Around a dozen Israeli activists demonstrated outside the European Union’s representative offices in east Jerusalem on Friday, calling on the bloc to take a stronger stance on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The protesters held placards and chanted through a megaphone, accusing European governments of failing to respond adequately to what they described as war crimes and apartheid in the Palestinian territory.
“Silence is complicity,” one activist said, urging European governments to speak out over the humanitarian consequences of the conflict.
Among those who addressed the gathering was activist Louis Frankenthaler, who spoke to demonstrators and passers-by through a megaphone.
Israeli police monitored the demonstration, while staff inside the EU offices briefly displayed a sign featuring a heart at a window.
The protest, which remained relatively small, took place amid continuing international debate over Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the European Union’s response to the conflict.
The activists were not representing the Israeli government, and the allegations made during the demonstration reflected their own views.
The gathering underscored growing calls from some Israeli civil society groups for European governments to adopt a more critical position on the war and address its humanitarian impact on Palestinians in Gaza.
