Protesters chanted "Stop killing children!", "Occupation is a crime, from Iraq to Palestine!", as well as "The media is lying, while Gazan kids are dying!", and marched around the square several times during the 2 hours of protest. Many held homemade signs, some of which read, "Massacre in Gaza: Made in USA", "End US Support for Israel", "Ceasefire Now", and many others. The ages of the protesters ranged from families with small babies to elderly couples shivering in the bitter cold and snow that started falling halfway through the event.
A teenage girl from Palestine began leading the crowd with a megaphone and her own original chants, including "Free our village, free our land", with other Arab-American youth following her lead and starting their own chants in Arabic and English. In Arabic, protesters chanted, "People of Gaza, we sacrifice for you", and "From Ramallah to Gaza, people of Gaza stand proud".
Several TV stations were present at the beginning of the protest, but given Tuesday's news coverage by Channel 6, which showed a few seconds of the protest (which they vastly undercounted), followed by an interview with the head of Portland's Jewish Federation, who made cliched and bogus arguments blaming Israel's massacre on the democratically-elected Hamas party, well, it's ulikely that there will be any fair coverage whatsoever.
The protest was lively and spirited despite the cold, and many cars honked their support. In the later part of the protest, some of the Arab-American youth drove cars around the square waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags out of the windows and sunroofs, honking and chanting in Arabic and English.
Only one dissenter showed up, with an Israeli flag slung over one shoulder, and a US flag on the other. He took one look at the crowd, and slunk away without a word.
The protest ended with a call for future action and organizing, including a planning meeting for a boycott/divestment campaign in Portland. Protesters vowed to return again and keep the pressure on, as long as Israel continues to violate international law.
For an important analysis of the framing of the current attacks, see:
 http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/206561/index.php
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