Graduates of Arab high school in Jerusalem vow to redeem Al Aqsa ‘in spirit and blood’

The incident raises worries of further violence in the Israeli capital.

By World Israel News Staff

A graduation ceremony at an eastern Jerusalem high school turned into incitement as Palestinian students and staff chanted anti-Israel slogans and waved Palestinian flags on Tuesday.

“In spirit and blood we will redeem Al Aqsa,” chanted the crowd at Beit Safafa High School, which is under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Ministry of Education.

The incident raised worries of further violence. Tensions remain high between Jews and Arabs since Operation Guardian of the Walls. Jewish-Arab relations spiraled during last month’s Gaza conflict with outbreaks of violence in mixed cities such as Lod, Akko, Jaffa and Ramle.

According to Israel Hayom, which first reported the incident, relations between the Palestinians of Beit Safafa and the Jews of the nearby neighborhoods of Gonen, Gilo and Givat HaMatos are good.

The Palestinians of eastern Jerusalem, who make up roughly 40 percent of the city’s population, are entitled to vote in municipal elections and run for the city council. However, Palestinians boycott the elections.

Lach Yerushalayim (“For You, Jerusalem”), an organization that advocates for Jewish sovereignty throughout the city, told Israel Hayom the incident was “grave public incitement and has no place in an Israeli school.”

The organization’s leader, Maor Zemach, called on Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton to take disciplinary measures against the school’s leaders.