In pictures: “The Israeli Festival of Lights”…A Judaization of Jerusalem and a theft of its history
For the seventh consecutive year, the occupation authorities organized the Judaization festival entitled “Festival of Lights” in the city of Jerusalem. The organizers try to show the city of Jerusalem as a Jewish city through this festival and under the cover of “arts and festivals”. The path of the festivals starts from Jaffa Gate Square through the field of Omar Ibn Khattab, the Armenian Quarter, Al-Sharaf Quarter (Jewish) and Christian Quarter to reach Damascus Gate and Suleiman’s Cave. Light and dance performances with music played on loudspeakers are held in 32 locations and the streets of Jerusalem that are adjacent to the Old City walls and the streets inside the city get packed with settlers coming from various Israeli settlements in addition to the presence of foreigners and some Jerusalemites. The seriousness of the festival also comes from the participation of a group of international artists. The festival is held in coordination with the occupation’s municipality, Antiquities Department, Ministry of Tourism, the Government Company for Tourism, Nature and Parks Authority and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora affairs. The political aims behind the festival are clear from the flyers distributed at the festival paths in terms of replacing the sites and landmarks of Jerusalem archaeological Arab names to Hebrew names such as the Wailing Wall “Al-Buraq Square", Zion Gate “Nabi Daoud Gate”, Zedekiah’s Cave “Al-Kittan Cave”, Sha’ar Hahadash “New Gate”, Mamilla “Ma’man Allah”, New Gate Road- Al-Nakheel Avenue “Hatzanhanim Street” and others. The occupation authorities also deliberately organize the festival’s activities and show the historical monuments in the Old City of Jerusalem (Old City Wall, some of the walls of churches and David’s Castle) for the marketing of the Israeli narrative that denies "the Arab and Islamic historical right in Jerusalem." Despite the organization of the festival throughout the last six years, the locals of Jerusalem (women, young men and children) were able to obstruct the launch of the festival in the area of Damascus Gate by organizing a Palestinian carnival entitled “Jerusalem is Ours” to respond to the “Festival of Lights” on one side and emphasize the Arab and Islamic identity of the city of Jerusalem on another.