Postcards from Dupont Circle

Dupont Circle was the place to gather on Saturday, Feb. 26, to protest Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to curtail state employees' benefits and collective bargaining rights, a bill that would eliminate Planned Parenthood's federal funding and the ongoing human rights abuses in the Middle East and North Africa.

There was also a handful or protesters outside the Iraqi embassy on P Street, NW.

Activists mourn Tel Aviv LGBT center attack victims

Activists and religious leaders in New York, Washington and across Israel continue to gather to mourn the two people a gunman shot and killed at a Tel Aviv LGBT center on Saturday night.

“We gather here tonight to mourn, to remember, and to make a promise. Here tonight, we mourn the inextricable reality of hate," Mark Pelavin, associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said at a Washington vigil earlier tonight.

"We mourn the persistence of apathy in the face of intolerance. But above all, we mourn the loss of two young Israelis who, while seeking love and support, were met with terror and violence."

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn echoed Pelavin.

"Saturday's shooting at the LGBT Youth Center in Tel Aviv was a shocking and horrendous hate crime," she said in a statement that announced a vigil to be held on Wednesday at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in Manhattan. "My condolences go out to the family and friends of those who were taken too soon by the hand of hate, and my thoughts and prayers are with those still fighting for their lives."

Liz Trobishi and Nir Katz's murders are certainly an outrage that should motivate all fair-minded people to stand-up and proclaim loudly and with conviction anti-LGBT violence is completely unacceptable. The attack in Tel Aviv was also not only an attack against LGBT Israelis, but against those of us in Baghdad, Beirut, Boston, Bushwick and around the world. Our community has certainly made significant strides in recent years, but this attack provides yet another stark reminder we must double our resolve to ensure these tragic incidents of hate-fueled violence become a thing of the past.

Israel launches Gaza ground offensive

Israel's decision to launch an expected ground offensive into the Gaza Strip on Saturday has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity to enact a cease fire that expired last month. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined New York Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly and Congressman Gary Ackerman [D-New York] traveled to Sderot near the Gaza border on Sunday. And his honor was forced to take shelter after a siren warned of a possible rocket attack.

The all too obvious political implications cannot go unstated as Bloomberg lays the ground work for his re-election campaign, but his trip to the Jewish state represents the global concern, outrage, solidarity and sympathy that continues to grow as the Israel Defense Forces expand its offensive and civilian casualties inside the Gaza Strip and in Southern Israel continue to grow. This escalation may raise the obvious (or less than clear) questions: How is this conflict any different those that have raged in the Holy Land for more than 60 years? Why should the international community continue to stick its neck into what can arguably be described as ongoing disputes between Israelis and Palestinians? Is there hope the seemingly never-ending conflict will end?

The answers to these questions are arguably obvious depending upon who provides them. One thing that can be said with utmost certainty is the scenes that continue to emerge from the Gaza Strip and southern Israel are extremely disturbing. Hamas and the IDF have a fundamental responsibility to ensure civilians on both sides of the border are not caught in this seemingly never-ending cycle of violence. To fail on this basic account is nothing short of criminal.

Israel launches more airstrikes against Gaza

I have returned to the blog after nearly a week away for Christmas, but the news of continued Israeli air strikes against Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip remain front page news.

The Israel Defense Forces began its campaign on Saturday in response to continued rocket attacks against cities and towns near the Gaza Strip. The territory's main university, Hamas security compounds and tunnels used to smuggle weapons and other products from Egypt are among the places Israeli airplanes bombed. The Gaza blitz has killed more than an estimated 300 people and injured more than 1,400. Retaliatory rockets launched into Israel have killed two Israelis and wounded several others. And the IDF is reportedly planning a possible ground offensive into Gaza.

The Arab League joined Spain and other countries in their condemnation of the Israeli campaign. France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United Nations have called upon both sides to return to the cease fire that ended Dec. 20. The United States blamed Hamas for its continued rocket attacks into Israel.

The arguably disproportionate air strikes in Gaza are certainly a cause for concern for the sheer fact more than 50 Palestinian civilians have been killed. The campaign also perpetuates a cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians for decades that will not abate if both sides continue to fail to show restraint on behalf of their own citizens. The scenes that continue to emerge from Gaza are disturbing. They will almost certainly continue if both sides fail to pull back from the latest precipice on which they currently find themselves.