison Rowen Taylor, 54, of Studio City stood with the pro-Israel crowd, wrapped in an American flag. She said her son, 22, is a sergeant commander with the Israeli army and was being deployed to the conflict in Gaza. She had just talked to him by telephone before she came to the demonstration.
"All I can say is, 'Are you OK? Are you scared?' and 'I love you,' " Taylor said as she began to cry.
Roz Rothstein, an organizer of the pro-Israeli group StandWithUs, said Tuesday's rally was an opportunity to educate the public about the situation in Gaza.
Referring to one of the many slogans the pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanted throughout the evening, Rothstein said, "You hear them chanting, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free' and that means the complete elimination of Israel."
She continued:
"The river is the Jordan River and the sea is the Mediterranean Sea and in between is Israel."
On Tuesday, the four-day death toll rose to 384 Palestinians. The United Nations said nearly 70 civilians had been killed in Gaza, fueling diplomatic pressure for Israel to halt the offensive. In the same period of time, three Israeli civilians and a soldier were killed in rocket attacks. In the wake of the destruction, Israel said it is considering the possibility of a 48-hour truce.
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raja.abdulrahim@latimes.com
