Israelis lament 'racism problem' as Jerusalem march turns ugly


By Hadas Gold and Abeer Salman, CNN

Israelis dance and hold Israeli flags as they take part at the annual Flag March by Damascus Gate on May 29 in Jerusalem.


Jerusalem (CNN)A march on Sunday to commemorate the establishment of Israeli control over East Jerusalem in 1967 was marred by incidents of violence and hate that left some Israelis disturbed.

Israeli police estimated that more than 70,000 people took to the streets of the flashpoint city for a Jerusalem Day flag march, which has become a magnet for far-right Jewish extremists. CNN journalists on the ground witnessed some of those marching hurled insults, punches and objects at Palestinians, journalists and police.

At one point, groups were chanting "death to Arabs," and "Arabs are sons of b*tches." One marcher was filmed chanting "Shireen is dead, Palestine is dead," in reference to Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera reporter who was killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank earlier this month.

It was a chaotic Sunday in the narrow streets of the Old City as clashes broke out between the marchers and Palestinians as well as Israeli police and Palestinians. CNN's team on the ground witnessed several violent encounters where marchers attacked Palestinians and journalists -- including CNN staff -- with pepper spray, as well as sticks and bottles thrown at reporters gathered to cover the march. Police were seen tackling an older Palestinian man who had placed himself between reporters and the marchers to wave a Palestinian flag.

Several Israeli politicians condemned the actions of the participants, while commentators noted that the march has become overrun by right-wing extremists and Jewish settlers -- and is largely avoided by secular Israelis and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned in a statement what he said was "a minority that has come to set the area ablaze," while Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the extremist groups La Familia and Lehava, whose flags were raised during the procession, "do not deserve to carry the Israeli flag."
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Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev defended approving the route of the march through the Muslim quarter of the Old City, writing on Twitter: "If we succumb to the threats of terrorism not to wave Israeli flags in our capital, we will not know one day of silence, and we will find ourselves folding in the future as well." But he also condemned what he said was "ugly racist behavior that cannot be tolerated."

'They were shooting directly at the journalists': New evidence suggests Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in targeted attack by Israeli forces

Israel considers both eastern and western sectors of Jerusalem as its "undivided capital." Most of the international community considers the eastern sector as being occupied. East Jerusalem has a sizable population of Palestinians, who want that part of the city to be the capital of a future state.

Issawi Frej, Minister of Regional Cooperation and the second ever Muslim minister in an Israeli government, said on Facebook that he boycotted government meetings on Sunday "in light of what is happening in Jerusalem and in the entirety of the decision-making process regarding today, where I tried to change the course of the Flag March and work to calm the situation in vain."

Michal Rozin, a member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, tweeted a video of a young Jewish man waving an Israeli flag like a weapon toward a group of young Palestinians.

"If anyone has not yet understood why the flag parade has become a show of bullying and violence, this video from Nablus Gate might be able to sharpen it," she wrote, referring to one of the gates of the Old City. "My flag is not a weapon."

Yaakov Katz, editor-in-chief of the English newspaper Jerusalem Post, wrote in a column that "there is a sad conclusion we cannot ignore: Israel has a racism problem, and it rears its ugly head on Jerusalem Day."

Yedioth Ahronoth Columnist Nahum Barnea wrote that the day has been taken over by settlers and religious Zionists who turn it into a day that is "Not love for Jerusalem; but hatred for Arabs."

Jerusalem Flag March splits Israeli coalition parties

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett embraced right-wing calls to hold the traditional Jerusalem Flag March on its usual route.

Demonstrators gather with Israeli flags at the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 29, 2022, during the Israeli flag march to mark Jerusalem Day. - GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Mazal Mualem
@mazalm3

May 30, 2022


Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has gotten used to being the target of vicious political attacks over the last year, especially when the attacks come from right-wing and ultra-Orthodox Knesset members. Surprisingly, those same legislators praised him yesterday for refusing to cancel the annual “Jerusalem Day flag parade” despite threats from Hamas and Hezbollah to set the city on fire if the parade took place.

Ever since Jerusalem was reunited 55 years ago in the 1967 Six-Day War, the historic event has been celebrated with thousands of participants marching through the city with flags. Their final destination is the Western Wall, for an evening of singing and dancing and, of course, the raising of Israeli flags. Most of the participants align with the Israeli right, particularly with the religious nationalist sector.

For decades, this annual parade to mark the reunification of the city took place with only minor incidents. That all changed last year. Hamas was able to establish a link between Jerusalem and Gaza. It threatened to fire missiles at Jerusalem if the parade took place, and it carried through with that threat. It was the opening salvo of Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gaza and a series of riots in Israel’s mixed, Arab-Jewish cities.

It happened during the final days of Benjamin Netanyahu’s long tenure as prime minister. On this particular occasion, he took the advice of the security forces and gave orders to stop the parade. This year, as Jerusalem Day approached, the government debated whether the parade should be allowed to take place. The situation in Jerusalem was already tense, and there had been a wave of terrorist attacks over the past few months (although it seems to have died down).

Another consideration was the particular makeup of the current coalition, which includes an Arab party and members of Knesset from the left. They expressed their opposition to the parade, saying that it would end up being an act of provocation.

Seniors in the defense establishment and members of the political right took the position that the parade should take place. They argued that succumbing to pressure from Hamas could damage Israel’s ability to act as a deterrent. Prime Minister Bennett and Minister of Public Security Omer Bar Lev adopted this position while preparing an appropriate response if the parade led to violence in the region.

Enormous police forces were deployed to Jerusalem over the last week to secure the flag parade. Tension has been high in Jerusalem since Ramadan, especially on the Temple Mount. The mood is volatile, and the overwhelming fear is that even an isolated incident could lead to an escalation of violence.

It was a test for the current government too. The right has accused it incessantly of being weak in terms of defense because it formed a coalition with a non-Zionist party. They claim that Muslim Raam prevents the government from efficiently fighting against terrorism.

Most of all, however, it was a test for Bennett, who went from being the darling of the right to persona non grata in that camp. Had he canceled the parade, it would have proved what people say about him: He is weak, and he succumbs to every threat. The fact is that he didn’t even blink. Marchers filled the streets of Jerusalem yesterday afternoon, and the parade took place as planned.

It is now estimated that some 50,000 people came to Jerusalem to celebrate. One of them was opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived at the Western Wall in the morning and made a show of waving the Israeli flag. Before going to the Western Wall, he participated in the launch of the Knesset’s Jerusalem Lobby, during which he attacked the government: “The current government includes members who don’t think we should raise the Israeli flag here in the heart of Jerusalem. A minister in this government said that the parade of Israeli flags in Jerusalem was an act of provocation.” Netanyahu was referring to Minister of the Environment Tamar Zandberg of Meretz, who said in an interview that, “The fact is, the flag parade puts the lives of Israelis and Palestinians at risk. We are all its victims.”

All in all, Jerusalem Day and the flag parade were relatively quiet events, though there were clashes between the police and Muslim worshippers on the Temple Mount and between right-wing demonstrators and Arab residents of East Jerusalem.

There were a few incidents apparently intended to provoke the people who came to celebrate. These included a glider that flew above the crowds with a Palestinian flag. The glider was eventually shot down by the police, given concerns that it posed a threat to participants in the parade.

On the other side of the divide, right-wing activists attacked East Jerusalem Arabs and chanted “Death to the Arabs!”

While tens of thousands of people celebrated the day at the Western Wall, there were clashes in neighborhoods that were not on the parade’s route. Two Jewish buses were caught by accident in the Issawiya neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Both buses were pelted with rocks, and one was set on fire.

Given these events, Bennett ordered the security forces to show zero tolerance to provocations and acts of violence by extremists.

By evening, the government could sigh in relief. Hamas did not fire rockets at Israel, and the police were able to restore control during the various clashes and disturbances. When it was over, Bennett said that “Jerusalem was filled today with people who came to celebrate. We decided that the parade of flags would follow its traditional route, and that is what happened. We broke records this year, with 50,000 people filling our city with the colors off our flag. It was a very happy and moving event to see the entire Jewish people celebrate together.”

It seems now as if Jerusalem passed in relative quiet, even if tensions in the capital are still high. The war of flags in East Jerusalem, between Palestinians waving their flags and Jews waving theirs, is expected to continue. These incidents pose a challenge to the coalition, which is divided between Raam and Meretz, who see no problem with Palestinians raising their flag and right-wing parties who demand that flying the Palestinian flag be banned by law.

These differences were apparent in the May 29 meeting of the Ministerial Committee on legislation, which granted coalition members the right to vote their conscience on a law proposed by Knesset member Eli Cohen of Likud, which would ban raising flags of enemy states, including the Palestinian Authority, in institutions funded by the state, including universities.

Cohen’s proposal, which was discussed on Jerusalem Day, was intended to embarrass the coalition. Two ministers voted against it: Minister of the Environment Tamar Zandberg of Meretz and Minister Nahman Shai of the Labor Party. The decision to allow them to vote their conscience on this was exceptional.

It seems as if this year the flag parade was not only a source of conflict between Jews and Arabs, but it turned into a political battlefield between the right-wing parties in the opposition and the ruling coalition.

 Israeli PM defends march marked by violence, racism

By JOSEPH KRAUSS

1 of 4

Palestinians and Jewish youths clash in Jerusalem's Old City as Israelis mark Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the Old City during the 1967 Mideast war. Sunday, May 29, 2022. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital. But Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, see the march as a provocation. Last year, the parade helped trigger an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza militants. 

(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)


JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday defended the decision to hold an annual march that celebrates Israel’s takeover of east Jerusalem and was marked by violence and anti-Palestinian racism.

Authorities called up thousands of police, forcibly cleared out Palestinians and risked another war with the Islamic militant group Hamas to ensure that tens of thousands of mostly right-wing Israelis could parade through a dense Palestinian neighborhood and hundreds could visit an intensely contested holy site.

Israel had changed the route at the last minute in 2021, at a time of soaring tensions over violence at the holy site and attempts by settlers to remove dozens of Palestinian families from their homes in east Jerusalem. Hamas still fired rockets, and an 11-day Gaza war ensued.

Israel avoided that scenario this year and allowed the parade to take its traditional route through the heart of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.

But the march saw Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans, including “Death to Arabs,” and attack Palestinians and journalists. Fights broke out along the route, as police mainly intervened to protect Jews and disperse Palestinians.

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said 62 Palestinians were wounded, including 23 who needed hospitalization. Israeli police said they arrested over 60 suspects and that five officers were wounded. The vast majority of those arrested appear to have been Palestinians, though police refused to provide a breakdown.

Bennett praised the police’s handling of the event and said Israel was obliged to hold the march in the face of threats by Hamas.

“If we hadn’t done it along the regular route, we would – in effect – never go back to it,” he said. “This could have been a retreat on sovereignty.”

Bennett praised the marchers, saying that “except for an extremist group, whom we will deal with to the fullest extent of the law, those who celebrated yesterday did so in a very special, heart-lifting way.”

Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City with its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 war, and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.

Also on Sunday, Israel allowed hundreds of mostly nationalist and religious Jews to visit the holy site that Jews refer to as the Temple Mount and Muslims know as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The site, which is the holiest for Jews and the third holiest in Islam, has frequently been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

The Palestinians fear Israel plans to take over the site or partition it. Israel says it is committed to a decades-old set of arrangements known as the status quo, under which Jews can visit the site but not pray there — but that rule has steadily eroded in recent years. Some of Sunday’s visitors were seen praying with little interference from police.

“Despite great efforts by far-right activists, Sunday’s Flag March in the Old City of Jerusalem didn’t lead to a major conflagration between Israel and the Palestinians,” Amos Harel wrote in a column in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. “Instead, we witnessed the usual collection of racist displays, violent scuffles between Jews and Arabs and a general sense of revulsion.”

Tensions flare in Jerusalem over flag march despite caution in Gaza
The flag march in Jerusalem sparked confrontations and clashes that quickly expanded to several sites in the West Bank, in a scene reminiscent of the beginnings of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000.

A protester holds a tissue to his nose while holding a Palestinian flag near a tire fire during clashes with Israeli forces following a demonstration to denounce the annual nationalist flag march through Jerusalem, at the Israeli-controlled Hawara checkpoint near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on May 29, 2022. - JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Ahmad Melhem
May 30, 2022

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Clashes erupted in Jerusalem on May 29, as nearly 70,000 far-right Israelis took part in the controversial flag march through East Jerusalem under the protection of more than 3,000 Israeli police. Palestinian factions had warned against the demonstration last week, with Hamas threatening to respond with "all means."

In the early morning hours of Sunday, the Israeli police entered Al-Aqsa Mosque, surrounding dozens of worshippers and reportedly locking several inside as they closed the mosque’s doors with iron chains in preparation for the settlers’ march that began at 7 a.m.

The flag march, which peaked as demonstrators arrived at Bab al-Amud Square and the Islamic neighborhood in the Old City, was preceded by far-right Israelis storming into Al-Aqsa, led by Knesset member Itmar Ben-Gvir.

Some 1,800 Israelis managed to break into the mosque twice during the day.

For the first time since the occupation of Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1967, these marchers raised the Israeli flag in its courtyard, performing provocative collective dances, Talmudic prayers, or what they call “epic prostration.” They were met with chants and calls of "Allahu Akbar" by the Murabitun (Palestinian volunteers who protect the mosque and continuously resist the incursions).

The Israeli police cracked down on Palestinians to secure the march, launching a spate of arrests at the outer gates of Al-Aqsa, notably the Chain Gate. They also attacked the Murabitun, the paramedics, and put up military checkpoints inside the Old City and along the roads leading to Al-Aqsa.

Speaking about the flag march participants, Ikrima Sabri, Al-Aqsa’s preacher, told Al-Monitor, “What they did on May 29 has not happened since the mosque’s occupation back in 1967.”

“They prostrated in Al-Aqsa courtyards. They chanted, danced and raised the Israeli flag, cursing the prophet and Arabs, all this under the protection of the Israeli police, which indicates the Israeli government’s desire to escalate matters and its compliance with the settlers’ trends and approach,” he said.

Sabri added that “despite what happened, Israel failed to impose its sovereignty over Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem. Despite the deployment of thousands of policemen and the state of alert in the city, it failed to frighten the Jerusalemites who defended their mosque and city and managed to raise the Palestinian flag everywhere.”

The Israeli police cracked down on Jerusalemites under political cover amid instructions from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to deal firmly and forcefully with anyone opposing the march.

The police had evacuated the Bab al-Amud area and closed shops in the Old City.

Despite all the security measures, the Palestinians defied the police, stood up to the participants in the flag march and managed to raise the Palestinian flag near Bab al-Amud, which prompted the Israeli police to attack and arrest them.

Palestinians also managed to fly a drone carrying a Palestinian flag over the march.

They also launched a countermarch that started off on Salah al-Din Street in the center of East Jerusalem, which was met with Israeli rubber bullets, tear gas and sound bombs. Dozens of participants were arrested and other were beaten with batons.

Israeli marchers attacked shops and clashes broke out in different locations in Jerusalem.

Tensions have been running high in the city and escalated during the holy month of Ramadan in April, with the far-right Israelis and the police’s storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and cracking down on worshippers.

The situation flared up with the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the attacks on mourners during the funeral procession in which hundreds of Palestinians participated.

Violent clashes also erupted with the funeral of Walid al-Sharif.

According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (IFRC), 62 people were injured in the vicinity and inside the Old City, with 28 people transferred to the hospital for treatment and the rest treated in the field. The IFRC said that one of the injuries was the result of live ammunition.

At least 50 civilians were arrested, including women and children, in Jerusalem and areas near Bab al-Amud, neighborhoods of the Old City and in Al-Aqsa Mosques, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces reported that 13 settlers were wounded, including two policemen, as the result of the confrontations.

At the end of the flag march, participants launched several attacks on neighborhoods in the city, storming into Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the center of occupied East Jerusalem, throwing stones at houses and smashing parked cars.

Similar clashes also broke out in the neighborhoods of Silwan, al-Tur and al-Isawiya.

At the same time, other cities and towns of the West Bank witnessed confrontation and fighting, during which 163 Palestinians were injured, 20 with live bullets and the rest by tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets.

According to local media, clashes broke out in 190 locations between Israeli forces and Palestinians in 24 hours through different sites in the West Banks, with 12 shooting attacks and 35 explosive devices targeting Israeli military sites, checkpoints, vehicles and buses.

Demonstrations and marches swept through 33 areas, while clashes erupted during which Palestinians threw stones at Israeli occupation forces in 94 sites in the West Bank.

Although the clashes in Jerusalem extended to the West Bank, Gaza remained unexpectedly calm without any response from the Palestinian factions.

The situation that might change in light of Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh, who was quoted May 30 by his adviser Taher al-Nunu as saying that what is happening in Jerusalem will “not be forgiven.”

He added that Haniyeh “refused to give any pledges or guarantees to any party of what could be done inside occupied Palestine.”

Meanwhile, some of the military factions in Gaza said that the battle with Israel is open and the “resistance shall decide how to respond to the occupation forces."

Hundreds injured as Palestinians demonstrate against ‘flag march’

An estimated 70,000 Israeli settlers participated in the annual flag march in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, with some crowds chanting “Death to Arabs.”

BY YUMNA PATEL

MONDOWEISS

MAY 29, 2022

ISRAELI SETTLER ATTACKS PALESTINIAN WOMAN IN JERUSALEM’S OLD CITY DURING THE ‘JERUSALEM DAY’ FLAG MARCH, MAY 29, 2022. THE FLAG MARCH IS AN ANNUAL DISPLAY OF RIGHT-WING ISRAELI NATIONALISM AND ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM INTENDED TO CELEBRATE ZIONIST FORCES’ SEIZURE OF EAST JERUSALEM IN 1967. (PHOTO: OHAD ZWEIGENBERG/SOCIAL MEDIA)

Israel’s flag march, an annual display of right-wing Israeli nationalism and anti-Palestinian racism, took place on Sunday afternoon, stoking tensions in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory.

Israeli media reported that Sunday’s flag march was the largest in years, with an estimated 70,000 Israelis participating in the parade.

Palestinian leaders condemn march, warn of retaliation from Gaza

10:55pm (7:55PM GMT)

Leading up to the march, Palestinian factions in Gaza denounced the parade, threatening retaliation against Israel.

“The flag march plan is an explosive barrel and will blow the region up,” the factions said in a joint statement in a press conference held in Gaza City on Thursday.

The factions called on Palestinians to defend Jerusalem, and encouraged people to establish their presence in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and across the city.

The groups said that Israel would bear the responsibility of any aggressions made against Palestinians, adding “We will use every possible means to defend our people, secret places, and our Aqsa Mosque.

Last year, the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza fired rockets into Israel following the flag march in Jerusalem. The rocket fire came after the factions gave Israel an ultimatum, to stop the march, and retreat its forces who were attacking the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and suppressing peaceful protests in Sheikh Jarrah at the time.

Israel then launched an 11-day offensive on the Gaza Strip that lead to more than 200 Palestinians being killed, including over 60 children.

In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority condemned the flag march and the attacks on Palestinians in the city, with Prime Minister Mohamemd Shtayyeh calling for sanctions to be placed on Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh said in a statement: “It is not possible to achieve security and stability in our region, as long as Israel continues its war on our people, their land and their holy sites, and as long as it deals as a state above the law and rejects the resolutions of international legitimacy and the foundations of the peace process.”

Jordan also condemned the march and the storming of Israeli settlers on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound earlier in the day.

Tareq Hajjaj contributed to this report from Gaza.

Settlers attack Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah, Nablus

10:28pm (7:28pm GMT)

Israeli settlers reportedly attacked Palestinian homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah under police protection, according to Palestinian media.

Wafa News Agency reported that settlers raided the al-Samoud area of the neighborhood along with police forces, throwing stones at Palestinians homes and vandalizing vehicles. Wafa reported that live ammunition was fired in the neighborhood.

In the Nablus district of the northern occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked the village of Burin, which borders the extremist Yitzhar settlement, and is the frequent site of settler attacks.

According to Wafa, the settlers attacked the homes of Palestinian residents with Molotv cocktails, sparking confrontations in the village.

The settler attacks came hours after an estimated 50,000 right-wing Israeli settlers paraded through Jerusalem for the annual ‘flag march’, harassing and assaulting Palestinians, and shouting racist chants along the way. 

ISRAELI TROOPS ATTACK A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE ANNUAL NATIONALIST “FLAG MARCH” THROUGH JERUSALEM, AT THE ISRAELI-CONTROLLED HAWARA CHECKPOINT NEAR NABLUS IN THE WEST BANK ON MAY 29, 2022. (PHOTO: SHADI JARAR’AH/APA IMAGES)

Hundreds of Palestinians injured in Jerusalem, West Bank

10:18pm (7:18pm GMT)

Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as Israeli forces suppress protests that erupted in response to the far-right Israeli flag march in Jerusalem today.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem came under attack from both Israeli settlers and police forces, with at least 62 injuries, including 23 hospitalizations, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent (PCRS).

PCRS reported that injuries included rubber-coated steel bullet wounds, beatings and pepper spray.

Israeli settlers were documented as pepper spraying and assaulting Palestinian bystanders during the march, according to local Palestinian media. In at least one instance, a young settler was filmed pepper spraying and attempting to kick a Palestinian woman in the Old City.

Protests were reported in districts across the West Bank, including Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, and Qalqilya, as Palestinians took to the streets to protest the flag march.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of Palestinians marched through the streets of Ramallah in a counter protest, raising Palestinian flags as they walked through the city.

PCRS reported over 163 injuries in the West Bank, consisting of live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, and tear gas. Local Palestinian media reported dozens of live ammunition injuries across the West Bank.

The flag march on Sunday came amidst lots of anger and frustration in the occupied territory, following the killing of three Palestinian children last week, and the killing of Palestinian veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Crowds chant ‘Death to Arabs’

8:53pm (5:53 pm GMT)

Thousands of far-right Israeli settlers participated in the annual flag march in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, with some crowds chanting “Death to Arabs.”

According to Al Jazeera, thousands of Israeli settlers marched through the Old City carrying Israeli flags and singing religious songs, chanting nationalistic slogans, and hurling racial-epithets at Palestinians.

Some of the chants were “the Jewish nation lives,” “Death to Arabs,” and “Let your village burn down” – all popular chants commonly featured at the annual parade.

The march set off at 4pm local time (1:00pm GMT) and is scheduled to end at 10pm (7:00pm GMT), though the effects of the march are expected to to be felt across Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem and cities across the West Bank into the night, as Israeli forces continue to crack down on protesters.

Israel’s flag march, an annual display of right-wing Israeli nationalism and anti-Palestinian racism, is set to take place on Sunday afternoon, and is already stoking tensions in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory. 

ISRAELI SETTLERS CONGREGATE NEAR JERUSALEM’S DAMASCUS GATE DURING THE ‘FLAG MARCH’ IN JERUSALEM ON MAY 29, 2022. (PHOTO: JERIES BSSIER/APA IMAGES)

Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection

3:48pm (12:48pm GMT)

On Sunday morning ahead of the march, hundreds of far-right settlers, including Israeli MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound under heavy Israeli police protection. According to Israeli media, close to 2,000 settlers entered the compound in smaller groups.

Local media reported that some of the settlers danced, waved Israeli flags, and performed prayer rituals at the site, angering Palestinian worshipers, as Jewish worship at the site is no permitted according to a decades-long agreement between Israel and Jordan, the official custodian of the mosque.

The Times of Israel reported that Israeli police did not intervene as the settlers performed different rituals at the site, despite the blatant violation of the status quo.

According to reports, a number of Palestinian worshipers were barricaded inside the al-Qibli prayer hall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque – the site of intense attacks by Israeli forces earleir this year during the holy month of Ramadan.

Some Palestinians threw stones at police, while Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets at worshipers. Haaretz reported that at least 18 Palestinians were detained from the compound “for disorderly conduct, rioting and assault on police officers or civilians.”

Israeli police also reportedly prevented a number of Palestinian journalists from entering the compound.

Several reports were made throughout the morning of Israeli settlers harassing Palestinians throughout the Old City, while Israeli police were filmed violently detaining Palestinians in the area.


Translation: The occupation forces abused a young Jerusalemite at the moment of his arrest from Al-Wad Street in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

Translation: The occupation forces assaulted two girls in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

Times of Israel reported settler youth singing “I will take one revenge for both my eyes against Palestine — damn them,” as they walked through the city. One settler youth reportedly told his friends, “The next time you see Arabs running, stick out your legs and trip them.”

Palestinian Authority-owned Wafa News Agency reported that groups of settlers “shouted profanities at Palestinians and verbally assaulted some of them under police protection,” as they made their way through the Old City.

Settlers reportedly assaulted and beat up three Palestinians, causing them minor injuries, including one hospitalization, Wafa reported.

Outside the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City, Israeli police closed off the area and arrested three Palestinians. Israel began cracking down on Palestinians at Damascus Gate on Saturday evening, as smaller groups of settlers marched in the area with Israeli flags.

One video showed Israeli police detaining a Palestinian woman and subsequently beating her inside the permanent police checkpoint outside the gate.

According to the media, around 3,000 Israeli police have been deployed across Jerusalem in anticipation of the march Sunday afternoon.

What is the ‘Flag March’?

The march takes place every year on Israel’s “Jerusalem Day”, and marks the state’s capture of occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 war, and the subsequent annexation of the territory – a move not recognized by the international community.

The parade, which makes its way through East Jerusalem, the Muslim quarter of the Old City and ends at the Western Wall, has become symbolic of Israeli nationalism and attempts to assert Israeli dominance and sovereignty over the city and its Palestinian residents.

Every year the provocative march features thousands of settler youth who wave Israeli flags as they march through the city, often harassing Palestinians and chanting racial epithets along the way.

Among the most popular chants featured at the annual march, are “Death to Arabs,” “may your village burn,” and “a second Nakba is coming,” referring to the Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’ in Arabic, when thousands of Palestinians were massacred by Zionist militias and over 750,000 were forcibly expelled from their homes in 1948.

While the settlers are escorted through the city under heavy Israeli police protection, Palestinians in the Old City are usually forced to shutter the doors to their businesses, and their movement is severely restricted.

Last year, the flag march sparked the devastating 11-day Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians, after Palestinian factions in Gaza followed through on threats to fire rockets into Israel if the march took place.

UN experts urge action to address alarming increase of child labour in agriculture sector


GENEVA (30 May 2022) – A group of UN human rights experts* have welcomed the adoption of the Durban Call to Action on the Elimination of Child Labor on 20 May 2022 by representatives of governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, UN agencies, civil society and regional organizations attending the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in South Africa. They issue the following joint statement:

“The Call emphasizes the need for urgent action because the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, along with food, humanitarian and climate change threaten to reverse years of progress against child labour. We echo the call for urgent measures to address this tragedy and remain deeply concerned that millions more children will be soon pushed into work, which can seriously jeopardize their physical and mental health. Child labour also produces a structural impact on the enjoyment of other human rights, including rights to adequate housing, education, right to the highest attainable standard of health, right to a healthy environment and often has its root causes in structural, racial and other forms of discrimination.

In 2020, the number of children in child labour around the world rose to 160 million, the first increase recorded in 20 years; today around 79 million children are engaged in hazardous work. Seventy percent of child labour is concentrated in the agriculture sector with an estimated 108 million children working on farms and plantations around the world, which can cause short-term and chronic adverse health effects. The same agricultural system that diminishes biodiversity and increases pollution harms children. Tens of millions of children are engaged in hazardous work, where they are often exposed to toxic chemicals, including highly hazardous pesticides. To this day, children working in agriculture continue to be exposed to hazardous pesticides that are banned in the country of export, resulting in abhorrent double standards and discrimination.

It is often the case that after exposure to toxic pesticides, the violation of a child’s right to physical integrity from toxics cannot be undone. In this sense, agricultural workers are often neglected, and there is an urgent need for States and business to address the dramatic increase of child labour in the agricultural sector worldwide.

The Durban Call to Action includes 49 immediate and effective measures governments should take to end child labour with an emphasis on agriculture. Most crucially, this includes adopting an action plan to eliminate obstacles to the establishment, growth and pursuit of lawful activities of rural worker organisations to give agricultural workers a role in economic and social development.

The Call to Action further includes a commitment to reduce poverty and improve labour conditions of all people working in rural communities including peasants, fishers, forest dwellers, and pastoralists. It recommends ending their functional dependence on child labour, by securing adequate incomes through cooperatives, and representative organizations in line with relevant ILO instruments, reassessing piece-rate wage systems in agriculture; and recognizing the need to guarantee adequate minimum wages for agricultural workers, sufficient to meet their needs. Strengthening social protection is also key in eliminating child labour. It protects households from extreme poverty which could, otherwise, lead to taking children out of school and putting them to work.

While there may be a place for children exceptionally and occasionally helping on family-run farms, childrens’ place is in school. The Call to Action commits States to realize the right to education, by ensuring universal access to free, compulsory, quality, equitable and inclusive education and training. When prohibiting child labour, Governments must also ensure that the necessary conditions for learning are met, including adequate nutrition, water and sanitation, healthcare, books and uniforms provided free of charge. Poverty cannot be a reason that children are not in schools.

Governments must act rapidly, effectively, and continuously to improve working conditions on farms and plantations to provide decent employment and eliminate child labour. Business enterprises must have due diligence processes in place to ensure that there is no child labour across the supply chains and, where it is found, to hold all their subsidiaries, contractors, and sub-contractors accountable in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Governments must ensure that all actors involved in the use of child labour are held accountable.

Governments must promptly implement the instruments already in place. For instance, the ILO Convention on the Right of Association in Agriculture is key to eliminating child labour and achieving decent work for adults in agriculture. We encourage States to ratify, domesticate and implement international labour standards. We also strongly encourage governments to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.

Finally, we hope to see a conference to follow-up on the Call to Action and the development of strategies for better international coordination and cooperation on eliminating all forms of child labour, especially in the agriculture sector.”

ENDS

RELATED

STATEMENTSStatement of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises to the 26th Session of the Human Rights Council


STATEMENTSWorking Group on Business and Human Rights introductory remarks at HRC26 side event on "the role of human rights defenders in promoting corporate responsibility."


STATEMENTSWorking Group introductory remarks at HRC26 side event on "how to effectively integrate a gender perspective in implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”

(*) The experts: Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change; David R. Boyd, Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment; Koumba Boly Barry, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; S. Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; Felipe González Morales, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Marcos A. Orellana, Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes; Catherine S. Namakula, current Chair-Rapporteur, Barbara G. Reynolds, Vice-Chairperson, Dominique Day, Miriam Ekiudoko and Sushil Raj Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Elżbieta Karska (Chair-Rapporteur), Fernanda Hopenhaym (Vice Chairperson), Anita Ramasastry and Pichamon Yeophantong; Working Group on Business and Human Rights

The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Connecticut company built gun that killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

A coalition called 'No Rugers to Israel' can document over 200 Palestinians killed or injured by Rugers -- now including Shireen Abu Akleh -- though it believes the true number to be far higher.

BY THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS COMMITTEE 

  MAY 30, 2022 

PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS HOLD POSTERS DURING A PROTEST AGAINST THE KILLING OF AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST SHIREEN ABU AKLEH, WHO WAS, SHOT DEAD BY ISRAELI TROOPS AS SHE COVERED A RAID ON THE WEST BANK’S JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, IN GAZA CITY ON MAY 11, 2022. (PHOTO: ASHRAF AMRA/APA IMAGES)

Al Jazeera and Reuters report that the Palestinian Attorney General has concluded that Shireen Abu Akleh, the reporter who was killed on May 11, 2022 in Jenin on Palestine’s West Bank, was killed with a bullet from a Mini Ruger gun. Palestinian Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib said tests showed that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was a 5.56 mm round fired from a Ruger Mini-14 semiautomatic rifle, which is used by the Israeli military. The Mini Ruger is produced by Sturm Ruger and Company whose headquarters is in Southport (Fairfield), Connecticut.

Abu Akleh was a prominent Arab journalist, known all over the Middle East, who worked for Al Jazeera for 25 years. CNN described her as “a household name across the Arab world for her coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories.” The Palestinian foreign minister announced that the Palestinian Authority had formally asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Abu Akleh’s killing.

Stanley Heller, head of the Middle East Crisis Committee, said, “For years we’ve been calling attention to sales of Ruger guns and ammunition to the Israeli military which is a serial human rights violator. We’re part of a coalition called “No Rugers to Israel” (website NoRugers2Israel.org ). We can document over 200 Palestinians killed or injured by Rugers though we believe the true number to be far higher.

PHOTOS OF RUGER MINI-14 RIFLE OF THE SORT THAT KILLED SHIREEN ABU AKLEH, FROM THE ARMORERS’ WEBSITE.

“Now Ruger has got its most infamous kill, a reporter doing her job, well-known by the Israeli military, shot while wearing an outfit clearly marked ‘Press’. We repeat again, Sturm Ruger should not be selling its weapons or ammunition to the Israeli government.

“Sturm Ruger, the U.S.’ largest firearms company, is known to have given millions of dollars to the National Rifle Association, which after the Uvalde Massacre has itself has come under harsh criticism for its rejection of gun control measures and its promotions of gun sales.

“We’ve written to town officials of Fairfield calling on the Board of Selectmen to ‘call on Sturm Ruger to break all ties with the National Rifle Association, to stop selling its products to Israel and to make a full public accounting of how its weapons were used by Israel and the times its weapons were used deliberately to kill innocent people in the United States.’”

SEE

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for Shireen Abu Akleh 

We must fight white supremacy with solidarity: Jews respond to the ADL’s harmful campaign

BY OPEN LETTERS 

 MAY 30, 2022 

ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CEO AND NATIONAL DIRECTOR 

JONATHAN GREENBLATT. CREDIT: ADL.

The following is an open letter from thirty-six members of Jewish communities in the United States that was posted under the byline “Jewish leaders” on Medium on May 26.

We are U.S. Jews who are deeply troubled by a recent speech given by the Anti-Defamation League’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, in which he defames grassroots and civil rights organizations committed to Palestinian justice and falsely conflates anti-Zionism with far right and violent extremism.

Greenblatt’s attacks on groups that are part of the movement for Palestinian rights and his assertion of an equivalency between anti-Zionists and white nationalists put us all at risk. Especially now, amid the rapid growth of the white nationalist far right, the safety and bodily autonomy of Black and brown people, Jewish people, Arabs, Muslims, queer and trans people, and disabled and immunocompromised people are under threat.

The struggle against antisemitism must be in partnership with all others targeted by white supremacy. We are committed to working collectively to combat antisemitism the same way we work against racism, Islamophobia, transphobia, and ableism.

The Anti-Defamation League does not speak for us, and we will not allow them to divide and defame our communities and movements, including the movement for Palestinian human rights. Jewish communities must embrace anti-Zionist and non-Zionist voices, along with all other voices for justice. While we may have a range of perspectives on Palestine and Israel, we are all clear that equating anti-Zionist groups to white nationalists is beyond the pale and cannot be tolerated. We are also clear that all people deserve justice, freedom, and safety.

If you would like to add your name, please go to this link.

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1836 shipwreck reveals Black and Native American crews played a key role in whaling

Mark Price, The Charlotte Observer -

A nearly two-century old shipwreck found in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana is being hailed as a rare and highly prized artifact of forgotten African American history.

Named the Industry, the two-masted wooden brig was a whaling ship crewed largely by freed descendants of slaves and Native Americans, two races seldom highlighted in the adventure tales tied to New England’s 18th and 19th century whaling industry.

The wreck was discovered 3,000 feet down, during a February expedition that partnered NOAA Ocean Exploration with SEARCH Inc. and the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

So prized is the site that plans are underway to nominate it for the National Register of Historic Places — a move historians hope will help earn Black whalers the same attention being afforded Black cowboys and Buffalo soldiers (Black infantry and cavalry regiments).

James Delgado of SEARCH Inc. notes the Black whalers who served on ships such as the Identity lived in two worlds: Free at sea, but still potential property on land.

“If the Black crewmen had tried to go ashore, they would have been jailed under local laws,” Delgado said in a news release. “And if they could not pay for their keep while in prison, they would have been sold into slavery.”

Yet they not only persevered, but they also thrived in “America’s first global industry,” he says.

What became of Industry?

The wreck of the Industry is rare on many fronts, including being the only known whaling ship that went down in the Gulf of Mexico from the 1780s into the 1870s, historians say.

It set sail in 1815 from Westport, Massachusetts, and records show the crew hunted primarily sperm whale in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, NOAA’s expedition report says.

The ship met its demise May 26, 1836, about “70 miles off the mouth of the Mississippi River,” when a strong storm “snapped its masts and opened its hull to the sea,” historians says.

Its crew abandoned ship, but the Industry was “caught in a loop of current” and stubbornly refused to sink. The ghost ship was still afloat when the whaling schooner Harmony crossed its path June 3, and sent men to board. They found no crew, but salvaged 200 to 300 barrels of whale oil, records show.

The fate of the crew was long a mystery, with some historians speculating they purposely avoided paddling to shore out of fear of being enslaved, according to a report co-authored by Delgado, Michael L. Brennan of SEARCH Inc, and Scott Sorset of BOEM.

If that’s true, the risk paid off. Recent research done by Robin Winters, a librarian at the Westport Free Public Library, found documents that report the crew was picked up at sea by another Westport whaling ship, the Elizabeth, and it brought them home, according to the expedition report.

Names of those who were aboard the Industry on its final voyage were lost when the ship sank, but “lists of crews from previous voyages describe crew members and officers as including Black people, Native Americans, White people and multiracial people,” NOAA reports.

What remains of Industry

The Industry was 64 feet long and 18 feet wide, and little but an outline can be seen above the sand after 207 years.

NOAA Ocean Exploration made the discovery Feb. 25, using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that circled the wreck site for about two hours, recording video and taking photos for study.

It was the discovery of a 19th century stove that gave a first clue the ocean-floor “anomaly” — first reported in 2011 — was likely a whaling ship.

The stove appeared to be a trywork, a type of cast-iron furnace used in rendering whale blubber to oil. Bricks found around the trywork “formed a fire-resistant hearth” that kept it from setting fire to the deck. Bottles were also found, some still intact.

“One anchor is missing, and the wreck has few visible portable artifacts,” the expedition report says. “One cask’s outline was spotted in the silt, along with the anchors, which are out of place as they are not at the bow, and the minute glass. While some artifacts are doubtless obscured or buried in the silt, this is a strikingly empty wreck.”

The lack of artifacts was seen as even more proof the team had found the Industry. Crew members likely took as much as they could carry when they abandoned the ship, historians say. Then even more was salvaged by the Elizabeth when it boarded the sinking ship.

It’s also possible many items dropped off the ship fell to the sea floor and are still there, buried in the sand, historians say.

Life of a Black whaler

The Industry’s crew was young, with many being teenagers, historians say.

For multi-racial men in New England, the whaling industry “was a powerful haven,” where skill mattered and race was not an issue, according to the expedition report.

At sea, Native American and African American men found “mobility and independence,” and a sense of being “recognized as Americans,” the report states.

The Industry’s wreckage is a haunting reminder of their forgotten achievements as captains and crew members, NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a release. “The discovery reflects how African Americans and Native Americans prospered in the ocean economy despite facing discrimination and other injustices,” he said.

James Delgado believes the Industry is of both national and international significance, with a story to tell about whaling and maritime culture. It’s with that in mind that a team is working to get the site on the National Register of Historic Places, a process that will likely take three or four years.

“Black and Native American history is American history, and this critical discovery serves as an important reminder of the vast contributions Black and Native Americans have made to our country,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said in a release about the wreck discovery.

“This 19th century whaling ship will help us learn about the lives of the Black and Native American mariners and their communities, as well as the immense challenges they faced on land and at sea.”