A few hundred Jews and non-Jews marched in the southern-Swedish city of Malmo to protest intolerance and anti-Semitic attacks in Sweden.

Malmo, with a large immigrant Muslim community, saw a surge in hate crimes against Jews after Israel’s operation in Gaza in 2009.

Some marchers wore a kippa.

Willy Silberstein of the Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism, which organized the march, described it as a success. The march ended without incident.

“It was impressive. There was much more people than we expected,” Silberstein said, adding that most of the participants were not Jewish.

Sweden’s minister for EU affairs, Birgitta Ohlsson, walked in the march. In her speech to the marchers she declared that Malmo was open to everyone, regardless of background or beliefs.

In recent years, Sweden’s government has been criticized for failing to protect the country’s Jewish community from anti-Semitism. But last year the government allocated funds to this end.

It is estimated that 20,000 Jews live in Sweden.

30,000 boy and girls from schools around the country participated in the Jerusalem Day Dance and Flag Parade on Sunday, May 20, 2012.

The parade began with dancing in front of the Great Synagogue, followed by a march to the Old City, walking through the gates of Jerusalem, and finally, culminating at the Kotel.

The parade celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.

Photo Credits: Stephen Leavitt, Flash90: Noam Moskowitz,  Miriam Alster

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood launched presidential candidate Muhammad Mursi’s campaign with the promise that “the capital of the Caliphate – the capital of the United States of the Arabs – will be Jerusalem,” according to a transcript obtained by MEMRI.

Egyptian Cleric Safwat Higazi, chosen to initiate Mursi’s campaign at a rally aired on Al-Nas TV on May 1, 2012, began by describing Mursi as the man that would restore a supra-national Islamic government: “We can see how the dream of the Islamic Caliphate is being realized, Allah willing, by Dr. Muhammad Mursi…his supporters, and his political party. We can see how the great dream, shared by us all – that of the United States of the Arabs… will be restored by this man and his supporters.

“The capital of the Caliphate – the capital of the United States of the Arabs,” he continued, “will be Jerusalem, Allah willing!”

Not long afterward, Higazi reiterated the campaign promise, but this time in more unequivocal language: “Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca, or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing. Our cry shall be: ‘Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem! Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem!’”

The crowd responded in kind: “Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem! Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem! Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem!”

Taking his cue from Higazi, the attending master of ceremonies embarked on a lengthy anti-Semitic ode, repeating over and over again, to the delight of the eager crowd, “[b]anish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews…Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas. From the eyes of all Jews… Forget about the whole world, forget about all the conferences…Brandish your weapons… Say your prayers…”

“We say it loud and clear,” Higazi intoned, “Yes, Jerusalem is our goal. We shall pray in Jerusalem, or else we shall die as martyrs on its threshold. Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem!”

“Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem!” the crowd responded.

Egyptian Presidential elections are scheduled to take place May 23-24. Of the twelve candidates, Mursi, former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh are considered the frontrunners. Moussa, unabashed in his anti-Israel and anti-American views, and has been quoted as saying that the Egypt-Israel peace treaty is “dead and buried.” Aboul Fotouh, formerly of the Muslim Brotherhood and currently considered the “moderate” frontrunner, is endorsed by the the radical Salafi Al-Nour Party, which believes in implementing strict Sharia law.

MEMRI contributed to this report.

“Slutwalk”, a controversial rally aiming to counter the claim that revealing clothing provokes rape and sexual assault, will come to Jerusalem on Friday unless it is stopped by conservative and religious elements in the city.  On such rally has already occurred in Tel Aviv.

The march is set to begin at Paris square and arrive at Gan HaSus.  The march began in April 2011, after a Canadian police officer recommended that a way women could reduce rapes and sexual assaults is to “avoid dressing like sluts”.

Approximately 160 people are anticipated at the Friday march, which has been authorized by law enforcement.  However, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yossi Deutsch told Yediot Aharonot that he intends to prevent the rally, the idea of which left him “shocked, ashamed and disgusted”, particularly because many of the women objecting to the notion of being treated as sex objects because of their attire will be walking in the rally in revealing and suggestive clothing.

The Naharnet website reports that some 4,000 Lebanese, Palestinian and “foreign” demonstrators (i.e. Iranians) are expected to march to the Beaufort Castle in Nabatiyeh on Friday morning, marking Land Day.

The Lebanese army and security forces have taken strong measures to prevent uncontrolled escalation of the protest. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon is patrolling and monitoring suspicious activity from its bases near the Israeli border.

The Lebanese daily Al-Joumhouria quotes high-ranking Palestinian sources as saying that the mainstream Fatah movement has leased 50 buses for Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sidon, Tyre and Beirut around.

The Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah have leased 30 and 40 buses respectively.

A million Arabs plan to march on Jerusalem highlighting strange “accusations” that Israel is seeking to retain the Jewish character of its holy capital.

In a nutshell, the week’s news is this: A bunch of Islamic terrorists are organizing a million-man march on Yerushalayim, disingenuously portraying this potentially murderous initiative as a simple peaceful protest.

The march, which is to begin simultaneously from all four of Israel’s neighbors – Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt – has been billed as protesting the “Judaization of Jerusalem” – as if the Holy City has not been the capital of the Jewish people for nearly 3,000 years.

Known as the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ), it is scheduled for this Friday. Its aim is to have one million people march on and infiltrate Israel’s borders, with the ultimate goal being Jerusalem. If they succeed in breaking through at just one spot, the dangers of bloodshed on both sides are clearly acute.

Who is organizing it? Outspokenly hostile Muslim terrorists: Members of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and others – all backed and sponsored by Iran.

CiF Watch, a pro-Israel organization tracking preparations for the march, notes that one of the senior organizers is Hamas MP Ahmed Abo Halabiya, who in 2000 said in a sermon, “Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in any country. Fight them, wherever you are. Wherever you meet them, kill them.”

Sitting on the GMJ’s advisory board members are President Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright; Sheikh Raed Salah of the militant Islamic Movement in Israel; and Hamas leaders.

Why have they chosen to highlight Jerusalem, as opposed to the entirety of Israel? The answer is clear: They well know that our connection to our holy city is the key to our connection to the entire Land of Israel. Wherever they weaken our hold on Yerushalayim, they weaken the entire Zionist enterprise.

The IDF is concerned that the “non-violent” march could easily spin out of control, as happened last year when over a dozen Syrians were killed when they burst through the Israeli border in the Golan. Taking a broader view, some fear that, given the current volatile state of the Middle East, the true goal of the GMJ is to spark yet another intifada.

Israel is not taking the threat lightly and has explicitly warned its neighboring countries not to permit demonstrators near its borders this Friday, vowing it will take all means necessary against anyone trying to cross the borders.

Lebanon, for its part, has said it will allow marchers to reach only as far south as the Beaufort, three miles from the border. Lebanese sources say the country does not want a repeat of last year’s events. Jordan, however, has announced that it will permit its citizens to approach the Israeli border as long as they “do not act with violence.”

Of course, the most effective response to this affront to our sovereignty would simply be to constantly reaffirm exclusive Jewish rights to Jerusalem. The more we assert our rights, the more they will be respected.

Because amidst all the details, we must not lose sight of the big picture: The stated Muslim ideology behind this march is to prevent the “Judaization of Jerusalem.” Interestingly, there is an entire Wikipedia entry on this topic – and its history of Jerusalem does not even mention King David or the Holy Temples. Its overview begins instead with the generalization that Jerusalem “has a long history of settlement predating that of the three monotheistic faiths” and that “members of all three religions and others have made Jerusalem their home over the years.” The history of the city begins, according to this article, in the year 638, when it came under Muslim rule.

Let us therefore review some basic truths; though they are self-evident to readers of this column, they need to be repeated and disseminated at every opportunity:

Jerusalem has been central to the Jewish nation for some four millennia, ever since Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah; 1,000 years later, after nearly five centuries of Jewish control over the land, King David made the city Israel’s capital; we mention Yerushalayim constantly in our prayers, which we recite while facing it; we constantly remember its centerpiece’s destruction on days of mourning as well as happy occasions; Jerusalem is mentioned directly in the Bible some 650 times – and not even once in the Koran; Muslims actually turn their backs on Jerusalem when they pray.

Canadian historian Jacques Gauthier concluded in his doctoral dissertation that “Jerusalem belongs to the Jews, by international law.” His research is based on a non-broken series of international treaties and resolutions over the past 90 years, beginning with the 1920 San Remo Conference (later unanimously backed by the League of Nations), which affirmed the Balfour Declaration and create a Jewish national home in what is now Israel.

JERUSALEM – If pro-Palestinian calls for a so-called Global March to Jerusalem are heeded, thousands of Arabs from the West Bank, Gaza, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria could converge on Israel’s borders.

The date of the march, March 30, marks Land Day, which commemorates the deaths of six Arab Israelis killed in 1976 during protests against Israeli government land policies.

While last year’s Land Day commemorations were held without incident, rallies two months later to mark the anniversary of what the Palestinians call the Nakba – the “catastrophe” of Israel’s founding in 1948 – brought thousands of Arabs from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza to march on Israel’s borders, and 13 marchers were killed.

A month later, on June 5, hundreds of Syrian protesters stormed the border with Israel on Naksa Day, the anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War, and there were more casualties.

“The IDF is prepared for any eventuality and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israeli borders and residents,” the Israel Defense Forces’ spokesman said this week when asked how the IDF is preparing for Land Day.

Citing senior defense officials, Haaretz reported that the IDF is prepared for “relatively serious events.” The Israeli daily added that the most current intelligence assessments believe that the demonstrations Friday will be “limited.”

Marwan Barghouti

Preparations for Land Day security have used last year’s Nakba and Naksa day rallies as models, according to reports. Security forces have updated their knowledge of non-lethal crowd dispersal methods, while border troops have gone on higher alert and additional IDF troops have been moved to the borders.

Israeli officials reportedly were most concerned about the Lebanese border and asked the Lebanese government to rein in protesters. The main Lebanese demonstration is planned for the Beaufort Castle, which is several miles north of the Israeli city of Metullah, rather than the border with Israel, the Lebanese branch of the Global March to Jerusalem announced last week.

The number of demonstrators at Beaufort will be limited to 5,000, according to the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper, citing organizers of the march.

March general coordinator Ribhi Halloum told reporters earlier in the week that the march would be peaceful.

“The aim of the Al Quds march is to express a message of protest and condemnation against the policy of Israeli occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

“We will under no circumstances agree to violence or a violation of the borders. We will maintain the policy of nonviolent protest we have agreed to uphold.”

Land Day events also will be held inside Israel’s borders under the auspices of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee with the banner “Save the lands and prevent the Judaization of Jerusalem.”

Israeli police have been cautioned to keep out of Arab villages in Israel in order to maintain calm.

Meanwhile, jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in five murders during the second intifada, called on Palestinians to launch a popular resistance campaign against Israel.

His statement, issued in advance of Land Day, called on the Palestinian Authority to stop all coordination with Israel in the economic and security realms and to stop peace negotiations.

Israel and the Palestinian Authority currently are not engaged in negotiations.

(JTA)

In an interview with the Palestinian news agency Ma’an on March 19th, Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ) spokesman Zaher Birawi stated that the organizers are “not interested in confrontation with the Israeli army, after similar demonstrations a year earlier ended in bloodshed”.

Whilst it is difficult to imagine exactly what sort of effective controls the GMJ organizers have been able to put in place in order to prevent their aspired one million man march from descending into violence, it should also be taken into account that a considerable number of the GMJ organizers are veterans of the flotilla project who still describe the Turkish activists aboard the IHH-sponsored Mavi Marmara in 2010 as ‘humanitarian aid workers’.

Others are members of various ‘popular resistance committees’ which define the weekly riots at places such as Bil’in and Nebi Salah as ‘non-violent protest’. The heavy involvement of Hamas and the Iranian regime in the march’s organization, together with support from Hizbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad also raises doubts as to the sincerity of the professed commitment to non-violence.

Coincidentally, the North American chapter of the GMJ has put out a new leaflet replete with messages of non-violence and invoking Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King as role models.

When compared to the original publicity put out by the GMJ organisers, it is rather obvious that someone appears to have reached the conclusion that the North American audience is in need of a somewhat softer approach.

However, over in South East Asia, audiences are apparently deemed by local GMJ organizers as being susceptible to somewhat different messages in the attempt to raise support for the project.

In Kuala Lumpur on March 18th a flashmob of students gathered in order to “create awareness on the Global March to Jerusalem.” Chairman of the Malaysian branch of the GMJ, Dr Mohd Tahir Abdul Rahman, was present at the event and made the following erroneous statement:

“Our focus is Jerusalem, where presently Muslims and Christians are denied access to their sacred places and holy places of worship by the Zionists,” he said after the flash mob today.”

The flashmob’s student organisers explained that:

“We wanted to create awareness about the oppression in Palestine by recreating scenes of the march toward Jerusalem and also show Palestinians being liberated”

As can be seen in the video of the event below, their idea of “scenes of the march toward Jerusalem” apparently includes dead Israeli soldiers.

Somebody obviously missed out on the ‘non-violence’ memo.