New York – Times Square in NYC, and many blocks beyond, were filled with a sea of humanity yesterday as 3500 people stood for hours in sweltering heat to support speakers who spoke out against the unilateral Gaza/Samaria withdrawal plan. Almost every inch of sidewalk was bursting with people for blocks and blocks protesting the rewarding of terrorists actions against Israel and protesting the forced removal of 10,000 Israeli Jewish men, women, and children from their homes, farms, schools, synagogues, and businesses in Gaza and Northern Samaria. There were concurrent rallies against the Gaza Plan throughout the world, including London, Paris, Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Antwerp, Amsterdam and more.

The speakers at the NYC rally included Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, former Rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue and chief Rabbi of Efrat, Israel; Assemblyman Dov Hikind; syndicated talk show host G. Gordon Liddy; ZOA President Morton A. Klein, Director of the National Council of Young Israel, Rabbi Pesach Lerner; Esther Levens, President of the National Unity Coalition of Jews and Christians for Israel; and many, many more. David Romanoff, Chairman of the Alliance for Eretz Yisroel was the principle organizer of the rally.

In his remarks, Rabbi Riskin asked, “Where are you Arik Sharon, that you let the Palestinian Arabs turn our victory into defeat? Will you let history judge you with the words, where are you, Arik Sharon?” Esther Levens said, “Ben Gurion proclaimed at the21st Zionist Congress in 1937 in Basel, Switzerland, that no Jew has the right to relinquish the land of Israel.”

Dov Hikind and Morton Klein condemned this as a victory for Hamas and Fatah terrorists that will only encourage more terror. Klein added that the mayors of the 45 Israeli towns surrounding Gaza want this Plan stopped because they will now be under greater danger since more terrorists will be closer to their towns. Liddy said this Plan harms the international war against terror.

There were signs everywhere saying “Leaving Gaza Rewards Terror,” “Forcing Jews From Their Homes is a Human Rights Abuse,” and “Stop Appeasement Now.”

Avrahom Fried and Yerachmiel Ziegler provided inspiring musical entertainment.