Tens of thousands of Israelis, a large part of whom are teenagers, take part in the march through Jerusalem organized by far-right groups every year, Haarec reports. It is supposed to commemorate the conquest of the city by Israeli forces during the Six Day War in 1967. But the march is more famous for the violence committed by its participants.
This year, before the start of the event, a crowd of young Israelis walked through the streets of Jerusalem, shouting slogans such as “Death to the Arabs” or “May your villages burn”. The young Israelis also threw chairs at some of the passers-by, and in addition to the Arab residents of the city, they also attacked the journalists present.
Far-right teenage Israelis harass and attack shopkeepers during Jerusalem Day, who respond with chairs and bottles. Coexistence activists attempt to intervene pic.twitter.com/NCgC8XeapL
— Linda Dayan (@LindaDayan9) May 14, 2026
In the Muslim quarter, the rioting of young Israelis escalated into clashes with Palestinians, during which stones, chairs and glass bottles were thrown. Although there are thousands of policemen on the spot, but according to eyewitnesses, they mainly make sure that Arabs who do not live there do not enter the neighborhoods where the march will take place.
Haarec also reports a case where an unidentified police officer refused to help a reporter, on whom young men threw water and coffee and shouted homophobic slurs at her. Another journalist’s phone was allegedly stolen by the same group.
Volunteers from the Jewish-Arab Standing Together movement, who are trying to calm the clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, have also become targets of attacks. “Last year we saw a lot of violence, a lot of verbal violence, racist songs, spitting, harassment of girls walking home from school. The bar has been raised. It’s getting worse every year. A couple of last year’s eruptions were really scary,” said volunteer Nati, who is in Jerusalem for the third time during the march.
The Jerusalem municipality subsidizes the event with half a million shekels (3.6 million crowns). This year, the Israeli government provided funding to expand the marches to other parts of the country.
