It is only suitable and appropriate to the nature of the false espicable holiday called "Jersalem Day" that this year the settlers' "March of the Flags" was transferred from Jaffa Street in West Jerusalem to the heart of the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood, as a new act of provocation against the Palestinian residents.

Gush Shalom calls for abolition of "Jerusalem Day" and its removal from Israeli calendars, because it is a false holiday commemorating a false event. What is called "The Unification of Jerusalem" was in fact but the creation of a regime of occupation and oppression over the Palestinians of East Jerusalem. It is the rule of police which resorts to the shooting of live ammunition on the streets and resorts to electric shockers against peaceful demonstrators, the rule of settlers who expel Palestinian families from their homes in the middle of the night. Jews were given access to the Western Wall, but inhabitants of the Occupied Territories – Muslims as well as Christians - were denied access to their holy places in Jerusalem. Jerusalem Day is a major holiday for extreme nationalists and racists, settlers and provocateurs. The vast majority of Israeli citizens, including the Israelis living in Jerusalem itself, vote with their feet and stay away from the events of the Jerusalem Day, rightly considering them as a nuisance rather than a holiday.

A peace agreement between the state of Israel and the state of Palestine will include the making of East Jerusalem into the capital of Palestine as well as the International Community's recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the location of all embassies. It would be appropriate to declare that day of such an agreement as the true Jerusalem Day, a day which could be celebrated together by Israelis and Palestinians, all who love Jerusalem which will be the city of all its inhabitants and the capital of peace.

Contact: Adam Keller 054-2340749