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Demonstrators seal off Jewish synagogue in Surabaya
With massive anti-Israel and anti-US rallies continuing across the country, Muslim protesters sealed off a Jewish synagogue in Surabaya on Wednesday and threatened to boycott American products in the province
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With massive anti-Israel and anti-US rallies continuing across the country, Muslim protesters sealed off a Jewish synagogue in Surabaya on Wednesday and threatened to boycott American products in the province.
The closure of the synagogue followed huge rallies in the city organized by local organizations to condemn the Israeli strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 400 Palestinians in the past fortnight.
Brandishing anti-Israel and anti-US banners through the main streets in front of the governor's office and crowded shopping centers, the protesters moved on the nearby synagogue.
They held a forum there that later ended with the burning of Israeli and American flags and the sealing off of the synagogue.
Rally coordinator Abdusshomad Buchori said the group would organize a massive movement against US citizens, Jews and American products such as KFC and McDonald's outlets in the city until the attacks in Gaza were halted.
"If Israel doesn't stop its attacks on the Palestinian people immediately, we will conduct raids on sympathizers, supporters and Israeli agents in the province," he said.
The rally continued peacefully as more than 300 riot police were deployed to the area.
Following the synagogue closure, the demonstrators then moved on KFC and McDonald's outlets at the nearby Plaza Surabaya, calling for a boycott of the American products.
The demonstrators also demanded the government intensify diplomatic efforts with the UN and the international community to "stop the bloodshed" and get humanitarian relief to the Palestinian people.
On Thursday, a crowd of 500 from the Forum for Folk Unity (Forpui) gathered outside the US Consulate here to express their solidarity for the Palestinian people and condemn the Israeli attacks.
