Robert Breeze, a co-founder of the Center to Prevent Corporate Media Lying, applied for the longest permit of the five groups — 14 hours, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Breeze wants protesters to wander over to his group on the sidewalks around Washington Square during other demonstrations. He characterizes his rally as having an anti-Israel slant.

"We're sick and tired of paying tribute money to Israel while they torture Palestinians and spy on the United States of America," Breeze said. "We just wanted to be on scene during the duration of the festivities. That doesn't mean that we'll have people there every second, but we wanted to have the right to be there."

State Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, said the city may have no choice but to grant the permit, the Associated Press reported.

"It's scary. As someone who is Jewish; it's threatening," he said, but added that it does not violate the state's hate-crimes law, which he sponsored.

"Hate speech, as threatening as it is, as detestable as it is, as violent as it is, is protected as a constitutional right," he said.

• "We the People for Peace and Justice" rally, march and evening demonstration

The biggest anti-war show in town on Wednesday, this rally will host Cindy Sheehan, who became known for her activism after her soldier son, Casey Sheehan, died in Iraq in 2004. Sheehan will speak around noon with Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, who also protested Bush's visit last year when the president attended the convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Crystal Young-Otterstrom, a spokeswoman for the coalition of activists who are putting on the protest, said the rally will start around 11 a.m. at Washington Square and morph into a march at 1 p.m., traveling north on State Street to the federal building.

"The general umbrella is to express discontent, and to have a good time while you're doing that," Young-Otterstrom said. "A lot of it is a large alliance (that) shows that the reddest state in the union doesn't mean that we all agree with what's going on right now."

She encouraged people to come on their lunch breaks, but if people can't make the daytime protest, the same group is hosting another rally that evening at Pioneer Park at 6 p.m. The later event will have more of a party theme, Young-Otterstrom said, with plenty of bands and a relaxed atmosphere.

• "Freedom Rally"

Paul Holton, also known as Chief Wiggles for his work with Operation Give and distributing gifts to Iraqi children, said he put together a pro-troops rally as an alternative to the "We the People for Peace and Justice" demonstration.