A week after the start of the war with Iran, SOG member Rabbi Sigal Asher organized an online interfaith prayer service, as part of her role as Interfaith Coordinator for Rabbis for Human Rights. The service was co-sponsored by Spirit of the Galilee, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Praying Together in Jerusalem.

Tragicallly, Jerusalem Day has been usurped by extremist Jewish right-wing groups who march in an official “Flag March” through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City with Israeli flags, singing songs about Jewish sovereignty, and some even chanting “Death to the Arabs!” and “Burn their villages!” There is violence and vandalism, and the residents of the Quarter feel under siege for the day.

This April, three different festivals converged, as the holy month of Ramadan came to a close: the Jewish celebration of Passover, the Christian celebration of Easter, and the Druze Festival of Nebi-Shweib.

On March 18, when the hostage-ceasefire agreement collapsed, we at Spirit of the Galilee issued the following statement:    Today the citizens of Israel and the region awoke to the disintegration of the ceasefire and the end to the hostages returning. We are worried and concerned, and call for negotiations and talks of agreements and an end to the fighting.