In my opinion, It's vitally necessary to demonstrate to all the world that discrimination of one group by another, will not be tolerated in Jerusalem, the city of peace.
The Moslems are celebrating Ramadan. and I was happy to see messages on a mostly Jewish group in whatsapp, wishing them Ramadan Karim, Happy Ramadan. Colorful lights are festooned all over the city, by the predominantly Jewish city council, to bring joy to the Moslem inhabitants and to the delight of everyone.
Sad to say, however, some Moslems are showing their joy in an unacceptable way, namely, by throwing stones at Jewish cars travelling along the main thoroughfare, road 1, connecting Moslem and Jewish neighborhoods of the city. I wouldn't be surprised if some cars, driven by Moslems, were also smashed.
Admittedly, a group of Jews carried out a march through Damascus Gate, a place notorious for stabbing attacks by Moslems against Orthodox Jews, since the 19th century, when Jerusalem was under Ottoman rule.
In my opinion, the beauty of Damascus Gate is it’s cosmopolitanism. This is the gate by which Jews go to the Wailing Wall, Christians march along the Via Dolorosa and Moslems go to worship at the Dome of the Rock.
Clearly the Jewish marchers wanted to make a point, which is that Jerusalem is home to all three monotheistic faiths. No single group has the exclusive right to make a procession through the Damascus Gate or any other part of Jerusalem.
They wanted to demonstrate that Jerusalem is a city for Jews as much as it is for Moslems.
This is a necessary demonstration to remind people who think otherwise, that Jerusalem is a city of tolerance, for the customs of the Moslems, Christians and Jews. I am sure that not a single Moslem suffered any kind of attack from the participants in the march.
However, certain Moslems, probably some hot headed youths, who don't know better, considered it their duty to attack the Jews, thereby demonstrating, that they have the exclusive right to observe their customs and to march demonstratively in Jerusalem.
Their violent response is a brilliant illustration of unacceptable intolerance in a city that should be an emblem and example of tolerance for all the world.
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