Israel did well to allow the flag parade to take place in its regular format in Jerusalem.
The insistence on this, in itself, undermines quite a bit of the explosive potential of the event: once it was clear that Israel was determined and did not intend to blink or deviate from its path under terrorist threats or political pressure, all of these weakened significantly.
As expected, no organization fired rockets from Gaza or Lebanon, neither at the opening of the parade nor at the end.
Judea and Samaria did not burn either, and even in East Jerusalem there were relatively minor events.
Anyone familiar with the business has most likely estimated that this will be the case;
That if things did not get out of hand - and especially if God forbid there were casualties on the Temple Mount - the parade would march, and end in peace.
Israel has put a lot of effort into making this happen.
On the political side, a series of levers were fired on the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.
This helped calm the winds, especially when the Israeli message was sharp and clear: the parade will march, but it does not change the status quo in Jerusalem.
Along with this political effort, many steps have been taken to reach the event with maximum readiness.
The Israel Police is entitled to all the praise for the successful management of a complex and explosive event, which began in the early morning hours on the Temple Mount with a relatively large number of Jews ascending the mountain.
Police have proven to have learned lessons from similar incidents in previous years, when they chose to use force in the mind, and especially while planning ahead.
Its cooperation with the GSS was also optimal, especially in the early arrest of potential rioters; one can only regret that similar measures were not taken against some elements from the far right, who insisted on harming the Jerusalem celebration yesterday. The provocations they deliberately provoked The event in peace.
The songs that accompanied some of the marchers were also jarring.
On a holiday, Jerusalem is entitled to a more successful text than "May your village be burned" or "Muhammad dies."
In a city that celebrated its unification yesterday, these voices emphasized the separation and the gap between its two sides - the western and the eastern.
The masses who did not take part in it and all the inhabitants of the city deserve more than that;
Whoever does not handle this from now on, will get those edges on the turbo in the next parade.
But the main lesson from yesterday's parade is that Israel should not be ashamed to exercise its sovereignty at any point in the country.
Giving up on this is several times more dangerous because it transmits weakness.
Therefore, Israel must insist on this in the future, even in the face of threats (and even in the face of real terrorism).
She must do so in her mind, of course, while seeking the author and avoiding unnecessary defiance, and most importantly - remember that there will always be "the day after", when the parties will continue to live side by side, in Jerusalem and beyond.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us