O C C U P I E D

And the police were just laughing

2010-03-06T17:07:00.000+02:00

Some 300 people, both Palestinian and Jews, marched from the Clock Tower square in Jaffa to the Yiftah police office on Salameh Street, protesting against thelatest wave of police violence.

Among the speakers were Jerrias Kobti, who was violently arrested by the police some three weeks ago, Gabi ElAbed of the AlRabita (the Association of the Arabs of Jaffa), Omar Siksik, municipal council member of the Jaffa List, Yoav Goldring, municipal council member for "A City for All" (Ir lekulanu), MK Dov Khenin and Sheikh Ahmad Abu Agua of the northern Islamic movement, who spoke in Arabic and in Hebrew against police violence as we have been experiencing over the last several weeks.

The demonstration was peaceful , people marching together, shouting slogans in Arabic and Hebrew demanding an investigation. a change of policy and a respect for democracy.

Severa l policemen, among them Ohion, the Yiftach commander, were laughing. One wonders why. The recent reports of serious violence towards citizens should worry him deeply.

Jerrias Kobti gave a short report of what had happened to him in the police station after he had been arrested and handcuffed. His testimony is terrifying. The violence he went through could happen to any of us. And that should worry us all. And it should worry Ohion as well. A police corps that resorts to violence as a regular method, is in deep trouble.

There is little belief in "Mahash" (המחלקה לחיקרת שוטרים the unit that is supposed to investigate crimes committed by policemen) and distinct feelings of anger and despair were expressed by some of the speakers and many in the audience.

Few of us here have never witnessed or experienced incidents with the police. Many of us feel helpless face a face police violence. Some are so scared of revenge, they will not complain nor testify against abusive police officers.

One wonder why Ohion was laughing so much.

Demonstration against police violence in Jaffa today

2010-03-06T11:06:00.000+02:00

Yes, there is violent crime in Jaffa. Last evening a man in his thirties was shot and badly wounded in Yefet Street. The night before there was another shooting incident in Maor Enayim Street.

And IF the police were doing their job, perhaps these incidents would not be happening, or would be rare.

But these crimes do happen and the police is doing something else. Perhaps that "something else" is what they think is their job: being part of a repressive machine. Serving not the public at large and the public interest, but rather the interest of a limited by powerful force in this country.

Police violence in Jaffa has become so common we hear new stories every day. Often involving people who have no criminal record and are law abiding citizens (but quite obviously the human rights of criminals should be respected as well.). Enough has been written on this blog about various events in which innocent bystanders found themselves handcuffed, arrested and beaten up by the police.

Complaints at "Mahash" are rarely taken to court and it appears the system investigating itself is not doing an outstanding job.

Enough, we truly have had enough of it.

Today at 13.00 we will march from Clocktower square in Jaffa to the Salame police station to have our voice heard.

Ajami, ethnic cleansing one step further, unless the high court stops it

2010-02-12T11:38:00.002+02:00

Last Wednesday judge Zafet of the Tel Aviv district court heard the case of 28 Jaffa residents (honesty demands to say that i'm one of them) against the Israel Land Administration and the Be'emuna company who won the tender for a piece of land right in the middle of Ajami. Originally Palestinian owned, declared "absentee property" and finally "publicly owned" and sold by the Israel Land Administration by tender to the highest bidder, the Be'emuna company. Until here everything has the appearance of "stinking but kosher" according to Israeli law. We were represented by lawyers Gil Gan Mor and Dan Yakir of the Israel Association for Civil Rights.

Until a few years ago, our market took place on the plot. The market was closed by the municipality for no reason (or so it appeared at the time) and no other plot was offered for the purpose of creating a new market, leaving us, the Jaffa population as well as many people from Bat Yam and Tel Aviv, as well as small farmers from the central area of the country, without a cheap fresh food market, a true necessity in an impoverished area such as Jaffa.

Yet the Be'emuna company is NOT just another building company out to make a good profit. They marketed the flats planned on to be constructed by them on the Ajami plot, to the members of one very specific group only: Zionist religious Jews. They put it bluntly on their website, but just to make sure, we also called them, interested in buying a cheap flat on their plot. Not very surprisingly, we were refused. Private companies can sell to whom they like, but NOT when the land was previously publicly owned, as in this case and according to the "Ka'aden" high court ruling.

The company's efforts are part of a well orchestrated and funded, much larger effort to expel the Palestinian population from the shared Palestinian and Jewish towns and cities in Israel. It appears that after the disengagement from Gaza some of the settlers and their colonially minded friends decided settling in the West Bank was no longer an ideological necessity for them. Instead they decided to address Israel's mixed cities with their racist ideology. The process is under its way in Accre, Lod, Ramle, Haifa, Nazareth Elite as well as in Jaffa. And there is nothing friendly or innocent about it.

We are talking about a concentrated effort to "replace" the original Palestinian residents with Jewish ones; Not to live together and share our cultures but to expel the Palestinians from their homes and "Judaize" the area.

During the previous sessions the judge had made remarks which led us to conclude that he is not as impartial as he should be. Therefore we asked him to dismiss himself, which he refused.

The verdict was sent to us yesterday afternoon: not surprisingly the judge decided in favor of the colonialist project.

We will have to appeal our case to the Supreme Court.

A dead dog, police and a few kids: Ajami the sequel?

2010-02-07T08:55:00.004+02:00

Yesterday a dog was killed in a car accident in Ajami. It happens. The dog's owner, a kid from Ajami, did what people do when a beloved pet dies: bury it.

The child and some of his friends buried said dog, crying. Close to the beach and close to the place where the dog had been killed by a quickly driving car.

But right in the middle of the burial ceremony a police car passes by and this is where and when things start going wrong. Kids burying something in Jaffa? Drugs, of course drugs!. The over zealous policemen jump out and run towards the unsuspecting children.

The kids explain it was a dog they buried. But the police were sure they made a catch and start arresting the crying and terrified children. Tony and Geries Cobti, two guys from Ajami, who watched the scene from their nearby home, go down into the street order to talk to the policemen and explain the misunderstanding.

The Cobti brothers are well known in Jaffa. Both are highly educated sons of a school principal, in short, good kids. University (Technion) graduates with good jobs, nice guys. And yes, they were also involved in the production of their brother Scandar's movie "Ajami". But to the police they are simple "Arabs from Jaffa".

And being a Palestinian in Ajami classifies you automatically as "criminal" and "drug dealer". So the brothers were arrested.

Then, some other cocky policemen came to dig up the "drugs", but all they found was the corpse of a dog. Oops. So what do they do? They do the thing the police always do: claim the brothers attacked the police.

Usually that claim works wonders. Many kids from Jaffa have some sort of a record. A few juvenile mistakes, and as a result they can be presented to the court as "withered criminals". The court tends to believe the police and many Jaffans cannot afford a lawyer when arrested. So the accusation of "attacking a police man" sticks. And people have done jail time for that offence.

Only this time the police made a small mistake. The highly educated and well employed brothers have no record, are from a strong family of movie making fame. And then there is that dog corpse.

In addition, the arrest was carried out right in front of press photographer Muhamad Babai's home so there is evidence to the contrary.

In this case every one in Jaffa knows the accusation is yet another attempt by the police to justify their performance in Jaffa. The accusation won't stick this time, i expect.

But what if the brothers were not of Ajami fame, as happens so often? What if it had happened in some dark corner and not in front of Babai's camera?

How many others have been arrested,. tried and found guilty of crimes they never committed?

Stormy weather

2010-01-24T22:07:00.000+02:00

The wind is howling around my house. When i just went outside to have a look at the sea, i was almost blown from the garden steps. And one look at the sea confirmed the other noise i had been hearing: the waves are huge!
It's very cold outside.

Black forces in a not so orange orange grove

2010-01-18T11:05:00.002+02:00

When demolished, a home makes an awful sound. Yesterday it went on for hours, the slow demolition process of the second floor of the Dake home. Large yellow machines slowly crunched away at the building. Huge blocks of falling concrete demolishing the garden in the same go.
The people watching on helplessly. Their possessions, clothes, furniture, kids' schoolbooks etc. out in the dust.

Two years ago some 100 people barricaded themselves on the roof of the Dake home in Jaffa's Dake orange grove and prevented its demolition. Yesterday the Dake family were less, much less lucky, when Ron Huldai's municipality goons demolished their home under the "protection" of hundreds of blimp led ninja-style clad special forces policemen.

In the early hours masked policemen entered the Dake home and arrested the men of the family and told the family's women to start packing. Literally hundreds of policemen, special forces and border police blocked off all roads to the Dake grove and the close surroundings.

Whole streets were closed to the public, even to those living there and wishing to go back home. The operations were led from a special command tent where police men kept track of the ground forces by means of a camera studded blimp high up in the air.

To understand the true impact of the demolition of the Dake house is is important to back in history.

The Dake family were the proud owners of a huge orange grove prior to 1948, the Naqbe, just south of Jaffa.

In the grove were the large family home, storage facilities, guard houses, a pump house etc.

After 1948 the family stayed on. They lived in the grove and over time, as the family expanded, more houses were added.

The municipality did not bother to make a zoning plan for the grove, although it is on municipal territory. As a result, it is impossible to receive a building permit for anything, not even for repairing your house: as there are no zoning plan definitions for the area, there is no buroicratic procedure possible for getting a building permit.

Yet the Dakes, who own the land, needed homes, so they constructed those without a permit.

The municipality never provided any services in the grove, there are no roads, no waste disposal, no kinder garden (by now there are a few hundred people, including many children, living in the grove). The sewage system is horrid and floods every now and then and until a few years ago every winter the grove was flooded. Only after a young child drowned inside his home, the municipality did something about the flood drains.

The lack of a zoning plan has been going on for some 60 years now. The Dakes cannot build anything on their land and live in poverty. When they try to build the municipality arrives and destroys. The houses are rebuilt, making use of cheap materials or recycling some of the rubble in the construction of the new house, as all know it is only a matter of time until the next demolition.

After the municipality took out a demolition order on the flat he built for his son, Moussa Dake decided to fight back. He lost in the Tel Aviv peace court, but won an incredible victory in the regional court, where the judge criticised the municipality for 60 years of planning neglect. The Dakes felt victorious and the verdict was f major importance as it had implications for many other areas in the country as well.

But the municipality appealed to the high court of justice and won. The verdict in this case was formalistic and did not even try to deal with the serious criticism and legal concerns of the regional court's verdict.

The Dakes appealed once more, but the municipality decided not to wait for the court's decision and yesterday, in spite of the request to wait until the verdict, the goons went about their ugly business.

Moussa had become a symbol and the legal fight he put up was being followed by many involved in planning and housing rights.

And a little more

2010-01-11T23:17:00.001+02:00

Hell, two very loud volleys of automatic gun fire really close by just now.
Coming from a slightly northern direction as in "the other side of the building", as in my building, the one i live in.

Violence by the authorities, no one seems to care very much

2010-01-11T22:12:00.003+02:00

Hikmat is 2 weeks old, a tiny little girl, red faced and well wrapped up.

This morning the police broke the door to the small house she lives in, tear-gassed the place, her room included. Then they carried out a violent search, basically taking the place apart. They didn't find a thing, as her young parents know well. There is a relative living not far way who's involved in things better not mentioned. They carry the same family name, so perhaps that is how the police justify themselves.
In any case, little is left of the small home, the wooden ceiling partially removed, holes made in the wall, all electricity points removed, cooking stove and new fridge damaged beyond repair, after the police finished their search. Nothing was found, the damage done is huge: the bathroom basically taken apart, sewage pipes connecting the toilet all broken, the shower cubicle taken apart, all taps leaking. Furniture broken, but all of that is nothing compared to the traumatized children, who woke up choking on tear-gas. When i visited the family today the sligtly older kids were still crying, scared of any stranger entering what was left of their home.
Hikmat was the only one peacefully sleeping, perhaps she's forgotten, who knows what goes on inside baby heads.

But Hikmat not the only one who suffered violence from the authorities over the last few days.

Ask Abu Isa, whose son is laying unconscious and brain damaged attached to life support machinery in Tel HaShomer hospital. The kid was beaten up by two "security goons guards" employed by the municipality to guard the beach park. What the guards didn't notice is that there was a witness to their acts. A witness who called the police and whose testimony put the guards under arrest.

The witness' testimony makes it clear the boy and his friend (who was released from hospital in the mean time) did not start the fight. In fact they begged to guards to stop.

he amazing thing is that the security company tried to cook up a story and went to the park's storage room manager in order to convince him to file a complaint there had been a break-in and stuff had been stolen the night of the violence. Thankfully the store room manager refused to do so but it makes one wonder; what if there had been no witness and what if the manager had been a little more "compliant"? Violence by the authorities has become almost too common to mention in Jaffa.

Hamude Shakra, victim, yet another murder victim in Jaffa.

2010-01-09T09:41:00.000+02:00

Yesterday i wrote about the murder of a man in Jaffa, not realizing i know the victim and his family quite well. His mother and sisters are friends and i had coffee at their place only a week ago, chatting away about this and that. Hamude's young son playing around in the living room.

The personal side of the story isn't interesting. However, i suddenly realized this is all so close by. So many young men in Jaffa have been murdered over the last few years. In a few cases i knew them personally, had seen them grow up from sweet kids to awkward teenagers to young men, sometimes angry young men, involved in things better not to be involved in.

I know their families and, in the current case, I can only try to imagine what Hamude's mum and sisters and young wife must be going through. The police state he was involved in shady car deals and i realize that may well be true. But he was their son, husband or brother, father to a little son who probably doesn't understand too much as yet.

I remember him always tinkering at this or that car, close to the family's home. Music nearby, preferably loud. Friends sitting around waiting for their car to be fixed. Hamude's legs sticking out from below the car or his back bent over the hood fixing something, while joking in a loud voice. Playing around with his son, a big smile on his face, the kid happy and excited.

This is Jaffa, this is Ajami and things often don't go here they way they should go for young guys: finishing high school, going on to further studies, starting your career or trying to figure out what you should be doing in life, trying out this and that, travelling around a little, taking up a cause. Life isn't like that in Ajami, or perhaps only for a few, the lucky few.

The public school system in Ajami is terrible. And your family doesn't have the money for private education or private teachers when you fall behind. Often you don't have the books you need, because your family cannot afford to buy them. You don't go on school trips because your family hasn't yet paid for last year's trip . (yes i know it's illegal to exempt kids from their school trips because of a debt but say that to any Jaffa school principal, or just come and see how many kids are left behind when the buses take off, half empty). At some point you drop out, thinking it makes more sense to try and make some money, not to live in poverty. But finding a job is difficult when you have little schooling. And it's quicker and easier (or so it seems) to make quick money on the streets.

Hamude loved cars and spent much time repairing them, his own, his friends', the neighbours, turning old wrecks into driving things. Slowly moving up from wreck to something far better. Cars play a big role in Jaffa's young men's status game.

And quite obviously the majority do not have the money to buy these cars, unless on credit schemes which over time will put them and their families in throttling debt and poverty. Ownership of a car with a loud and powerful stereo system is the big thing for many young men here.

It's easy to sink into street dynamics, in some cases it's unavoidable, it happens without you wanting or choosing it. If your brother is in, you are in. If your friend is in, you are in. That's how it works. Easy to get on, hard to impossible getting out. The laws of the street result in much pain and hard statistics. Hamude's has many sisters and brothers, some of them still very young kids. I fear for their future. It's a cycle and unless it is somehow (HOW?) broken, how can they get out?

Some two years ago someone shot at the family's home and that wasn't for the first time. Then someone aimed his gun at a car Hamude's brother was sitting in, wounding a friend but the brother got away unhurt this time.

Hamude's funeral is today at 12.00.

Murder in Jaffa

2010-01-08T18:27:00.002+02:00

About an hour and a half ago an as yet unidentified man apparently in his late twenties was shot and killed in the area close to the Wolfson Hospital. Initially he appeared to be wounded lightly but upon arrival in the hospital he died of his wounds.
The drive-by shooting took place in a car wash place in south Jaffa.
The police claim the victim "is known to them", but what does that exactly mean in Jaffa?

The Metropolitan Public Transport Plan

2010-01-03T21:02:00.003+02:00

It's very ambitious, has no budget attached nor a time table; the grand plan for the metropolitan public transport reorganization. 900.000 People a day use public transport to get to Tel Aviv Jaffa and move about in it. Several companies, buses, trains, taxis and communal taxis are all part of it.

Stations and Tel Aviv's "new" central bus station are some of its of its several existing and planned hubs (Wolfson Hospital junction being one of the newly planned hubs).

The idea is to have a few quick central and very frequent super bus-lines on special tracks serve the city in cooperation with the train system and the metro (if and whenever the red line will be finished, under planning since the early 1970-ies, so allow me to cast a little doubt at the municipal hopefulls) will bring people into the city, smaller (and much less frequent buses- expected waiting time 20 minutes) buses will take them around within the neighbourhoods. A minibus will serve Ajami neighbourhood (today there is no bus touring the inner streets of the 'hood) .

The central lines passing through Jerusalem Boulevard will be moved to Shlavim Street, currently a mostly deserted and unpleasant area of car workshops, garbage dumps and shady places. Not a residential area and i cannot easily imagine anyone waiting in that deserted spot for some 20-30 minutes for a local minibus to arrive to take them into the neighbourhood.

The new plan assumes cooperation between the different companies operating within the area between Netanya in the north, Modi'in in the east and Ashdod in the south. to share their timetables and ticketing system as well information services.

The program was presented today to the municipal council as a given, to be implemented as of July 2010 in 4 stages over a period of two years. Without a budget and a detailed time table that is a little hard to imagine.

For Jaffa the message is clear: bad transport as a low frequency to an irrelevant unlived in area.

The Ajami minibus is a good idea, however.

Oh and did i mention the new bus stops with their metal chairs that become sort of VERY hot during the summer months. They are very stylish, but i doubt if the designer has been making much use of a bus stop. Three chairs is also not a whole lot when people will have to wait 20 minutes for their minibus to arrive. And metal chairs in the sun will not be very comfortable.

But then without a budget and a clear implementation table i have my doubts.

Another question s of course the ever rising cost of public transport. Bus tickets in Tel Aviv cost 5.80 NIS as of the beginning of this month. When the minimum hourly wage stands at 20 NIS an hour and many people need to take more than one bus to their place of work, that's very expensive.

No, that ain't fireworks

2010-01-03T20:43:00.000+02:00

Just a volley of automatic gunshots made me sit up and feel very scared last night. This time it was really really close by. No screaming right afterwards, so it must have been a warning volley. For whom and what? No idea, although i can make a guess.
Nothing in the news later on, but then, unless there are dead they don't bother to publish, shooting being nothing new here.
I used to live on the top floor, so i always felt somewhat protected from shots going into the wrong direction by mistake. Having moved to the bottom floor has somewhat taken away that -perhaps false-sense of security. Happy New Year Ajami is what one could call it, i guess.

The 2010 municipal budget - good for the wealthy and who cares about the rest?

2009-12-29T09:05:00.001+02:00

Yesterday evening the Tel Aviv - Yafo municipal council voted for the budget proposal for the year 2010:

The coalition praised themselves for their great sensitivity and the wonderful budget proposal. That included Jaffa council member Ahmad Mashrawi (Meretz) who, like the total bunny he is, voted in favour of a budget in which the south of the city, Jaffa included, continues to be discriminated against.

Mashrawi, who just loves publicity, claims to vote in favour of Jaffa but the facts show the opposite. Meretz are part of the coalition and their current track record is highly embarrassing.

The outnumbered opposition (to Ron Hulday's wide coalition) asked to vote separately on a number of clauses, in order to try and make at least a few improvements and do some social justice:

Omar Siksik of the Jaffa list asked to vote separately for an added 200.000 NIS for the Jaffa based "Hirsh" early childhood development center.

The Hirsch centre provides testing and treatment for development problems for children at a young age. The centre is highly professional and the only service of its kind in the whole city able to provide these services in Arabic. The centre's very existence is threatened due to the continued budget cuts. The implication of the centre's closure or limited ability to provide services is obvious: Parents will not be able to provide their young children with the most basic services. Not even privately (the majority would not have the money for that in any case) as their is no alternative in all of the city for Arabic speaking young children.

Mashrawi (Meretz, that supposedly socially conscious party, now part of the coalition, what will people do for a little money) has been posing as the big fighter for the Hirsch centre, but reality is rather different as he did NOT vote in favour. He abstained, what a hero!

A city that spends 70 million NIS on a bicycle rental project does not have 1.100.000 for the Hirsch center, or 55.000 for the teenage health clinic, which will receive 0 money in 2010.

Or, another example: the Toulouse Club for the elderly, the only one serving Jaffa's elderly Palestinian population in Ajami, has an annual budget of 70.000 NIS. Its sister club in Neve Golan (Yafo Gimmel) which serves that area's Jewish population receives 220.000 NIS in the budget. I am in favour of Neve Golan's budget. But Why does the Ajami Club for elderly Arabic speakers receive so little?

And these are only a few examples. I could go on and on and on. The budget is highly biased.

Tel Aviv is positioning itself as a city for the wealthy only, disregarding its poorer inhabitants. In addition the 2010 budget is totally greenwashed. More and more car parks and highways.

It was embarrassing to see Peer Wisner (the Green Party also in the coalition) vote in favour of the budget. What a little money does to these "freedom fighters".

Jaffa for Gaza Demonsration

2009-12-27T08:10:00.003+02:00

"Stop the siege of the Gaza Strip" was the main message in yesterday's demonstration in Jaffa, where over 1000 people, Palestinian and Jewish Israelis. marched through Jabaliyah and Ajami neighborhoods from the public housing estate at south Kedem Street (aka "the Jungle") to the Ajami Mosque. The demo had been organized by the Jaffa popular committee in coordination with several other organizations.

One year ago Israel started its murderous atteck on the Gaza Strip, which resulted in some 1500 dead, many of them civivlians, women and children, over 5000 wounded and a total destructon of the Gaza infrastructure and many homes. Complete neighborhoods were demolished.

The continued siege of the Gaza Strip has created an additional catastrophe, when basic medicine, food, fuel for the power station and the sewage treatment and water cleaning plants, school books etc. cannot be imported.

The Gaza Strip has become a prison camp for its inhabitants. Many families cannot meet, as some of the family memebers are ni the West Bank, others in the strip. Students stucjk in the West Bank cannot go home, others, who were accepted into higher education programs are not able to leave. People cannot recveive life saving medical treatment available outside of the Gaza Strip at a mere 40 minutes car ride.

Many of the Gaza Strip's residents have Jaffa roots, their families forced to leave the city in 1948. Many are connected by family ties, so whatever goes on in Gaza, is important in Jaffa and the other way around. The peaceful Jaffa demonstration opens a week of world wide activities in support of the people of Gaza

The crime of being poor as defined by the Tel Aviv municipality

2009-12-26T11:04:00.003+02:00

Yafo Gimmel is located at the very southern end of Jaffa, almost Bat Yam. Nowhere close to any of the fancier locations much in request by the gentrifyers and real estate investors looking of yet another option to make a lot of quick money.

Long concrete blocks with many entrances, "shikunim" as we call them. No elevators, small box-like flats stacked one on top of the other. You always know what the neighbors are at, the walls are thin.

When Jaffa's lovely old buildings were demolished some 40-30 years ago, many of their Jewish inhabitants received public housing flats in the large estates of "Yafo Gimmel" and "Yafo Daled", thinking they had made the deal of their lifetime. No longer would they have to share the same kitchen and bathroom with several other families in Ajami's old crumbling mansions of pre-naqbe age. Instead they would have their own little kingdom with the unknown luxury of a private kitchen and shower. Very small, that's true, and not too well contructed, but it was their own, rented for a relatively low monthly fee from the public housing company.

Over time, those who did well moved out and new migrants from the ex-Soviet Union and very recently, Ethiopia, took their place. The public housing company sold them their flats for a thieving very "reasonable" price and all felt they, once more , had made a good deal; they had become home owners.
Of course the tiny and by now quite old homes were (and are) heavily morgaged and the monthly payments weigh heavy on the population many of whom have become unemployed and dependent on ever shrinking social security payments or on minimum wages. Food isn't always secure. Medicine cannot always be bought when necessary. Very few children have all the school books they need, but at least their families own their own homes. And that gave many of the people living in the Yafo Gimmel's Saharon street a (false) sense of security.

The public housing company's maintenance standards had always been low (and that is an understatement) and the construction level of the buildings was less than shoddy to start with. And the poor homeowners pay all their money to meet with the morgage requirements, leaving very little for necessary home repairs.

Two years ago the municipality defined a large block in Saharon Street, with close to 100 flats devided over 10 entrances, as "dangerous" and the demanded the home owners carry out immediate extensive (and very expensive) repairwork to the crumbling structure.

In the past this sort of work would have been taken care of by the Neighborhood Renewal Project ("Shikum Shkunot" שיקום שכונות) and the inhabitants would have had to pay only part of the cost against a friendly loan certified by the project. Yet but the Neighborhood Renewal project was fazed out in Jaffa (well, officially it still exists, its total annual budget for all of Jaffa standing at 20.000 NIS for 2009 which is being used as a partial salary for some educational work in the center of Jaffa as far as i know) .

The inhabitants of the block did not carry out the necessary repairwork. They simply don't have the money to do so.

In addition, many of them simply don't speak the same language (Russian and Amharic are more popular here) and in any case it is difficult to organize such a large group of inhabitants (over 90 densely populated flats).

So the burocrats of the municipality thought they had a good solution. One that tends to work quite well in North Tel Aviv: a law suit. One that usually forces the refusenik home owner into compliance.

The Tel Aviv - Yafo municipality criminally sues every single adult inhabitant of the block!

"Criminal"? one wonders. Yes, not carrying out a repair order of this type is a criminal offence, as the criminally inclined homeowner endangers all those living in the building or passing near by. It might collapse if the repairs will not be carried out.

The option of criminally suing repair refusing home owners was made to force slum landlords into taking care of the buildings they own. That law was not made in order to abuse poor people who were tricked into building their homes from a public housing company that wanted to get rid of property on which they would have to spend much money. The real slum landlord is the public housing company (partially municipality owned) that made a lot of money selling the flats, instead of spending it in repairing those very same flats.

Today at 5 p.m. "Break the Siege" demonstration in Jaffa, from 163 Kedem Street

2009-12-26T10:17:00.001+02:00

The Jaffa Committee for Gaza invites you The Jaffa Committee for Gaza invites you

To join the "Break the Siege" demonstration

Today, saturday, Dec. 26th at 17:00, from Kedem 163, Jaffa

One year ago the Israeli attack on the Gaza strip began; 1440 people were killed, over 5000 wounded, most of them civilians and many among them were children. This on top of the large scale destruction of infrastructures and houses in the strip.

Over 70,000 residents became refugees following the attacks. Notwithstanding the popular worldwide movement denouncing the war and demanding of Israel that it lifts the siege on Gaza – Israel continues on with its policies. The siege remains, and its victims are countless; children, elderly, sick, hundreds of families whose houses were destroyed during the war and who cannot rebuild and overall one and a half million Gaza citizens who live in the world’s greatest prison.

As response Gaza civil society’s call, an international protest movement was established to call for a lift of the siege on Gaza. Activists from all over the world have joined thousands of Palestinian activists from Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.

As a follow up to the protest against the war which took place in Jaffa, we invite you to join the demonstration in Jaffa in order to add our voice to those of our international colleagues who also object to the siege.

Saturday, 26/12/09

The demo will begin at 17:00 from Kedem st. 163 and will end in Gaza park (Gan HaShanyim) (Yefet 74)

Another Ajami home demolished today

2009-12-23T18:59:00.003+02:00

The terra coloured one story building at the corner of HaOgen and HaToren streets in Ajami, next to the "Hasan Arafe" school, housed an extended family. The father, who in the past led the struggle against the demolition plan of his home, is currently imprisoned. As a result, the municipality had a relatively job.

The land next door to the home (currently in use as a parking lot for the teachers and parents of the nearby Hasan Arafe primary school) used to belong to the waqf but as often happens in these cases, it was sold "somehow" to a wealthy newcomer and in any case, the municipality wants to construct another unnecessary road on part of the plot where until today a family used to live. Who cares if a they loose their home as a result?

A part of the home is still there, open like a dolls' house towards the street.A large piece of green cloth offers scant protection against the cold night and prying eyes of all those passing by.

Another family pays the price of Ajami's gentrification.

Street gossip says the guy who bought the plot next door pressured the municipality into quickly carrying out the demolition, because he wants the planned road to be constructed ASAP, before he starts his own building plans. If indeed this story is true, one wonders how he thinks he can live there, next to the people whose home he caused to be demolished.

Phoenix Torcina

2009-12-20T19:54:00.001+02:00

About 2 weeks ago "Torcina" was more or less demolished on court orders.Usually demolitions are carried out by police protected bulldozers. The bill for which is later presented to the unhappy previous owner of the building/current owner of the rubble pile.
Mr. Torcina decided he would do his own demolition, in order to save paying the municipal bulldozing bill and salvage some of the building materials for recycling. And "recycling" he did.

On Kedem street, opposite the Hasan Arafe School, "Torcina" had become an institution.

Water pipes, coffee, tea with nana (mint) in summer and maramiye (sorry, no idea what it is called in English) in winter, tales and sheshbesh, it had become the all male sanctum for Jaffa's intellectual crowd.

I didn't write about the demolition, because it was obvious. Torcina is not something to be destroyed. The flimsy glass and wood building was never much to look at. The dense smoke probably supported it from collapsing to begin with. As did the tall tales told by some of its more notorious famous clients.

Not a location for the faint nor the faint of heart. Books and stories were written in and about the place.

I mostly passed by saying hi to this one and waving to the other. Not a place for women. Why? No idea, it simply wasn't and isn't. But i pass by almost every day.

Usually demolitions in Jaffa are quite final. Not Torcina: The smoke goes on, the smell of sweet strong coffee and the stories told by this client or that one, Torcina is back again. Business as usual.

The supreme court on the etrog case

2009-12-16T17:44:00.001+02:00

The Israel land administration sold publicly owned land to a company "Be'emuna" who wish to construct a building "for religious zionist nationalist Jews only" right in the center of Ajami, on the "etrog plot", where our market used to be.

After having won the tender, the company started a marketing campaign marketing the to be constructed flats to the religions nationalist public only. At below the market prices.

Several Jaffa residents and the Israel Association for Human Rights took the case to the Supreme Court in order to prevent the sale of the land.

After all, it is not legal to sell publicly owned land to a company that sells to a certain segment of the public only and not to all others interested in living in the project thereby discriminating against all "others". We called and tried to buy flats, but they wouldn't sell to us, only to their own folks.

The court returned the case to the adminstrative court but accepted our request to prevent, at least for the time being, the handing over of the land to "Be'emuna".
A small victory.

Playing with fire in the Ajami mosque

2009-12-15T11:47:00.002+02:00

Yesterday morning a group of armed settlers entered the compound of the Ajami mosque (next to the Hasan Arafe primary school) in the framework of their tour of Jaffa.

One wonders about the true purpose of that visit. Was it to repectfully view the grave of Ibrahim Ajami? The ajami mosque, unlike some other beautiful Jaffa mosques, is not of great beauty. Not a place a tourist wold go out of his or her way to visit.

Thus, the armed settlers' visit raises serious questions as to their purpose. A provocation?

The Jaffa community turned to the police and the municipality for protection against this kind of most unwanted "attention".

Drug related arrests and other trouble in Jaffa

2009-11-30T07:39:00.000+02:00

Over the last few months the police used a drug-addict as their agent. A violent young man, an only son, pampered by his doting parents until it was too late.

A good football player, an intelligent boy, good-looking too. But something went horribly wrong. Violent towards friends as well as towards his sisters and then his parents. Drug-addicted. Then drug-dealing himself. Home turned into hell.

The police selected this unstable character as their agent. Last week the police informed the public they had arrested "28 drug-dealers" in Jaffa. At least some of them are addicts, not dealers. So several were released the same day, some the next. And indeed, some are still under arrest.

One of them, in spite of his addiction a gentle man and a great father, was arrested in carried away hand and leg-cuffed in face of his terrified young children. Their home turned upside down in a search which turned up nothing. An addict yes. Someone who needs aid yes. But not a dealer. The police caused much harm to the family's meagre possessions. Some of it unrepairable. But the worst was the harm caused to the children.

And the big dealers were not touched, they continue driving around in their big cars.And selling, wholesale. The smaller dealers as well. We all know them and they are still walking around. Who do the police think they're fooling?

The house of the agent was torched.

First of all a terrible punishment for his parents, those well meaning hard working people, and his sisters, nice girls.

The agent has been on a hit-list for a long time. He was shot at, about a year and a half go. Had been in hiding for quite some time.

Maybe that's what turned him into an agent, the hope of a ticket to "elsewhere", a new name, some money. But we are talking about a seriously disturbed young man. An addict with few personal resources beyond a little personal charm. And quite paranoid to begin with. Now he has a real reason for feeling hunted. Police agents have a short life span in Jaffa and Jaffans have long memories.

Asbestos is good for children's health

2009-11-16T19:20:00.002+02:00

My friend E. lives in a small shack located next to several large houses and newly constructed villas in Ajami.

She has three young children.

Her much richer neighbors decided to do some home improvement and replace the asbestos roof of their home with a pretty tiled one.

Usually you rent a container and the demolition crew immediately remove the rubble. Especially when there is asbestos involved, the work is carried out by a specialist company and under stringent conditions.

E.'s neighbors are too stingy to do so and they simply dump their filth next to E's home, including a large amount of broken asbestos roof elements.

Whenever there is a southern wind, the asbestos dust is blown straight into the window of the children's' bedroom. The municipality refuses to act and the neighbors don't care, although they themselves have young children as well.

E. herself doesn't have the money to employ a company to remove the ever growing mountain next to her home. Her children love to play outside in the yard, but that has become dangerous. But then,. inside the house it is dangerous as well.

It appears no one really wants to take responsibility. If it was their kids living next door, would they be as careless?

Update: After an article in Yediot Tel Aviv the municipality arrived and took away the asbestos and other garbage. The municipal spokesman claimed E. had never informed the municipality it was asbestos, otherwise they would have come immediately, or so they claimed. Right. Daily phones and faxes by E. representative in the municipal council, Omar Siksik, were apparently not heard. In any case, the main thing, the asbestos was removed.

Jaffa mud takes hostages

2009-11-15T08:59:00.003+02:00

Different streets in Jaffa were opened up in order to carry out major maintenance work. As usual, the archeologists go in first, then all the other relevant companies; electricity, sewage, water etc.

One huge construction and infrastructure company was working on 4 big projects in Jaffa, in four different locations, Stang.

Traffic jams, mud, we all got used to it.

About 5 weeks ago Stang went belly up and a court decree forbids the municipality to employ any other company in order to complete the works.

And Jaffans pay the price.

People with walking difficulties, young children and the elderly have trouble leaving their homes. At different locations the sewage is open and it is just a matter of time until some small child falls in. One of the open sewers is close to the Weitzman - AlZahara primary school complex. And yes, we informed the municipality, several times, by phone and in writing.

After the rainfalls of last week, the open sewage was flooded and could not easily be seen from the muddy streets.

In addition to the great inconvenience and health hazard, this is an accident waiting to happen. Court order or not, the municipality should take more responsibility. Jaffa residents are not hostages

A brainless monster for a boatless harbour

2009-11-08T15:53:00.003+02:00

Israel Hadani, a fairly well known sculptor, designed a six meter high monster, a headless woman, legs-bound, a victim if there ever was a victim; Andromeda.

Its shape reminds one of a rather unelegant doll of "Oscar" Award style, perhaps something to be placed on a car, not unlike the little sculpture on the hood of a Rolls Royce, but big, XXL.

The idea is to place poor brainless, eyeless and silenced Andromeda at the entrance to the Jaffa harbour close to the rock to which the mythical, beautiful princess Andromeda was chained as a tasty offer for a hungry sea monster, in order to save her city, Jaffa.

According to a Greek myth, Andromeda was a princess, the daughter of the king and queen of Jaffa. Andromeda was offered by her parents to a monstrous Medusa in order to save the city of Jaffa.

She was bound to a rock at the Jaffa harbour entrance, from which she was saved by Perseus, who killed the medusa.

The rock-formation at the harbour entrance is known until this very day as the "Andromeda Rock".

It's part of a very ancient, partially submerged, coral reef. The coral reef was important in the formation of Jaffa's natural harbour. It provided good protection for its ships, against storms and enemies. You really had to know exactly how to enter the tricky harbour in just the right way, in between the unseen rockformations.

Part of the reef was turned, by the British, during the mandate period, into a breakwater protecting the harbour.

Our natural harbour is not deep enough for tall ships but still in intensive use by local fishermen, as they have been doing so for thousands of years.

At the end of the breakwater, a smallish cast iron beakon indicated the harbour entrance. Over the years, under the oxidizing influence of the saltwater waves, its iron rusted and it started to fall apart.

The 6 meter tall Hadani work is supposed to replace it. That's as tall as a two storey building. With bound legs more fitting the ambience of "the Dungeon" (a seedy S&M club in Old Jaffa) and lacking hands and a head as befitting an ultimate and totally defenceless victim.

I had the impression the Hadani sculpture had been completely cancelled as tasteless and unnecessary. But like a true Medusa, it raised its ugly torso once more and it seems they are going to pace the monster without any serious discourse on the need for it nor on its artistic value.

Frankly, there are enough headless monsters in the municipality. We don't really need another one at the harbour entrance.

The view of Jaffa from the sea is lovely and ancient. Why mess it up with yet another "wedding cake" monstrosity? Slowly but surely the fishermen are being kicked out. Our harbour is dying. Hadani's Andromeda is perhaps more than a symbol for the dying bride of the sea, Arus El Bahar, as Jaffa is known in Arabic..

Sheikh Bassam Street in Jaffa

2009-11-06T12:23:00.003+02:00

It's a smallish and brand new street leading from the southern part of the harbour to Kedem Street (or street nr. sixty), constructed in the area where the Al Adassi home was until the municipality demolished it, some two years ago.

That very same municipality decided to name this street, used mainly by Jaffa's few remaining fishermen, after some founders of Tel Aviv.

We asked them to respect the Palestinian identity of the area and name the street after sheikh Bassam of blessed memory. Sheikh Bassam was the imam of the Mahmoudia Mosque and well beloved by most of the Jaffa population. He was known as a peace maker and a community leader able to find simple and just solutions, not only for religious but also for secular problems.

After his death, , many in Jaffa (and not only Muslims) mourned for him.

The Bassam family lives near by and it would have been much more fitting than the street names usually given to the Jaffa streets, some of which are still known by their pre-1948 Arabic names.

Yet the municipality is out to wipe out the memory of the Bride of the Sea, of pre- Naqbe Jaffa. But after the catastrophe the white bride, that was Jaffa, turned into a slum and the municipality got used to doing what they want. No longer so.

Some 40-50 people met this morning at the corner of the street and symbolically replaced the municipal name with the name we selected for the street.

There was supposed to be an official municipal naming ceremony this morning at 10.00 a.m., which they cancelled after they learned about the feelings of the local community and of our intent to demonstrate during the official naming ceremony.

The demo went by peacefully.

Demo in Jaffa (Ajami) tomorrow

2009-11-05T08:09:00.001+02:00

The , municipality is doing all it possibly can to wipe out Jaffa's Palestinian character. That includes changing the existing Arabic names of streets and naming new streets after rabbis, zionist heroes and more.

The Jaffa list as well as the Meretz representatives in the municipal council (Omar Siksik and Ahmad Mashrawi) have been actively demanding the municipality names a new street (connecting between Ha'Ogen Street and the southern part of the Jaffa harbour) after Sheikh Bassam of blessed memory, who was the imam of the Mahmoudia Mosque in Jaffa.

Sheikh Bassam was a community leader of the type not often seen: revered by all, not only by the members of the Muslim community but by all of Jaffa. His family live nearby the new street.

The municipality saw it fit to name the street after a couple of founders of Tel Aviv, instead.
So while the municipality will have its naming ceremony tomorrow at 10.00 o'clock in the morning, we will have a demo. At the same location. Be there. Friday, November the 6th at 10.00 A.M.

One out of four Israelis are poor, but who cares?

2009-11-03T13:44:00.001+02:00

The Social Security Institute's poverty report shows what we in Jaffa have been feeling for a long time: many are poor and their poverty is deepening.

In fact, today 1,651,300 people in Israel (=25%) are living below the poverty line, and almost 47% of the poor are working poor. That is, families where at least one of the partners is employed, but their salary is so low, they are poor.

Almost 29% of the poor are elderly people, depending on their shamefully low state pensions.

Out of the working population almost 13% are poor.

The Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, edged up 0.6 percent from 2007 to 2008.

The minimum wage is low, but many working people earn much less than the minimum wage. Many of them are afraid to complain, as they are worried they will be fired. Others are employed through contractors who fired them every few months, so they will not have to pay them social rights, which they get after 9 months employment.

But what do these numbers really mean?

Prices have gone up hysterically. Discounts for the poor have been cancelled and special support programs are being cut due to budget limitations. As a result of the global slow down, many NGO's are closing down due to less donations.

The ridiculous privitization that has been taking place over the last few years caused much work to be transferred from the state to these NGO's, on the flimsy assumption they would do a better and more efficient job. And cheaper for the state in any case.

Admittedle, some NGO's have been doing wonderful work, on a high professional level.

However, now one NGO after the other closes down or cuts programs. The state is no longer responsible for the privatised services and the poor and needy simply do not get what they are entitled to, as the service no longer exists...

So not only are there more poor, but they are poorer and there are less and less services available to them.

Last week i volunteered for a food hand out program for the very needy. I was shocked to find out the closed boxes contained food stuff that was way past the "sell by" date, in some cases almost two years.

The freshest item, a small box of teabags, was about 1 month past its sell by date. Other products were label-less and one could only guess as to their contents and sell by date.

But people took them never the less. "What can i do?", asked Ibtisal. "It's the only food i will have in my home until the 14th, when my pension comes in." "My daughter got divorced and she returned to live with me with her 3 children. I have many mouths to feed."

Frankly, i do NOT believe in food hand out programs. I think providing higher wages, social security payments as well as stringent control of labour laws are much better tools in the fight for a just allocation of resources and against poverty. More over, when companies donate the stuuf they were not able to sell and can no longer put in the market because it's past the sell by date, they can deduct this as a donation from their taxes, do some PR and feel publicly good about themselves.

As to me, it makes me very angry. Poverty is a social problem that can be solved. It does NOT fall from the sky. It really is a crime carried out by the very strong, the elite, against the weaker people in society. Poverty is preventable.

Not doing anything about it is criminal.

No roof above your head

2009-11-02T22:19:00.004+02:00

The rain strikes the trees forcefully, the wind blows away the flimsy piece of cloth protecting Ali Sakhafi, his young wife and 4 children from the winter storm.

Last thursday Ali's home was demolished by the municipality and the family found itself out n the streets.

Ali is a construction worker who got laid off a few months ago, when the company he worked for went bankrupt. Prior to the bankruptcy Ai did not receive three salaries and the employer did not pay national insurance deductions for him. As a result, Ali is not eligible for unemployment money, as he does not meet the stringent criteria. The family has no income at all.

Ali is not eligible for rent subsidy either because he was married before and he used to be a home owner. Only, the court gave the previous home to his ex-wife and their children. But if your were a home owner in the past, you can no longer qualify for rent subsidy. Simple, straightforward and totally stupid.

Unable to pay the rent after he became unemployed, Ali constructed a tiny home with the help of some friends. Small, simple but adequate. As a construction worker he had the knowledge and experience. He and his friends had time as well, the company closed down after all. The municipality destroyed that home last thursday.

The family have 4 young children, one of them a baby. They have nowhere to go and are desperate. I'm trying to imagine what it is like to put a baby in its cradle in this cold, the rain coming through.

Separation wall inside Jaffa.

2009-11-01T13:57:00.005+02:00

The Weizman and Zahara primary schools in the center of Jaffa share their playground. Weizman is a Hebrew language, predominantly Jewish, school with about 25% Palestinian students. Zahara is an Arabic language, Palestinian only school. As they are next door to each other and share the same playground, it was only natural the schools should try cooperative projects. After all, the parents and children are neighbours.

But Zahara is one of Jaffa's worst schools and Weizman's slowly doing much better. Many of the children at "Zahara" are sons and daughters of collaborators who came from the Gaza strip, children of impoverished parents. Children of families encountering major social difficulties and poverty.

The center of Jaffa is not a very strong area.

The (Palestinian) principal of the Zahara school has agreed to the construction of a separation fence between the two schools. A fence that will keep the kids from the two schools apart.

It's not entirely clear to me where the actual idea came from.

Some claim the idea came from the parents of the Weitzman children "who tired of the violence". I do not really know. But i do know one thing: education is NOT about walls and fences. Education is about working with children, dealing with prejudices and hate by means of discourse and talking. By means of playing together, by learning about each other's language, culture, habits etc. Not about constructing walls and obstructions.

And the demolishings continue.....

2009-11-01T13:57:00.001+02:00

Today i heard another family received a demolition order. They are living in an old house in Ajami.
The family replaced the asbestos roof with a concrete one. They applied for a construction permit, which they didn't yet get. But the municipality is running quickly and wants to come tomorrow.
The family has applied for court assistance to prevent the demolition.

More home demolitions in Jaffa

2009-10-29T15:50:00.001+02:00

Yesterday the municipality demolished the home of the Sakhafi family in Donolo HaRofe Street in Ajami. The Sakhafi's, who have several young children, are out in the rainy streets. Another demolition, planned for today was diverted at the very last moment, thanks to Rasha Asaf, the lawyer of the popular committee and Omar Siksik of the Jaffa list. However, were are only talking about a postponement of the verdict, as there will be a court-case on November the 6th.
It appears the municipality is going back to its bad old ways. The Sakhafi's intend to build a tent at the site of where their home used to be.

Updates to come.

Sweet Threats?

2009-10-26T08:28:00.002+02:00

Last friday night shooting was heard all over the "GanTamar" area of Jaffa, to be followed on saturday night by a very loud explosion on Yefet Street. A handgrenade exploded right next the popular "Moutran Sweets Shop and Cafe", after closing hours. No one was hurt, but the warning is obvious.

A police car was parked next to the store almost all day yesterday, but today things appear to be "normal".
Ofcourse it might also have been thrown at next door "Video Alpha", Jaffa's main bootlegger and absolute ruler of the areal bootleg DVD market.

Moutran is rather expensive and the quality of the sweets they sell doesn't come close to that of the original Nazareth branch of the same name and much fame. The quality of the Jaffa branch coffee is low and that's an understatement. Their coffee ranks deep below that of the coffee machine at the legal aid office in Tel Aviv and i always thought one could go no lower. I can very well understand one not liking the coffee and sweets, but throwing a grenade is not an accepted form of restaurant criticism.

There appears to be a surge in street violence right now, although i have no idea if there is a connection between the events.

Many of last week's drug-bust arrestees are still under arrest, which may well mean a power struggle's under development in the "market", a vacuum never lasts long.

Policing Ajami

2009-10-19T09:03:00.001+02:00

The movie "Ajami" must have woken up someone to the reality we live in. Anyone following this blog even slightly knows about the violence and drug dealing going on here.

Yesterday morning 27 people from Ajami were arrested on suspicion of drug related crimes. It appears a cover agent has been operating in the area over the last few weeks.

In the few cases i know about personally from relatives and friends of those arrested, no drugs were found in spite of the extensive searches carried out in the homes of the arrestees.

In a few cases damage was caused to the property of the families involved. Some of the arrestees live very normal lives, working hard and are poor, not exactly a drug dealer's life style or so it seems. They may well be innocent.

Some of the arrestees do have the doubtful reputation of being a dealer.

Kosher pigs

2009-10-19T08:54:00.003+02:00

Jaffa has several cafes and restaurants, some of them serving kosher food, others quite distinctly different as to the food they serve.

However, a restaurant or cafe may serve kosher food, but that it where the kashrut ends. Some of them behave as pigs towards their employees and that makes them very unkosher, not to say treif. In fact, it is not "some" but rather quite a few. Not respecting employees' rights is almost common practice in the bar/restaurant business.

Enter an NGO known as "beMagaley Zedek" who have introduced the "social kashrut" or "tav hevrati" on the assumption a kashrut should go beyond food, and imply respect towards workers' rights (as in minimum salary, holidays, travel costs etc) as well.

Many of the places in Jaffa (some of the koolest ones who have created an image of "human rights" for their business among them) refuse to pay their waiters a salary, insisting tips to be their income. Or if they pay a salary, it's way below the legal minimum wage.

So far the social kashrut certificate has been awarded three places in Jaffa:

"Poua", in the fleamarket area.

"Jaffa" (no NOT Yafa Coffee and Books who in spite of their "human rights image" have a bad employee rights record, paying less than the minimum wage, not paying travel expenses as required by law and a lot of other unpleasant activities towards employees) but the Jaffa place on Oley Zion, also in the fleamarket area.
"Na Laga'at" in the harbour.

So, next time you go out somewhere in Jaffa, know where you go.

One wonders

2009-10-07T13:40:00.000+02:00

Sometime very early this morning someone broke into the offices of the Jaffa Association for Humanitarian Aid, an NGO handing out food parcils to Jaffa's poor and stole all computers. How heartless can they get?

Travel restrictions in Jaffa: Freedom of movement and religion is questioned

2009-10-05T19:41:00.001+02:00

Twice a week buses leave from the Gazans' Garden (Gan HaShnayim) in Jaffa for Jerusalem: people go there in order to pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque. Most of them, the very large majority in fact , are elderly devout women. After the prayers they take a walk through the Old City and return to Jaffa.

Today the police waited at the traditional bus stop and prevented the pilgrims from boarding the Jerusalem bound bus and leaving Jaffa. So much for the freedom of religion in "the only democracy in the Middle East".

How misunderstandings can mess up a community

2009-10-05T18:10:00.000+02:00

Last friday there was an event at the Ajami Orthodox club, a favourite hang-out of Jaffa's Christian Palestinian community.

Someone had a little too much alcohol and went into a nearby grocery, unable to hold his drink. Before quite gettig out of the door, the drunk threw up. One of the grocery guys decided to punish him and beat him up quite badly. Result: the drunkard is in intensive care.

That very same evening the grocery store caught fire. Rather a coincidence.

So on the next day, sunday, close to the orthodox church, when the family went to pray, shots were fired, barely missing the people but causing some damage. Right now tension is high in Jaffa.

October 1st Demo in Jaffa

2009-10-01T21:28:00.001+02:00

Moving once more

2009-10-01T14:49:00.001+02:00

Many of the stores along Yefet street are closed in honour of the October 1st strike .
Good to see that quite a few store owners in Jaffa are politically aware,

At the same time, (and until the demo this afternoon) i'm working very hard as once more i have to move. This time the owner wants the flat back. He's getting married (mabrouk) and wants to move in with his wife.
Thank all of those who helped me find a new place in Ajami. Close (less than 100 meter) from the sea, a tiny garden with a lovely lemon tree (i counted 5 lemons this morning in different stages of ripeness and grapes) and 2 (as in two) bathrooms. For those of you who had the doubtable honour to visit the miniature premises in my current (tomorrow ex-flat) abode, you know what it means.

But right now i am packing, over 50 boxes of books.......still so many to go.

Picket line today at 16.00 on Clocktower Square in Jaffa

2009-10-01T09:53:00.000+02:00

Today a general strike in Palestinian towns, villages and the shared cities has been announced in order to commemorate the murder of the 13 Palestinian citizens of Israel by the Israeli police during the first week of October 2000:

Ahmed Jabarin
Mohammed Jabarin
Rami Gharra
Eyad Lawabny
Misleh Abu-Jared
Ala’a Nasser
Aseel Asleh
Emad Ghanayem
Waleed Abu Saleh
Ramez Bushnaq
Mohammed Khalib Khamayseh
Omar Akawi
Wisam Yizbek
We will join together in a silent picket line at 16.00 o'clock at Jaffa's Clock tower Square.

"Ajami" goes to Hollywood

2009-09-27T14:10:00.002+02:00

And now for some local patriotism: Last night the movie "Ajami" received the Ophir prize for "Best Movie" and it will be the official selection to tthe academy awards (as in Oscars). It's the first time a predominantly Arabic spoken movie is the official candidate.
Good luck to Scandar Copti, Yaron Sheni and all the other crew & neighbours!!

About the movie Ajami in Arabic

The Kishle: A Victory

2009-09-23T22:59:00.000+03:00

Tonight the plenary session of the municipal council decided by a small minority not to allow construction on top of the Kishle (Jaffa's ancient police station, a protected building).

A few years ago the Jordache company bought the "Kishle" compound, a series of buildings at the northern entrance of Jaffa on clock tower square.

The square is a lovely location, surrounded by ancient sand stone buildings. The company wants to turn the building into a hotel and applied for a construction permit which would have allowed them to build a huge addition on top of the ancient protected structure. The addition would completely change the view of Jaffa when arriving from the north.

The company used some rather dodgy techniques to hide their intentions from the public, so no one would oppose the plans.

Initially they almost succeeded and received the permit. However the appeal filed by Omar Siksik and Ahmad Mashrawi succeeded and the appeal was accepted. Oh the sweet taste of victory :) .

Rain

2009-09-20T08:25:00.000+03:00

It's literally pouring now. I hope it forebodes a rainy year as we absolutely need it after such a prolonged dry period. Of course my alley is flooded, an ugly black fast flowing river carrying with it the debris and accumulated dust of the long dry season. But it makes me happy, this first rain.

Ajami, not the movie

2009-09-20T08:02:00.004+03:00

Cinema reality.

I woke up because of the rain, the first rain of the year, the "yore" as we call it in Hebrew, after the long dry season.. I love its smell, but of course i have to open the "floodgates" of the roof so my rooftop balcony won't get flooded because of the blocked drains. The first rains bring with them everything that has gathered on the roof during the long dry summer (imagine tons of guano, feathers, dead leaves, dirt, whatever). My neighbours are out as well, doing the same little necessary job.

Then the news starts going from roof to roof: A 22 year old guy from Jaffa was shot and killed last night at the beach. His friends took him to the nearby Wolfson Hospital, but there they could do nothing.

We don't know yet who it is. There are various rumours. As usual, the police are investigating.
Normally we have the doubtful honour of being among the first to know, the gravedigger lives on the corner of our alley and bad news travels quickly. I think the family may have gone for the holiday as already on Thursday they brought me a batch of Id el Fitr cookies and talked about perhaps going somewhere.

It's the first day of Id el Fitr, "Have mercy", is all i can think of. Yet another family are crying. More people in danger. Enough.

Later on i learned of the guy's identity; Samir Moghrabi.

Jaffa, New Year, Id El Fitr.

Happy Id El Fitr & Happy New Year

2009-09-19T21:41:00.000+03:00

The Jewish New Year and Id el Fitr coincide and there can never been too few parties, Diets will be postponed, too many good home made cookies in the neighbourhood, happy New Year and Happy Id El Fitr!

Ajami, the movie

2009-09-19T17:14:00.001+03:00

It hits you in the face, Scandar Kopti's and Yaron Sheni's movie "Ajami"' bluntly. It's overpowering.

And yes, this is where i live. It's about "my" neighbourhood.

Of course this is not going to be an objective film review. I know most , no, almost all of the actors, at least by face and some are very good friends. The cast has been trained, but they are not professional actors, just my neighbours, more or less playing themselves, playing situations they know, reacting naturally as they would have done were the story real. It could have been real.

However, before continuing, honesty demands i admitting being ever so slightly being involved in a very very early production stage of Ajami.

The film opens with a murder scene, a case of mistaken identity, shot in HaDudaim Street. The scene sent me back to some 7 years ago, Saturday afternoon. Enjoying a glass of wine on my balcony overlooking that street. The street is packed with children, playing outside, enjoying themselves. A motorcycle drives by, on it someone wearing a dark helmet. A few shots ring out, loud, then screams and crying, a young guy lays badly wounded on the street. It all went so fast it took me a few seconds to understand what i had just witnessed. The opening scene takes place at almost the same spot. Only on the other side of the street. In this case the guy survived. They say the murderer was someone from Ramle or Lod, and he didn't know the intended victim well enough and thus mistook him for someone else. Just like in the movie. The similarity is chilling and it doesn't stop with this scene either.

The movie is made out of a few story lines which initially seem not entirely connected, but over time they do, as in real life, as in Ajami.

Many in the audience were from Ajami, so some scenes were funny to us in a way they may not be to others.

I highly recommend, run to your nearest movie theatre.

Municipal thugging

2009-09-14T09:03:00.001+03:00

Q. is in his seventies. A good humoured elderly man from Jaffa. His wife died several years ago, his children no longer live near by. He lives on social security (payment for the elderly) in addition to a tiny income from selling pencils on Jaffa's streets.

Whenever i see him i buy a pencil or two. Not that i need them, but i enjoy the talk, the smile, the "salamat habibti" at the end of our conversation.

The Tel Aviv municipality has its own goon squad of controllers. Selling on the streets is not allowed. Usually Q. notices them before they see him. If it's the other way around, they will take his pencils away and warn him.

Lately they have started fining him. After all it is a punishable crime to sell a pencil n the street. His income is very low, so a fine means hunger. If you don't pay, the municipal goon squad can actually break into your home and take whatever pleases them.

Q. has very little money. He cannot afford the fines.

Of course he could stop selling pencils. But selling pencils is what he enjoys. He LIKES selling pencils.

He does not like the clubs for the elderly. For him selling pencils is part of his life as a travelling salesman, something he did when he was younger. So, NO he cannot stop selling pencils. He enjoys it, it's has become a necessary part of his life.

The simplest solution would be to make the thugs look into the other direction when they see the friendly old man and his pencils. Or maybe a friendly doctor could prescribe selling pencils as a medicine.

Iftar at my friends' home

2009-09-12T09:19:00.001+03:00

Friends of mine, who live at Jaffa's "Arab Housing Estate" also known all over Jaffa as the "shikunat", the jungle or the zoo, invited me to share the iftar dinner. We just sat down when the door was opened by a very scared young guy. "There's police downstairs, can i come in?". Sure, sit down, join us for iftar."

A few seconds after, loud knocks on the door. "Open up, police". Three policemen, hands on their loaded semi-automatic rifles stand in the doorway. "Show us your ID's".

X. who opened the door, shows her ID and that of her husband. The large family with many friends, the older daughter's husband and young child all sit around the table and watch the policemen, their hands on the triggers of their guns. "Do you live here?" they ask. Strange question, the family sitting around the dinner table makes it rather obvious.

They leave for the neighbours' door. Nobody home there, but the door is open, so they just go in and leave with the motor helmets they found inside.

The police are all over the neighbourhood and on the roofs of the buildings and stay there for a long time. We all stay inside, although normally we would have gone outside after dinner to enjoy the cool evening air.

My friend is worried about her teenage son. In situations like these young guys can be arrested "just for being there".

The young guy sat with us and we talked. He is just a regular kid, but he knows the "rules". In this area you can get arrested for anything.

Jaffa, Ramadan 2009

Chasing a driver

2009-09-05T17:16:00.003+03:00

Like a noisily buzzing fly a police helicopter has been hovering at a very low altitude above Ajami for at least half an hour now.

Somewhat earlier a policeman tried to stop a motor cyclist for a regular check somewhere in the south of Tel Aviv in the area of Giborim street. The motor cyclist didn't stop and the policeman was left badly wounded and taken into the Tel Hashomer hospital.

The cyclist wearing a dark helmet and short pants has managed to get away so far. The search for the cyclist appears to be going on, noisily, right above my head.

Shooting nearby, right now

2009-09-02T19:10:00.014+03:00

Being at home, a little ill, i was woken up by the sound of fighting near by about half an hour ago, then shots and shouting just now.

A young guy climbing over the wall and running away over the roof of a neighbouring house, while hiding something (a gun? a knife? or maybe just his cellphone?) in the top of his pants.

Screaming. The muezzin is singing out the last sentences and my neighbours are about to sit down for dinner.

A police car arrives. Another neighbour pulling something from under his shirt and hiding it.

More shouting. Another siren getting closer. It could be police or it could be an ambulance, although in Jaffa victims are usually transported to nearby Wolfson hospital by the first available car.
Another police car arrives close to the house of my neighbours.

Several policemen are now carrying out a search outside my neighbours' house and some climbed over the wall, to search inside the yard and the house itself. They seem to know where to go. But not exactly.
The search goes on.
They are taking the house apart or so it seems. One of the children just returned home. Not a pleasant situation.
All the neighbours stand outside on the balconies and rooftops to watch the show.

In case someone was wondering, this is the police climbing over the wall to search the yard.

Thursday morning update: police are searching all over the nearby roof tops.

Housing Demo in Kfar Shalem (Salameh)

2009-08-30T22:26:00.007+03:00

Until 1948 Salameh was a fairly prosperous Palestinian village, close to Jaffa. Its original inhabitants and home owners were violently turned into refugees, to be replaced by mostly Yemenite immigrants. Soon after 1948 it was renamed "Kfar Shalem" and became a far away suburb of quickly developing Tel Aviv, to be engulfed by that city's new neighbourhoods after a few years. But the villge stayed the village. Lovely one and two storied houses on plots of land, encircled by fruit trees and chicken coops.

The unused mosque in its busy center. Small crooked streets. Muddy in winter and a dustbowl during the hot summer months,

Children were born, then grand children. Rooms were added, bathrooms fixed, new gardens planted. The village developed. Families shared laughter and sadness.

Suddenly the village became attractive, green, low-rise housing, romantic. And housing prices started to go up. The municipality realized there was money to be made, as did the Israel Land Administration, who had become the "owners" of the refugees' "absentee property in 1948 and rented it out to the Yemenites.

As in Jaffa, demolition and eviction procedures were started.

Some years ago, the original Yemenite inhabitants and their children were left very angry, yet almost defenceless, after one home owner was killed by the police after having barricaded himself on the rooftop of his home, in order to protest his eviction.

Two years ago several families were evicted from their homes which were then destroyed in order to make place for construction for the wealthy, just like in Jaffa. Political activities and a court case seemed to stop the process.

But now the evictions have been renewed. And a bond has been formed between the Jaffaites and the people from Kfar Shalem, Salameh, almost as in the old days.

Like in Jaffa, people are tired of being treated like so much dirt. They are putting up a struggle and today's demo is only the opening shot in that struggle.

Several hundreds marched from the village to the nearby Moshe Dayan 4-lane highway, which they barricaded in order to protest against the renewed evictions and demolitions. The police, for the time being, were surprisingly considerate. Or maybe i have become used too much to the Jaffa police's violent standards?

Another Jaffa family out in the streets

2009-08-25T23:03:00.003+03:00

When R. and her 5 children came home this afternoon, they found all their furniture out in the street, much of it severely damaged and broken. The doorlock had been changed.
The house owner, well known and very wealthy Jaffa property tycoon Walid Aboulafia (of bakery fame), had abused R's absence from the hovel she had been renting from him for some three years, to evict her, illegally, without a court order.
R. asked the police to come, but the sinlge police man did not help her. "There was nothing he could", do he said. R. was under so much pressure by then, that she forgot to take his details.
In fact, it is Mr. Walid Aboulafia who broke the law by evicting her illegally, without a court order.

The flat R. rented was a 2 1/2 room affair in Jaffa's Al Ajami neighborhood. Damp, it's walls blackened by fungi. In the winter the rain entered through the cracked walls. The kitchen sink was not connected to the sewage, so R. used a bucket instead.
For over a year she and her kids had their daily shower at R's mother's tiny house, as the shower in R.'s house didn't function and the owner, rich Walid Aboulafia, refused to repair it.

R. who paid a very high rent relative to the ugly state of the house she lived in, stopped paying the rent. The owner cut off her water and electricity supply. It was easy for him to do so, because in the past, the flat had been larger and he subdevided it, one assumes without a permit. As a result R. shared the electricity and water bill with her neighbors, so it was very easy to punish her.

R. started looking for a new place, but the rents in Jaffa have gone up and all she has is her social security payments. Also many houseowners want all kinds of guarantees, which when you live on social security, you cannot easily get.

The beds were literally broken, as if they had been thrown from the second floor where she lived. Maybe they were.

Due to the Ramadan, Jaffa's streets are very quiet, so we have no witnesses to the method of furniture removal. The broken aquarium says it all, i will not ask questions about the fish. Volunteers from the Islamic movement helped R. to move her stuff (or rather that part worth salvaging) to Esther's house. Esther who's always there to help each and everyone. But the damage has been done. Five children out in the streets. Next week the schoolyear starts. I wonder how R.'s children will cope. We could not find their new schoolbooks in the mess.

Ramadan, Jaffa 2009

What the.....

2009-08-25T09:03:00.004+03:00

Over the last several days large groups of armed soldiers have been seen walking around Ajami and GanTamar every evening, going into the small alleys, only known to locals who live there.

Carrying enlarged arial photographs, they walk around, often loosing their way and backtracking. When asked, they say they are doing "urban navigation" exersises. Really?

In Liebermanland i start to feel more and more uncomfortable.

Ramadan Karim

2009-08-21T19:33:00.004+03:00

The Siksik mosque, originally constructed in the 1880-ies, partially demolished by a bomb during the Naqbe, abused by the Keter Plastic Factory between 1960-2006 and reconstructed by the community in 2009, was inaugurated last wednesday, just before Ramadan.

Jaffa's Palestinian community was deeply involved in the reconstruction and building. At the same time the community was built by the concentrated effort of reconstructing a lovely mosque.

The inauguration was attended by over 500 community members, as well as Sheikh Raed Salah of the northern section of the Islamic movement and knesset member Ibrahim Zarsur of the southern section of the Islamic movement..

The tension which often exists between those two sections was not present. There was a feeling of pride and unity.

Ramadan Karim to the Jaffa community and all those to whom it applies.

Mum & three kids became homeless today

2009-08-18T19:44:00.005+03:00

Manal Haj is a single mother of three school age children. They are all out on the street , homeless.

Three days before the onset of the Ramdan and two weeks before the beginning of the school year, Manal and her children have nowhere to go after Halamish, the public housing company evicted them from their home today.

The story is one of those burocratic flipflops, as Manal has been eligible for public housing for over 13 years, but due to change in the type of social security she receives, the payments were stopped for some three months, after which she started receiving a different category of social security.

In order to be elegible for public housing, you need to be dependent for at least two years on social security. Manal receibed social security for 13 years, but during 3 months last year she didn't receive a thing and as a result lost her housing rights.

Quote of the week, by Robert Paxton

2009-08-16T07:51:00.003+03:00

"Fascism is a system of political authority and social order intended to reinforce the unity, energy, and purity of communities in which liberal democracy stands accused of producing division and decline......... a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."

From: Robert Paxton, emeritus professor of History at Columbia University, The Five Stages of Fascism
Hmmm, sounds a lot like Israel.

A New Home for the Marzouk Family

2009-08-15T11:07:00.004+03:00

The Marzouk family from Jaffa were living in a dangerous building, that was about to fall down.
The public housing company, Halamish, offered them another home, but due to burocracy and municipal stupidity, the family were stuck in the old home.
I wrote about the family's ordeal a few weeks ago, after one of the children was almost killed by a huge piece of concrete that fell from the ceiling.
The story was picked up by Yediot Ahronot, Israel's favorite daily and this week the family finally moved into their new home.

On chasing humans

2009-07-28T16:44:00.002+03:00

The migration police was/is at it, once again, chasing refugees and labor migrants in order to expel them.

And, legally speaking, anyone who gives shelter or otherwise assists "illegal aliens" , can be tried and sent to jail for up to 20 years!. Although i suspect the law is meant for traffickers, it applies to anyone assisting an "illegal alien". I wonder if it applies to the social workers of "mesila", the municipal social services agency for migrant laborers, to the volunteer teachers of the "noar oved velomed" youth movement, who run a wonderful educational project for migrant and refugee children in Jaffa, to the teachers of the Bialik rogozin school where many of the migrant and finally to myself, as i am part of a project of volunteers who go out and try to warn migrant laborers and refugees whenever the police carry out their nasty hunt parties.

When ever we hear about the hunt activities, we come quickly and notify people in the area to be careful. We also make photographs of the activities, so people can familiarize themselves with thefaces of the undercover migrant police and stay out of their way as much as possible.

Today it was my turn. I got an SMS message and was off. The area of the central bus-station. By now the migrantion ;olice have become aware of our presence so they try to trick us, by diverting us to "non-actions" while the real "hunt" takes place in the next street. But this was no game. People are being hunted down, imprisoned and sent back to countries where they may be in severe danger.

Small children, many of them born here, who have never known any other place can be jailed and eported to a place they do not know. Loose there parents in the case of parents coming from different countries.

Yet at the same time the country brings in more and more migrant laborerers, through private labor agencies who make huge amounts of money on each migrant worker.

Corruption and a disregard for basic human rights go hand in hand.

The shakshuka method

2009-07-26T16:24:00.003+03:00

Miki Rozental and Ilan Aboudi made a documentary film exposing the alleged abuse of wealth and power by the Ofer brothers, called "The Shakshuka Method".

The Ofer brothers are the owners or main shareholders of various companies, some of which were sold to them by the state below their actual value, so it seems. Some of these factories are heavily poluting the country, yet nothing is done against it. As they are also media owners, it's very difficult to say anything against them. We are not talking about "slight" polution, but about truly poisoning the country and affecting our health.

Miki Rozental and Ilan Aboudi have been sued by the Ofer brothers, who started to threaten them with a lawcase even before the movie was finished.

The lovely brothers have also been doing everything they can to prevent the movie, which was finished about 1 year ago, from being screened. Miki (and Ilan maybe too) are facing a 3 million NIS lawsuit and Mati Shmuelof has started an interesting online campaign to assist the movie makers in their legal defence. Even if they win, having to fight such a lawsuit in court is very expensive for the moviemakers.

the Ofer brothers are among the 20 rich families in the country and their relation with the political elite appears to be very problematic. Money buys power and big money buys control.

The Ofer brothers also donate to hospitals etc. in order to make a "nice" impression. (Donations are recognized for tax purposes, so it is worthwhile donating: you receive a lot of free PR and pay less tax).

The "Shakshuka method" (which has hardly been screened) will be screened by channel one this tuesday, July 28, at 20.30 . It will be followed by another film, made by the Ofer brothers as a reaction.

It should be noted that the "Yes" channel, who partially fuded the making of the movie, copped out after the makers refsued to carry out modifications in their movie as demanded by the channel. One wonders why...

I guess i have to find someone with a TV. Youtube shows only bits and pieces.

The Etrog market, a temporary victory

2009-07-20T10:09:00.004+03:00

The Israel Land Administration has been legally ordered to not hand over the 20 appartment plot on Mendes France street to "beemuna", the contracter who wants to sell only to nationalist religious buyers.

The Association of Civil Rights in Israel appealed the sale of public land to the ultra right wing group on behalf of the Jaffa Coalition of Organizations protecting the land and housing rights of the Palestinian community.

As a result the sale has been -temporarily- frozen. A small victory in the fight against gentrification and land theft!

jailing and deporting kids

2009-07-18T21:45:00.001+03:00

The reorganized migration police have made their anouncement; as of the end of this month they will be arresting kids, send them to jail and deport them.

There is something so evil and amoral about it, i am at a loss for words.

The little girl in the photogrph was born here, her parents fled Darfour. What rights does she have? Israel signed and ratified the international charter on the rights of children, but who cares?

Some do: Today a few thousand people, both migrant laborers, refugees and veteran Israelis met for a demo & happening in the Levinsky park next to the Tel Aviv central bus station. Politicians and activists as well as many families with their kids met to demonstrate against the cruel and unusual measures that are about to be taken by the Israeli ministry of the interior and the migration police.

Other nasty measures they want to introduce or enforce: In addition they want to return refugees at the border, an act which may literally endanger their lives as Egyptian soldiers have been known to shoot at the refugees. Also they will not allow refugees to live in the central area of the country and in Eilat, although that is the area where all the services are centred and where there are job opportunities. Not too long ago our parents and grand parents were refugees. Is our memory THAT short?

Chasing humans on the garbage-mountain, oops, in the Jaffa "Midron" park

2009-07-15T09:10:00.004+03:00

Lately i have been taking early morning and late evening walks and runs in our brand new "midron park", usually topped of by a serious work-out in the open air free gym and a water drinking pause at the very end of the deck, above the huge evening waves crashing just below (and sometimes all over me, allowing for a salty cooling shower). During the cool eveing hours the northern, almost finished part of the park (which isn't open ye, but trust Jaffans to find a way in) many hang around, with fresh grapes, watermelon, drinks, surrounded by their kids running wild on the green grass ans sandy slopes. Thus, on my way back, there is always someone offering me a drink or sweet cool fruit.

Although not yet finished, the park is a true blessing, inspite of its sorry story, as it is also the grave of Palestinian Jaffa: When the Palestinian homes of Jaffa were demolished, their rubble was thrown on the Ajami beach, just south of the Jaffa harbour. Soon all kinds of junk followed the rubble. The underworld also quite loved the location for getting rid of suspicious "materials" of all kinds from cars used in robberies to body parts and drug stashes, weapons, explosives, you name it.

Thus, a huge rubble mountain was created, called "the garbage mountain". Only a very small part of the original beach was left; the "Jabaliyah beach, not known to most Tel Avivians.

The municipality intended to create an artifical piece of land and construct villas and other housing for the very well to do, in order to "uplift the level of the local population".

The Jaffa community, united for the first , them to court and won. The rest is history. A park was to be created, and a small part of the beach was restored as well.

And, the truth, the park is great. OK, there is a lot of water-using soft green grass (irrigated with de-salienated sea water, i have been told) but that makes for great picknicks and games. The open air gym is already popular, so for once, thanks, municipality, thanks mishlama. What started out as destruction , turned into some sort of a blessing.

But blessings is not what this story is all about.

The new homes of the ultra rich in Ajami, are being constructed by "illegal" workers, mostly from the territories. Low pay and horrid labor conditions are all part of the ugly game of labor relations in construction. Nothing new there. On large construction projects you'll mostly find Chinese and Romanian labor migrants. But when constructing oriental style villas, you need stone masons for the creation of arches and arabesques: Palestinians from the occupied territories. They work hard and receive low pay, the risk is mostly on them. The conditions in the occupied territories are so difficult, many of tem have no choice, but to come to Israel and work here in order to provide for their poor families.

Yesterday the border police carried out a manhunt for "illegal" construction workers. Some of them gt away, quickly running to wherever they could hide. In some cases, sympathetic locals, both Palestinians and Jews, helped to hide them, feeling uncomfortable and perhaps guilty with the man hunt going no in their now quite fancy neighborhood. after all, the police are not chasing criminals, but people whose only crime is wanting to provide for their families through hard physsical labour few Israelis are willing to do.

The hunt went on for many hours. Until sunset, or so we thought.

On may way back from my run, quite late, almost midnight, i saw them, again, border police and soldiers carefully going through the park. Searching.

When going out running i only carry water, no id. But they weren't looking for me and the likes of me. The man hunt was still on.

Boycot cellcom...

2009-07-14T19:01:00.003+03:00

i guess u have to admit being their client, however, there must be a way to get away from that obnoxious company.

The cheapy cell phone company is using the separation wall as part of a campaign

Time to find another company and now that i can keep my old number, maybe it is a very GOOD time to do so.

Lotsa' luck, or, almost a catastrophe

2009-07-14T16:49:00.005+03:00

Eleven year old Inserah was watching her favorite summer TV program, when a huge block of concrete fell down right next to her.

The ceiling in the family's living room, in fact the whole buildng on Jerusalem Boulevard, is about to come down.

The walls have deep cracks through which the sky can be seen. Whenever a heavy truck passes by, bits and pices come falling down in a never stoppping snowy shower.

Then flat is owned by "Halamish", the municipal public housing company.

Halamish KNOW about the danger and in fact have approved a move to another flat. But, and this is where burocracy starts, they cannot move.

Samira, Inserah's mother already cleaned the new place. They are already paying the electricity bill for the new place, yet their move has not been fnally approved, because the family owes the municipality money. They are willling to pay but no one knows how much (and that includes the municipality itself).

For years the family has received municipal tax bills for a flat in another building and never for the flat they actually live in. (mind you, they never ever lived in that other building). Their waterbills were equally mysterious: their use is always "0" but they are charged HUGE bills for public use in their building. It appears they are paying the bills for "super shuk Avi", the supermakret downstairs.

For over 6 months they have been writing to the municipality asking to settle their own bill. The correspondence has gone up higher and higher in the hierarchy, until last week they appealed to the mayor, Ron Hulday. To no avail.

They met with the general manager of Halamish, who approved in my presence actually, that they move to the new place.

Yet until now the move has not taken place.... As they are not allowed to move until having settled their municipal bill, which they are unable to because no one appears to know what it is.

Te letter to the mayor contains a simple sentence stattng the family sees him personally responsible of something happens to the family. Today that almost happened.

What are we waiting for? Until the house collapses?

There are no illegal children

2009-07-04T23:06:00.002+03:00

A deep feeling of shame overtook me, at seeing the kids from Darfour, who may be arrested, imprisoned and deported any day now, during the demonstration against the newly formed deportation police and the terrible policies adopted by the current government. Small children, some of them were born here and know no other country.

They are fluent in Hebrew and attend Israeli schools. Their schoold friends joined them in the demo, their innocent faces serious, while upholding placards stating "we want Mozes back in our class" and "Don't deport our friends".

Perhaps 100 - 12o Israelis and foreigners stood together at a busy crossing in downtown Tel Aviv protesting the actions undertaken by the newly formed private police force that has one aim: deport foreigners from Israel. Even if they may be killed in their countries of origin.

In order to make their sick task easier, another law was passed making it a crime to assist "illegal" foreigners in any way. In fact an NGO volunteer or employee who e.g. brings food to a shelter, teaches Hebrew or voluntarily represents a refugee in the migration court can be send to jail for 20 years!

Ofcourse many of us will take the risk, but it will make aiding more dangerous and difficult. And less available. The foreigne workers in Israel and their families are weakened statusless people.

The state has now instituted a special police force with one aim "getting rid of them, but hook or by crook". After all, the worst they can do to us is jail us. But deportation is an entirely different thing.

I feel a deep shame, anger and frustration at what is happening. But i also feel a deep fear for Israeli society, there is something so evil and immoral about arresting and deporting a small child. A society that is able to undetake such an act is seriously and deeply flawed.

Shooting in the 'hood

2009-07-04T17:39:00.003+03:00

Almost asleep a 1 this morning reading a book but only partially grasping (tired after a nice shabat dinner with my friends), three gun shots, from the direction of the drugdealer's house on the corner. It's really close by this time.

No shouts following the gunshot sound, a sign that they were perhaps warning shots from a passing car or motorcycle, no wounded.

I fell asleep, until being woken up once more around three; This time it's a long volley of automatic gunshot fire coming from the opposite corner, really loud, right underneath my bed room window more or less.

Followed by shouting, male and female voices.

I can hear my neighbors on their roof top. I go out on to the roof balcony as well. The night air is pleasant and cool, unlike the humid heat earlier on. There is swearing and shouting. Someone must have been hurt, i suppose.

We talk a little from rooftop to rooftop and go back in again.

Last week one of the neighbors tried to strab another neighbor' suspected of having damaged the drugdealer's car. The whole 'hood was out on the street and the wanna-be stabber was stopped, while his prospective victim escaped into his home, located oppostie my house. I wonder if there is a connection.

Back to sleep once more.

Demonstration against the new migration police activities and the crazy "aid to illegal aliens act"

2009-07-04T09:35:00.006+03:00

Today, saturday the 4th at 20.00 at the corner of Ben Zion and King George street in Tel Aviv, there will be a demonstration against thepolicy, the cruel treatment and the activities of the new migration police and the Israeli government.

The new policy doesn't only entail incredible cruelty against one of Israel's weakest groups: refugees and labor migrants, victims of modernday slavery and trafficking but also those who help them!

According to the new law any Israeli citizen who helps a "illegal alien" in any way, faces up to 20 years in prison.

Thus the volunteers of the various NGO's who bring clothes and food to the shelters, provide Hebrew lessons, free legal and medical aid etc. have been defined as criminals by law, facing worse prison terms then e.g. rapists, thieves, bribers, you name it.

Hirschenzon, the previous minister of finance, who robbed several millions from the healthfund and non profit org he managed, was sent to prison for less than 10 years this week.

Yet those who volunteer in NGO's that extending assistance to "illegal aliens", may face 20 years for that activity.

This country is VERY VERY sick. It is OUR responsibility to change that. To heal. Please come to the demo today

Israel's old new hate police: privatization of a dangerous force

2009-07-02T18:15:00.009+03:00

Yesterday they carried out their first action, by rounding up "illegal aliens" in the area of the central bus station in Tel Aviv. They made use of a private bus company, Alant, to transport the arrestees to a private prison. I'm amazed at how easy it is to privatize "services" dealing with very basic rights, such as freedom. Not just amazaed, also scared. Private goons carrying out private justice.

According to the Ministry of the interior there are about 250.000 foreigners without a permit residing in Israel. Some are victims of trafficking, others refugees from Darfour or Eritrea, yet others laborourers from China or the Filipines who ran away from the slave like conditions under which they were made to live and work for much less than the minimum wage (which already is very low).

A few years ago the migration police was established and then abolished in order to be replaced by a private police force operated by the ministry of the interior as of yesterday. The private police force are not bound by the rules that bind the regular police.

Yesterday they carried out their first action and their spokesperson "promised" its continuation. They do not care if a refugee might be in danger. They have also stated they will not respect the unofficial agreements between NGO's school and the migration police which held that no arrests would be made around the school areas, the free clinic and other NGO's assisting the labour migrants, refugees and victims of modern slavery. In fact the new police force stated they would actively search those areas, because that is where those without rights receive their services.

Their spokesperson has also informed the public they will arrest and deport children. A very large part of the children were born in Israel. go to Israeli schools and speak predominantly Hebrew. They have never been to their parents' country (or countries, when parents come from different areas of the world, there are quite a few "mixed" children) and are not familiar with their parents culture(s).

The arrest and deportation of children stand in direct opposition of various international agreements the country has signed. Yesterday parents with children were warned to leave the country within one month, if not, they will face arrest and deportation. Arresting babies and toddlers, little schoolchildren? This place is seriously sick.

A new witchhunt is on its way targetting Israel's weakest groups with modern and forceful means.

However, one needs to look also at the larger picture. The new police force is private. It is used against the weakest of weak population who cannot risk protesting. But at the same time, society gets used to the idea of an "efficient private police". I expect it will only be a matter if time until this force will be used against others, Israeli citizens as well.

So long democracy.....

Arnon Giladi is at it, once more

2009-07-02T17:13:00.009+03:00

Arnon Giladi, likud representative in the municipal council, sent around a hateful letter full of half truths and pure lies concerning the Siksik mosque.

The guy who in the past stated in an interview with "Ha'Ir" that Jaffa should be "judaized" (imagine someone in the states saying the neighborhood should be "whitened") is actively looking for trouble.

His compaints made Gilad Peled, head of the Jaffa governance, the "mishlama leyafo", the mini-municipality so to say, run to the mosque accusing the mosque people of all kinds of crimes aacording to the illegal construction and squatting laws. After all when Arnon Giladi accuses someone, it should be taken seriously.

However, in the end, after having been shown the mosque peoples' paperwork, Peled had to admit being wrong. Giladi has not yet done so.

One wonders what Arnon Giladi's real interest is.

In the mean time, tomorrow, friday, a large group of praying people is expected to attend the prayers at the Siksik mosque, now under full renovation.

I took a little time to go to the municipal archive and dig up some "goodies". There is lots of paperwork showing without doubt the ownership of the "Siksik Waqf", and one presumes Giladi as well as Peled to be aware of that. A waqf cannot legally sell a mosque according to Israeli law, which actually protects the standing of a mosque as a religious building (theoretically at least).

As the municipal papers show without any doubt, the mosque is owned by the Siksik waqf, therefore Giladi should back off and offer his apologies.

The municipality intend to create a public road next to the mosque for which they have appropriated land next to it. On the land are historical buildings. It would be a pity to break down these buildings. The area is very lovely.

BUT the mosque land has NOT been appropriated. Giladi should shut up, in stead of accusing the Jaffa Muslim community of crimes they have not committed.

Naomi Klein in Jaffa

2009-07-02T16:59:00.007+03:00

This saturday, July the 4th at 11.11 o'clock, Naomi Klein, author of "the Shock Doctrine", which has been published by the "Andalus" publishing house in Arabic and in Hebrew, will speak about her book at the Jaffa Arab Hebrew theater.

The meeting will be followed by a discourse on the boycot of Israel as a peaceful and legitiate tool in the struggle for a just peace in the Middle East.

filthy justice

2009-06-30T12:40:00.002+03:00

Quite close to my home lives a major drug dealer. He has his stash hidden away in the 'hood, well away from his home, but closeby enough to keep an eye on it. Whenever the police carry out a search in his home, they come up with nothing.

His large stash is usually kept in a pirate garbage dump, used by those too lazy to walk to the, not so nearby, garbage container.

Yesterday during the early hours of the day the municipality guys came and cleaned the area. Completely, totally, absolutely. No more rubbish pile and no more stash.

The guy got up late, as usual, and has been screaming since at everybody in the area. His wife crying, 60.000 NIS worth of stock gone. "Why didn't we call them, when the cleaners came?" Yeah right.

Community involvement at the Jaffa Siksik mosque

2009-06-23T22:09:00.008+03:00

The Siksik mosque is being renovated by the Jaffa community, in order to safeguard it as a place of prayer. It's not clear how the Keter Plastic factory, apparently at some point in the 1960-ies, managed to take over a large part of the Siksik khan and mosque, but that's what happened. They had little regard for the place and over time turned it into... a mess of partially destroyed ancient walls, new constructions out of asbestos and flimsy wooden platforms. Some of the old vaulted rooms with thick sturdy walls still stand. A 1964 report by the ministry of religion describes the building as being sound and still in use as a mosque.

The Keter founders appear to donate to the Israeli opera, culture lovers, so to say. Yet they had little regard for the lovely old mosque and khan, owned by the Siksik waqf managed by a Palestinian family still living in Jaffa.

However, the Siksiks, in cooperation with the community, are cleaning, rebuilding and repairing the mosque. Five times a day prayers are held under difficult conditions. However, each day something in the ,mosque is changed, cleaned, repaired. I think something in the community is repaired as well, through this joint effort.

twittering/blogging from Teheran

2009-06-22T08:22:00.001+03:00

This little bit of info has been doing the rounds:

If you're on Twitter, set your location to Tehran & your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut down Iranians' access to the internet. Cut & Paste & Pass it on Revolution/Revolucion !

Not sure it will be effective, but it is the least one can do

The "Siksik" Mosque as a point of reference

2009-06-20T11:05:00.010+03:00

The old sandstone Siksik mosque in Jaffa's flea market area has recently become the center of a new struggle.
The mosque, constructed in the 1880-ies, consists of a room, an elegant minaret and a lovely sabil. It's located on Siksik street (today's Beyt HaEshel street) .
It was constructed by the Siksik family, still living in Jaffa, next to the ancient khan they owned and operated. Traders on their way to the Jaffa market would stay there during the night, after the walled city's gates had been locked for its citizens' peace, quiet and security.
Up to this very day the mosque is owned by the Siksik family's "waqef" (non profit organization) and under their responsibility. Omar Siksik functions as the mosque's moutawali (caretaker), elected by the family to take care of the mosque.
The family has engaged in legal battles over the years, in order to prevent its demolition and its being taken over by the "Keter" plastic factory located just behind it on what, perhaps, once upon a time, were storage rooms of the mosque and khan. Paperwork possessed by the Siksik family indicates the existence of those storage rooms but does not exactly state their location.

The mosque has not functioned as a place of prayer for many years, but is being maintained and safeguarded by the family, until last week.
The southern section of the Islamic movement entered the mosque, cleaned it and exchanged the locks without the Siksik family's permission.
Jaffa has several active mosques and in the flea-market area has become a predominantly Jewish over the years. The problem is not a lack of prayer space. Moreover, the large "Mouhmoudiyeh", Jaffa's main mosque, is a short walk away.

So why did the southern section of the Islamic movement decide to undertake its self appointed and not very necessary mission right now?

One needs to look at the bigger picture: the construction of a hotel on top of the Jaffa "Kishle" (the old Turkish police station and jail), next door to the Mahmoudiyeh mosque.
The whole area of the clocktowersquare, kishle and mosque included, are protected buildings. When the Nakash brothers bought the Kishle building for some 38.000.000 NIS three years ago, they bought it in order to construct a hotel, and apparently they bought it with very generous building rights. Building rights that allow them to build a huge block on top of the old structures, dwarfing them and the lovely surroundings.
The construction will change the Jaffa skyline and the whole area for ever. A barbarous act of destroying cultural heritage for us and the next generations. Something carried out by money hungry, but very blind, people with no respect for another culture, architecture and art. And also lacking all respect for another religion, Islam.
The planned hotel's royal suite has a swimming pool on its balcony, overlooking the mosque's courtyard where prayers take place. How callous can you get?

Constructing a hotel next to a mosque demands a lot of respect and thoughtfulness on the side of those planning the hotel. However, thoughtfulness concerning the mosque's attendees feelings is NOT something the hotel's architects took into consideration (and i went to the city planning office to have a look at the actual plans). The fight against the hotel's construction has been taken up by the northern section of the Islamic movement.
The southern section kept quiet. Although they, as members of the Muslim council (something like the city rabbinate) should have been the first to take up the fight. So the next question should be: why didn't they? How come they did not oppose the building permits actively?
This is where the rumors start: some suggest money was handed over, or in less nice words, bribes were paid.
The southern section kept quiet. But now they must show they DO care about mosques and religion, which may be the reason why they targeted the Siksik mosque for their activity.

Yesterday some 100 people came to pray at the mosque, in order to express their support for the Siksik family's fight to keep it what it is, a mosque, a peaceful place of prayer.

Some sort of victory, for the time being at least.

2009-06-13T16:01:00.005+03:00

It appears last week's demo as well as the letters sent by the Jaffa coalition have had a positive effect: Ron Huldai, the mayor, contacted Yaron Bibi, the director of the Israel Land Administration as well as Avishai Braverman, in order to poin that out the new tender (published last Sunday) for the "Etrog" plot of land is problematic. The second and larger part of the "Etrog plot" in Jaffa is one of the last large public owned plots on which affordable housing for Jaffa's young generation can be constructed.

The fact that all of the Jaffa organizations are involved in the coalition, is important;

The tender has been canceled!

Help Ezra Nawi

2009-06-10T17:29:00.003+03:00

Ezra Nawi, an Israeli human rights activist, may go to jail in 30 days, for having tried to prevent a bulldozer from destroying a Palestinian family's home in the occupied territories.

I met Ezra when, as a young student, demonstrating every Friday with "women in black" against the occupation.
He used to come over and hand out water to all women.
At the end of every demo, week after week, year after year, he would turn up with a huge number of red roses, handing out one to every participating woman.

Ezra is a kind, gentle hearted man, sensitive to others' needs and always trying to help in his way: finding hard to get by medicine for this family, food for that.

More information on Ezra can be found here:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/t/9462/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27357

Please assist him.

Jaffa demo today

2009-06-09T23:38:00.002+03:00

Demonstration today at 18.00

2009-06-09T15:39:00.005+03:00

Clock tower square is Jaffa's ancient entrance (or exit).

The buildings are historic and their skyline forms part of what Jaffa is famous for, when arriving from the north: a lovely and distinc skyline.

At the very corner sits the "Kishle"; the old Turkish police station, which served for many years also as a jail and an Israeli police station.

The building is protected, but in 2006 it was sold to the Nakash brothers, who want to turn it into a 140 room hotel by adding several floors to this lovely historic building. They have submitted a horrific building plan.

The new design (i saw it this morning at the municipal engineer building) is a monster designed along the lines of the Andromeda compound, "the best of orientalism". The massive building will completely dwarf the existing buildings along the square, including the clock tower and the minnaret of the Mahmoudiye Mosque, Jaffa's grand mosque.

The top suite with ajacent swimmingpool will overlook the mosque's courtyard and the garbage disposal unit will be located next to the south western wall shared with the mosque.

There must be ways to prevent the construction of this monstrosity. This is not a matter only of the Jaffa community but of all of us, as well as of the future generations. Jaffa's entrance is a true pearl, why destroy it?

Why not keep the lovely ancient building as it is and turn it into a museum or a gallery or a cultural center or... anything for the good of the community?

The destruction of the Kishle (by adding several floors nothing will remain of the original style and feel of the place) will completely alter the whole impact of Jaffa upon arriving from the north.

The Nakash brothers should ofcourse be reimbursed for their loss and be given construction rights elsewhere.

But why in the name of making some quick money do we allow the community's heritage to be destroyed?

Demonstration today at 18.00 at the clocktower square

If you love Jaffa....help us save her

2009-06-08T22:31:00.003+03:00

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 9nth at 18.00 at Jaffa's Clock-tower Square there will be a demonstration against the plans to construct a 140 room hotel on top of Jaffa's "Kishle", the old police station at Jaffa's northern entrance.

The ancient "Kishle" is a historic and protected building. When it was bought in 2006 by the Nakash brothers (of Jordache fame) for a whopping 38 million, the idea was to turn it into an exclusive boutique hotel. However the plans submitted to the municipality show someting entirely different: a 140 room monster, adding several floors to the original building, thereby dwarfing not only the original ancient walls surrounding the Kishle's court yard, but also the clocktower and the Mahmoudia mosque, which togehter make up part of Jaffa's beautiful skyline.
This is not just uglyfying one lovely building, but completely destroying Jaffa's northern entrance and skyline.

In addition the planned added floors will created problems for the Mouhmoudia mosque.
Oh, and by the way, the whole thing is designed in th style of "andromeda orientalism".

Anti Occupation Demo in Tel Aviv

2009-06-07T08:21:00.001+03:00

Several thousand marched in Tel Aviv to protest against the continued occupation.

"What do women want?"

2009-06-06T17:33:00.010+03:00

The exhibit is a strangely collected mixture of 101 works by various present and past women artists (who were) active in Tel Aviv, curated by Galia Yahav.
I feel uncomfortable with the definition"women's art". Does it imply art created by women? About women? Dealing with femininity and gender? The exhibit is titled "What do women want".

Some of the shown works are profound and moving (e.g. photographs by Shosh Kormush and Noa Ben Nun Melamed and a portrait by Leah Golda Holterman), but others are, hmm, how to put it gently, not of the same high standard. Some choices are surprising as well, if you show one work per artist, i would expect her best or one of her best.
Another point is also the lack of works by some of the most profound women artists currently active in Tel Aviv.

The hanging is messy, without a clear concept. Although it's nice to have a big exhibit in Jaffa, this is not the way to go about it: sloppy and haphazardly.

The Amiad Centre, 12 Amiad Street, Jaffa

Cruelty Alley

2009-06-06T10:19:00.004+03:00

The little girls are already forgetting today's drama, replaying it with twists and turns, and turning it into a fairy tale with a happy ending.
Yet the other "little girl" L. is still severely traumatised and crying non stop, tears streaming from her cataract covered eyes.

Some 15 years ago the place was a successful fish restaurant, before all the other places along Kedem Street (street nr. 60 or Ajami Street prior to 1948) were opened. The clients preferred the newer and fancier places, business went down and the restaurant closed. It stood empty for years.
Its very wealthy owner owns another very successful restaurant in the north and didn't care too much about the Jaffa place, that had stood neglected for many years. Having grown old and perhaps somewhat tired, he let his younger brother take care of business.

The younger brother, well aware of the severe housing shortage in Jaffa, divided the place into 5 small crummy flats and started to rent them out for some 500-600 $ a month. No contract.
You pay a few months ahead and receive a key, you miss a payment and you are out.
Of course the restaurant owner's brother did not bother to get a permit (to turn the property into housing units) from the municipality, nor did he bother to pay the very old and by now huge debts to that same municipality and the electricity company, so water and electricity supply "are somewhat problematic". The tenants, not having contracts, cannot register the municipal and electricity bills in their own names.
Only very poor people, having no other choice, are willing to take the risk to live in such a place. My friend A, divorced mum of two little girls, and barely surviving on her cleaner's salary, is one of them. Her neighbour H, with his young daughter and elderly, retarded, half blind sister live there as well. Some two years ago, their key money flat's ceiling caved in and they have been living in "the restaurant" ever since, while the legal procedures on the other house continue, slowly as these things go.
Their financial situation is very bad and they missed last months rent payment. So today the owner sent in the goons. L. the elderly sister, a sweet women known all over the area, likes to play with dolls together with the little girls that live in the alley. Although half blind and elderly, she really is "their age" and the little girls accept her, as she is sweet and innocent. L. was home alone when the goons arrived.
She was scared so she didn't open the door as she has been instructed no to when alone at home and strangers knock on the door.
The goons broke the door and started yelling at her that she should pack her things because she owes rent. They then started to throw the family's belongings out on the street.
L's screams brought out the all the other tenants who intervened on her behalf, pointing out that L is retarded and that the goons should talk to her brother. They formed a fierce defence around L and called the police. At that point, the goons took off (although the police never arrived and told L.'s brother H. should come in and file a complaint before).

Fighting for Jaffa, together

2009-06-05T19:53:00.006+03:00

The settlers who wish to turn Jaffa into a Jewish only city, have in essence caused a complete coalition of many Jaffa organizations who prior to this threat never cooperated.
The call was for a joint struggle of Palestinians and Jews against the settlers, who actively threaten the good relationship in the neighbourhood. And to do so by peaceful and democratic means.
At 17.00 all met close to the area where the yeshiva guys bought a plot of land, where there used to be a market serving all of Jaffa's population.
Among the speakers were Omar Siksek, member of the municipal council, Sheikh Anwar Dake of the southern section of the Islamic movement, lawyer Haled of the Muslim Council, SheIkh Abu Ajwe of the northern section of the Islamic movement, Gabi of the Christian club, Knesset member Dov Khenin, Hana Amoury of the popular committee, municipal council member Ahmad Mashrawi, Ilan and Noga of Ofek Hadash, who carried out a research on the ways of functioning of so called "Garinim Toraniim" and several other settler organizations.
The Israel Land Administration is a public body, managing land owned by the public. When they sell lands, they cannot do so to an exclusive group, as per high court decision (Bagatz Ka'aden).
In Jaffa, the sale of public land is sensitive, for two main reasons:
Originally this land belonged to Palestinians. In 1948-1949 it was declared "absentee" property and handed over to the state.
Some 13 years ago a contract was made (and authorized in the Tel Aviv district court) between the housing ministry and Jaffa's Palestinian community according to which the housing ministry undertook it to create 400 housing units for the community, which suffers from a severe housing crisis.
So far 27 flats have been constructed out of 400.....
The "Etrog" plot is one of the last large publicly owned plots on which a large number of flats can be constructed. Most other pubic plots are smaller which makes it less easy for public housing or affordable housing for the poor Palestinian community.
The Israel Land Administration sold the Etrog Plot to a Bemuna, a company owned by a Hebron settle , who explicitly state "they will sell flats only to religious nationalist Jews".
Were-checked this by registering and calling, interesting in buying a housing unit in the new project. "We" being 2 activists, a muslim social worker and a secular Jewish researcher. They met with blunt refusal. In other cou ntries this would be called blunt racism.

The Settlers have arrived – the struggle is just beginning

2009-06-03T13:46:00.003+03:00

What?

Protest tent against the new housing project for the national-religious public in the heart of Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa.

When?05/06/09, at 17:00,

Where?

At the site of the Jabaliye Market, HaEtrog st. corner of Mendes France st.

Why?

On May 7th 2009, the Bemuna Company won the bid to purchase land for the building of 20 housing units dedicated to the Jewish national-religious public in Ajami neighborhood – the heart of Arab Jaffa.
Bemuna also declared that “this was only the beginning” and that its efforts for the Judaization of Jaffa would include the further construction of 200 housing units. This project can be added to the already active ‘garin torani’ and ‘yeshivat hesder’ which, under the banner of ‘strengthening’ the Jewish communities in mixed cities and retaining the city’s Jewish sanctity, have already begun to envelop its streets.
Research gathered displays a worrying number of people fresh from the settlement and Greater Israel movements, who are active in a scheme aimed at ‘Judaizing the mixed cities of Israel’ with the simultaneous displacement of Arab residents – a project which has already had some ‘success’ in Acca, Lud and Ramle. These groups are funded by external financiers but are also supported by the state of Israel itself and by the municipality of Tel Aviv. They have adopted the same ‘setting facts on the ground’ approach used so extensively by the settler movement based in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In light of this danger, and under the slogan “Jaffa is in Danger! Our strength is our Unity”, all the groups and committees active in Jaffa have come together in order to build a common strategy to fight this phenomenon. This coalition will be active on the community, the public and the media in order to recruit supporters, both from within Jaffa and outside, in the struggle to prevent the ‘expansion of the settlement’ in our city.
We will not be silent! We will not accept the Judaization of Jaffa!
Partners in the coalition:
The Popular Committee for Land and Housing Rights in Jaffa, the Rabita, the Jaffa List, the Southern and Northern Islamic Movements, the Islamic Council, the Orthodox Society, the Ajami Neighborhood Committee, the Jaffa municipal council members and other public figures.
For further details: Hana - 054-4486667

shelter? what shelter?

2009-06-03T09:23:00.002+03:00

The IDF home front command is involved in a massive civil defence exercise , in the course of which all citizens were supposed to run for shelter,yesterday at 11.00 when the sirens started blaring.
In Jaffa all went on as usual, nobody, except perhaps kids in the schools, ran anywhere, as there is no where to run to in the large majority of the neighbourhoods. None of the old houses have shelters and public shelters are, few, far away and locked.

In the staircase of me house, suposedle a "safer spot" if there is no better alternative (there isn't, not a room that has no windows, toand the roof is all certified carcinogenic asbestos) but that's where the gaz contained, 2 on each of the three floors. The continuous faint gaz smell suggests there is a tiny leak somewhere, but no technician has been able to deal with it. The staircase is open to the air, so i'm not too worried about explosions in regular days.

But that's the place where i live.
The old houses in Jaffa have no shelters. There is no where to go in case of a real event.

The main thing being ofcourse, that the home command can put a big V on "exercise well carried out" as if preparing for the next investigative committee which will surely follow the coming war because of the civillian catastrophe. Everything is about PR in this country. And very litte about true problem solving.

Mourning

2009-06-01T21:48:00.003+03:00

Dressed in black, but for soft crying, now and then, all is quiet in the women's mourning tent.
The imam' s voice can be heard from the men's tent, just a few meters away.
Dry figs and endless small cups of bitter coffee are handed out.
The mother clutches her dead son's picture to her chest.

Why?

Another murder on Yefet Street

2009-05-31T22:00:00.005+03:00

Saturday evening, 21.00, enjoying a mellow evening with my friends and their kids, while trying to do some work on an article, gotta deadline coming up.

A few hundred meters from where we sit, shots on Yefet Street, 2 young men are hit, one of them dies a little later in the hospital. The other, lucky, one was wounded.

It has become so common, most newspapers do not even mention it. Another murder, another young life finished, Jaffa, who cares?
Well, we do care. The murder victim belongs to one of the prominent families, but that didn't help him very much. I know this family, my heart goes out to them.

As usual there's a lot of border police around on Jaffa's streets today.

About to be thrown out on the streets: mum & 5 young kids

2009-05-29T16:31:00.007+03:00

I recall watching a TV program based on a story by Dickens when i was a child. Some years ago i read a book "Angela's Ashes". In both cases i recall having a sort of feeling of appreciation, that at least "these things no longer happen that way today". Ahem, well, they actually do happen today.

R. is a divorced mother of 5 young children, living in Jaffa. Her husband married twice since leaving her and left both other women with children as well. He refuses to pay alimony and R and her kids are dependent on social security payments, which add up to about 2.700 NIS a month. (about 600$ for her and her 5 kids)
Her rent is 2.300 NIS. This is the monthly rent for a tiny living room and 1 bedroom, both heavily stained by fungi growing on the wall and ceilings due to humidity problems. The roof and walls leak badly when it rains. R. has NO shower (it is blocked up so badly that it cannot be used, the owner refuses to carry out the necessary repairs) and the kitchen has no drain. So buckets are used for that purpose. Showers are taken daily at friends' and neighbors' place.
The house owner belongs to a very wealthy family who own many flats in Jaffa. They love money. For them every hovel is "an investment". For their renters it's "home". But a home that doesn't look like nor feel like a real home.

R. receives rental aid of about 600 NIS monthly. Which leaves her unable to provide for her and her kids. She is behind with the rent and the house-owner has informed her he will evict her this week, as he wants his money.
Riki is desperate to find a flat, but there is nothing she can actually afford. Her kids go to a nearby school, so the area (Ajami) is of some importance.
If any of you know about something available, please let me know.

But R. is just one case.
There are many like her. There is a big request for small rental flats, as many families cannot afford to buy. This has left the flat owners with the option to make money. And they do. Disgusting hovels that do not earn the name "flat", go for amazing rental prizes. Some people have gone to live back home with their parents, but for many one parent families dependent on welfare (and not only for them, also many families living on a minimum wage cannot afford the rent) this option does not exist.
The right to a roof above ones head is a basic human right and Israel has signed different international agreements concerning this right, yet that is as far as it goes.
We are quickly heading towards a housing disaster and no one seems to be caring a great deal.

The Tel Aviv municipality committee on affordable housing caters to the 7nth percentile, couples who earn some 11.0000 NIS monthly. For them the municipality wants to build rental housing in which they can live for 5 years, for a monthly rent of 2.800 NIS.
Weird, as after all these families can afford to rent good flats on the private market with their income. Also they can get a mortgage to buy. Whereas lower income families (and that includes employed many poor whose salaries are simply too low) find themselves living in substandard conditions (i personally know a family with 8 kids to live in 1 room) , unsafe housing for which they pay very high rents.
They same municipal committee for affordable housing assumes the ministry of housing provides adequate solutions for people making less by subsidizing rent and providing public housing to the very poor. Do these guys live on the moon?
Or is it official policy: providing incentives for the well to do to live in Tel Aviv and actively kicking out the less well to do and poor?

Tell R. about their ideas. And perhaps tell her also where these presumes solutions are. After all the waiting list for Halamish public housing is 12 years....

R. will be out on the streets any day now. Her houseowner cannot but be defined as just another leach. We tried to talk to him, but all he is interested in, is money. He claims he can get $ 1000 monthly for his disgusting hovel. And he is probably right, as people are desperate.

How stupid can the thought police get?

2009-05-29T12:47:00.008+03:00

The short answer? Very, very, very stupid.
And dangerous.

I'm relating of course to the "Naqbe" law, which, if passed, will forbid Israeli citizens to undertake public activities in commemoration of the Palestinian catastrophe, the Naqbe.

Democracy includes the freedom of expression and freedom of the press. According to the proposed law, indicating "Naqbe Day" will be a criminal offence. Israel has never really been a true democracy according to accepted international standards, but the current government are showing their true and very ugly face.

The law proposal is supported by the minister of justice, Yacov Ne'eman as well as by the minister of education, Gideon Sa'ar. When similar racist law proposals were suggested a few years ago, they would be judged as racist and non-democratic by the knesset's legal councellor and find their way to their proper place, the nearest garbage can.

I don't think we can ever create a true peace with the Palestinians, if we do not recognize their catastrophe, when the majority of them became refugees and lost almost all they had. By making the very mentioning of the Naqbe an offence, we are creating yet more distance from a true peace agreement. And it is not the politicians who will be paying the price.
All of us will do so. Everybody's blood is red.

Bribing your way around Jaffa

2009-05-27T23:27:00.003+03:00

The story is out on the streets and it is bad as in VERY BAD.
The great Mahmoudiah Mosque is a Jaffa landmark. Constructed in the late 18th and early 19th century on the site of a much older mosque by "Abou ElNabout" the lovely 2-domed high minaretted building is part of the Jaffa skyline when coming from the north. It also serves as Jaffa's central mosque for Friday prayers.
Next to it is the "Kishle", the old Turkish jail and police station, to be turned into a hotel. The hotel managers or owners want to add several floors (which will throw a heavy shadow on the mosque's court yard and change the Jaffa skyline for ever, as well as create a completely different atmosphere in this very lovely area) and it appears the owners may have tried to bribe someone in the Jaffa Muslim Council so the mosque will take back their opposition to the hotel owners' plans.
Bribing with major, big money.
The relations in the Muslim community aren't the best, and this may well make things worse.
In a time the Jaffa community needs to be unified against the settlers and gentrifiers, the bribe story (if it is true) couldn't come at a worse moment.

Roots and Uprooting - the Case of Abou Seif

2009-05-27T11:22:00.003+03:00

For three days the police have been uprooting trees in the Abu Seif orange grove in Jaffa. Supposedly in order to search for drugs. None have been found so far, but many trees have been uprooted in the process.
I find it rather hard to imagine how one can hide anything underneath a fully grown tree, unless it was done, when that tree was planted some 20 or more years ago. Which, in the case of hiding drugs, wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.
A whole lot of sense is not what characterizes the Jaffa police in particular, but even they.... So there must be another reason behind this blatant destruction of private property of the Abou
Seif clan in Jaffa and the search for drugs (none have been found after three days of destruction) is a mere pretext for something else.
Harassment as part of the show of "i am stronger"?
Or perhaps the trees bother the police from observing what's going on the inside the Abou Seif grove?

Olive tree uprooting tactiques from the occupied territories have been imported into Jaffa.

What about, perhaps, Emile Habibi Square?

2009-05-13T11:22:00.005+03:00

Today the municipality is going to name the main entrance square to Jaffa in the name of one Joseph Carmel, a property tycoon who reportedly donated some money to the Tel Aviv municipality.

Yet again the municipality makes an effort to wipe out Jaffa's Palestinian character. Why not name the square for.... Emile Habibi, author, thinker, and politician as well as Israel Prize recipient for literature?
Or perhaps, simply, Seraya square, in commemoration of the Seraya (the Otttoman municipality building) or Farid El Atrash Square (in name of the great singer and oud player beloved by both Palestinians and many Jews) or.... there are so many options.
Or "Mahmoudiyeh Square" in honour of the great Mahmoudiyeh Mosque located just off the square?

The round about square is located on the historical entrance (or exit: it was from here all taxis left for Beirut, Damascus etc. prior to 1948) of Jaffa, at the northern end of the clock tower square.
Ron Huldai, the mayor, spoke about correcting historical errors.
He continues making them.

Extremist settlers in Ajami, will they ever stop?

2009-05-12T08:58:00.008+03:00

Not too long ago a "hesder" yeshiva was opened in Ajami, in an old synagogue that had been standing neglected for some 40 years. Neglected, because the Jewish community of Ajami had left to better neighbourhoods (better at the time they left, when Ajami was one of the worst slums) and there simply was no need for a synagogue. The Jews (some 20%) still living in Ajami are predominantly secular.

Palestinians and Jews in Ajami live together, quite peacefully enjoying a relation of good neighbours. My very devout Muslim neighbours have the key to my flat, in case they need to get on the roof (which can only be reached through my home) or, more often, in case i loose my keys or forgot to water the plants on a very very hot khamsin day. We often meet for a coffee to exchange the latest gossip or a good cake recipe (usually followed by and exchange of the sweet results).
We dance at marriage parties and weep at burials, rejoice in the birth of yet another daughter or son. We each have our sources of good olive oil, za'atar and the best coffee and share those, while bragging ours is just that little bit better. Neighbours.
Enter the yeshiva. Let it be said, i have nothing against religion. However, i do have a problem with religio and its institutions being abused as tools for justifying violent acts and racism.

After the disengagement from the Gaza strip, many of its expelled settlers started to see the mixed (Arab Jewish) cities (most of Israel is very segregated) as the "next front" for nationalist activity. They do not hide their ideology. Just go to their websites.
They are also supported by Lieberman's fascist ideology and extremist right-wing Jews from the US and elsewhere.
They claim they want to "strengthen the weak and threatened Jewish communities". If so, why didn't they select Yafo Gimmel, which indeed is a weakened, predominantly Jewish neighbourhood.
In Yafo gimmel, there are many ppor Jews, recent and not so recent migrants from the ex soviet union territories and Ethiopia).
Instead they selected Ajami, where there is no Jewish community to speak of and the few Jews living there tend to be well educated and economically strong and yes, also secular (some having a strong cultural and or ethnic Jewish identity) and having little interest in this particular yeshiva's brand of fundamentalism.
The very well-funded yeshiva is buying up property wholesale, in expensive Ajami, for its community, intending to turn Ajami into a religious Jewish community. Disregarding ofcourse that its Palestinian residents have no reason to close their shops and restaurant businesses on shabat, their best business day and the Jewish holidays.
The settlers like to walk around in groups, carrying flags and making a nationalist show of themselves, in absolute disrespect of the feelings of their neighbours. Part of their behaviour appears to be aimed at provoking violence, perhaps to convince more peope like themselves to come and "save" Jaffa.
Save from what? It exsists only in their imagination and ideology. We have no need of "being saved".

Last week they won a tender for a piece of public land very close to my home. Publicly owned land, which should have gone to the Palestinian community, from whom it was stolen in 1948, (and once more some 4 years ago, when the municipality closed the market which functioned on that particular piece of land) and with whom there is a legally binding agreement to construct 400 public housing units to solve the very bad Palestinian housing situation.
Yet the land went to an ultra religious building society who sell land only to religious Jewish families. Imagine a group of ultra nationalist whites in the US buying up publicly owned land in the middle of a poor black community and then selling the land only to selected similarly minded whites who publicly proclaim they want to turn the community into a whites only area.
Non-religious Jewish friends of mine contacted the company and asked if they could buy a flat. in the project. They were refused as flats are only sold to "our people".

Well, that's what is happening in Jaffa, in Ajami.
And it is happening in all the mixed cities: in Ramle, in Lod, in Acco and in Haifa.

We have seen the horrid results of this type of activities in Acco, when the homes and cars of several Palestinian families were torched by Jewish extremists.
In Acco, as a result of these actions, most Arab families left their nice homes in the middle class "Mizrach" neighborhood, scared for their lives after the days long progrom carried out against them by a mob of some thousand crazed "religious" nationalists encircling their homes for hours, until the police and the ambulances were able to save them.
It happened last year.

The Jaffa yeshiva receives support from the municipality and other offical state institutions. We are not talking about a small bunch of crazed idealists but about a very well-organized ,coordinated and well funded country-wide effort (with international financial support), aimed at creating a separate society. In other parts of the world they would call it "apartheid".

Are we next?

The murderer from Bi'lin

2009-05-06T13:53:00.003+03:00

The people from Bil'in have been struggling against the wall for a long period of time now. Although the Israeli high court of justice judged in their favour, the construction continues.

The people from Bil'in in cooperation with the internationals and Israeli human rights activists hold weekly peaceful demonstrations to protest the construction opf the wall which is cutting off the vilage from its agricultural lands.
The IDF has shot at the (peaceful) protesters again and again and again, usually using so-called "non lethal" weapons such as rubber bullets (metal balls covered with a thin layer of rubber) and extreme distance gaz cannisters.
The only problem: when you shoot these from a short distance at someone's torso (as is the habit of the "most moral army" in the world, the IDF) they become very very lethal.
Several people have been very badly wounded and some have been killed, Bassam among them.

If you recognise the guy in the image, please send the info to palcrimes (at) yahoo.com so he can be prosecuted for murder.

Imagine

2009-05-04T08:03:00.002+03:00

A truly furious hot sand-particle carrying wind is blowing in from all directions. I live between the sea and a high-rise building, the latter one causing this very strange turbulence.
By now, inside my house, now much is covered by a thin layer of Sahara or Saudi desert dust. No use dusting until the storm is over. The weather forecast talkes about the khamsin cooling off in the late afternoon.
I suddenly have this image, like the pyramids before their excavation, all of Tel Aviv Jaffa covered by sand dunes, the dessicated Azrieli tower remains barely sticking out, the only remains of a failed & wartorn civilization long gone.
Archeologists trying to decipher the remains of a menu card of the restaurant that once was on the topfloor of that strange edicifce. Arougola 105? A deity? A punishment for insulting the babyleaves god? Or perhaps somethig not unlike the Tel El Amarna tax records where ancient clay tablet taxrecords show there once was a harbour town, Jaffa (Ya-Pu) , paying taxes to the Egyptian pharao.

Hasta la victoria siempre - May day in Tel Aviv

2009-05-01T18:01:00.009+03:00

Over one thousand people marched from south Tel Aviv's Florentin's community garden plot to Rothshild Boulevard, in a red-flagged first of May demonstration.
Upon arrival at Rothshild, several speakers raised their voices in favour of solidarity amongst workers and against the capitalist and racist approach of the current government.

Among the speakers were the chairwomen of the Open University's labour committee (who have been striking against their terrible employment conditions for over two weeks now) and of the labour committee of the "Andaluse" orchestra, who have not received a salary for over 4 months now. A students rep as well as a representative of the fired train employees (fired because they are Arab's) , social workers as well as Knesset member Dov Khenin spoke about the price paid by Israel's working poor as well as the unemployed.

The somewhat ceremonial ending included the singing of the "Internationale", with Dov Khenin susanboyling it, he's got a good voice actually and he knows the lyrics, unlike some of his audience.

האינטרנציונאל

קום התנערה עם חלכה
עם עבדים ומזי רעב
אש הנקמות הלב ליחכה
לקראת אויב היכון לקרב
עולם ישן עדי היסוד נחרימה
מגב כפוף נפרוק העול
את עולמנו אז נקימה
לא כלום אתמול מחר הכל

זה יהיה קרב
אחרון במלחמת עולם
עם האינטרנציונל
יעור ישגב אדם!
זה יהיה קרב
אחרון במלחמת עולם
עם האינטרנציונל
יעור ישגב אדם!

רק לנו עמלי כפיים
רק לנו עמלי היקום
האדמה וברכתיה
ולכל הולכי בטל לא כלום
אין רב ריבנו ומושיע
לא אל, לא מלך, לא גיבור
בזרוע נטויה נבקיע
אנחנו דרך אל האור

זה יהיה קרב
אחרון במלחמת עולם
עם האינטרנציונל
יעור ישגב אדם!
זה יהיה קרב
אחרון במלחמת עולם
עם האינטרנציונל
יעור ישגב אדם!

עבור הדרור ופדות הרוח
ופרוק העול מגב העם
לבה האש והך בכח
כל עוד ברזל עודנו חם
וכי רעם אבדון יריע
על ראש אויבינו להומם
עלינו שמש דרור תפציע
לשפוך את זוהרה החם

זה יהיה קרב
אחרון במלחמת עולם
עם האינטרנציונל
יעור ישגב אדם!
זה יהיה קרב
אחרון במלחמת עולם
עם האינטרנציונל
יעור ישגב אדם!

Predicting the future, all the way to jail

2009-04-30T21:00:00.003+03:00

Jaffa has a number of well-known "coffee readers", women who can tell your future from looking at the brown coffee sludge stains left in your cup after having drunk the coffee. People pay quite a bit for their services and some take it rather seriously.
One of those wise women is Hadra, who built herself a huge castle on the corner of Kedem and HaLimon street, which just shows that witchcraft is a fairly favourable "profession". She must have been doing quite well. that is, until today.

However, i doubt if she's any good at reading her own future, otherwise one wonders why she didn't leave a few days ago.
This morning she and her sons were arrested by a rather large number of policemen, apparently for fraud and tax fraud.
Maybe she doesn't like coffee.

Mahmoud and Namne Shakra - In memoriam

2009-04-26T13:57:00.002+03:00

A big round face with smiling eyes and a laughing mouth, almost like a "smiley", that's how i remember my neighbor.
"Remember", the word doesn't fit somehow, i find it difficult to talk of them in the past tense.
Mahmoud and his wife were killed in a car accident last night. They have young kids.

There were many deadly traffic accidents this weekend. Each of the victims leaving a shattered family. But somehow, when you know the people, it becomes very personal.

Each time i saw Mahmoud i smiled, automatically. Smiley.
A car accident, what a waste.

On Constructing 5-Legged Camels

2009-04-22T08:06:00.004+03:00

"A camel is a horse designed by a planning committee"

Eco-friendly transportation is important. Period.
Tel Aviv is crowded, traffic jams are hell and the lack of parking space is somewhere way beyond hell. So travelling by bicycle or by public transport makes a lot of sense.

Sort of.
Sometimes.
In some areas.

I use my bike to go from A to B. It's easy, cheap and quick. No parking problems. I'm not so sure it is healthy, due to the awful air quality i breathe while pedalling my way between buses, vespa motor bikes (i read somewhere their exhaust fumes are about as bad as those of a truck, doe to the amount of small particles they emit) and the endless lines of cars standing idle in yet another traffic jam.

However, in some areas it is also dead scary. Dan bus drivers are my worst enemy. Egged drivers come a close second only because there are less of them in the areas where i tend to travel most, not that they are more bike friendly). Jaffa's Jerusalem Boulevard (Nouzha or Pasha in the past) is noteworthy as a very scare road for the audacious cyclist.

The municipality is known for its greenwash policy making: More parking lots , more highways, more huge road crossings of multi-lane free-ways, more cars in short. But they talk green. So they plan bike paths. Which is nice. Or rather, which could be nice.
The only problem being that those who plan them, have not seen a bike close by for years. Nor have they used public transport.
Otherwise, how can one explain the silly bike paths along Ibn Gvirol street? The clash between people waiting at the bus stops or going to and from the bus-stops which are located right on the bike paths is unavoidable. Not even a camel, but a five-legged, blind and deaf camelchik, that's what it is, the Ibn Gvirol bike path. Who could have thought of something so utterly idiotic?

And now they have started planning another bike path along Jaffa's Jerusalem Boulevard. Great, we need one there. Jerusalem Boulevard is one of the scariest places to ride a bike. I try to avoid that road as much as possible. But i cannot. It's central, it's where a lot of services are located, and i sometimes need those.
So a bike path would be great.

And planning it properly is important.

But there is just one small problem. The guys (i suspect they are guys, women wouldn't do it that way) doing the planning, are working on their own, without talking to others also planning in the same street, such as the developers of the light train and the public transport companies who are currently in the process of developing the new public transport system for Jerusalem Boulevard.

Just before Passover i participated in a meeting with the planners of the "light train's" green line, the first line to become active, supposedly in another 3-4 years. Construction has already started in Jaffa's Jerusalem Boulevard. From their presentation (they are very good at PR, that's one thing to be said about them), i realized other public transport as well as bikes do not really interest them. They are seen as a nuisance more than anything else. They are "the competition" and therefore their lives should be made difficult, rather than easy and safe. After all, if you cannot travel easily by bus or by bike, you'll take the light train.

So why cooperate?

As a result several municipal and traffic authorities and green NGO's are each planning their own thing separately and i cannot begin the image the possible result. A cyclist's bad dream, that's for sure.

Identity / A Dress and a Prayer

2009-04-16T20:54:00.009+03:00

Five women from Jaffa whose children attend the Weitzman primary school met for a period of 6 months to talk and make art under the guidance of a professional artist, Ziv Peleg- Ben Ze'ev.
Today they opened their exhibition in Ziv's Tel Aviv studio, showing a series of "dresses" representing themselves, their dreams and their prayers.

During the opening a short documentary movie made in the framework of the project, was shown. Each woman, except for Palestinian Astar Saba, told about her experience in the movie.
Astar read out a short statement instead.
All of the participating women went through a significant personal process during the six months of weekly group art work. Except for one woman, Orna Marton, an architect, none were professional artists. They all come from very different backgrounds. But, being women living in Jaffa, parents from kids going to Weitzman, they had a lot to share and to talk about.

People from the art community, the school and from Jaffa in general attended the opening event.

The Weitzman School , a public primary school located in the center of Jaffa, is trying to implement a bi-national and multi-cultural curriculum, is in danger of being closed. I hope the municipality will have the brains to keep it going.

They work with the children AND with their parents. Each class has 2 teachers: a Palestinian and a Jewish teacher. Although the school belongs to the "Jewish public school track", many of its students are Palestinian kids from Jaffa.

The art project is supported by "Mémoire de l'avenir" and "One to One" as well as, ofcourse, the school.