Palestinians in Beirut mark 1972 attack on Israel airport

Kozo Okamoto (C), the only surviving member of a three-man Japanese Red Army commando that killed 26 people at Israel's Lod airport on May 30, 1972, gestures at a ceremony organised by Palestinian militants in Beirut - JOSEPH EID
Agence France-Presse


May 30, 2022 — Beirut (AFP)

Palestinian militants in Beirut on Monday marked the 50th anniversary of a deadly attack carried out by members of the Japanese Red Army at Israel's Lod airport.

Kozo Okamoto, the only surviving member of the three-man commando that killed 26 people on May 30, 1972 at the airport near Tel Aviv, made a rare appearance at the ceremony.

The short event was held at a cemetery on the edge of Shatila Palestinian refugee camp where Okamoto, now 74, laid a wreath on a grave honouring his fellow JRA members and flashed a V-sign.

The attack was planned by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which has commemorated it every year for a half a century.

"He came to defend the freedom of people who had their lands stolen. He believes in their rights, he believes in justice and human freedom," a PFLP official who gave his name as Abu Yusef told AFP.

An official with the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah also attended the ceremony in honour of Okamoto, who is still wanted in Japan for terrorism.

"This valiant hero suffered in the enemy's prisons... but today his heart beats with Palestine," Hezbollah's Abdallah Hamoud said.

The Lod attack killed one Canadian, eight Israelis and 17 US citizens from Puerto Rico who had flown in on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The bloodbath at what was later named Ben Gurion airport set off a review of global security standards in the aviation industry.

Okamoto, who was captured during the attack, was sentenced to life in prison in Israel but released in a huge prisoner exchange deal known as the Jibril Agreement in 1985.

He was jailed again in Lebanon in 1997 but narrowly avoided extradition to Japan and in 2000 became the first -- and to this day the only -- person to obtain political asylum in Lebanon.

Okamoto has since lived under the protection of the PFLP in Beirut.

SEEhttps://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/armed-struggle-is-not-terrorism-empress.html

Ben Gurion University President Says PA Flags Can’t Be Banned From Campus

by JNS.org

Demonstrators hold Palestinian flags and placards that read “Free Palestine” during a Jan. 19, 2022 demonstration outside the Embassy of Israel in London.

 Photo: Hesther Ng / SOPA Images/Sipa USA

JNS.org – The president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev told a Knesset committee on Sunday that if they wished to ban the display of Palestinian Authority flags on campus, then they should pass a law to outlaw the practice.

Appearing before the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee, professor Daniel Chamovitz said that the government could not expect universities to ban pro-Palestinian rallies. The flying of PA flags, while troubling, he said, was not illegal.

“The Palestinian flag threatens many of Jews. I understand and feel this pain—but that doesn’t mean there’s violence on campus,” said Chamovitz.

Last Monday, hundreds of Bedouin students flew PA flags during a demonstration on campus to mark “Nakba Day,” the Palestinian day of mourning over Israel’s establishment in 1948.

Israel's defense minister voiced interest in increased military sales to Europe against the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia war, but declined...

The demonstration sparked widespread criticism, including from from Beersheva Mayor Reuven Danilovich, who called on Chamovitz to take action against students who participated, according to Ynet. Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for the university’s funding to be cut over the incident, according to the report.

Chamovitz told the Knesset committee on Sunday that this year, the university had been presented with requests from two student groups, on the left and the right, to hold demonstrations on campus.

“As a lesson from last year, and in order to prevent violence and injuries, we established a dialogue and reached understandings with the two groups, and the demonstrations ended an hour later without any displays of violence,” he said.

The issue of PA flags had not been discussed during this dialogue with the student groups, said Chamovitz.

“Once [the flags] were raised, we understood that this was lawful and that no action could be taken to remove them. We acted according to law and following an opinion from the Justice Ministry. If you think that the law recognizing the Palestinian flag should be changed—please do so. It’s not in our hands, although I and many others were troubled by this,” he added.

According to the committee’s legal adviser, Nira Lamay Rachlevsky, the mere act of flying a PA flag could not constitute an offense in and of itself, “since this is an authority with which the State of Israel has a diplomatic agreement.”

However, she said, when there was “real concern” that the flag indicated “identification or sympathy” with a terrorist organization, or when there was a high likelihood that flying it would lead to a “severe disruption” of public order, police must act.

“To the best of our knowledge, case law does not address specifically the case of raising the flag while chanting ‘With blood and fire we will redeem Palestine,’” she said.

New polling shows Americans' views warming towards Palestinians

A poll by the Pew Research Center shows that Americans are expressing more positive views towards both the Palestinian people and the Palestinian government, with young Americans and Democrats viewing Palestinians more favourably than Israelis.

Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Washington to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the Nakba, on 15 May 2022 (MEE/Umar Farooq)

By MEE staff in Washington
Published date: 30 May 2022 

The survey is the latest sign that US public perception of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is changing.

The poll, released on Thursday, showed that since 2019, the number of Americans with favourable views towards the Palestinian people increased by eight percent, while there was a nine percent increase in positive views towards their government.

While overall more Americans continue to view Israel more favourably than Palestine, a closer look at different age groups shows a considerable amount of support for Palestinians.

Among the respondents under 30 years of age, 61 percent had positive views of the Palestinian people while 56 percent shared similar views of Israelis. In comparison, 78 percent of respondents over 65 years of age had favourable views of Israelis.

Fewer than one percent of US Democrats view Israel as top ally, poll finds

Read More »

Similarly, albeit by a slim margin, more young adults, 35 percent, had positive views of the Palestinian government than they had of the Israeli government, which stood at 34 percent.

Pew also noted that it did not define what the term "Palestinian government" was referring to. The Israeli-occupied West Bank is currently governed by the Palestinian Authority, while Gaza is governed by the Hamas movement.

The polling is the latest and most substantial sign of how the country's views towards Palestinians and Israelis have changed in the past several years.

For decades, Israel has had huge swathes of support both within the halls of US Congress and across the country, and since its creation following the Second World War, it has been the closest US ally in the Middle East.

But in recent years, a growing number of Americans have shared views critical of the country. A poll released last month by the University of Maryland found that fewer than one percent of respondents viewed Israel as one of the US's top two allies.

Last year, following Israel's May offensive on Gaza that killed more than 260 Palestinians, Human Rights Watch released a report declaring Israel was guilty of apartheid. A poll by the Jewish Electorate Institute found that a quarter of American Jewish voters viewed Israel as an apartheid state.

Democrats growing critical of Israel

According to the Pew poll, the difference in views is not isolated to just generational lines. The survey found that 64 percent of Democrats said they view Palestinians positively, while 60 percent said they view Israelis favourably.

Meanwhile, 78 percent of Republicans viewed Israelis positively, compared to only 37 percent of Republicans that shared similar views towards Palestinians.

In recent years, several Democratic lawmakers have voiced criticism of Israel, breaking a longstanding political consensus in Washington of bipartisan support for Israel.

Cornel West on the complicity of US media in Israeli crimes

Read More »

While this shift has fallen short of converting into actual policy, a significant number of lawmakers have issued critical statements, sent letters of concern to the Biden administration, and also introduced legislation aimed at limiting US aid to Israel.

Israel continues to receive $3.8bn in annual military aid from Washington, and this year also received an extra $1bn in funding for its Iron Dome missile defence system.

The Pew survey consists of responses from 10,441 US adults and was conducted between 7-13 March, several months before the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli forces while covering an Israeli raid on the Palestinian village of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

It is unclear whether the killing of Abu Akleh would have any effect on Americans' perception of the Israeli government. However, her death was met with international outrage, including calls for an independent investigation into what happened.

Outrage as White House u-turns on re-opening of US Consulate for Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem

Despite pledging to reopen the US consulate to Palestinians in Jerusalem, US President Joe Biden and his administration have decided to pursue 'alternative steps' towards improving relations with Palestinians


The re-opening of the US consulate is considered an important step by Palestinians towards improving relations with the White House [source: Getty]

The US Consulate in Jerusalem will remain closed for the foreseeable future, reports suggested, after the Biden administration decided to pursue "alternative steps" toward re-establishing US ties with Palestinians.

Instead of re-opening the consulate - closed by former US President Donald Trump in 2019 - the White House announced that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr would be elevated to the role of special envoy to the Palestinians, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday.

Amr will remain in Washington but make regular trips to the region, kicking the prospect of a fully-functioning consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem yet further down the road.

 

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Biden folds easily on pledge to reopen Jerusalem consulate

Perspectives

Mitchell Plitnick

An unnamed US diplomat told the Hebrew-language website that the Palestinian Affairs Unit (PAU), which is currently operating as part of the US Embassy to Israel, "was already de facto reporting directly to Washington, but the move was never formalised or announced".

The public announcement about the restructuring US-Palestinian relations comes just before President Joe Biden plans to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank late in June.

Last May, Biden vowed to reopen the consulate, an intention that was echoed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken the following September.

However, Israel has opposed the idea at every turn. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his successor Naftali Bennett argued a mission serving Palestinians was an "infringement of Israel's sovereignty".

The consulate was in East Jerusalem, an area of the city occupied illegally by Israel.

Palestinians view the re-opening of a Jerusalem consulate as an important step towards improving ties with the US, which broke down after Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Palestinian Information Centre said on Facebook that Biden's White House had "abandoned" pledges to open the consulate. One user posted underneath: "Who really runs America?"

Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 in a move widely rejected by the international community.

The United Nations recognises East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian land, and Palestinians understand this area as being the future capital of their independent state.

'Go and be with Shireen': Israeli far-right threaten BBC reporters during 'Flag March'

BBC reporters were 'assaulted' while covering the far-right 'Flag March' in Jerusalem 

The BBC team were spat at, according to one correspondent [source: Getty]

BBC reporters were assaulted during an extremist Israeli 'Flag March' in Jerusalem on Sunday, a journalist for the broadcaster said on social media.

Tom Bateman, a Middle East correspondent for the British broadcasting giant, said the BBC team had their equipment broken during an attack by Israelis participating in the far-right march.

He added that one individual spat at them, and said: "Go and be with Shireen."

Shireen Abu Akleh was a veteran Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli forces when they stormed the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Her death sparked global outrage over the crisis of impunity emboldening Israeli forces to undermine fundamental rights such as a free press.

 
On Sunday, when thousands of Israelis surged through the streets of Jerusalem and chanted "Death to Arabs", several other attacks on journalists were reported.

Israeli marchers were seen assaulting a France 24 reporter on camera.

The journalist, who was standing in front of men wearing Israeli flags, was seen clutching her forehead while reporting after being hit on the head with a bottle.

Iyad Harb, the police correspondent for the Kan public broadcaster’s Arabic station, was taken to hospital after he was assaulted by masked men in Sheikh Jarrah, according to the Times of Israel.

Harb said the men who beat him were speaking Hebrew and police officers did not assist him despite his appeals for help, reported the Hebrew website.

At least 40 Palestinians were injured on Sunday by Israeli forces and settlers using rubber bullets, truncheons and pepper spray, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Videos shared on social media show Israelis harassing and assaulting local Palestinians, including the elderly.

SEE

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

Israeli youth at Jerusalem flag march reveal vision of a far-right future

Teens from across Israel flooded Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday to sing racist songs, fly Lehava banners and praise Itmar Ben-Gvir as their choice for prime minister

Demonstrators gesture as they gather with Israeli flags during the 'flag march' outside the Old City's Damascus Gate on 29 May (AFP)

By Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem
Published date: 30 May 2022

At Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday was a glimpse of Israel’s future.

Tens of thousands of Israelis crammed into the historic walls and gates, the majority adolescents, with a smattering of families.

This gathering, the ultranationalist “flag march” commemorating Israel’s 1967 capture of East Jerusalem, was one of the sparks that last year ignited a war in Gaza, and civil strife between Jews and Palestinians across Israel.

But as Israeli youth sang “Muhammad is dead” and “we are not afraid”, there was no evidence of lessons learnt from last year’s deadly unravelling.

If anything, Israel’s far-right youth felt emboldened - and growing more so. Israeli police estimated 70,000 people participated in the march, which a police spokesperson told Middle East Eye was far larger than previous years.

'If we face any resistance by the Arabs in the Old City we will break them'

- Israeli youth

At the Jaffa Gate, it was clear that an event that once was predominantly attended by Israeli settlers had now become mainstream: teens had been bussed in by their schools from various corners of the country.

Elon and Eran*, both 16, were brought to Jerusalem from the coastal city of Ashkelon by their school.

“We came here today to show that Jerusalem belongs to us and not to others. We are not afraid, we are here to emphasise that Jerusalem belongs to us and will remain to us,” Elon told MEE.

Surrounded by Israeli flags, symbols of the far-right Lehava group and T-shirts emblazoned with aggressive slogans, Elon and Eran acknowledged that they could understand the Palestinian cause - but Jerusalem and the land between the Jordan river and Mediterranean Sea “belong to us”.

“We will keep fighting to keep it in our hands. At the end of the day, we will be here forever,” said Eran.

'We need someone like Ben-Gvir'

Recent weeks have seen a succession of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, including Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and attacks inside Israel by Palestinians of various backgrounds.

A shocking Israeli assault on Abu Akleh’s funeral in Jerusalem - seemingly over the presence of Palestinian flags - only worsened anger and resentment ahead of Sunday’s march.

Several youths in the Old City cited the recent Palestinian attacks as reasons for their own drift rightward. Though Israel’s government is headed by a hawkish right-winger - Naftali Bennett - it is weak and unwieldy, and blamed for the worsening security situation.

Yet on Jerusalem’s stone streets, it is not former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is making political gain of Bennet’s woes, but rather Itamar Ben-Gvir, a former follower of Jewish supremacist Meir Kahane, and the face of Israel’s burgeoning and openly racist far-right.

“The state is in a bad situation, with the economy and the latest attacks on Israelis. We need someone like Ben-Gvir,” said Eran.

'Even though some describe him as extremist, Ben-Gvir is very charming and cute'

- Moira, 17

“Ben-Gvir says loudly what he believes in, he doesn't fear anyone or what they think about him, and this is the only thing that can create change.”

Shira, a 16-year-old from southern Israel’s Beer Sheba, and Moria, a 17-year-old from Yavne near Tel Aviv, cry out in unison when asked who their next prime minister should be: “Ben-Gvir.”

They describe him as strong, honest and fearless. He is seen as the only man who can impose Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem’s Palestinians.

Ben-Gvir, who marched in Jerusalem on Sunday surrounded by adoring supporters, entered Israel’s parliament in 2020 at the initiative of Netanyahu in an unsuccessful attempt to keep him in power. Now opinion polls show Ben-Gvir’s party gaining more seats than Bennett’s in any future election, which seems more likely to be called with every new political crisis that emerges.

There’s a good chance you’ll find Ben-Gvir at any flashpoint event, goading Palestinians with racist language and openly carrying firearms. But for Shira and Moira, that kind of behaviour is just part of his charm.

“Even though some describe him as extremist, he is very charming and cute,” said Moira.

'God is watching over us'

There are 300,000 Palestinians currently living in Jerusalem, but if many of the Israeli youth that attended the flag march had their way, those Jerusalemites would be expelled from their homes.

Moira believes the solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict lies in the removal of Palestinians.

“We should help the Palestinians to immigrate from here, they have 30 other countries, and we only have one,” she said. “Maybe we can allow those who accept our sovereignty to stay.”

Shira disagrees: “We have to expel all of them.”

Israeli far-right MP Itamar Ben-Gvir is escorted by bodyguards, as he visits Damascus Gate to Jerusalem's Old City as part of the Jerusalem Day events 29 May (Reuters)

This kind of open hostility to Palestinian Jerusalemites and citizens of Israel has always been a part of Israeli public life - but it has not manifested in aggressive marches under heavy police protection until recently.

Riyad al-Hallaq owns a coffee shop on al-Wad Street, the main route from the Damascus Gate to al-Aqsa Mosque through the Old City.

“In previous years the march was much smaller and it passed by our shops peacefully without our shops getting attacked,” he told MEE.

On Sunday, Palestinian businesses and homes were trashed, spat on and graffitied, and Palestinians assaulted by Israeli marchers.

“This is a very significant event for us, especially this year,” said Moira.

“It was important for us to come and to show the Arabs that we are not afraid and that Jerusalem belongs to us.”

Outside the Jaffa Gate, a group of teenage girls sang and danced, draped with Israeli flags. They’d come all the way from a string of towns along Israel’s boundary with the Gaza Strip.

“You should understand that we are strong and God is watching over us,” one said. “If we face any resistance by the Arabs in the Old City we will break them.”

*Some names have been changed

Palestine PM says Israeli flag march ‘crossed all red lines’

Mohammed Shtayyeh describes attacks by far-rights Israelis against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem as ‘aggression’.

Tens of thousands of flag-waving ultranationalist Israelis raided the Muslim quarter of the Old City on Sunday during the so-called 'flag march' 

[Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu]

Published On 30 May 2022

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has described attacks by far-right Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem as “aggression which crossed all red lines”.

Tens of thousands of flag-waving, ultranationalist Israelis raided the Muslim quarter of the Old City on Sunday during the so-called “flag march”. The provocative march that took place in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is meant to celebrate the occupation and subsequent annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 – a move that has not been recognised by the international community.

Some chanted racist slogans including “Death to Arabs” and attacked Palestinian residents while backed by armed Israeli forces.

Some Jewish groups also stormed the Al-Aqsa compound raising fears among Palestinians that it was an attempt to change the status quo at Islam’s third holiest site. Jewish prayers are prohibited at the 35-acre (14-hectare) compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary. Jews call it the Temple Mount.

“Israel yesterday has crossed all red lines and international treaties with its repeated aggression against Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. It attempts to impose a reality that doesn’t align with the historical status quo of Al-Aqsa mosque,” Shtayyeh said on Monday.

Dozens of Palestinians were arrested across occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank a day earlier, where protests to decry the march erupted, while more than 165 suffered injuries ranging from heavy tear gas inhalation to beatings and wounds from live rounds, as well as rubber-coated steel bullets.



Following the march, large groups of Israelis stormed through Palestinian neighbourhoods, assaulting residents as well as their property.

Nida Ibrahim, reporting from the West Bank city of Ramallah, said the Shattyeh has been issuing statements “since yesterday”.

“He had strong statements today saying that Israel needed more than 3,000 Israeli army and police officers to secure the city,” Ibrahim said.

“He said there’s a difference between occupying the city militarily and being the occupying power – and actually having sovereignty [over it].”

Settler attacks

Some 70,000 Israelis were reported to have joined the annual march, which is seen as a bid by Israel to impose control over the occupied part of the city.

According to Ibrahim, Palestinians “on the street” said that these statements are not enough and expect more from their leadership.

“The Palestinian Authority has been saying it’s committed to a peaceful resolution … on the streets, Palestinians have been saying Israel cementing its occupation,” she said.

Israel has been advancing its illegal settlement project on occupied Palestinian lands. Settlements are fortified, Jewish-only housing complexes built on Palestinian land in violation of international law. At least 600,000 settlers live in settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli settlers resumed their march on Monday.

“We know settlers in Hebron in the south of the occupied West Bank have marched through the old part of the city,” Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim said.

Settlers “continued marching with their flags, with their racist slogans” towards the Ibrahimi mosque, she said, adding that settlers “invaded the squares of the mosque” while under the protection of the Israeli army.

According to her, Palestinian journalists who were attempting to document what was happening were prevented from doing so.



Wafa news agency reported that settlers also marched with Israeli flags at a military checkpoint near Nablus and Jenin in the northern West Bank while a secondary school in the Palestinian village of Urif also came under attack, it said.

The Palestinian news agency quoted the principal as saying that the settlers arrived with the army’s protection. They threw rocks at the school which resulted in some damage, while soldiers fired tear gas canisters causing “many suffocation cases”, it added.

Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have been rife across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The situation in Hebron’s old city is particularly volatile, as some 700 Israeli settlers live among a Palestinian population of nearly 40,000.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

  

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

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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.”