Anti-violence protests to bring together Arabs, Jews amid clashes, riots

Demonstrations at Jerusalem’s Zion Square are scheduled to take place on Saturday night in opposition to the multiple incidences of violence against leftists and the Arab population in the past week, the Peace Now movement announced in a statement on Friday evening.The past week has seen a rise in attacks against the Arab population in Jerusalem by far-right extremists and other activists from the far-right anti-race-mixing organization Lehava. On Thursday night, police made multiple arrests as far-right Jewish extremists marched into the Arab-majority neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, chanting “Death to Arabs.” This coming demonstration, slated to start at approximately 7:30 p.m., is meant to restore security to the streets of Jerusalem and bring awareness that the large majority of Jews and Arabs wish that the violence and racism would cease. Peace Now, one of the organizers of the demonstration, said ahead of the event that “Kahanist violence and racism are raising their head,” further claiming that this is a product of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political support in the Knesset.The movement also called on the Jerusalem Police force to “show zero tolerance and take a stance to restore security to the city streets.”Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report. 

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