Banging my head against the wall

Banging my head against the wall

My hotel, is towards the center of town across from the Conservative movement’s Israeli portion of their seminary. It is also near a large intersection and around the corner is the PM’s house. There have been many protests right here. Women in Black* have a regular protest daily except Shabbat. Also there has been folks protesting off and on for a peaceful resolution to the current situation with Lebanon. There have been counterdemonstrations to them; however, a large group came and has staged a vigil outside of the hotel last night and today. Walking back from a dinner after a long day around 11pm, there were a group of Orthodox Jews wearing orange with posters that said “We Demand Victory”, “Say no to a ceasefire”, “Defeat our Arab Enemy” all in Hebrew. They had aluminum pans of kugel and potatoes and sleeping bags for the kids, one of whom eagerly declared, “We get to stay up all night!”

In the morning a different set of people bedecked in orange were handing out literature and bumper stickers. Most of them appeared to be Orthodox women, perhaps numbering a minyan (LOL). They identified as the Women in Green.**

I woke up early to join other queer folk for a demonstration at the Wall. Many rabbis who are here for WorldPride were present and one other from my group and 3 of the Christians. I have to say the lack of complexity in which it was handled seemed very sad to me. While they had informative speakers on our buses explaining about the organization that had led my previous tour Ir Amim/City of Nations or Peoples,*** the purpose of the rally itself was less than clear and I am question its meaning . The wall is something that is supported by most Israelis; however, not in its current form or plan, necessarily. There are people in Ir Amim who want as they say a "dignified divorce" and a viable situation. They don't protest the wall just the intentional undue burdens of separating people from olive groves, family members and the strategic creation of barriers to contiguity in the West Bank and to diminish the rapid population rate in E. Jerusalem.
I had the sense that many folks did not quite know why they were there in its complexity. It seemed as one large photo-op and interview site for people and from someone who witnessed on the side I was discomforted by what felt like a competition for pictures taken and reporters spoken to. Furthermore, I was saddened by what seemed like an unfortunate encounter with mother and daughter. The Mom had some pictures drawn by the 7 year old girl that said “Love Without Borders” and “Share land”. And she encouraged her daughter to hold one up, but her daughter was much more interested in holding the big rainbow ones with similar messages in English, Hebrew and Arabic. She picked one up and it was heavy and put it back down and walked away. The mom called her back and said, “Don’t you want to hold a sign?” “No”, she replied sullenly. “But you have to hold one. You can hold one of yours.” She began to pout and her mom nodded her head as if to say, “come on, you can do it.” She picked a sign up, a large one and with her mom stood in front of all the people.

The photographers clicked away while I looked on at this staged scenario in mild disgust. Children should not be used as propaganda and it was so clearly premeditated that it felt manipulative and not in the child’s best interest. Do not get me wrong, it is great to bring children to protests, but to use them is exploitive.

Another person asked me what his sign said, since many were in Arabic. (Sorry for those I am about to offend, please skip if you do not like abrasive, sarcastic profanity) I think it says, “Handjobs, 5 dollars!” This got a good laugh, but looking around seeing most of the signs in Arabic with rainbow colors in English speaking hands felt contrived. Nothing was spoken at the wall, except for the chatter of reporters and their subjects. The one request of me, I turned down. Upon getting back on the bus, one rabbi must have felt similarly as she said sarcastically, “Well, now that we did this I can feel good again. On with our day.” A person responded by telling her it was too early for cynicism, where I replied with yes, unless you have 2 sugars with that cup of cynicism.

We made it back for me to moderate the panel where none of the speakers new ahead of time they were speaking.

* Women in Black is an international peace network. Women in Black is not an organization, but a means of mobilization and a formula for action. Women in Black vigils were started in Israel in 1988 by women protesting against Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Women in Black has developed in countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Azerbaijan, Colombia, and in FR Yugoslavia, where women in Belgrade have stood in weekly vigils since 1991 to protest war and the Serbian regime’s policies of nationalist aggression. Women in Black groups have formed in many cities in the United States since September 11th. Women in Black New York have been holding vigils in solidarity with our sisters throughout the world since 1993.

** Women for Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green) is a rapidly growing grassroots women's movement -- grandmothers, mothers, wives, and daughters; housewives and professionals; secular and religious -- all bound together by a shared love, devotion and concern for Israel. We are not affiliated with, nor do we support, any particular political party. We have chapters throughout Israel and abroad, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Toronto. We also have many men among our supporters.
In existence only since late 1993, the Women for Israel's Tomorrow, a registered non-profit organization, has accomplished a great deal. In addition to weekly street theater and public demonstrations, we write weekly articles, commission posters, advertise in newspapers, and lecture to groups in order to educate the electorate on the consequences of certain government policies, such as abandoning the Golan Heights for an illusory promise of peace, and pandering to Arafat, without requiring him to live up to his obligations under the Oslo Accords. We insist that Israel remain a Jewish state. We are actively and intimately connected with the fight to preserve a united Jerusalem. We support and encourage the brave Jewish community in the ancient city of Hebron, and sponsor annual Hanukkah and Purim parties with gifts and professional entertainment for the isolated Jewish children in that community.
Our movement is dedicated to the security and Jewish heritage of historic Israel, and we are outspoken in support of our cause. We are popularly known as the "Women in Green" because of the green hats we wear.
A leading Hebrew newspaper, Maariv, has described us as "the most authentic and exciting popular resistance movement to have arisen here (in Israel) in the last few years".
*** Ir-AmimIr Amim (“City of Nations” or “City of peoples”) was founded in order to actively engage in those issues impacting on Israeli–Palestinian relations in Jerusalem, and on the political future of the city. Ir Amim seeks to render Jerusalem a more viable city even under the dire current circumstances, while generating and promoting a more politically sustainable Jerusalem in the future.Ir Amim is a professionally driven organization, unaffiliated with any political party or institution. It is comprised of professionals and lay activists -- attorneys, planners, architects, educators, social scientists and concerned citizens -- who are devoted to “Jerusalem on a human scale.” That is, to a city shared by two collectives, Israeli and Palestinian, not only in the future, but today.Ir-Amim works in three directions in the service of these goals:
·
Exposing the complexities of East Jerusalem to various publics – including through study tours of the area for Knesset members, senior government officials, journalists, the general public and diplomatic missions.
·
Preventing the creation of unilateral “facts on the ground,” that will prevent future prospects for achieving settlements on the status of Jerusalem.
·
Strengthening civil society organizations in East Jerusalem -- toward a more workable and equitable city.