After left-wing provocations, hundreds join solidarity demonstration in Ultra-Orthodox city

By World Israel News Staff

Hundreds of activists gathered in the predominantly Ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak in central Israel Thursday evening, to show solidarity with locals following a left-wing demonstration in the city.

Last week, thousands of left-wing demonstrators rallied in Bnei Brak to protest what they said was increasing infringement on women’s rights in the public sphere, in particular in the Ultra-Orthodox sector.

In response, the Im Tirtzu and Tekuma 2023 organizations called on supporters to gather in Bnei Brak Thursday evening in a show of solidarity with residents.

During a march from the Great Synagogue of Bnei Brak, participants held signs reading: “The Ultra-Orthodox are our brothers.”

“We came here to say enough with the hatred, enough with the divisions, enough with the rifts,” Barla Crombie, one of the organizers, said according to a report by Israel National News. “There are disputes – and that’s perfectly fine – but the residents of Bnei Brak cannot be made into scapegoats for the divisions. We came to embrace the residents of Bnei Brak, to tell them, ‘We are brothers’. We are one people with a shared destiny.”

Attorney Zehava Gur, who addressed the gathering, lauded the way Bnei Brak residents had responded to last week’s provocative left-wing demonstration.

“We see here people from all over the political spectrum and the State of Israel. When I saw the provocation, I thought to myself that I would have reacted differently, but people here reacted nobly. I think we are all one people and together we will continue to take care of each other because we are one people.”