Scenes from the Anti-Mubarak Rally, Toronto, January 29, 2011 - Part 3

 James Clark, Toronto Coalition to Stop the War

Ali Mallah, VP, Canadian Arab Federation
Sid Lacombe, Canadian Peace Alliance

 El-Farouk Khaki, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid

Jenny/Ben Peto, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid

Update:  Welcome, readers of Five Feet of Fury!

Al-Quds Protest, Queen's Park, Toronto, 2009 - Video - Part 8

This video is a bit shaky at the beginning. I had left the crowd to take photos and get a good spot for taping as the people started on their march. For some reason, I thought they were going to start marching after Khaled Mouammar finished his speech.

But another man took the stand and started reading from a list of demands, so I turned my camera back on midway through his first demand. The most notable was #3: a condemnation of Prime Minister Harper's government for assigning a terrorist designation to Hamas and Hezbollah. The balding man in the crowd who boos this designation and shakes his finger against the government is the same man who demanded to know my name and affiliation (update: Ali Mallah, vice president of the Canadian Arab Federation). Sure, I'll give my name to a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah; what could possibly go wrong?

The speaker told everyone to walk together and walk slowly to make it look like they were a bigger crowd and then they all started on their way. I taped part of the beginning of their march and then my camera's back-up battery died.

This is my final Al Quds Day protest video. I'll start on the Jesus in the City video tomorrow.

Al-Quds Protest, Queen's Park, Toronto, 2009 - Video - Part 7

This video shows the first part of a speech by Khaled Mouammar, president of the Canadian Arab Federation.

The back-up battery on my video camera was dying; I turned it off before he finished speaking because I hoped to have enough juice left to photograph the people as they marched.

There's one more video to come.

Al-Quds Protest, Queen's Park, Toronto, 2009 - Video - Part 1

This video features Barry Weisleder at the Socialist Action literature table, Farid Ayad, the president of Palestine House and Ali Mallah, vice-president of the Canadian Arab Federation. (I don't know the name of the man who emceed the event.)

Start watching around the 6:15 mark for my encounter with Ali Mallah who blocked me from videotaping and demanded to know my name "because you are with the JDL".

Update: Here's a transcript of our encounter. Note that this took place after I was denounced as a witch Zionist by Jesse M. Zimmerman. After my conversation with Ali Mallah who demanded to know my name, a man behind and to the left of me walked past me and bumped into me to get to the area to my right (where James Clark and his denouncer friend stood). On his way back to the left of me, the man knocked into me again (his arm/shoulder into my upper back). He wasn't off balance. If it had happened once, it might have been an accident, but after the second time, it was clear that it was deliberate.

Transcript

Ali Mallah of the Canadian Arab Federation: "...talk to you for a second?"

Me: "I'm taping."

Ali Mallah: "Sorry?"

Me: "I'm taping the uh..."

Ali Mallah: "And who, who are you with?"

Me: "I'm by myself."

Ali Mallah: "Yeah and what is your name?"

Me: "That's my business."

Ali Mallah: "It's not your business because you're with the JDL."

Me: "No, I am not."

Ali Mallah: "Yes, you were."

Me: "No, I am not."

Ali Mallah: "So, you're not."

Me: "I do not belong to the JDL."

Ali Mallah: "So you're not belong to the JDL."

Me: "No, I do not."

Ali Mallah: "And then what is your name? I give you my name, it is Ali Mallah. You don't wanna give me your name?"

Me: "No, I'm not going to give you my name because I know who you're with."

Ali Mallah: [leans closer to hear me]

Me: "I know who you're with. I'm not giving you my name."

Ali Mallah: "Are you journalist? Documentary?"

Me: "No."

Ali Mallah: "No? Okay. And you're saying you're not a JDL?"

Me: "I do not belong to the JDL."

Ali Mallah: "Okay. Thank you."

Update #2: Welcome, fellow fans and readers of Blazing Cat Fur!

Update #3: Welcome, readers of Sharpe Stick! Hey, another new blog to add to my favourites!

Update #4: More on Ali Mallah.