By Sue Bolton

MELBOURNE -- One thousand members of the Lebanese community and their supporters took to the streets on April 25 to call for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon and for an end to the bombing of Lebanon.

Speakers at the rally said that Israel had created Hezbollah by occupying southern Lebanon. The goal of Hezbollah was simply to get rid of the Israeli occupation. Until that happened, there would never be peace.

Some speakers condemned the United States for its support of Israel's actions. Several speakers explained that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States had been deliberately painting Arabs and Muslims as the new "terrorists" and as "fanatics". Atrocities committed against Muslims in Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq and Burma as well as in the Middle East had been "justified" by the need to combat Muslim fanaticism.

Some participants in the demonstration told Green Left Weekly that Israel's actions had brought the whole Lebanese community, both Christian and Muslim, together.

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