United we stand, divided we fall

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‘Jews And Arabs Refuse To Be Enemies’ Movement Demands Peace

Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies: Social media campaign goes viral (PHOTOS)

Jews & Arabs Refuse To Be Enemies

As the Israeli operation Protective Edge has so far claimed 1,050 from three weeks of Israeli strikes and at least 6,000 Palestinians have been injured in the onslaught, users have been flooding the web with dozens of photos of Jews and Arabs together showcasing peace and love, under the hashtag #JewsAndArabsRefuseToBeEnemies.

The campaign was launched by Abraham Gutman (Jewish) and Dania Darwish (Arab), both students at Hunter College in New York, immediately after the start of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza – and this week it gained momentum.

“For me, it is hard to watch the current escalation between Israel and Gaza from afar. I wanted to find a way to be more than a passenger, to do something about it rather than just watch the news and hope for the best,” Gutman told Christian Science monitor.

Abraham and Dania took a photo of themselves in Washington Square Park. They started a Facebook group and by now have been flooded with photos from around the world. The page has more than 5,000 fans.

Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in Tel Aviv to condemn the incessant military strikes against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 1,000 people and wounded many more since July 8.

On Saturday, as many as 5,000 people, mostly left-wing and anti-war activists, participated in the protest at the Rabin Square despite police calls urging the demonstrators not to attend the rally.

The protesters carried banners reading “End the Occupation” and “Stop the Massacre in Gaza.” They also chanted anti-war slogans such as “Bury the rifles, not the children,” and “Enough killing,” and censured Israeli officials for what they called dragging Israel into repeated wars and military conflicts.

At least four demonstrators were arrested after they tried to block a nearby street.

Earlier in the day, pro-war activists called for a counter-demonstration but Israeli media reports say only a few dozen people attended the rally.