Yesterday at 10:00 AM at the corner of Gay and Lombard streets a group of approximately 100 people protested the Israeli war machine's latest aggression against the people of Palestine and Lebanon. The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee had called for a rally in front of the Holocaust Memorial in support of the recent attacks, insisting that "Baltimore Stands with Israel." This message was undermined by the fact that they had to bus in large numbers of people from the surrounding counties (including school age children). Speakers included Governor Erlich and Mayor O’Malley, who hammered home the message that if you’re not with Israel, you’re with the terrorists. Not wanting their city to be associated with Israeli war crimes, a group of concerned citizens organized a counter protest. The speakers, including Green Party Gubernatorial candidate Ed Boyd, detailed the context of the current crisis and described in detail Israel’s violation of international law. In addition, local artists described the conflict via the medium of freestyle hip-hop, to the entertainment and edification of both protestors and passers by. The strength of the protest was sufficient to induce city council members to attempt to sneak away from the rally unnoticed. This attempt failed, however, and all of the political leaders who supported the pro-Israel rally were called out and criticized for doing so. The protest concluded with a call to attend the emergency rally scheduled to converge at the White House on August 12th.