By Franklin Smith/Special to the Daily Press By Daily Press staff
Hundreds of protesters lined the Third Street Promenade Friday evening to send the message of international peace. March 8 signaled International Women’s Day, observed worldwide since 1910, to honor not only the struggle for women’s rights but also international peace.
The protesters stood with Israeli and Palestinian women, along with women from more than 50 cities and countries to demand the dispatch of international monitors to the region and to end violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
They also protested to end Israeli occupation of the West Bank in Gaza, which has seen an escalating cycle of attacks that has now claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Palestinians and nearly 300 Israelis.
Protesters called upon the United States government to accept without delay the demand of the international community to bring peace-keeping forces to the area and work with all parties and other countries to bring peace to both sides.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.