Hundreds of religious leaders and peace activists from all faiths and denominations participated on Monday, May 18, in the 4th Interfaith March for Human Rights and Peace, held in Jerusalem. The march takes place annually near Jerusalem Day—which marks the occupation of the Palestinian part of the city and has, over the years, turned into a day of hatred and racism—with the aim of promoting a message of hope, mutual respect, and interfaith partnership, and to raise a voice calling for peace, human rights, and the sanctity of life.
The event featured religious leaders and activists—including Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Buddhists, and Hindus—alongside religious and secular participants, among the Hadash members, who marched together from the YMCA building to the Jaffa Gate, calling for coexistence and the strengthening of tolerance in Jerusalem. At the end of the march, the main event took place with the participation of religious leaders, singer Achinoam Nini (Noa), the Magnificat Institute Choir of the Christian Franciscan Order, and others.
People of all faiths and activists marching in Jerusalem for peace and human rights, Monday, May 18, 2026 (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Among the march participants: Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Chairperson of “A Rabbinic Voice for Human Rights”; Rabbi Mikhael Manekin, one of the leaders of “The Faithful Left” and CEO of “Partnership for the Future”; Khaula Al-Turi, a social activist from Rahat and director of the shared society department at AJEEC; Reverend Canon Richard Sewell, Dean of St. George’s College in Jerusalem; and Sheikh Younis Amasha, an Imam and member of the Druze Religious Council, who directs the Interfaith Leaders Forum in Israel.
The march was led by the Interfaith Forum for Human Rights, along with a coalition of more than thirty organizations: A Rabbinic Voice for Human Rights, YMCA Jerusalem, the Magnificat Institute, the Church of Scotland, the Interfaith Leaders Forum in Israel, the Supreme Druze Religious Council, the Spiritual Movement for Peace, the Reform Movement in Israel, the Council of Secular Rabbis in Israel, Mothers Against Violence, the Leo Baeck Education Center, Ohel Abraham, Praying Together in Jerusalem, the Elijah Interfaith Institute, Galilean Spirit, Seek Peace Jerusalem, the Lutheran Church, Paulus Haus, The Faithful Midrasha, the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, The Faithful Left, Children of Abraham, Hebrew Union College, the Rossing Center, Women Wage Peace, Ir Amim, Tag Meir, the Swedish Theological Institute, Sulha, Children of Abraham for Peace, and others.
On last Thursday, thousands of settlers and racist Israeli youths marched during the Jerusalem Day through the Old City chanting, “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn.” Racist politicians, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, raised the Israeli flag on the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount for the Jews) and called to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and “rebuild the Temple.” The yearly march, which runs through the Muslim Quarter and ends at the Western Wall, is frequently descended into violence amid racist chants, provocations and attacks against Arab-Palestinian residents accompanied by the Israeli police.
