Jaffa home in danger - court tomorrow

Itidal and her two children live in a small house in what is known in Jaffa as "Pardes Dalek", a tiny neighbourhood of shacks, somewhere between "Gan Tamar" and Jerusalem Boulevard, in an area which once was an orange grove, hence its name (Dalek Grove in English).
Last week on Tuesday the demolisher saccompanied by the police came to carry out a municipal demolition order. At the last moment the demolition was prevented.
Lawyer Rasha Asaf of the "Popular Committee Against Home Demolitions" managed to prevent it, but the case will be back in the Municipal Court tomorrow.
So, those of you living in Jaffa, it may be necessary to come and defend the home, if the court will decide to leave Itidal and her children homeless. Keep in touch.

Itidal is poor and if her house will be destroyed, she'll be out on the streets as the welfare department have no solution for her and her children. There is no way she can afford to rent a home.

Always burning bright

Next to my home there are two garbage containers. About an hour after they have been emptied, they are full again. In Jaffa the houses do not have private containers like in the rest of the municipal area, but several houses share big and even bigger containers, called "frogs", as many years ago, when they were new, they were green.
Once the container is full, people start placing their garbage next to it, and the stray cats love it, as part of the smelly stuff comes from the fish store next door.

Then there is (or are) our local pyromaniac(s). Every single day someone sets fire to it. Then the fire brigade are called. Sometimes they come and sometimes they don't.
When they do, the street is left as a filthy, muddy river.
It's just a part of life, every single day.

In the past the "green forum" of the society for the protection of nature (which in Jaffa Tel Aviv deals with nature in an urban setting) has tried to deal with it. Suggesting several alternative ways of handling garbage, and "something is supposed to happen", "Some time soon". And of course i believe that, i always believe what i am being told by the municipalty. The only problem is that they tend to contradict themselves. Or perhaps forget what they said and promised a few days ago. So whaty should i believe?

Hate Graffiti in Jaffa

As we are nearing the municipal elections, hateful graffiti against Jaffa's Palestinian population has started sprouting up at different locations all around.
From "Kahana was right" through "Death to the Arabs" and "F* Islam" to "Arabs Should not be allowed to Vote" sprayed on walls of homes and public buildings in Ajami, Jabaliya ("Givat Aliyah", as it is called by some) and central Jaffa.
I feel like buying a can of white paint and wiping it out and hope Jaffa's Palestinian population will come to vote for change. A complaint has been filed at the police.
As this happens in the same week Barack Obama is elected as the next president of the USA, it seems all the more symbolic.

For those Hebrew challenged: the graffiti reads "Kahana was Right" .