Extremist Israelis celebrate "Jerusalem Day" by parading through the city's Palestinian neighborhoods, shouting racial epithets. (Photo: Anne Paq/ActiveStills)
On Sunday Israel celebrated 45 years of occupying East Jerusalem with thousands of jubilant right-wingers hurling racial epithets in a parade through the Old City and Muslim Quarter during "Jerusalem Day," a state holiday embracing the 1967 capture of the city. Nationalist ministers of Knesset lent legitimacy to the anti-Muslim/anti-Palestinian chants by praying at the Temple Mount and declaring the holy site under Israeli sovereignty.
And, although annexing of East Jerusalem is a violation of international law, Israel also released a commemorative coin for "Jerusalem Day."
"The Temple Mount is in our hands!" said minister Uri Ariel in a statement yesterday. He, along with minister Michael Ben Ari, led a group of extremists from the parade to the religious site, which prohibits Jewish visitors from public prayer. "The site is under Israeli sovereignty and therefore the Israeli government must allow every Jew to realize his autonomous rights and to go up to pray on the Temple Mount."
At the mosque, Israeli police detained Ariel, Ben Ari, and one other for violating agreements made with the Muslim religious leaders regarding the use of the sacred site. However, Ben Ari brushed off police, saying his position with the Knesset gave him immunity from the statute.
Israeli authorities suppress Palestinian protestors near the Damascus Gate during a Jerusalem Day demonstration. (Photo: JC/ActiveStills)
Meanwhile en route to the Western Wall, by way of the Damascus Gate, extremist Israelis shouted, "the Temple will be rebuilt, the mosque will be burned," "Mohammed is dead," "sons of whores," and "death to the leftists". When the right-wing marchers entered Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter, protests were sparked amongst the Palestinian residents of the city and left-wing Israelis. Police on horseback then suppressed the demonstrators, arresting five. Ten Israelis were also arrested.
Israeli police arresting a Palestinian man protesting the nationalist "Jerusalem Day" parade that celebrates the 1967 conquest of the holy city. (Photo: Anne Paq/ActiveStills)
Preempting dissent in the West Bank near Beit Ummar Israeli authorities also blocked Palestinians from entering the Old City with boulders and concrete slabs. And Ma'an reported the roadblocks, along with a police detail, ensured settlers from Hebron uninterrupted bicycle access to the day's events.
Footage of right-wing Israelis shouting racial slurs during Jerusalem Day 2011.
(Video: Solidarity for Sheikh Jarrah)
The Jerusalem Day parade through Palestinian neighborhoods began last year, and similar to this year, right-wingers celebrated by rhythmically shouting racial slurs. After receiving backlash, 2012 parade organizers officially banned defamatory language. But Haaretz's Nir Hasson reported, "while the organizers said only a few outliers failed to adhere to that standard hundreds of young people spent hours shouting at the Palestinians protesting near Damascus Gate."
Uri Ariel and Michael Ben Ari are Members of Knesset, not cabinet ministers.
what’s next for these latter day brownshirters, a reprise of kristallnacht, only this time with palestinians and leftist jews as their designated targets?
I read during last year’s march many of the revelers broke store windows and windshields as the procession went through the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Happily this year’s the march to not return to Sheikh Jarrah.
Allison, thanks for this report.
Since Jerusalem Day was celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar (lunar), does this mean that we are going to see another similar celebration of the June 1967 War in another two weeks? Do these national holidays ever end?
“the Temple will be rebuilt”
Reminds me of lorenzetti’s allegory of bad government in Siena
link to wga.hu
The temple isn’t supposed to be built on hatred.
It is sad that for so many Israeli Jews identity is based on humiliation of non Jews. When the power Israel has over palestinians is dissolved how will these people identify themselves ?
That’s the question, isn’t it? When the masks come off, when the pretenses fall, who are we, really? The terror of this question wreaks untold havoc in this world, because people will do almost anything to avoid it.
The funny part is, once you drop the BS and look, it’s really not that bad. We’re striving creatures in an infinitely interesting universe. If we’d chill the f–k out, we could just enjoy it. Why not?
Humiliation and demonization of the “other” is often a pillar of nationalism, taking sides, creating and nurturing enemies to make a cohesive identity based on fear of the others. Not only a Zionist sickness.
It is sadly the created self identity (victimology) of Zionism. It is been talked about a lot on this forum. But why don’t Zionist nurture the positive history and contributions to western culture by Judaism, instead of the dark episodes — similar to those that most all defined groups share in the arch of history?
I think I know — cultural control. Make a group, society a people fearful and you have them in control.
Imagine telling your children from the earliest years that they must live in fear of the others. That is so sick. So abusive. Self perpetuating. And ultimately pathologically narcissistic.
“But why don’t Zionist nurture the positive history and contributions to western culture by Judaism”
Because they don’t recognise anything that happened while Jews were in the Diaspora, other than the Shoah. Modern Zionist history starts with the first aliyah. Ancient Zionist history ends in CE 70. There is no Zionist history in between.
It is all so artificial.
Check out the Wiki entry on the history of israel
link to en.wikipedia.org