'Would you like a train ride?' [in Jerusalem]

When an e-mail message arrived in my mail box with the unlikely subject title "Would you like a train ride?", well, I had to be suspicious. But...as you can see below, it was on the level. She was referring to the new Light Rail train in Jerusalem, which finally began operating, with free rides during the first two weeks, last Friday.

From: xiaoyu zhang

Dear Hillel,
This is Zhang from China Radio. Hope you still remember me: I'm planning a report about the new trail [train] in Jerusalem and would like to invite you for a ride and hear some of your comments. Would you do me the favor? I'm especially interested in opinions of Palestinians in
east Jerusalem but don't speak their language, and most of the time they hide from foreign media of what really is in their minds.
Are you available anytime tomorrow? Or Thursday afternoon, if it's better for you. We can meet at somewhere along the route, like Zion Square, or at the New Gate of the Old City. ... Thanks a lot and looking forward to seeing you.
Zhang
China Radio International

Xiaoyu Zhang phones Beijing

Photos by H. Schenker

So, we ended up meeting at the Damascus Gate station on the new Light Rail line, and made the trip together from there to the end of the line in Pisgat Ze'ev. It was fascinating, heading from the walls of the Old City, past Meah Sha'arim on the left, Wadi Joz and Sheikh Jarrah on the right, then on via the middle class Palestinian neighborhoods of Shoafat and Beit Hanina, till the current end of the line at Pisgat Ze'ev.


Palestinian and Haredi families were clearly treating the free ride like a summer camp excursion. Of course Xiaoyu used my "linguistic skills" to ask the locals their opinions of the phenomenon.

One Palestinian said that he was taking the ride every day since it opened from Shoafat to his place of work, leaving his car at home. Where does he work? At the Al-Aksa Mosque on Haram Al-Sharif/The Temple Mount. He admits there still seem to be some kinks in the works, since by car it would "take three minutes", while the Light Rail ride takes 15.

A teenager from French Hill was taking his racing bicycle (he hopes, if they let him), to the controversial Kalatrava Bridge at the entrance of Jerusalem, hoping to head out from there to Beit Shemesh. Uriel, a Haredi from the Caucasian Mountains who lives in Pisgat Ze'ev, said it was the first time he had ever been in Shoafat and Beit Hanina. When asked if he had any security concerns, he responded "we live in a land of miracles, and will be protected."

We got off at the last stop, and then headed back to the Shivtei Yisrael station between Wadi Joz and Meah Sha'arim, where the old Mandelbaum Gate used to stand -- now the Mandelbaum gas station.  She did a serious interview with me about the implications of it all, for Palestinians and Israelis, in the refuge of the 4th floor of the National Palace Hotel, which agreed to serve us ice tea, despite the fact that the sun hadn't set yet, and the Ramadan fast was still on.

Among other things, I said that while I personally would prefer that Tel Aviv be the capital of Israel and Ramallah be the capital of a future Palestinian state, clearly the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians feel otherwise. Thus, anyone who thinks it is possible to find a solution to the conflict which is not based on West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine is deluding themselves. 

I added that while both the Israelis and the Palestinians we met on the train seemed be enjoying the experience and hope that it will provide good answers to daily transportation needs, it is clear that at the political level, Palestinians believe that the creation of the Light Rail system is a unilateral action by the Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipality, a form of "creating facts on the ground", which was done without consultation and cooperation with them.  While I don't believe that the Light Rail system will necessarily be an obstacle to a solution for Jerusalem, particularly since the two capitals should form an open, interconnected city, the political realities and needs must be taken into account. 

She promised to send me a link to the program.

Hillel Schenker

Co-Editor

Palestine-Israel Journal

Israeli Protest Movement's Greatest Challenge

March of silence (photo by H. Schenker)

For five encouraging and enchanting weeks, the mass summer tent protest movement for social justice has dominated the Israeli headlines -- until Thursday, August 19^th, when an extremist group in Gaza, the Popular Resistance Committees, decided to launch an attack on the southern border, killing eight Israelis. The attack was a challenge to the Israeli government, to the Palestinian Authority leadership, to the Egyptian authorities trying to maintain control of Sinai, and even to Hamas.

Keeping the flame alive

For the Israeli protest movement, the attack punctured the momentum that had been building up, with every weekend producing new, creative ideas for how to move forward.

The main event on Saturday evening was supposed to be a mass protest opposite the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, demanding a change in national economic and social priorities. Given the unexpected violent developments in the south, and the mourning over the loss of life, obviously all the weekend protest demonstrations had to be canceled. Instead, it was decided that a torchlight March of Silence would held in the streets of Tel Aviv, to express solidarity with the victims of the attack, and to reaffirm the determination of the protest movement to continue the struggle.

The struggle will continue

On Friday morning I went to the Rothschild Blvd. tent encampment "command post", and was assured that the activists have no attention of giving up – the struggle will continue, despite the call by Deputy Minister Ayub Kara (Likud) and others that the activists should fold up their tents, since now was a time for the nation to come together to face the new security crisis. Kara is a "Druze Zionist", holier than Pope, whose hyper-nationalistic positions can sometimes make even Netanyahu sound moderate.

As usual, I wandered around the tents, encountering much newly creative graffiti. The most innovative idea was a big, stand-up mirror, with the phrase "The Face of the Revolution" written on it with a blue marker. Anyone who stands opposite the mirror sees themselves, and written below are the words "You and I".

With quiet determination

Heading out, I ran into Prof. Nissim Kalderon, and complimented him on his article on Y-Net, the website of Yediot Ahronot, in which he said that for years we in the Israeli peace movement had failed to move the masses, and this younger generation had succeeded. "Maybe they know something that we didn't," and we should respect that, and not try to impose our agenda on them. "Do you know what the key expense used to be for Peace Now rallies?" he asked. I didn't, and he said "the ads in the newspapers! And notice, that all that has happened this summer, took place without a single ad! Only Facebook and e-mail communication!" The power of social media.

From there I headed to Ozen Hashlisheet/The Third Ear, the hip video/CD/performance center for cinema buffs, which also hosts Israeli singers. Popular singer/songwriter Rona Kenan was launching her new album with a free performance, and hundreds of her mainly young fans gathered to hear her. Rona is the daughter of journalist Amos Kenan, who fought in the 1948 War for Independence, the protagonist together with Palestinian poet Rashid Hussein in the first film depicting Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, "Arab and Jew", made by award-winning documentary filmmaker Lionel Rogosin in 1974. 

Rona said that she hesitated about going ahead with the performance, given the tragic violence and loss of life in the south, but since her songs are anyway rather melancholy, she decided that the show must go on. She opened with the title song of her new album, Hamra'ot V'nichitot (Departures and Arrivals), which begins with the line "Good news and disasters…this time something exploded…" And she concluded with her well-known Mabul (Flood, the English version is called Earthquake), with the line "we'll survive the flood," with much of the audience singing along with her, in whispers. One of the tent protest organizers called out from the entrance – "Rona, tell them that there's going to be a March of Silence tomorrow evening," and always ready to give her time in defense of democracy, human rights and peace, she repeated the message into the mike.

All photos by H. Schenker in Tel Aviv

On Saturday evening about 10,000 people gathered at Habima Square near the tent protest headquarters at the end of Rothschild Blvd., and marched silently through the streets of Tel Aviv, carrying flaming torches and a mixture of makeshift and professional signs, with police motor-cycles with bright blue headlights leading the way and making sure that the traffic wasn't interrupted. "Make Welfare Not War", "The Protest Will Continue", "There's no Personal Security without Social Security", "Tycoons Beware, the Poor are Coming", "Single Mothers from the Hatikva Quarter Demand Social Justice", "The March of Silence – The Pain belongs to all of us, the Protest belongs to all of us", "Bibi there is a state outside of Tel Aviv", a big red heart with the slogan "Identifying with the South", a bi-lingual sign in Hebrew and Arabic – "Needed – Public Housing", "Peace for All" with Jewish, Christian and Moslem symbols, "Only Together will we Overcome", "Social Justice for All", "Revolution! 7 Million People are Waiting for your Reply Bibi", "Bread, Work and Peace", "We won't let terror win, continuing with the protest!" "Barak, wipe that smile off your face. We're staying in the streets," and even a sign held up by Rabbis for Human Rights, "Solidarity with the people in the south and in Gaza."

For a moment, when the march reached the corner of Ben-Yehuda Street, named after the reviver of modern Hebrew Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, I heard a bystander shout out "Death to the Arabs!" This, despite the fact that earlier in the afternoon/evening the Israeli soccer season had started, and Wiam Amasha, the Druze striker from the Golan Heights whose family declares allegiance to Syria had scored a record four goals for defending champions Maccabi Haifa. And the lone goal scored by the opposing team Maccabi Netanya was scored by young Israeli Arab striker Firas Mougrabi. Obviously this guy isn't a fan of either team, and he was quickly silenced by the silent marchers.

Still, the challenge facing the tent protest organizers is great. The terrorist attack in the south was a gift to Netanyahu and his colleagues, who want security to become the main item on the national agenda to deflect pressure from the mass social protest as September draws near.

Hopefully the current round of violence will end soon, for all concerned on all sides of all of the borders, and hopefully the leaders of the protest movement will find the determination and creative energy to maintain and continue the struggle.

1. (Hebrew version)רונה קינן - מבול (Rona Kenan - Mabul (Earthquake‎ - YouTube

1. (English version)רונה קינן - Earthquake‎ - YouTube

The People Demand Social Justice (cont'd.)

Just two little Tel Aviv neighborhood anecdotes about these dramatic times:

1) Yesterday I was walking along Chernichovsky Street near Gan Meir (Meir Park), and there was this little 6 year old kid (I estimate) marching along with his father, carrying a balloon, shouting Ha'am doresh tzedek chevrati! (The people demand social justice!). Trailing behind was a mother and a taller girl, looked 7-8 (his sister?), saying/asking her mother Ha'am doresh tzedek chevrati? Isn't that right? Then, apparently convinced, she started shouting it as well;

2) At the pool this morning I asked Dov, a pensioner in his 80s, who osilates between Lieberman &  Meretz on political issues, depending upon the headline, if he'd been to the Rothschild Blvd. tent encampment. "Of course", he responded -- "went with my son. And what did we see yesterday?", he said with a smile -- "a big improvised road sign pointing in the direction of Beersheva!" where tonight's major demonstration will take place. He's all positive about the protest movement, seeing it as a very encouraging sign. 

Demo in Jaffa (photo by H. Schenker)

On Wednesday I participated in a discussion on peace and the protest movement at the joint Jewish-Arab community Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam, with representatives of the 60 peace & human rights groups of the Israeli PeaceNGO Forum. Everyone is both surprised and overwhelmed by the mass protest phenomenon, seeing a tremendous potential for positive change within Israeli society. Former Meretz MK Mosi Raz, now co-director of All For Peace Radio, noted that he and other Meretz members were received very well at the tent encampments, but as Israelis, human beings, and not as politicians.

This is a people's movement, and at this stage, they are not interested in people as party activists, only as human beings who identify. Thus, he recommended, and I agree, that nobody should try to bring a political agenda to the protest, at this stage.  The time for politics will come, particularly towards the next elections. The general consensus was that the same is true for the peace movement, as we near September and the Palestinian move for recognition in the UN General Assembly.

Danit Gotfried, a bright young women (I mean it, very bright and very young), presented the outlines of a social media campaign -- 50 Reasons not to be Afraid of a Palestinian State. One of the ideas was to turn the song by Muki -- Kulam mdabrim al shalom, v'af echad lo midaber al tzedek (Everyone is speaking about peace, and no one is speaking about justice) on its head. Now everyone is speaking about social justice, but no one's speaking about peace.

The general consensus was that this is the last thing that we as representatives of the peace movement should do. We shouldn't attempt to impose our agenda on the current agenda, or to suggest that they are focusing on the wrong problem.

There is a natural rhythm and flow to this protest, and the connections will eventually be made. When people start asking about the change in socio-economic priorities, and where the money will come from, that will be the time to point out the enormous sums being spent on the settlements, security, and to provide for the primarily non-productive ultra-Orthodox sector. And anyway, September will come, and impact the agenda.

I can't resist drawing attention to an op-ed in this week's Ha'aretz by Ari Shavit, in which he declares that "the spirit of Hashomer Hatzair is making a comeback".

Here's an excerpt:

The beauty of the concept "social justice" lies in the fact that it is totally retro. There's nothing more fifties than social justice. There's nothing more Hashomer Hatzair than social justice. But suddenly, via Facebook, the fifties are making a comeback, the spirit of Hashomer Hatzair is making a comeback. And the battle cry of the comeback is not an advertising slogan, but the heartfelt cry of a nation that is demanding the most basic thing: justice. Justice, not charity. Justice for the individual and justice for society. Jewish justice, Israeli justice, universal justice. Social justice.

This links to the entire article:  Israel's revolution must not become a missed opportunity.

And here's Muki: