Liebe Leserinnen und Leser,
What started with one little tent on Rotshield Boulevard (Tel Aviv) has become a huge camp with kitchens, debates and concerts. Religious people, students, hippies, single mothers and young families have installed their tents together. As well in Jerusalem, Beer Sheva and Kiryat Shmona the protest is settled.
The homeless that usually live in the streets suddenly got thousands of neighbors. They have one thing in common: they are not willing to leave until there are structural changes. Or until of course Israel decides to start a little war and all the demonstrators have to join the army. This is the scenario I hear whispering among the tents.
The Hippie community has a role in this protest that should not be underestimated. I’ve been following them since a couple of months, hoping that they will ever be able to create a response against their right wing, repressive government. That is exactly what is happening now. They were the first to set up their tents and wigwams and cheer up the streets with music, colors, laugh sessions, vibes, peace, love and unity. With their “boombox” they’re passing through the streets and organizing spontaneous street raves.
We went to take a look in a camp near the bus station. This is where the real protest is taking place and it is quite different of the mainstream Zionist protest on the Rotshield Boulevard. “They think the diapers are too expensive”, is what we hear over there. “Refugees of Darfur and Ivory Coast are being dumped in the street without any form of reception service. The only thing that the city council does for this neighborhood is trying to hide us as much as possible and to discriminate. Criminality here is enormous, you have to try and pass by here at night.”
The protest in Tel Aviv is about the middle class and not about the poorest of the poorest. Roughly speaking: the only blacks you see on Rotshield Boulevard nowadays are those cleaning the toilets and the streets covered with protest flyers.
I asked some of the activists if their protest has something to do with the conflict. “There is no connection at all”, was the answer. About the conflict the opinions are very diverse. “We are here with right, left, religious and non religious and protest all together against the government.” But then again Ophir tells me: “We have decided to turn us against the government. This has to be done first. Afterwards we can show solidarity to others that were against the government as well.”
From the Palestinian side I got a lot of resigned and cynical reactions. “Puke! 150000 Zionists for “Social justice” (lower prices) while the ethnical cleansing of Palestine continues undebated. Palestinian children are imprisoned for resistance. Villages like Nabih saleh are gassed. The apartheid wall expands on & on. And if the current “Prime minister” goes. do you believe that the replacement will be any different?” According to a status update from Frank, a Palestinian activist (23 likes). While Nariman, a Palestinian woman, sounded more optimistic about the protest: “They’ve now opened their eyes, hopefully they will now see the injustice against Palestinians as well.”
It seems the protest movement is struggling for a less criminal neoliberal climate, a human real estate market, honest food prices and a government that listens to their people. These are also the reasons why I will set up my tent. But can we speak of a revolution that will bring social justice to the poorest of the poorest when nobody mentions a word about the inhuman and degrading occupation of Palestine?
I do hope that the protest movement will be heard. I hope that the one love vibe will stay in the streets for a while. I hope that right wing leaders will wake up and choose for humanity. I do hope that diapers will get cheaper and houses affordable. I hope that after this they will start protesting as well for the poor and the refugees that are sleeping in the streets of the Promised Land. I hope that after this, the protesters will have the courage to look over the wall to the oppressed Palestinian people that are demanding humanity since decades. They say I’m a dreamer.
bereits am 22. Juli berichtete Alsharq über Proteste in Tel Aviv angesichts der Preisexplosion auf dem israelischen Wohnungsmarkt. Nun ist der "Israelische Sommer" in aller Munde, landesweit wird gegen soziale Ungerechtigkeit demonstriert.
Unser befreundeter Foto- und Video-Journalist Jan Beddegenoodts hat sich mit den Protesten intensiv auseinander gesetzt. Entstanden sind dabei ein Video und ein Artikel, die wir Euch nicht vorenthalten wollen.
Von Jan Beddegenoodts
Last week I was in Nabih Saleh (a Palestinian village near Ramalah), standing in the tear gas during a peaceful protest, when I got a phone call from a friend in Tel Aviv: ‘Jan, a revolution started in Tel Aviv, you’ve got to come over here.” First I thought the demonstration was related to the possible recognition of a Palestinian state in September. “It’s not about the conflict honey, it’s about us!”
Where is Bibi?
Saturday evening, 9pm: 100 000 people are walking through the streets of Tel Aviv. Without a leader, but with one common demand for change, people come together in the streets. When the masses start to whistle, yell, cry, a shiver runs down my spine. This is a protest nobody can ignore, not even Bibi (Netanyahu).
What started with one little tent on Rotshield Boulevard (Tel Aviv) has become a huge camp with kitchens, debates and concerts. Religious people, students, hippies, single mothers and young families have installed their tents together. As well in Jerusalem, Beer Sheva and Kiryat Shmona the protest is settled.
The homeless that usually live in the streets suddenly got thousands of neighbors. They have one thing in common: they are not willing to leave until there are structural changes. Or until of course Israel decides to start a little war and all the demonstrators have to join the army. This is the scenario I hear whispering among the tents.
One love?!
The Hippie community has a role in this protest that should not be underestimated. I’ve been following them since a couple of months, hoping that they will ever be able to create a response against their right wing, repressive government. That is exactly what is happening now. They were the first to set up their tents and wigwams and cheer up the streets with music, colors, laugh sessions, vibes, peace, love and unity. With their “boombox” they’re passing through the streets and organizing spontaneous street raves.
What about the Poor?
We went to take a look in a camp near the bus station. This is where the real protest is taking place and it is quite different of the mainstream Zionist protest on the Rotshield Boulevard. “They think the diapers are too expensive”, is what we hear over there. “Refugees of Darfur and Ivory Coast are being dumped in the street without any form of reception service. The only thing that the city council does for this neighborhood is trying to hide us as much as possible and to discriminate. Criminality here is enormous, you have to try and pass by here at night.”
The protest in Tel Aviv is about the middle class and not about the poorest of the poorest. Roughly speaking: the only blacks you see on Rotshield Boulevard nowadays are those cleaning the toilets and the streets covered with protest flyers.
Conflict? No connection at all!
I asked some of the activists if their protest has something to do with the conflict. “There is no connection at all”, was the answer. About the conflict the opinions are very diverse. “We are here with right, left, religious and non religious and protest all together against the government.” But then again Ophir tells me: “We have decided to turn us against the government. This has to be done first. Afterwards we can show solidarity to others that were against the government as well.”
From the Palestinian side I got a lot of resigned and cynical reactions. “Puke! 150000 Zionists for “Social justice” (lower prices) while the ethnical cleansing of Palestine continues undebated. Palestinian children are imprisoned for resistance. Villages like Nabih saleh are gassed. The apartheid wall expands on & on. And if the current “Prime minister” goes. do you believe that the replacement will be any different?” According to a status update from Frank, a Palestinian activist (23 likes). While Nariman, a Palestinian woman, sounded more optimistic about the protest: “They’ve now opened their eyes, hopefully they will now see the injustice against Palestinians as well.”
Social Justice?
It seems the protest movement is struggling for a less criminal neoliberal climate, a human real estate market, honest food prices and a government that listens to their people. These are also the reasons why I will set up my tent. But can we speak of a revolution that will bring social justice to the poorest of the poorest when nobody mentions a word about the inhuman and degrading occupation of Palestine?
I do hope that the protest movement will be heard. I hope that the one love vibe will stay in the streets for a while. I hope that right wing leaders will wake up and choose for humanity. I do hope that diapers will get cheaper and houses affordable. I hope that after this they will start protesting as well for the poor and the refugees that are sleeping in the streets of the Promised Land. I hope that after this, the protesters will have the courage to look over the wall to the oppressed Palestinian people that are demanding humanity since decades. They say I’m a dreamer.
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2 Kommentare:
Vielen Dank für den lebendigen und detaillierten Beitrag und das sehr eindrückliche Video.
Was ich allerdings bisher in den Medien noch vergeblich gesucht habe, ist eine Analyse der ökonomischen Verhältnisse in Israel. Wie kommt es zu derartig hohen Miet- und anderen Preisen - wer kassiert da ab? Und inwiefern ist möglicherweise die politische Zersplitterung der Region mit teilweise kaum überwindbaren Grenzen, sowie die nicht nur ungerechte, sondern auch ungesunde Behinderung aller Branchen der palästinensischen Ökonomie auch ein negativer Faktor für die Wirtschaft im israelischen Kernland.
Besorgniserregend finde ich auch, dass im Ultrareligiösen Lager in Israel bereits Stimmen laut geworden sind, die die Lösung der Wohnungskrise durch verstärkten Siedlungsbau, also durch noch mehr Enteignung von palästinensischen Land erreichen wollen.
Eva Mieslinger, Berlin
Hallo Eva,
vielen Dank für Dein Kommentar.
Zu den Fragen: Es gibt eine Vielzahl an Gründen, warum die Mietpreise explodiert sind. U.a. werden im Großraum Tel Aviv nur noch min. Drei-Zimmer-Wohnungen neu gebaut; die sind natürlich teurer, als eine Einzimmerwohnung.
Was die Preisexplosion bei den Lebensmitteln betrifft - die wurde von der Regierung mittlerweile reguliert. Die führenden Hersteller von Hüttenkäse ("Die Hüttenkäserevolution") hatten sich abgesprochen und so den Preis künstlich hochgetrieben.
Zu den allgm. ökonomischen Verhältnissen: Dan Schüftan, Politikprofessor an der Uni Haifa, hat das Problem jüngst im Gespräch mit Gil Jaron treffend auf den Punkt gebracht. Er sagte: "Ein Drittel forscht und treibt die Wirtschaft voran, ein Drittel dient in der Armee und in der Reserve, und ein Drittel zahlt die Steuern. Das Problem dabei ist nur: Es ist dasselbe Drittel." (http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/11005).
Was den Siedlungsbau betriff: Innenminister Eli Jischai hat nun die "endgültige Genehmigung" erteilt, weitere 1600 Wohneinheiten - also ganze Blocks, nicht einzelne Wohnungen - in Ost J-M bauen zu lassen.
Die Kooperation zw. Israelis und Palästinensern im Bereich der Wirtschaft wäre in der Tat sinnvoll - für beide Seiten. Erste Initativen gibt es, u.a. von Idan Ofer, einem der wichtigsten Unternehmer in Israel. (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4059848,00.html)
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