Three members of a grassroots lobbying organization rallied outside Healy Gates during Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s speech on Tuesday to protest her role in the government’s funding of the Palestinian Authority.

From 10 a.m. until around noon, members of ConstituentPAC used a megaphone to voice their opposition to Rice and the George W. Bush administration, drawing complaints from students who live in nearby townhouses, according to protester Joe Orlow.

A Department of Public Safety officer from Gaston Hall came out to the Healy Gates and reprimanded the protesters, claiming that the noise could be heard inside Gaston Hall, Orlow said. DPS then called the Metropolitan Police Department, but MPD officers decided that the protesters were not breaking any laws by rallying outside Healy Gates and that they were not exceeding the legal noise level.

Students could hear the protesters in classrooms as far away as White-Gravenor Hall.

ConstituentPAC is a grassroots organization with a membership base of about 50 people that lobbies to end the United States’ funding of the Palestinian Authority. The organization asserts that American aid funnels through the Palestinian Authority and is ultimately used to perpetrate terrorist acts against Israel.

“The U.S. has been giving around $100 million a year to the Palestinian Authority. This money actually goes to terrorist groups. Our message is simple: U.S. tax dollars are going to fund terrorism,” Orlow said.

He also said he demonstrates with other group members in front of the White House at least once a week as well as at speeches by other Bush administration officials.

Orlow said he does not have any political ties with Georgetown students and is not affiliated with any student organization on campus. However, he said that he does want to start a dialogue with Georgetown students based on their reactions to the protest.

“Students engaged with us in debates while we were there. Now that I see how willing students were to debate and talk with us, I hope to forge a connection with students here,” he said. “Georgetown sends graduates into the State Department, and so maybe by talking with them, we can have a long-term impact on policy.”

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