Jerusalem: Protest against Racist “Lehava” Organization

Saturday night, December 13, hundreds of protesters gathered in Zion Square in West Jerusalem demanding the outlawing of “Lehava,” the rascist organization whose members are allegedly behind a recent arson attack on a Jewish-Arab bilingual school in the city. Lehava opposes “Jewish assimilation,” in particular interfaith marriages between Jews and Arabs.

Saturday night's demonstration against racism at Zion Square, Jerusalem.

Saturday night’s demonstration against racism at Zion Square, Jerusalem. (Photo: Hadash Jerusalem)

During the demonstration, the protestors raised chants against Lehava and criticized the extreme-right government for not doing enough to eradicate racism and “price tag” attacks by settlers against Arabs. Among the protesters were several activists from Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel who, along with all those assembled, chanted slogans: “Jerusalem will not shut up; racism is outside the law!” and “Racism and hatred brought to you by the government!” Several right-wing activists arrived at the scene of the demonstration and started a counter-protest.

On Thursday of last week, December 11, authorities cleared for publication the arrest by police of three extremist, right-wing activists for their suspected role in a hate-inspired attack on the Max Rayne Hand-in-Hand Hebrew-Arabic school. The detainees, Yitzack Gabay and two brothers Nahman and Shlomo Twitto, are suspected of arson and having sprayed anti-Arab graffiti on the walls of the school two weeks ago. The three who, according to police, have admitted to the acts alleged to them, have been held in custody since December 6th, the night of hate crime itself. On the walls of the school, firefighting teams dispatched to the site of the blaze found slogans against Jewish-Arab coexistence, among them: “Death to Arabs!” and “Kahane was right!”

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