“Chanukah is the holiday that symbolizes the sovereignty of the people of Israel over their land.”
In a show of support for Jewish residents of Lod and Ramla, hundreds of Israelis participated in flag marches on Sunday.
The marches were organized by several right-wing organizations to show solidarity with the Jewish residents of the mixed Jewish-Arab cities. Relations between Jews and Arabs in those cities deteriorated during the 11-day war between Israel and Gaza in May. Arabs in those and other mixed cities rioted in support of Hamas, which prompted a rise in vigilante Jewish attacks on Arabs.
Arab crime, whether terror-related or associated with organized crime, has not returned to the lower levels before Operation Guardian of the Walls.
In October, a bus and a sukkah were deliberately torched in Ramla while vandals spray painted in Arabic “al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades” on walls in one of the city’s Jewish neighborhoods. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is a Fatah-affiliated terror group responsible for hundreds of terror attacks during the Second Intifada.
Dvir Amior, secretary-general of the Ariel movement, one of the organizers of the marches, said the events aimed to “light a candle here and expel the darkness.”
“We came here to rejoice and celebrate the eighth candle of Chanukah with pride. Chanukah is the holiday that symbolizes the sovereignty of the people of Israel over their land and we came here to call for the application of sovereignty throughout the Land of Israel, in all the mixed cities, in Lod and Ramla, but also Akko and Jaffa and all the mixed cities in Israel,” Amior said.
Rachel, a participating Lod resident, told Arutz-7 that the flag marches’ timing with Chanukah were particularly appropriate. “It fills us with strength. It truly lifts our spirits,” she said. “It is important to know that there are a lot of weapons here among the Arabs. It is important for us that the police start dealing with this.”
The marches took place under heavy police protection.
“The flag march was an incredible and peaceful show of support for the Jewish communities in the mixed Jewish-Arab cities, and it was heartwarming to see all the people from outside the city who attended the event,” Eytan Meir, the International Relations Coordinator for the Zionist Im Tirtzu movement ,told United With Israel.
“The march also sent an important message to the Israeli public that we can’t cave to the demands of radical anti-Zionists who cry ‘provocation’ and threaten violence every time someone waves an Israeli flag. The best answer to these threats is to stand strong and to not back down,” Meir added.
(United with Israel).