In a vote in the Israeli Parliament today the Knesset decided to give the Jerusalem municipality the right to stop provocative marches in Israel’s capital. The planned March would have likely inflamed tensions of the very many religious residents of Jerusalem. The last planned March caused major riots that contributed to the eventual cancellation of the March, there was a rally instead.

There has been heated debate on the legality need and necessity of a march of this  kind in a city as sensitive as Jerusalem. Many argue that such a march would be grossly inappropriate to a city as symbolically meaningful to so many as Jerusalem. The question becomes whether not having such a march infringes on any inherent right and whether having the march could contribute to extreme unrest and even danger.

The police who initially approved the march are probably feeling very relieved at the prospect of cancellation of the march as the logistics needed to properly safeguard such a march are staggering. There were some serious injuries a few years ago at a similar march. There was a poll done on the question of the march and more than 90% of Jerusalem residents were against the march.