1,500 rally on Capitol Hill in support of Israel's fight

Some 1,500 people rallied Sunday in support of Israel's fight with Hamas in Gaza. Waving Israeli flags and signs denouncing Hamas' long-running rocket attacks on Israel, the ralliers clamored for the right of the Jewish state to stand up against enemies that they say are bent on its destruction.

"Self-defense is not only an inherent right — it's the obligation of any state to its citizens," Nevet Basker, of Stand With Us, a pro-Israel advocacy group, told a packed room at the Temple De Hirsch Sinai on Capitol Hill.

If Canadians were launching rockets against Washington state, she asked, "what would you expect your government to do?"

The rally, organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, comes amid local criticism of Israel's attacks on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory. In early January, about 500 people rallied in Westlake Park to support Palestine.

Critics of Israel's policy were present on Sunday, too: A person carried a banner that read "Stop Killing Palestinian Kids." Ronni Tartlet, of the Seattle Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, said the Israeli military intervention was "abominable."

Yet many attendants said that a military response was the only way to stop Hamas' rockets. For Shmuel Elad, it's a personal issue: Last Friday, his 17-year old grandson, who lives in southern Israel, saw a rocket explode some 150 feet away from him. The only solution is "the total defeat of Hamas," he said. "If you're interested in peace you don't throw rockets to a civilian population."

Renée Mona has two nephews with the Israel Defense Forces. When she visited Israel last April, one of them told her that "we're going to have to go into Gaza."

Now both are serving there, she said.

Israeli military forces began their attack on Hamas in late December. Officials said their aim was to stop rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities that have been occurring for years. The operation has so far resulted in nearly 900 Palestinians killed, including many civilians. On Sunday, Israeli troops pushed into a heavily populated area of Gaza City, according to The New York Times.

Rally attendants and organizers blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties.

Israel does not want to inflict harm on Palestinians, said Ishmael Khaldi, Israel's deputy consul general for the Pacific Northwest region. "Our enemy is Hamas," he said.

The rally had as a goal to bring the Seattle Jewish community "together in support of and in solidarity with Israel," said Richard Fruchter, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.

But others showed their support as well. King County Republican Party official Hossein Khorram said that Iran is using Hamas to fight a "proxy war" against Israel in Gaza.

Katie Casper, a self-described Christian, was there with a banner supporting Israel.

"They need somebody to stand behind them," she said.

Ángel González: 206-515-5644 or agonzalez@seattletimes.com