PRESIDENT TRUMP officially announced on Wednesday, December 6th that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city, igniting a fiery response from groups throughout the world. Dissenters express that the declaration will only further rising tensions between Israel and Palestine regarding peace negotiations.

Various church leaders in Jerusalem sent an open letter to President Trump, stating that the recognition and subsequent move of the US embassy “will yield increased hatred, conflict, violence, and suffering” in the city, “moving us farther from the goal of unity and toward destructive division.”

In Chicago, Illinois, there have been two emergency rallies scheduled to protest this new international development.

Courtesy: IfNotNow
Courtesy: IfNotNow

1. IfNotNow, an activist group seeded in the philosophy of ending occupation in a move for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, has organized a protest on the northeast corner of N Wabash Avenue and E Upper Wacker Drive. The rally begins at 6 PM and is scheduled to end at 7 PM on Thursday, December 7th, 2017.

Courtesy: CJP
Courtesy: CJP

2. The Coalition for Justice in Palestine hand-in-hand with Jewish Voice for Peace is holding a rally at the Federal Plaza on Adams and Dearborn. The protest is set to begin at 4:30 PM and go until 6:30 on Thursday, December 7th, 2017.