A radical, far-right Jewish organisation is conducting weekly anti-Arab marches through Jerusalem, harassing and attacking Palestinian passers-by with impunity.
According to a report on Ynetnews, members of “anti-assimilation” group Lehava congregate in Zion Square every Thursday night, distributing their racist literature.
Later, “they roam the city in gangs, dressed in the organisation’s black shirts,” and call out slogans such as “Muhammad is dead” and “Kahane was right” (Meir Kahane was a notoriously ultra-nationalist and anti-Palestinian rabbi who was killed in 1990).
The article cites one example where two Palestinians were set upon by a group of Jewish teenagers after “their accent reveals that…[they] are Arabs.” While one managed to flee, the second Palestinian youth fell “and suffer[ed] a barrage of fists and kicks.”
“Garbage Arab, get out of our city!” the assailants shouted, as they assaulted him.
Ynetnews states that “such incidents have been happening in the city centre for quite some time”, with the weekly marches often concluding “with incitement and verbal violence against Palestinian youth from East Jerusalem”, and, at times, “with physical violence” also.
The paper refers to “over 20 such attacks against Palestinians” in the area over the past two years – presumably the true figure is higher.
But while “there have been many assaults on Arabs by Jews in Jerusalem” in recent years, and suspects were arrested “in some of the cases”, nearly none of these cases made it to court.
The paper adds: “It’s hard to believe that the police would be acting the same way if the situation were reversed – a Jew being attacked by Arabs.”