Once upon a time

Once upon a time, Israel intended to be a democratic state. And more or less met the commonly accepted western criteria for being recognized as such.

Free elections and the right to be a candidate and to vote for all adults, free press/media, the freedom to organize and to demonstrate, an independent judicial system, although the religious courts (Rabbinical, Shariya and church run) who influence a fairly large part of our personal lives, never were democratic nor pretended to be so and one of course needs to question the laws against family unification for Israelis marrying spouses form the occupied territories and the problematic behaviour of quite a few employees of the ministry of the interior. Israel more or less met most demands for being called a democracy. No longer so.

And yes, democracies have their limits. After all, history has shown an ultra extremist party can be democratically elected and then cancel all democratic rights. As such, it makes sense for a democracy to have certain limits in order to protect its very core value: democracy, freedom if you like. And i like freedom very much.

Israel has tried, in the past, to be a democracy of sorts. And i do not say this lightly. However, the basic criteria for a democratic state are no longer met.

The "election council" (Vaadat habhirot, ועדת הבחירות) yesterday decided to prevent to 2 parties from participating in the coming elections: Balad and Ra'am Tal. The decision was made with a large majority vote, which incluided support from such parties as the labour party and Kadima.
It should be mentioned that some of the top functionaries in the labour party apparently did not agree with labour chair person Eitan Kabel's decision to vote in favour of the cancellation.
But a very ugly truth is out, clearly and openly. Israel is not a democracy. Palestinian and Jewish Israelis are prevented from making progress towards true democracy by means of parties that believe in the concept of " a state for all its citizens מדינת כל אזרחיה ". These parties are not allowed to participate in the upcoming elections which are supposed to take place on february the 10th, about 4 weeks from now.

There is an inherent contradiction in the concept of a "democratic Jewish State". To put it simply: in a democratic state all are equal. It does not matter whether one is Jewish, Muslim or Christian or of no religion or belongs to whatever ethnic group. And if one ethnic group becomes larger than another, it does not matter. Ethnicity does not play a role. All are equal, and if people from "other" ethnic groups wish to migrate to the country and if they meet the regular criteria an other country has in regards to providing visas (no criminal record, the ability to provide for oneself, not suffering from very serious and dangerous diseases which might harm public health or by marriage etc) they can do so.
There has been extensive and shameless talk in Israel about "the demographic danger". What they mean by that is "what of there will be inside Israel more Arabs than Jews?". Quite obviously in such a situation, there no longer would be a Jewish majority state. And this is what scares many people in Israel. And i can understand the feeling of fear, it is based on a long history of violent antii-semitism. Yet i cannot justify the consequences of this fear.
IF Israel wants to be a democracy, it needs to consider its ethnic multi-cultural character as well as its history of colonialism. It needs to ask questions about zionism and the naqba. It needs to wonder about immigration rights and the civil status of minority groups. Questions need to be asked about inter-religious marriage. Solutions need to be found.

Yesterday's vote indicates quite clearly that Israel is no willing to do so. Israel is not willing to be a true democracy and to face the serious questions and demands posed by a growing Palestinian minority that has become politicised and acutely aware of its rights and the continuing discrimination it faces.

I expect yesterday's shameless decision to be undone by the Israeli supreme court, and both parties will probably participate in the elections and have their representatives in the next kneset. Yet never has it been more clear: there is a contradiction between a sole ethnic based state and democracy.
And if we are unwilling to face that contradiction, we will -quickly- become a non-democratic state. Yesterday a big step was made into that direction.

Alternative information sources

The civilian toll (and i do not wish to make light of the military toll) on both sides is rising. I do not wish to compare what is happening in the Gaza strip to what happens inside Israel, as the scale is completely different. Yet at the same time, yes also inside Israel, people get killed and wounded and children are suffering badly.
The official Israeli information is untrustworthy to put it mildly. The information on the following sites is gathered from various NGO's in the Gaza strip and in Israel by Israeli human rights organizations.

For updated info in English

The same in Hebrew

In addition, you can watch AlJazeera, the only international media present in the Gaza Strip with a local staff. There are some local press agencies as well as bloggers and independent local journalists. The IDF are operating to have a complete media block-out, so they can control what news comes out. Thankfully, they cannot.

And a blog from Gaza: Tales to Tell

Humanitarian info from OCHA

murder & violence, the sequel, as expected

"Bicuray Zion" is one of the silliest street names ever encountered in Jaffa. It's also the location of today's murder.
About a year ago i assisted a movie production team in finding a good location to shoot a certain scene supposed to be taking place in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. "Bicuray Zion" fitted the purpose just perfectly.

Even post delivery people have trouble locating this crooked, graffiti-covered alley somewhere off the Gaza (yeah :) , seriously, that's what it is called ) and Ehrlich Street crossing.
It's where very poor people live, those who have been treated roughly by life, a small alley with rules of its own.
I have friends there, a poor family, with 10 children, robbed of their only source of income; social security child allowance. When the food is finished before the next hand out, the kids go hungry except for their regular school dinner. Holidays and weekends are the worst, as school is closed.
This is poverty as many people think exists only in the third world.
But it's here, right on our doorstep, in Bikuray Zion alley.

And it is also the background of the murder that took place early this morning.
Muhamad Mashrawi, a 23 year old man from Jaffa was killed and two others wounded by shots.
As usual, the media will try to link it to the ongoing family feuds in Jaffa.

But what is really behind the violence on our streets, is poverty, a lack of chance, a lousy public school system, no employment options for the Jaffa's young Palestinian population, no housing options and the alienation and anger triggered by all of those.

Sure, there is tension between the families. But the anger and frustration, the undignified way society relates to Jaffa's young are important factors.
By stating it has to do with the family feuds, society can absolve itself of its responsibility; there probably will be increased border police presence in the streets over the next few weeks. the usual and inefficient reaction.

More money spent on education, creating job-opportunities, cancelling the ethnic transfer and building homes for Jaffa's Palestinians instead of villas for wealthy yuppies make more sense. Is anybody in the municipality listening?

The truly guilty are those making the policies that keep Jaffa's Palestinian population uneducated, poor. Who make people live in inhumane conditions under a constant threat of being evicted.

"I Am Rachel Corrie" at the Arab Hebrew Theatre

The play "I am Rachel Corrie", based on Rachel's diary and letters she sent home and to friends during the period she was in the Gaza strip until she was killed there, was performed by the "Al Midan Theatre" at the Arab Hebrew Theatre in Jaffa tonight.
Rachel, an American citizen, was a peace activist serving as a human shield in order to save people's lives in the Gaza strip during the second intifade.

Rachel's parents were present at the première which took place in the framework of the Women's Festival opened today at the theatre.

In addition, "the Wild West" and "Death Song" will be presented in the framework of the festival.

In Memory of O, or Blaming the Victim

Earlier this year O. died, after having battled a disease for a few years. A courageous, strong woman. A mother, a bright and serious businesswoman, a social activist. O. was also very beautiful. She had a great sense of humour. She was sensitive and fun to be with. She cared about others often more than about herself.

O. had also been the victim of serious and ongoing sexual harassment by her employer, a powerful politician. When she finally got the courage to say NO, she was kicked out of her job.
When she filed a complaint against her employer, he started a war against her, accusing her of the worst possible things (including crimes) while exposing her face and name in the local press. (yeah that by itself is illegal, but it did not stop him). She was found innocent of those crimes, but that fact was never published. O. had to start her life from scratch (and did so very successfully, building her own business). The file against the politician was closed for lack of sufficient proof. O. did not give up and a short while ago before her death the file was reopened. For that to happen, she employed a private detective who was able to dig up proof the police had not bothered to look for.
I know O. was not the only victim of that politician, but she was the only one with the courage to complain against him. And to fight him, even when she was battling for her life. I have learned from O.

Haim Ramon, the ex-minister of justice of Israel, has been found guilty of sexual harassment by three judges in Tel Aviv's peace court yesterday. Which implies that the minister of justice (!), represented by the best lawyers in the country, is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, of sexual violence.

Moshe Kazav, the president of the state of Israel, is suspected of rape and sexual harassment of several women employees, over the years. True, Katzav has not yet been found guilty by the court. He might be innocent. In fact, he should be considered innocent until proven guilty. But hell, the attorney general considers he has enough criminal proof to indict him on several counts of sexual assault. Assault, not harassment.
Of several women, not one.

In both cases the accused (and now guilty, in Haim Ramon's case) parties have used their full force (and they are very powerful men, they have a lot of force) to blame the women victims, to portray them as cheap, financially interested and what not.
In fact Katzav's friends have accused A of having been a prostitute. And that is a true classic. It puts Katzav's victim on an even lower scale in the eyes of the public. But the true question of course is, EVEN if A had been a prostitute, so what? Is it OK to sexually harass a prostitute? Even if we assume for a moment that A was a prostitute (and she was not) and that Katzav was paying her for sexual services, when a woman says no she means NO. And a prostitute is a woman, not a thing And when a prostitue says no, it means NO. Once more, A was not a prostitute and it is quite clear that these pathetic accusations are used only to weaken her. They are all part of an ugly war committed by a third rate and quite possibly corrupt politician used to fighting ugly little games to save his (political) ass. One wonders how he really came to be in his high position.
However, that's not the topic of this blog.

I'd rather talk about O. and about A. and about many other women suffering sexual harassment and worse from their employers.
In fact, i have to admit that i myself once left a job because my boss wouldn't stop making most unwanted sexual advances towards me. This was some time before the current law against sexual harassment on the job. At the time, there was nothing i could do, because he did not actually touch me. But is was ugly and disgusting, so i got up and left. It wasn't difficult for me to find another job. But many women face more difficulties finding good employment, so they suffer, in silence. Often it is well known in the workplace that X is a creep. Women try to warn each other, make sure they are not alone with X. And often X uses his power to make sure a new victim has to do some overtime, when she'll be alone with him. We all know it happens. but especially weakened women (with few job skills) raising their families single handedly stand no chance and they suffer in silence, to afraid to loose their source of income.

The most amazing thing is, that quite a few men seem to think it is their right.
When the Ramon's verdict became known yesterday (a panel of three judges have found him unanimoulsy guilty) i started to watch peoples' reactions on the street.
Ofcourse that is not a scientific method of gouging public opinion, i admit it, but it was interesting and to me, also disturbing:
15.00 o'clock, the corner of Sheinkin and Allenby in Tel Aviv. A young man hands out free copies of "Israeli", a free news rag, with the header "Ramon's guilty".
People stop and start reading. Some sit down on the street furniture and all start talking. Most of them are men. And ALL of them blamed the victim. All of them.
In fact they ALL believed Ramon to be the true victim.

The women reacted differently. "That's how it is", "I hope it will not happen to my daughter", "there is nothing you can do about it".

I don't accept that, there IS something we can do about it: education. Teaching that people must never be objectified. Never, ever.

Sexual harassment and violence come forth out of objectifying the other. Once i can see in the other nothing but "a thing", i can afford not relate to that thing's feelings or objections.
Sexual violence, the objectification of people, is a matter of social justice. Prevention is in education, not in putting the blame the victims.
And in the mean time, i wish to express my full support for A and A and all the outher women out there courageously fighting aginast harassment.
I also wish to express my support of those women, not in a position to fight against it. They suffer i silnce. It's about time we break that silnce. We do not have to accept "that is how it is".

Akhbar Al-Madina - Jaffa's Newest Weekly

Before 1948, most of the country's Arabic language newspapers, magazines and books were printed in Jaffa, which had several tens of printing houses and many bookstores. On sunday mornings Jaffa's well educated elite would gather at the literary club to listen to poets and writers reading their latest work.
At times there would be over 500 people listening, and chairs and a loudspeaker were placed outside as there was barely space to breathe inside the overcrowded club building.
Jaffa was "Arus AlBahar", the Bride of the Sea, the cultural center for the Palestinian population.
All that had been finished by 1948 (in fact Jaffa's elite had started leaving in 1946 when conditions in Jaffa were becoming unbearable, often extendeding their summer stay abroad "until the situation would improve", not expecting the Naqbe, not understanding they would never be able to return to their beloved city.
The printing presses had been silenced.
In fact, there were no bookstores in Jaffa for many years. Then the small Steimatzky store was opened, which carried mostly Hebrew books and a tiny selection of books in Arabic, mostly for young children. A few years ago, "Jaffa, Coffee & Books" was opened but that's mostly a coffeeshop with a small selection of books, some in Arabic. They claim "human rights", but their employment practice proves soemthing rather different. As a result, I make it a point not to go there, although it is quite popular with some of the left.

Office supply stores sell schoolbooks in Arabic at the beginning of the school year. But if you want serious literature or academic materials in Arabic, you have to go to the Triangle, Haifa or Jerusalem.
Some people prefer going to Jordan or once a year, the the great Arabic Book Fair in Egypt, often bringing back many books for themselves and for bookloving friends.
The cultural price of the Naqbe paid by the Jaffa residents has not been researched much, to the best of my knowledge. Researchers and authors Danny Monteresqu, Mark Levine, Sami Abu Shade, Adam LeBor and Dan Yahav all relate to aspects of this loss in their works.

So imagine how wonderful to finally see a Jaffa made weekly magazine on the newsstands today!

I want to say "Mabruk!" to Akhbar Al-Madina.

Nasrallah the folk hero?

I've been thinking for more than 24 hours now whether to write the following text or not.
It's easy to misinterpret or otherwise abuse the information.

I do some community work in Ajami, the neighborhood where i live. I work with girls and young women, some of them from extremely impoverished homes, where they are faced with various forms of violence, drug abuse etc.

The majority of them are Palestinian girls, although they will not define themselves as such, they have very little political awareness, or... do they?

Yesterday, in spite of the very hot weather, we sat in the garden, in the shadow of a huge "toot" tree, drinking cold water and eating" majadara". Talking about this and that.
Thirteen year old Aisha* said; " You know Yudit, in the X store in "Gantamar" (a part of Ajami) they sell posters of Nasrallah, they have different sizes, i want to buy one to hang in my room. Nasrallah is the only one who cares about the Palestinians".
Sixteen year old pious Mervat* agreed with her, and spat on the photographs of fallen soldiers, on the "Yediot" front page she was holding while saying they were "maniakim". I knew she was waiting for my reaction. Would act in anger? Would i be distressed?

We started talking. Mervat told me she'd spoken yesterday to her sister, who lives in the Gaza strip with her children. Although the sister has a blue, Israeli id card, the sisters have not met for years, as her Gaza-born children cannot travel with her, and they cannot get an entry permit to Israel.
Mervat, who herself was born in the Gaza strip to an Israeli mother, carries an Israeli ID, so she cannot go to visit Gaza, to meet her family.
The only way the sisters can meet, is abroad. As people in the Gaza strip have little money, that road is open to few.
Mervat 's sister's home has been destroyed. They can talk only occasionally, when there is enough electricity to charge the batteries of the sister's cellphone. The sister and her children live with her husband's family now. All stay in one room. The children, traumatized by the noises, the loss of their home, the lack of hope, the poverty, the stress, find it difficult to cope.

Mervat is angry. she knows very little about politics and only occasionally watches the news. But she is certain of one thing : Nasrallah is the only one who cares about the Palestinians, he has given her hope. She sees him as an honest man with honor, a hero, not scared of the "zionists who kill our children".
Aisha agrees with her.

Then they say "don't worry Yudit, you are not like them, we know you are ok".

Two little girls from Ajami saying it more clearly, if we'd only listen "the Israeli emperor's new clothes are non-existent".

But we don't listen, or perhaps we don't want to listen. No, Aisha and Mervat are not dangerous extremists. what they see in the news upsets them, deeply. Hundreds of Lebanese civilians get killed, murdered. While all eyes are trained on Lebanon, no one pays attention to what is happening in the WestBank and the Gaza Strip where people are killed as well and infrastructure and houses destroyed.

Aisha and Mervat don't know much about the politics, the dynamics and the "expert opinions" of this or that (ex) general. In fact, they never watch the Israeli Hebrew language channels. They watch AlJezeera etc, where they see the violence, the horror, they talk to their relatives and they perceive one thing: Nasrallah makes promises which he keeps.
Whether that is true or not, doesn't play much of a role. they perceive it as true, honest and honorable.

Their lives in Jaffa are poor and they have few chances.

Aisha and Mervat are the future. They can change a lot, in any direction. We better listen to them and take them very seriously.
They are two very innocent well meaning and sensitive young girls.
They don't believe the Israeli version, they know they have very little to expect from life and if someone gives them hope, they'll take it up, with all the vigour of the very young.

*Not their real names