Anarchists, foreign leftists and Arabs on Wednesday interrupted a memorial ceremony honoring fallen soldiers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem. The ceremony was attended by friends and relatives of the deceased.
At 4:30 p.m., the protesters gathered and began to shout, calling on Israel to leave Sheikh Jarrah and all other Jerusalem neighborhoods that were occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967. “East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine,” read the banner held by one protester, while another sign said, “Jerusalem will not be Hevron.”
The memorial ceremony continued as planned despite the disruption as the families of the fallen soldiers ignored the protest and quietly recited the Kaddish and Yizkor prayers.
"[The protest] was hurtful and very difficult for participants,” said Yossi Blum Halevy, who attended the memorial ceremony. “But nobody said a word and the ceremony concluded with hugs and handshakes... The relatives of the slain soldiers and their friends are a unified family that comes together each year to commemorate the fallen.”
Halevy was furious at the protesters, who he termed “the scum of the human race” and “hateful, close-minded people.” 