The May 14 Israeli independence celebration and the May 15 Palestinian Nakba commemoration caused competing rallies around the world.
Tensions flared at Tel Aviv University on Monday as students gathered to mark the Palestinian Nakba Day. Hundreds of demonstrators congregated in front of the university gates, holding signs and chanting slogans to commemorate the forced evacuation of Palestinians during the 1948 war and to demand the right of refugees to return. Police maintained a heavy presence between the opposing groups. Activist Yoseph Hadad and right-wing MK Almog Cohen were in attendance, raising Israeli flags across from watermelon-bearing protesters.
Yoseph Haddad is standing against terrorist-suppoters who enjoy freedom in our country protesting right fucking here in Tel-Aviv University. pic.twitter.com/lwswANzeYy
— Adam Albilya - אדם אלביליה (@AdamAlbilya) May 15, 2024
In Haifa, thousands of flag-waving Palestinians marched and called for Israel to end the war in Gaza. Meanwhile, jubilant celebrations broke out in song and dance at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City as Memorial Day ended and Independence Day began. Thousands danced, sang, and prayed for the Jewish state. Many shared videos on X of IDF soldiers near the Gaza border singing the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva.
#IDF #Soldiers on a break sing near the #Gaza border!#Israel #IDFHeroes #AmYisraelChai #Israel76 #BringThemHomeNow #NeverForgetNeverForgive #YomHaatzmaut #YomHaatsmaout #YomHaAzmaut pic.twitter.com/4BZwJnxrXl
— Ora Levitt 🇮🇱 חיילת צה"ל 🇮🇱 עם ישראל חי (@IDFsoldiergirl) May 14, 2024
Yum HaZikaron (Memorial Day) has ended, and Israel's Independence Day is starting. The Kotal (Western Wall) with celebrations and prayers for the Jewish state pic.twitter.com/agKhA6Qjyq
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) May 13, 2024
In London, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign posted on its website a call to "take collective action in your workplace to stand in solidarity with Palestinians resisting the ongoing Nakba." It instructs readers to "Discuss with your colleagues what kind of action is best suited to your workplace and its circumstances." It recommends organizing a lunchtime walk-out in solidarity with Palestinians or a film screening to educate colleagues about the Palestinian struggle. It asks readers to circulate a petition calling on employers to speak up in solidarity with Palestine or for the divestment of pension fund holdings from companies complicit in Israel's attacks.
On the Jewish state's 76th Independence Day, President Joe Biden wrote in a letter to President Isaac Herzog, "The United States is proud of our enduring relationship with Israel. As the first country to recognize Israel as an independent state in 1948, our bonds are underpinned by shared democratic values, common interests, and cultural affinities. In the Wall Street Journal, the Helmsley Charitable Trust took out a full-page ad displaying the 1948 Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, hoping to contrast the growing anti-Israel sentiment in the US and remind readers of the Jewish people's ancient tie to the land.
The State of Israel was established 76 years ago. Throughout those years, Israel and the U.S. have been—and will remain—partners in democracy, their people bound by common values and interests.
The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel: https://t.co/gBEiZT0aev pic.twitter.com/Kc86UJQhFK
— Helmsley Charitable Trust (@HelmsleyTrust) May 14, 2024
