Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem – 16th of March, 2014: Palestinian youth show their skills on the walls of the Old City as thousands gather to form a book-reading human chain all around the walls, during an event meant to encourage people to read more and support public libraries. Notwithstanding the efforts of the organizers to not let it turn into a demonstration, some youth begun chanting political slogans and eventually clashed with the police.
Jerusalem, Israel – 2nd of March, 2014: Hundreds of thousands of religious Jews took part in a massive prayer rally at the entrance to the city, protesting against a proposed law that would punish religious communities that fail to meet their quotas for recruitment in the IDF. Members of countless haredi sects and groups prayed together, allegedly managing to bring to the same spot 600,000 Jews. This number was not accidental, for it was that many Jews who stood on mount Sinai to receive the Torah, and it is said that when as many Jews gather in one place, a …
Jerusalem, Israel – 30th of January, 2014: Israeli religious Zionist activists, rabbis and politicians held a mass prayer at the Kotel “for the redemption of the people of Israel” and calling for the failure of US secretary of state John Kerry’s efforts to convince the Israeli leadership to accept his peace plan, which would establish the Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and divide the city.
In many cultures, the beginning of winter is marked with a religious holiday dedicated to light. Northern Europeans have Saint Lucia, Hindus have Diwali, and Jews have Hanukkah, an eight-day festival in which candles are lit every evening to remember a miracle which blessed the rededication of the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) of Jerusalem, around the year 170 BCE.
Naples, Italy – 16th of November, 2013: Demonstrators take to the streets of Naples to call for an end to environmental devastation of Campania, an Italian region plagued by illegal dumping of toxic waste and disastrous management of garbage disposal.