Jewish-Arab wedding sparks protests

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated Sunday outside a wedding in the central city of Rishon Lezion between a Muslim Arab man and a woman who was born Jewish but recently converted to Islam. Many of the protesters belonged to Lehava, a conservative organization dedicated to preventing Jewish intermarriage.

At the same time, many Israelis showed up outside the banquet hall in a counterprotest, offering their support to the bride and groom.

The couple, Mahmoud Mansour and Morel Malka of Jaffa, anticipated the tension that surrounded their marriage, particularly in light of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Police and security guards hired by the couple kept watch over the protest.

Before the wedding, Mansour petitioned the Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court to ban the protest in fear of violence at his wedding, but Judge Iryah Mordechai ruled that the Lehava group could demonstrate 200 meters from the venue.

Despite police surveillance, several protesters began to chant "Death to Arabs," and attempted to enter the wedding venue. Eight were arrested and three were detained for investigation.

Prior to the wedding, the bride took part in a short ceremony at her in-laws' home in Jaffa, where hundreds of guests gathered with members of the Israeli and international press.

From there, the couple went to the wedding venue, where they were greeted by citizens showing support for the upcoming nuptials. Supporters carried signs saying "Congratulations" and "We share in your joy," handed out flowers to wedding guests, and told the bride and groom that they would "not allow racism to prevail."

Meanwhile, in the police-designated area outside, hundreds of protesters jeered the couple and carried signs saying, "An Arab man and a Jewish woman -- you have no shame," "Assimilation is a Holocaust for the Jewish people," "Jewish women must remain Jewish," "Moses our forefather is crying," and a sign directed at the bride's parents saying, "You wanted a grandchild with a future, but instead you will receive a 'shahid' ['martyr,' a term used for suicide bombers]."

The families of the bride and groom said people tried sabotaging the wedding, leaving anonymous messages asking them to cancel the event, and even offering the owner of the banquet hall money to cancel it.

Members of Lehava denied that these attempts were related to their organization. Lehava did, however, reach out on social media and called on the public to attend the protest.

As part of the agreement reached at the Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court between Mansour and Lehava director Bentzi Gopstein, represented by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the parties are prohibited from making any kind of contact with one another for a period of 90 days.

A compromise was reached to allow protesters to go no closer than 200 meters to the wedding venue. As Mansour left the courthouse, he said: "We got what we wanted, to be able to hold the wedding and to celebrate with our guests. We want to live in peace and coexistence."

The couple's lawyer, Yaniv Segev, added, "I am glad the court recognized the potential danger of not separating the protesters [from the event]."

Ben-Gvir claimed the ruling "an important victory for freedom of expression."

Meanwhile, President Reuven Rivlin also weighed in on the issue, condemning incitement against the young couple.

"There is a red line between freedom of expression and protest and incitement," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"Mahmoud and Morel decided to get married and to exercise their freedom in a democratic country. The incitement against them is outrageous and alarming, regardless of my stance on the issue.

"Not everyone needs to be happy for Mahmoud and Morel, but everyone must respect them. We may have difficult disagreements among us, but there is no room in Israeli society for incitement, violence or racism. I wish the newlyweds health, tranquility and happiness."

Religious MKs denounced the president's comments, with United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni saying, "At a time like this, when there is a grave danger of assimilation facing the people of Israel, it is heartbreaking and shameful to see a Jewish girl end up with a non-Jewish man. We strongly condemn this shameful event."

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