“We’re putting our bodies on the line to fight racism and hate”
Standing Together activists confront far-right thugs in Jerusalem.
Violence across our homeland is rising. Our answer? Putting our bodies on the line to fight racism and hate within our society. That’s exactly what we did yesterday when dozens of activists in our Humanitarian Guard mobilized to protect Palestinians against far-right mobs who had come to create violence in Jerusalem’s Old City on Jerusalem Day.
We went to Jerusalem to protect its Palestinian residents, but we also went to raise our voices against extremism and for humanity. We are putting ourselves in the middle of the violence, and we want to make sure we have your support. Can you make a donation to support our Humanitarian Guard?
Jerusalem Day is notorious for a march through the city in which thousands of settlers try to attack Palestinians and their businesses in a show of Jewish supremacy. Our activists helped create a physical buffer between the crowd and Palestinian residents. Watch this video of Nati, one of our Humanitarian Guard activists, throw himself into a mob to protect a young man.
This racist march, which is held every year, is funded by the Jerusalem municipality and backed by the government. As a grassroots movement made up of Jews and Palestinians, our work is clear: not only must we fight violence against Palestinians as it occurs on the ground, but we must fight the larger systems that back this violence and allow it to happen. This isn’t just a matter of reacting in the moment, but of doing the work to build the society we want to live in from the ground up. None of us can be truly free or safe in a society that permits this violence.
Today, the Humanitarian Guard is cleaning up racist graffiti and stickers that were sprayed and plastered around Jerusalem, and more Humanitarian Guard activists are stationed at the Gaza border to help ensure the safe passage of aid trucks into Gaza in light of far-right threats to block it.
We’re fighting extremism on all fronts. Yesterday, we won our case against the University of Haifa after it banned our student chapter from campus organizing following a silent vigil we held in memory of the Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Our students are getting ready to organize on campus again starting from next week. This is the time to dig our heels in and work harder than ever.
Posted 28 May 2025