Hundreds of people participated in a solidarity march in Bnei Brak this evening (Thursday), a week after left-wing activists staged a provocative demonstration in the largely haredi city.
The march was organized the the Tekuma 2023 and Im Tirtzu organizations. Demonstrations held signs that read: 'Haredim are our brothers.'
Marchers left from the Great Synagogue of Bnei Brak, where a prayer was held in memory of haredi IDF soldiers who fell in defense of the State of Israel. From there they went to Rabbi Akiva Street. At the end of the march, the marchers held discussions with local residents.
Barla Crombie, one of the organizers of the march, said: "We came here to say enough with the hatred, enough with the divisions, enough with the rifts. There are disputes - and that's perfectly fine - but the residents of Bnei Brak cannot be made into scapegoats for the divisions. We came to embrace the residents of Bnei Brak, to tell them, 'We are brothers'. We are one people with a shared destiny."
Bnei Brak city council member Yaakov Vider added, "Recently there has been vicious incitement against about a quarter of a million residents of Bnei Brak, a city that is full of kindness and people who give without expecting anything in return. Today, in the march of brotherhood, the voice of the majority of the people will be heard - the people who want unity and not further division. On behalf of the residents of Bnei Brak, I want to welcome all the dear public who came here. Once again the glory of the nation of Israel is revealed."
Attorney Zehava Gur, who came to the march from Tel Aviv, spoke during the event: "We see here people from all over the political spectrum and the State of Israel. When I saw the provocation, I thought to myself that I would have reacted differently, but people here reacted nobly. I think we are all one people and together we will continue to take care of each other because we are one people."