The 68th annual Jerusalem March took place in the heart of Jerusalem's New City on Wednesday afternoon.

The march was originally established by the IDF in 1955 as a march of soldiers to the city of Jerusalem. In 1974, the march was reduced to one day, with a parade at the end, before it finally became only a parade within Jerusalem instead of a march to the city.

The ICEJ, which began to participate in the march in 2003, has made the march a core part of its weeklong Feast of Tabernacles celebration. It has also become very popular for Jerusalem residents, who line the streets to watch the parade of flags and traditional costumes.

The sight of thousands of Christians walking through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying flags from their nations and signs with messages of love and support for Israel draws thousands of Israelis to the route.

Many young children collected small flags from the different nations being handed out by marchers.

Despite recent incidents of harassment of Christians by Orthodox Jews, many Orthodox gathered to watch the march. Several handed out notes thanking the Christian marchers for coming to support Israel.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion on the sidelines of the march told All Israel News that he "denounced" these incidents, stressing that Jerusalem would always welcome Christian tourists.

The marchers came from over 90 countries, including some countries with no official ties with Israel.

Iranian Christian worship leader, Vahid Norouzi, marched with the traditional Iranian flag and was warmly greeted by many Israelis.

Small groups of Christians from Egypt and from Turkey also received greetings and even exchanged handshakes and hugs with several Israelis watching the march.

Police Chief Kobi Shabtai also attended the march, where he gave orders to officers to be aware of any incidents of harassment.

"In these days when the people of Israel come together in great numbers to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of the State of Israel, any act of religious-based hatred is a stain that tarnishes the special holiday atmosphere throughout the country," Shabtai said about the incidents.

Shabtai also spoke with Israeli social media influencer Hananya Naftali at the march.

"Look how beautiful this is," Shabtai said about the Christian marchers. "A very large city, with all religions, and there is freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, and Muslims."

"This is the center of the world, this is the heart of the world. It belongs to everyone and everyone is welcome," Shabtai told Naftali.

There were no reported incidents of harassment during the march, and several of the participants told All Israel News they had not experienced anything but gratitude from Israelis during their visit to Israel.

This article originally appeared on All Israel News and is reposted with permission.