At 8:30pm on September 9, 2017, at least 30,000 people are expected to march in Tel Aviv from Meir Park to Rabin Square in the world’s largest animal-rights demonstration in history.

VeganFriendly, an Israeli nonprofit founded in 2012, has sponsored the annual march since 2015 but this will be the biggest yet.

“There is a tradition here,” says Omri Paz, founder of VeganFriendly. “Israel is the most vegan nation on earth.”

It is estimated that five percent of Israelis, or about 400,000 people, are committed to a plant-based diet.

“Morality is the main reason Israelis become vegan,” notes Paz.

The Israeli march is expected to surpass a 1990 event in which 25,000 people marched for animal rights in Washington, DC.

Keynote speaker at Rabin Square at approximately 9:30pm will be Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the largest animal-rights organization in the world. Also coming to Israel for the event is James Aspey, a global animal-rights activist based in Sydney, Australia.

The march’s theme this year is “It’s in our hands.” Participants will be advocating for the rights of wild animals, strays and animals held in the entertainment, medical experiments, food and clothing industries, as well as for banning the sale of fur products in Israel, banning import of live animals for slaughter and increasing the national budget for spay-neuter programs.

Preceding the march, about 25 educational stands will be set up in Meir Park.

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