Thousands of teens from across Israeli society marched together on Wednesday, calling for an end to polarization and hatred in Israel.
The teens, led by the Bnei Akiva youth movement and the Israel Scouts, marched along the Burma Road near Latrun, calling for "decision-makers, opinion leaders, and all Israeli citizens" to create a new kind of leadership that will breed unity and connections between people.
The march was held in collaboration with the Jewish Federation of New York.
The marchers said they hoped to promote "the values of unity, hope, and sense of brotherhood in the nation," particularly during a time of war and severe polarization.
Organizers took care to bring youths from across Israeli society to the march, hoping that religious and secular youths marching together could help bring a sense of unity to a deeply divided country.
Many of the teens have lost family and friends in the war and experienced its horrors firsthand.
Calls for unity
At the conclusion of the march, the teens told their message to the nation: "For us to win, we must act together, even when we are different from each other. We are the future of our society, and we will do everything to overcome division through unity, even when adults continue to engage in hateful discourse."
This year marks the 30th year of teen unity marches held by the Bnei Akiva movement and Israel Scouts in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund and the "Gariney Udi" program of the "Be'Nativey Udi" association.
Organizers reported that around 20 thousand teens participated in this year's march.
"This year, the march takes place in a complex reality, under war, with the central call being—no more division among us! We must be united, or we will not exist," Mordechai Elgrabli, the association's founder, said in his opening remarks at the ceremony. "You, the youth, are our beacon of light, and seeing you here today proves that the people of Israel will prevail."