Social activist Anil Netto said the low turnout was probably due to many people feeling this was just a political gimmick.
Even PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who had been touted to take the stage with Prime Minister Najib Razak, did not turn up. He was represented by his son Khalil, who is PAS youth chief.
The rally was ‘marketed’ as a joint Umno and PAS effort and both Najib and Khalil reiterated that this cause was non-political.
Netto said: “The fact that not many turned up meant that Malaysians are well-versed with the issue and are able to discern if this was a rally genuinely held by the government to show support for the Palestinians.
“Those who did not turn up likely saw that this rally was just another political gimmick to fish for more votes as the general election is nearing.
“If you look at the number that turned up, I don’t think the rally created an impact and definitely would not affect the US in its decisions.,”
Netto, speaking to FMT, said Najib’s call at the rally for all Malaysians to unite regardless of race and religion was a contradictory one.
“He may have called for Malaysians to put aside race and religion, but just weeks ago, how they regarded race-related issues at the Umno general assembly reflected otherwise.
“The religion-related issues in Malaysia have not improved and in fact have gotten worse after the whole ‘Allah’ issue, ” he said.
The misconception
Anil, however, was concerned about Malaysians’ misconception of Jews, Judaism and Zionism.
“They seem to have lumped them together. They are not the same. This alone tells how the rally will not affect the US,” he said.
Judaism describes the Jewish faith whereas Zionism defines the philosophy behind an exclusive Jewish state which is the physical and spiritual homeland meant exclusively for the Jewish people.
Zionism is a very fundamentalist outlook, and is much criticised, particularly among the Arabs.
“All Zionist are Jews, but not all Jews are Zionists. While most of them live in Israel and the US, and believe in Judaism, not all of them would subscribe to the hard-line exclusivist vision of the Zionists.
Supporting a cause
Commenting on Christian groups who were also present at the rally, Anil said they were probably there to support concerns raised by the United Nations.
“I would say that Christians who were there were clear with the issue at hand,” he said.
“Many of us tend to think that Palestine is a ‘Muslim issue’. But it is not. Do you know, for instance, that Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, lies in Palestinian territory?
“It will be a bleak Christmas in Bethlehem this year. Although religious ceremonies would proceed as usual, celebrations are being toned down.
“It is a message to show there is something wrong and we cannot tolerate this injustice. This is a message for ourselves and for the world – we are still suffering,” he said, citing rector of the Latin Patriarchate Seminary, Jamal Khader, whose comments were reported in the Middle East Monitor.
Netto added that in any case, the religion of the Palestinians should not matter. “It is a question of humanity and basic justice,” he said.