Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Sunday that the petition brought against the Yom Yerushalayim flag parade that marches through the old city of Jerusalem should be struck down. In addition, the court ruled that those who brought the petition to the court in an effort to curtail the parade, pay 10,000 NIS to the organizers for their troubles.

Justices Noam Solberg, Yael Vilner and Ofer Grosskopf presided over the hearing and gave the ruling.  They fined the organization known as Ir Amim, together with a group of academics and Jewish intellectuals who brought the petition to the court.

The justices ruled that those bringing the petition had no grounds to do so and that they lacked standing.

Solberg who headed the justice team said: “We argued over the issue of the petitioners’ right of standing in the petition, claiming that tens of thousands of residents of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City were damaged by the flag dance parade, but none of them saw fit to file a petition with the court. The petitioners, seeking their welfare, did so in their stead. The petitioners’ attorney claimed that Muslims in the Old City were afraid of petitioning. It is difficult to accept this argument while we are hearing the petitions of the residents of the Old City of Jerusalem every day.”

Solberg added: “The state of things properly balances between the freedom of speech and the rights of those marching in the flag parade on the one hand, and the public and private interests of the residents of the Old City on the other.”

“The police are preparing with large amounts of forces for the flag parade, in what pertains to the maintenance of public order, the safety and security of the marchers, while preserving the fabric of life of the residents of the Muslim Quarter.”

Ir Amim and the rest of the petitioners are required to pay the respondents NIS 10,000 in sums to be divided between the police, the Jerusalem municipality and the “Am Kalavi” organization, which has been organizing the event for years.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)