What’s ‘flag day’ in Jerusalem and why is it so controversial? | Occupied East Jerusalem Information

Jerusalem – Days earlier than the far-right Jerusalem “flag day” march, tensions are excessive throughout Israel, the occupied West Financial institution, and the blockaded Gaza Strip, threatening to disrupt the ceasefire reached between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel on Saturday after a minimum of 33 Palestinians have been killed in a four-day Israeli bombardment. One Israeli was additionally killed by Palestinian rocket fireplace.

March organisers anticipate file numbers – as many as 100,000 – to take part within the parade, which celebrates the seize in 1967 of East Jerusalem and its subsequent occupation, or what the Israeli authorities refers to because the “reunification” of Jerusalem.

1000’s of younger Orthodox Jewish males are anticipated to provocatively parade by means of the Outdated Metropolis’s Muslim Quarter – prior to now, this has led to repeated assaults in opposition to Palestinians.

Right here’s a more in-depth look:

Historical past and symbolism

The Jerusalem flag march “is likely one of the strongest examples [worldwide] of racist nationalistic and state-sponsored celebrations”, based on Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher on the human rights organisation Ir Amin.

Whereas the route of the march has modified through the years, initially designed to recreate the trail of the Israeli troopers who captured the Outdated Metropolis on June 7, 1967, the present route winds its method by means of the Damascus Gate and the closely populated Muslim Quarter.

Regardless that coming into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound just isn’t a proper a part of the march itself – and the march route intentionally enters the Outdated Metropolis through the Zion and Damascus gates, and never the Lions’ Gate close to Al-Aqsa Mosque – varied teams calling for the institution of a Jewish temple on the positioning hope to encourage a file variety of Jews to enter the Al-Aqsa compound on Jerusalem Day.

A lot of the individuals belong to the “Spiritual Zionist” camp of Orthodox Jewry – who see messianic which means to Israel’s seize of Jerusalem in 1967. However, regardless of the havoc that has been brought on by attendees throughout the previous few years, one of many youth organisers, Yekutiel Epstein, says the march “has little interest in dispersing racism, however reasonably is about love and thanking God for returning us to the Land of Israel after 2,000 years of exile”.

One of many non-religious teams taking part is La Familia, a far-right supporter group related to the Beitar Jerusalem soccer membership, which is notorious for advocating that the membership stay “eternally pure” with none Palestinian or Muslim gamers.

Based on David Mizrahi, a Jerusalem native and co-founder of La Familia: “Jerusalem day was once, for a few years, about going to the [Western Wall] and praying … sooner or later, it turned a nationalistic celebration.”

Mizrahi, who has since left the group and lectures in opposition to racism at Israeli colleges, admits that he and La Familia used the march to intimidate households within the Muslim Quarter. “We’d knock on the doorways … to ship the message [that] ‘We’re the [true] house owners.’”

Why is the march allowed to go forward?

In 2015, noting the elevated presence of far-right teams directing hate in direction of Palestinians, a number of Jerusalem human rights organisations petitioned the Supreme Courtroom of Israel to re-route the parade away from the Muslim Quarter.

Itay Mack, who represented the petitioners in opposition to the Metropolis of Jerusalem, the police, and the organisers of the march, describes the Israeli Supreme Courtroom justices being “shocked” on the proof of racist violence he collected.

“The Supreme Courtroom is used to being introduced proof of violence in opposition to Palestinians” within the West Financial institution, stated Mack. “The courtroom shouldn’t have been shocked by the violence within the march [even in Jerusalem] since these are the identical teams of the acute proper and the ‘hilltop youth’ who commit terrorism within the West Financial institution that the judges are aware of however are inclined to ignore.”

Though the courtroom determined for the proper of Jewish organisers to march by means of the Muslim Quarter, the petition resulted in some minor adjustments on the bottom.

Previous to 2015, “ultranationalist organisers would harass Palestinian shopkeepers from early within the morning of the march properly into the evening”, Mack stated, whereas at the moment “the Israeli police enforces a time limitation for the march within the Outdated Metropolis”.

The courtroom additionally dominated that inciteful chants, corresponding to “demise to Arabs” are a “pink line”, although Mack notes that little effort is made to cease them. “With the courtroom resolution [ruling against us], we’re out of authorized choices to oppose the hateful march.”

The courtroom justified its ruling below the pretext that the occasion may very well be held safely with enough policing – a reported 2,000 law enforcement officials can be on responsibility with 1,000 different safety personnel. That perspective, Tatarsky stated, “[looks] at violence as an end result of the march … [while] the march itself is extraordinarily violent in opposition to tens of 1000’s of Palestinians within the Outdated Metropolis and the environment” who’re compelled out of their metropolis for the day.

Palestinian views

Palestinian shopkeepers and residents within the densely populated Outdated Metropolis Muslim Quarter react with exasperation and frustration when requested in regards to the “flag march”.

A number of, who declined to talk on the file in regards to the topic, view it as a “unnecessary provocation” and listed examples of vandalism that weren’t adopted up on by the Israeli police, regardless of the presence of “cameras all over the place”.

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, stated the march was inciteful, and would pressure the group to answer the “[Israeli] try to vary and implement a Jewish identification on town of Jerusalem … which incorporates Muslim and Christian holy websites”.

Whereas it stays unknown if the “flag march” will set off a brand new spherical of preventing between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad or Hamas, there are few seen efforts to calm tensions.

As a substitute, it’s being reported in Israeli media that the far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will attend the march, as they’ve achieved in previous years.