Sunday was the 30-day anniversary of the first of two recent Jerusalem bulldozer attacks, in which three people were killed and dozens injured. Five hundred people gathered at the scene of the murderous rampage on Jaffa Street in a demonstration calling for Jews to continue building the country without reliance on Arab labor.
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The rally, organized by Zionist revival movements Homesh First, Komemiyut, Viyerashtem Otah and HaLev HaYehudi, included the participation of rabbis, representatives of the terror victims' families, and activists from Yad L'Achim and other organizations. The two themes of the event were: the importance of encouraging Jewish physical labor, as in the early years of the Zionist project; and the inherent danger in hiring Arab laborers, who belong to an enemy nation.
Embodying both themes, a caravan of bulldozers, driven by Jews, wound its way through the streets of the capital before the start of the demonstration. Activists draped from the heavy equipment signs with the slogan "Jews Don't Run Down Jews." At one point, police halted the caravan for a short time, but the bulldozers were eventually allowed to continue on to join the demonstration.
Yosi Dagan of Homesh First explained that the demonstration was part of an educational process aimed primarily at the Jewish population in Israel. "The objective of this demonstration is to declare that if the sector known as Israeli Arabs defines itself - in words and in terrorist deeds - as part of what is called 'the Palestinian nation', then we need to take them seriously and treat them as such. One doesn't buy from the enemy," he said.
Three recent terror attacks in Jerusalem were carried out by Arabs who held Israeli national ID cards.