Leftists protest near army memorial service

Dozens of left-wing activists held a demonstration on Wednesday in east Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood directly opposite a monument for the fallen soldiers of the Paratroopers' Brigade's Battalion 71 at a time when a memorial service was being held at the site.

The activists were protesting against Jewish settlement in the neighborhood following the arrival of thousands of visitors to the area as part of Jerusalem Day events. They positioned themselves in front of a monument where an annual memorial service was being held for the memory of the battalion's fallen soldiers and particularly those who died during the battle for the liberation of Jerusalem.

Several of the people who attended the service confronted the dozens of protestors after the event and rebuked them. "What's next," one of them said, "Protests during funerals?"

Memorial service in Sheikh Jarrah (Photo: Mordechai Brener)

Yossi Blum, who participated in the battle for the neighborhood's liberation, told Ynet that he and the other participants were appalled by the demonstration. "We were in the middle of the memorial, reading Kadish for the fallen, and they deliberately started calling out anti-occupation slogans using loudspeakers. It was shameful and disgusting."

He further added, "The battalion includes both right-wing and left-wing members, but we are all one family. Those guys came and violated the memorial service and the memory of the battalion soldiers."

'Not intentional'

Hanan Erez, former Battalion 71 soldier who previously served as Meretz chairman had a different take on events.

Talking to Ynet he explained that he believed the protestors did not plan on demonstrating specifically at the time of the service. "Typical for Jerusalem, everything happens at once – on one side a painful memorial and fallen friends, and on the other a loud protest which put a strain on the service, but I don't think it was intentional."

Assaf Sharon, who took part in the protest, claimed in response that he and his friends were not aware of the service. "The demonstration had noting to do with the ceremony, it was a protest- watch inside the neighborhood, as we knew many right-wing activists were arriving.

"We stood and read out slogans and the police moved us to this junction. We weren't aware of the ceremony, tried to return to the neighborhood with police acting nervously. When we saw it wasn't working we cleared out. As residents of Jerusalem we are interested in the neighborhood."