More than 20 community and activist groups will hold a interfaith vigil and rally at 6 p.m. Friday outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.
The rally today will call for religious freedom in Jerusalem as well as ask Georgia law enforcement officials not to have joint training exercises with Israel. The consulate is located at 1100 Spring St.
The event is organized by the Atlanta chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace and co-sponsored by others including CAIR Georgia, Black Lives Matter, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Georgia Green Party and Christians United for Palestine.
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Recently, tensions flared in the the Middle East after the Israeli government installed metal detectors and cameras outside al- Aqsa Mosque compound after two policemen were killed earlier this month.
The site is revered by Muslims as the Nobel Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount.
The government later removed the security cameras and metal detectors, but high security remains in place.
This isn’t the first time that activists have called for the state’s law enforcement not to train with Israeli trainers. In 2016, the issue was raised with Mayor Kasim Reed, who said the practice would continue.
“I happen to believe that the Israeli police department has some of the best counterterrorism techniques in the world,” Reed said during a press conference last year. “And it benefits our police department from that longstanding relationship.”
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