How to Respond to the Provocations of Ultra-nationalists?

25 May 2017

Dozens of Israelis handed roses to Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday as NIF-sponsored organizations countered the extremist marches on Jerusalem Day.

Tag Meir and Ir Amim sought to support the Palestinian residents of the city whose lives are disrupted every year by the raucous Flag Parade, known for the racist chants that accompany Israeli ultranationalists as they march through Palestinian neighborhoods.

Here is a video of the march from previous years:

“We marched today in a different way with flowers of peace that we gave to merchants in the Old City,” Tag Meir Executive Director Gadi Gvaryahu told NIF. “Tomorrow we will be meeting with the merchants in the Muslim market, we’ll drink coffee. We will help them to clean the mess, and we’ll talk peace.”

Ir Amim had earlier in the day petitioned the High Court of Justice to order the march rerouted from the Old City’s crowded main streets. The court rejected the petition, however, and the ultranationalists paraded through every gate of the Old City and through the Muslim Quarter.

They were stopped briefly by Israeli and international left-wing activists who locked arms to block their way at Damascus Gate before the activists were forcibly removed by Israeli security forces.