‘Flower March’ spreads ‘love, inclusion’ to counter contentious Jerusalem Flag March
A Tag Meir coexistence activist gives a Muslim woman a flower during the 9th annual Flower March, 18 May 2023
Jeremy Sharon reports in The Times of Israel:
The Tag Meir coexistence organization conducted its ninth annual Flower March through the Old City of Jerusalem Thursday morning as a counterpoint to the nationalist Flag March later in the day.
The left-wing organization said several hundred participants had taken part in the march, distributing flowers to residents of the Muslim, Christian and Armenian Quarters in order to spread a message of “love, inclusion [and] solidarity” ahead of what the organizers described as the “racism and incitement” of the Flag March.
“We need to remember that this day is not a happy day for the Palestinians and Muslims in Jerusalem. They are 40 percent of Jerusalem’s population. That is why we think the Flag March should go through a different route, and not force them to close their stores,” Tag Meir director Gadi Gvaryahu told The Times of Israel.
The Flag March, organized by hardline right-wing and religious organizations and dedicated to celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, proceeds through the Damascus Gate of the Old City and through the Muslim Quarter before ending up at the Western Wall plaza. Some elements among the religious Zionist youth who constitute the large majority of marchers invariably chant provocative and racist songs during the procession, while Palestinian merchants in the Old City are required or strongly recommended by authorities to shut their shops and kiosks to avoid friction with the revelers.