Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Thousands Rally In Tel Aviv For Two States, Against Occupation

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Thousands of Israelis gathered on Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to demonstrate against what organizers called “50 years of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.”

The rally on Saturday night under the banner of “Two States-–One Hope” was organized by Peace Now and included left-wing Israeli political parties such as the Zionist Union and Meretz, as well as several other left-wing organizations. Liberal artists including Balkan Beat Box and singer Achinoam Nini performed at the rally.

Crowd estimates ranged from 15,000 to 20,000.

A letter from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the organizers was read on stage. “It is time to live, you and us, in peace, harmony, security and stability,” it read. “The only way to end the conflict and fight terrorism around the world is through a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, Palestine alongside Israel.”

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog, head of the Zionist Union, called for the establishment of a strong political bloc to defeat the right wing, which has been in power for years.

The rally came days after the country celebrated 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.