Groups simulate terrorist attacks, cause panic

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"A group of artists intentionally caused terror and confusion in Washington Square park yesterday — by simulating a terrorist attack.

The group Artists for Israel, aided by Birthright Israel, set up a full-size Israeli bomb shelter in the middle of the park yesterday. They blasted sirens and simulated the boom of rockets hitting earth. Participants were given 15 seconds to run for shelter.

“There were people running,” said Arief Hussain, 34, a hot dog vendor in the park. “I didn’t know what was going on.”

But once the sirens started wailing, the NYPD and the Parks Department teamed up to shut down the event at 1:30, just half an hour after it began. “They didn’t have a permit,” said Detective James Alberici of the 6th Precinct."

http://www.metro.us/newyork/local/article/816600--groups-simulate-terrorist-attacks-cause-panic

[inademv]

1. Now let them simulate

living in Gaza and getting bombed without any warning.

[oberliner]

3. A mock checkpoint at Columbia

NEW YORK--A group of about 30 students marched in silence through Columbia University's main campus to Low Plaza, its center point, at Noon on November 18. There, the students, many wearing keffiyehs, lined up, before being gagged, blindfolded and forced to the ground by fellow students dressed in military uniforms and armed with cardboard guns, representing Israeli soldiers.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/12/08/mock-checkpoint-at-columbia

[azurnoir]

8. Thanks but I must ask

were students or other pedestrians forced to pass through the mock checkpoints or just those who were participating in the demonstration?

[Shaktimaan]

10. why would you ask that?

How would they "force" anyone to do anything?
No one in union square was forced to run into the shelter during the fake rocket attack.

What kind of demonstrations do you go to that force bystanders to do anything? Is the point of such demonstrations to get yourself arrested and sued?

That's like asking, "Sure, you went to a sit in, great. But I gotta ask if only the participants sat down, or if they knocked random passersby to the ground too?"

[azurnoir]

11. not quite the apparent purpose of the Washington Park demo was to

terrorize bystanders which at least according to the article it accomplished, the Columbia demo did nothing of the sort the people there as far as the article goes had a choice no simulated bomb blasts were involved

[Shaktimaan]

4. Israel routinely...

gives warnings before bombing anything. Even if it's the houses of terrorist leaders.

[azurnoir]

5. They did for some of them during OCL not that the people had much place to go

but it did look good huh?

[Shaktimaan]

6. typical

complaint: Israel bombs without warning!

reality: No, they do give warnings. sometimes even phone cazlls.

complaint: but they just do that so it LOOKS good!

-----

damned if you do. damned if you don't.

[azurnoir]

7. typical what? yes Israel did give warnings prior to some bombings

however didn't Israel also use those warnings for PR purposes and base some claims of 'human shields' in the case(s) those that did not leave regardless of whether or not the people were able to leave?
and just how long before bombing were the warnings given?

[Shaktimaan]

9. umm, no.

The human shields thing came from instances where the time gained from the warnings were used to bring children from the neighborhood onto the roof to wave flags and thus force the attack to be diverted.

Which is pretty much the definition of "human shields."

Also, when Hamas fires Qassams from within densely populated neighborhoods that is also an example of using human shields, but not the one we were discussing.

At any rate, if someone called your house and told you it was going to be destroyed, what exactly prevents you from leaving and going outside? I'm really curious about this one. If it is enough time to gather up all of the neighborhood children and put them on the roof then how is it not enough time for you, yourself to walk outside?

[azurnoir]

12. yes it was played that way but I note you quickly changed from

Palestinian ground bombardment to only IAF air bombardment why do you believe the 2 are comparable or was it because you had no case to defend Israel otherwise?

Now as to your comment

"The human shields thing came from instances where the time gained from the warnings were used to bring children from the neighborhood onto the roof to wave flags and thus force the attack to be diverted.'

as videos at the time showed both children and adults went up on rooftops

now on to the real comparisons which wold be Israel's ground based bombardment, does Israel give warning then? Did Israel give a warning last week when a 11 year old was killed by an IDF mortar shell?

[leveymg]

2. If anti-war protestors did the same thing, NYPD would arrest them.

Pampered putzes.

[LeftishBrit]

13. NYPD did shut down this event

and presumably if the individuals had refused to comply they would have been arrested.

I don't agree with such tactics used by *any* group, pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, or anti-war, as they could easily get out of hand (what if someone was injured in a panicky stampede, or if someone with a weak heart had a heart attack from the stress?) But I don't see any evidence that this group was 'pampered' more than others: they were rightly prevented from continuing, just as hopefully any group would have been.