HERZLIYA, May 7. /TASS/. Seven hundred people riding several dozen cars and motorcycles, adorned with flags of the Red Army, Russia and Israel are taking part in a motorized march, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the Victory in World War II across the entire Jewish state. The march started Friday in Metula in the north and will finish in Eilat in the south. The motorcade stops at gas stations, where new participants join them. The march is expected to reach one-thousand strong by the evening, according to a TASS reporter at the scene.
"This is the sixth time that we traditionally depart from Metula to Eilat, in order to carry the Banner of Victory across our small, but very proud state," says Vakhtang Tsintsadze, the initiator of the motor march.
"The Victory March was born as an idea in 2015, and, in the first march, only one biker went from the northernmost to the southernmost point [the entire route]. But, every year, we’ve kept growing and growing in numbers," he added. "It is very important for us that Victory Day is known not only to our generation, not only to the Russian-speaking citizens of Israel, but those who studied under the Western education system, which, let’s put it this way, pays huge attention to the Northern African Campaign, where the allies fought against Rommel."
The first such march took place in 2016. Six people on motorcycles adorned with the Victory symbols took part in it. Every year, the number of participants increased, attracting participants on cars.
"Today’s Victory motor march is the largest in the Middle East and Africa. The motorcade covers about 500 km, and we expect up to one thousand people to take part this year. It is very important for us that this is a civic initiative, and it is joined by more and more people every year - most importantly, by native Israelis," says Denis Parkhomchuk, head of the Russian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv.