5000 Rally For Justice In Jerusalem

Saturday night 5000 lefties rallied for a stop to - and reversal of - evictions of Palestineans from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, and by extension in the Silwan and Mount of Olive neighborhoods.

Not only was it the largest anti-occupation demonstration in a long while, not only was it in Jerusalem where it cannot be hidden from the world by the military government, it was a mixed demonstration of Israeli Jews and Palestinians struggling side by side. Is this the sign of something bigger and more effective brewing? One can only hope.

You can read about the details at The Magnes Zionist, Coteret, or the Jerusalem Post.

For some background on why the Sheikh Jarrah evictions are particularly odious and dangerous you can read this article by Gideon Levy, or this piece from the Jerusalem Post, or this from Ir Amim (the most fact filled.)

It is also worth noting that the Sheikh Jarrah evictions are going on simultaneously with Israeli moves on the Palestinian neighborhoods of Silwan and the Mount of Olives. Together with Sheikh Jarrah these three neighborhood surround the Old City on the north, south and east.