Video: “Death to the Arabs” march forces its way through occupied Jerusalem

Ali Abunimah 22 April 2015

This disturbing video shows Israeli youths, escorted by police and occupation forces, marching through the Old City of Jerusalem chanting “mavet la’aravim” – “death to the Arabs” – and other cries of hate.

According to the racism-monitoring website Kifaya, the 19 April march was part of the monthly “Tour of the Gates” by Jewish extremists through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.

As part of the event, held at the beginning of every month according to the Jewish calendar, the one-kilometer-long route is blocked to Palestinians, and businesses and stores must close, Kifaya says.

Palestinians are forbidden from leaving their homes during the march.

“Some 1,500 Jews participated in the march,” Kifaya says, “and it was secured by hundreds of policemen and soldiers, who thronged the area.”

Organized hate

In addition to “death to the Arabs,” the marchers’ repertoire of cries and songs included: “revenge,” “may your name be wiped out,” “may your village be burnt down,” and the anti-Muslim chant “Muhammad is dead” –- all heard by the police and occupation forces who secured the event, Kifaya says.

Some of the marchers even banged on the doors of homes and businesses and there were also some attempts to damage property.

Israel expert Dena Shunra told The Electronic Intifada that “may your name be wiped out” is a “very potent curse, generally used for enemies of the entire Jewish nation. Hitler is always mentioned with that curse.”

Shunra observes that the video reveals the highly organized nature of the march: the youths in the yellow vests in front have the word “ushers” on their backs.

At 0:24, a young man can be seen wearing a kippa – skull cap – with the word “Nachman” on it, indicating that he, at least, is affiliated with the Breslauer sect of Hasidic Jews.

At 0:54 some participants can be seen holding what look like papers with slogans printed on them.

It is striking, Shunra adds, “the way liturgical texts and songs are interspersed amongst the hate cries.”

Israelis regularly hold similar hate marches on “Jerusalem Day,” a government-decreed annual celebration of the city’s military occupation and annexation in violation of international law.

Incitement leads to murder

Last July, the Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu-Khudair was abducted from the streets of occupied Jerusalem’s Shuafat neighborhood and then burned alive by his captors.

His alleged killers, Israeli Jews, had reportedly been steeped in the racist culture of the Beitar Jerusalem football team whose fans habitually rampage through the streets calling for the murder of Arabs.

They would also have been regularly exposed to the relentless anti-Arab bigotry and incitement from Israel’s leaders.

This week, Israel added Abu Khudair’s name to an official Israeli memorial of terrorism victims. This drew immediate criticism from Israeli groups who argued that the murdered boy didn’t merit being on the memorial.

But the move was also rejected by Muhammad’s father, Hussein Abu Khudair, who told Ma’an News Agency that the “occupation authorities are trying to improve their image in the world” and that putting his son’s name on the memorial “would not change the racist reality of the Israeli occupation.”

Nothing vindicates Hussein Abu Khudair more clearly than the sight of Israeli police and occupation forces providing an escort for a mob chanting the words “death to the Arabs” that very likely inspired his son’s murderers.

What is even more alarming is that many of the participants in this march appear to be children themselves.

Tags

Comments

picture

Dean Olson replied on

Where they wearing brown shirts? It is disgusting how aggressively nasty they can be as Occupiers, yet get so snitty over BDS actions in other countries. And to be backed, supported and guarded by the Occupiers adds insult to injury. And what a disgrace to countries like ours, the United States, that we not only turn a blind eye but actually collude with this horrendous slow genocide of a people and their rightful land.

picture

Jerry Moe replied on

This reminds me of the five minutes of Hate, directed against the enemy of the day, in Orwell's 1984. How disgusting!

picture

Da Ladno replied on

Is it Jerusalem version of Ukrainian Maidan? Are they members of grass-roots organizations? Is it Next Generation Zombi? Looks like no more then fifty of them, but this is how it starts. Hello Jerusalem, do you have enough old tires to burn? What is main square in Jerusalem, what will be name of the next project?
US consultants can help will "color" revolution, just ask for Victoria Nuland

picture

M. Syedda replied on

Absolutely disgusting what they do there! How even more troubling is how the USA turns a blind eye.

picture

furbaby replied on

Mike Rivero of whatreallyhappened.com says it best:
Now, imagine the reaction of the corporate media if Palestinians had marched through those same streets shouting "Death to Jews!"

picture

Greg Bacon replied on

Without the generous amounts of money, weapons and political backing at the UN, this would not be possible.

Don't think Wolf Blitzer will do one of his sensationalized reports on this hatred, will he.

picture

Peter Loeb replied on

"...the existing system [cannot] be something other than what it is short of actually
depriving it of access to power and levers of controlling society..." Gabriel Kolko

It has never been a secret that the raw hate which is the core of Zionism with
its contempt of indigenous people ( Palestinians ). Could a Jew in a ghetto during
WWII explain it to a Nazi or possibly persuade him?

Although Israel has used religious themes to guarantee its support, it was not
originally a religious movement. It was a movement of SETTLER COLONIALISM where St. Augustine's way of justifying anything in the name of a "holy war" could
be used . If committed in God's (Yahweh's) name, massacre, rape, beheadings
etc. , all were justified. The conquering of Jeruselum on July 15, 1199 by the
Christians (called "Franks" then) is another example of many. Franks walked to
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to pray in streets filled with blood they had
made themselves of their opponents. After all, it was in God's name.

We have been here many times.

----Peter Loeb, Boston, MA, USA

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.