I used to think this, and I was so wrong. Or course some attend the rallies for foolish reasons, but I found that a lot of what I believed about the Israel-Palestine situation was effectively Israeli propaganda (and grossly untrue).

The mistreatment of the Palestinians is long running, deliberate, calculated. The recent blood bath in Gaza is another entry in a long running tragedy.

Between River and Sea by Dervla Murphy is a wonderful, humane examination of the country. It's over a decade old but still very informative without being academic or dry. I would recommend it highly.

What "cause"? Not sure I understand that?

My main concern is how quickly what I would have considered Western value structures, democracy, press freedom, international law, reasonableness have evaporated and I now see the West, and the US in particular very differently.

Allowing one group, in fact enabling them in so many ways, of people who we have close affiliations with to kill, starve, displace and torture an entire population, no matter the reason, just makes me see the world in a very different way.

This centuries illegal wars had opened my eyes somewhat but even those I'm going back to and re-evaluating and seeing them and the current situation as frankly great evils.

I'm old enough to not really have to worry for myself, but selfishly it does make me very concerned for my children.

And yes I am more than concerned for the Palestinians, if that is the "cause" you are referring to.