Monday, May 15, 2006
Forcing them to look
I went to a demonstration against the Israeli Occupation today; specifically, against a company that recruits settlers to the Occupied Territories.
The company was holding an info session at a Jewish community centre, presumably in honour of 'Israeli Independence Day'. I was expecting a tense couple of hours; demonstrations usually happen outside embassies, not where people live.
And it was tense. There were 12 cops for about 50 demonstrators, ranging from young patrol cops who lounged about, relaxed and chatting with each other, to fat, 50ish men in plainclothes and expensive sunglasses. They stared when a demonstrator started chanting in Hebrew, which suggested they knew the territory pretty well. The demonstrator thought they were secret service.
I've been on a lot of demonstrations, on some pretty emotive issues. But I've never seen anything, not even abortion rights, garner such a negative response. Drivers slowed down to give us the finger, while their kids in back seats screamed "fuck off"; a few waved Israeli flags.
Normally this would faze me - I'm fine with pissing off the powers that be, but I prefer to educate 'ordinary people', rather than antagonize them. In this case, though, it didn't bother me. It meant we were having an impact.
The Zionists could scare ordinary Jews into supporting apartheid; content themselves with accounts of Palestinian reprisals while forgetting the colonial project that sparked them; and, if they kept their eyes averted, their supporters could lead normal lives thousands of miles away.
But if even a few people holding signs and chanting "End Israeli apartheid" could anger them, they're scared. That gives me hope. The so-called Zionist consensus is breaking down, and they're circling the wagons.
Most of the demonstrators were Jewish. That takes guts. Unlike Palestinians in Canada, they won't be spat on or threatened with rape by Zionists. But they have to live in the community they're trying to change. It means the Zionists can't erase 100 years of Jewish internationalism, or call their opponents anti-Semites; it forces them to deal with the issues.
De Mille would be proud - Palestinian refugee camp, 1948
Will we convince anyone? I'm not sure. No committed Zionist will give up the dream of a greater Israel. And there's a related problem; I think a 'two state solution' would create a Palestinian Bantustan – a tiny state reliant on outside aid, politically ineffective and dominated by Israel. Yet the Israeli left seems ready to settle for it, rather than rethink the idea of a religious state altogether, and propose a democratic secular alternative.
However, judging by the raised middle fingers, we're putting the Zionists on the defensive. The myth of plucky little Israel holding its own against massive odds is crumbling, to reveal the daily miseries of occupation. The Zionists may not listen to reason; but they may be politically defeated, if we mobilize effectively.
Remember The Catastrophe.
The company was holding an info session at a Jewish community centre, presumably in honour of 'Israeli Independence Day'. I was expecting a tense couple of hours; demonstrations usually happen outside embassies, not where people live.
And it was tense. There were 12 cops for about 50 demonstrators, ranging from young patrol cops who lounged about, relaxed and chatting with each other, to fat, 50ish men in plainclothes and expensive sunglasses. They stared when a demonstrator started chanting in Hebrew, which suggested they knew the territory pretty well. The demonstrator thought they were secret service.
I've been on a lot of demonstrations, on some pretty emotive issues. But I've never seen anything, not even abortion rights, garner such a negative response. Drivers slowed down to give us the finger, while their kids in back seats screamed "fuck off"; a few waved Israeli flags.
Normally this would faze me - I'm fine with pissing off the powers that be, but I prefer to educate 'ordinary people', rather than antagonize them. In this case, though, it didn't bother me. It meant we were having an impact.
The Zionists could scare ordinary Jews into supporting apartheid; content themselves with accounts of Palestinian reprisals while forgetting the colonial project that sparked them; and, if they kept their eyes averted, their supporters could lead normal lives thousands of miles away.
But if even a few people holding signs and chanting "End Israeli apartheid" could anger them, they're scared. That gives me hope. The so-called Zionist consensus is breaking down, and they're circling the wagons.
Most of the demonstrators were Jewish. That takes guts. Unlike Palestinians in Canada, they won't be spat on or threatened with rape by Zionists. But they have to live in the community they're trying to change. It means the Zionists can't erase 100 years of Jewish internationalism, or call their opponents anti-Semites; it forces them to deal with the issues.
De Mille would be proud - Palestinian refugee camp, 1948Will we convince anyone? I'm not sure. No committed Zionist will give up the dream of a greater Israel. And there's a related problem; I think a 'two state solution' would create a Palestinian Bantustan – a tiny state reliant on outside aid, politically ineffective and dominated by Israel. Yet the Israeli left seems ready to settle for it, rather than rethink the idea of a religious state altogether, and propose a democratic secular alternative.
However, judging by the raised middle fingers, we're putting the Zionists on the defensive. The myth of plucky little Israel holding its own against massive odds is crumbling, to reveal the daily miseries of occupation. The Zionists may not listen to reason; but they may be politically defeated, if we mobilize effectively.
Remember The Catastrophe.
