While George W. Bush and Al Gore '69 traded barbs about Social Security and prescription drugs inside the UMass debate hall last night, over 250 demonstrators gathered outside to raise an issue neither candidate addressed: the recent violence in the Middle East.

Protesting this week's violent conflicts in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the demonstrators called on the U.S. to withdraw military aid from Israel.

Fighting and rioting has flared between Palestinians and the Israeli army since Ariel Sharon's visit to a contested holy site late last week. The death toll has reached at least 54, with 42 Palestinian casualties.

The Harvard Islamic Society (HIS) and the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Arab Students (HSAS) co-sponsored the protest, joining the Islamic Society of New England, the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) and groups from throughout the region.

Organizers were pleased with the diversity of the group.

"Look," said Samer Abu-Ghazaleh of the ISB, "we are a group of Muslims, Christians, Americans from different backgrounds who are here to send a message to policymakers in the United States that tax dollars shouldn't go to support inhumane acts of the state of Israel."

Attendance was greater than had been expected, given the short notice for the event.

"I was surprised, glad, at how good the turnout worked out," said Mikail Abdalla, a librarian at the University of Rhode Island. "I was expecting maybe 100, 120 people."