It was a far cry from the protests that put Sheikh Jarrah and the Israeli Solidarity movement on the map. Those spirited weekly gatherings attracted hundreds who chanted, held signs, and made music in the name of ending the Israeli occupation and settlement expansion.

Friday’s demonstration had no signs, no chants, and no music. A few people waved Palestinian flags. Most milled about and chatted.

A jeep full of border police blew past, uninterested by the small group.

Speaking about the nature of the joint struggle, an elderly Palestinian man whose neighbors lost their home to Israeli settlers remarked that it didn’t matter to him whether protesters were Jewish or Arab. “Anyone who supports [the struggle] against the occupation, he can protest.”

He added that his neighbors’ home is like his home and that joining the demonstration is about the collective, not “something individual.”