I attended a demonstration today that is held every Friday by a group of (normally) elderly Jewish women in central western Jerusalem who call themselves the Women in Black. It was hot and it was hard to stand in the sun. It was high afternoon and the protest lasted an hour, between 13:00 and 14:00. It was the first time I had held a placard. I wasn’t sure how it would feel and after I passed through the general feeling of being lame, the greater questions of whether I should be holding this placard at all rose up. The placard read “Stop the Occupation”. I agree with that idea wholeheartedly but still, thinking that and standing on a street corner, taking abuse from passers-by is another issue. I got over it though and my thoughts rather turned to the thoughts of those who were throwing abuse at me. I thought of thinking rationally.
There were religious Jews, mothers, taxi drivers…every corner of Israeli society and they all knew how to use their middle finger. The reactions to this very minor protest startled me. We are not saying we stand for the dissolution of Israel, we are not anti-Semitic, we are not criticizing Israeli society – we are merely standing against a government policy that has proven destructive to both the Palestinian Territories as well as Israel. We are in line with the thinking of the United Nations and frankly, the majority of the world’s population, that the occupation and its activities are illegal and in breach of a number of international laws. It can be argued that we don’t even need to talk about the law, it is morally wrong. But yet perfectly nice people are appalled by our stance.
I can put these reactions to misunderstanding the issues. Distinctions need to be made between concepts. To criticize current Israeli policies is not to be anti-Semitic; it is not to question the existence of Israel but rather to be concerned about where this is going. So far, it hasn’t been going to a nice place. It is the occupation that is a concern – not Israel, not Jews, not Muslims. As long as this occupation continues, Israel will never be secure. Realise that.
