So it's official- the swine flu has come to Israel. An Israeli man who was traveling in Mexico brought it back with him, and has been quarantined and is recovering well. Read about it here.
The more exciting part of the article for me is that the Deputy Health minister and a member of the ultra-orthodox community is calling for a name change in Israel from "Swine Flu" to "Mexico Flu," since pig is not kosher. Apparently "kosher" encompasses actually verbalizing an unkosher thing, such as pig. The religious hospital down the road from me has already started calling it the Mexico flu. I just hope this deputy minister is devoting as much energy to the actual problem as he his to its name.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Oh right, I'm in Israel
Living here, I've grown to be mostly desensitized to cultural differences, however, this week there was one thing that really shook me out of my comfort and made me remember exactly where I was.
This week holds three of Israel's big national holidays: Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day (for fallen soldiers) and then Independence Day. The sequencing of the three is deliberate, as well is how close they fall to each other. In honor of these days, there is a country-wide siren (the same siren that also goes off for bomb scares) that goes off for about 2 minutes each holiday, during which everything stops. Everything. Cars, conversations, radio, tv, public buses. It_ is_so_bizarre. Here is a link to a short article and video of the siren-time. It's not very interesting to watch, as it is a video of the nothing that happens during the siren, but it might give you some idea of what it's like.
You're supposed to stand up, which I did, but mostly to hang myself out the window and gawk at the rest of the city and remember that I'm definitely not in Denver anymore!
This week holds three of Israel's big national holidays: Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day (for fallen soldiers) and then Independence Day. The sequencing of the three is deliberate, as well is how close they fall to each other. In honor of these days, there is a country-wide siren (the same siren that also goes off for bomb scares) that goes off for about 2 minutes each holiday, during which everything stops. Everything. Cars, conversations, radio, tv, public buses. It_ is_so_bizarre. Here is a link to a short article and video of the siren-time. It's not very interesting to watch, as it is a video of the nothing that happens during the siren, but it might give you some idea of what it's like.
You're supposed to stand up, which I did, but mostly to hang myself out the window and gawk at the rest of the city and remember that I'm definitely not in Denver anymore!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Earth day in the holy land
This past Thursday I went to a fantastic Earth Day event in Tel Aviv. The event, held in Rabin Square in the middle of the city, was a huge public concert, featuring the Balkan Beat Box, a hugely popular Israeli band that tours all over the world. This band seems to be the pride and joy of this country, as there's not much from Israel, culturally speaking, that makes a global impression (for instance, when Waltz With Bashir was nominated for the Oscar for best int'l film, it was huuuuge news here). The crowd at this show was PUMPED, to say the least, and it was great to be there.
Anyway, the whole thing was powered by left over felafel oil, which is SO perfect and Israeli it almost hurts, and about 20 cyclists off the the side of stage. The big kick off was with a crowd-wide count down at the end of which the office building behind the stage and a large part of the city shut off its lights for one hour.
With all of the bullsh*t that happens in this country, I have to say that the environmentalism here is hopeful. Traveling in other middle eastern countries, this awareness has yet to catch on. I remember one example of a cab driver in Jordan who I pleaded with so that he wouldn't throw his apple core out the window and his response was "Oh, you Americans!" then he laughed at me like I had made some kind of adorable joke, and proceeded to casually toss it to the side of the road. I didn't argue.
I suppose there are many reasons for this disparity in environmental awareness within this region- socio-economic, cultural, geographic, etc. Not to mention the American and European social and cultural presence.
Check out this link to read more about the event
Anyway, the whole thing was powered by left over felafel oil, which is SO perfect and Israeli it almost hurts, and about 20 cyclists off the the side of stage. The big kick off was with a crowd-wide count down at the end of which the office building behind the stage and a large part of the city shut off its lights for one hour.
With all of the bullsh*t that happens in this country, I have to say that the environmentalism here is hopeful. Traveling in other middle eastern countries, this awareness has yet to catch on. I remember one example of a cab driver in Jordan who I pleaded with so that he wouldn't throw his apple core out the window and his response was "Oh, you Americans!" then he laughed at me like I had made some kind of adorable joke, and proceeded to casually toss it to the side of the road. I didn't argue.
I suppose there are many reasons for this disparity in environmental awareness within this region- socio-economic, cultural, geographic, etc. Not to mention the American and European social and cultural presence.
Check out this link to read more about the event
Thursday, April 23, 2009
My past life...regulating usurious loans
Last year while working at a non-profit that focuses on public policy research, I spent a lot of time and energy researching payday loans. In a move of shameless self-promotion, but also to help inform you what payday loans are, here is a link to a report that I worked on (and the opinions I express in this blog do not represent the opinions of the Bell Policy Center).
Anyway, I still get these Google email alerts for anything in the news about payday loans. They are mostly advertisements for payday loans (no thank you) but occasionally, especially as the state legislative sessions move along, there are more articles about good legislation that's aiming to rein these lenders in.
Here is one in the New York Times written by Luis V. Gutierrez, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
Even though I'm here, I can't stop caring about this issue. I consider it especially shameful because it is legal in most states, and it is flat our usury and exploitation. I and hope to continue to raise awareness via this blog and through prolonged harassment of my friends and family :)
Let me know if you have any questions, because I would be happy to answer them.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Israeli rudeness
I came across this article recently and I was both refreshed to hear someone so pointedly write about Israeli culture and a little disappointed at his take on Israeli unity:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/opinion/17brooks.html?scp=9&sq=israel&st=cse
When I first came to Israel with the intent of staying for a while, the gruffness of people really threw me off. There is so munch antagonism everywhere you go! Granted, most of it isn't whole-hearted, it's just how people function. It's a country founded on this sense of defense and need to fervently fight for everything you have, so that inevitably translates into small, daily tasks, like getting the girl behind the counter to make you your latte, or having people look over your shoulder as you type in your SSN at the bank in order to make sure you're doing it right (yes, really). My roommates have more than once told me, "you're so nice...everything we ever make to eat, you always say 'it's great, good job!' " That's just how I know to interact with people. When someone slaves away on a meal, you don't eat it and then tell them how they could have done better. You eat it and say it's lovely, because they have worked hard and deserve a compliment. But no, no- that just not how it works here.
Anyway, the author writes a good article on the nature of this "tough love" culture, but I think he idealizes the Israeli unity. To start, Israel is TINY, I think it's about the size of New Jersey. So it's not a reach to assume that there will be some cultural similarities that are consistent throughout the country. Also, I've had more than one conversation with young Israelis here about how there isn't much that unifies this country other than being "Jewish" (whatever that means and assuming we aren't including the Palestinian-Israeli citizens), and a definition of themselves as not Arab/Palestinian. It's that they are all scared stiff of the larger, Arab threat that in their minds can obliterate everything they know in 2 seconds. The author calls this an "intense sense of national mission," but I call it outright fear that is then seamlessly transformed (via army service and other cultural indoctrinations) into an intense need to preserve their Jewish state against the "other."
To sum it up, this article is well written and perceptive, but don't let it be the defining voice on Israeli unity, or lack there of.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Immoral environmentalism-electric cars in Israel?
*I have changed this post from the originial because of feedback that the end didn't make sense. It's somewhat of a rant still, but I tried to rein it in. :)
Choosing between causes has been a constant struggle for me, as I think it is for many 20-somethings right now. Specifically, choosing between environmental causes or human ones? Do I devote myself and my career to urgent environmental action, or trying to achieve justice for people? Really, it sounds so self-righteous, "What shall my cause today be?" But it's how I feel. Environment is the environment, it's the biggest victim I can think of. When I read about it or watch an informative video, I'm motivated to take action and join a worth-while project. But then I just can't get over how humans can look other humans straight in the eye, and still proceed to kill them, starve them, ruin them.
This dualism or "clash of causes" has recently popped up after I watched this TED speech by Better Place CEO Shai Agassi and now I'm all stirred up. It's 20 minutes, but I promise you it's worth your time.
Agassi's speech outlines his grand plan to widely distribute and create a sustainable infrastructure for electric cars. It's amazing, and I champion him and his vision. A few countries have committed to building this electric car system, and Israel was first. As Agassi is originally from Israel, this makes sense. There are already some charging or "swapping" stations here (I plan to seek them out and admire). I'm proud of Peres for being so forward thinking and into this cause.
However, the closing point of Agassi's speech bothers me. He compares our current need to transition away from our oil-dependent economy to the past need to transition away from slave-based economy. It wasn't only the economically progressive approach that also helped usher in the industrial revolution, but it was the moral choice. He closes with an urgent call to support our transition to electric cars, "If we don't, then we will lose our economy right after we have lost our morality."
Agassi doesn't seem to have extended the definition of "morality" to how a state treats the people within its borders, specifically in his home country. In this land, morality has long-since been reduced to an almost entirely relative term, and the economy is already headed for the crapper. But how can you argue with his logic? If you do, then you might as well go out and get yourself a slave. I agree with his argument though- environmental causes are moral and economic, so we should all get our heads out of the sand and support them. But what about when the environmental causes are morally compromised? What are you supposed to do then??
Alright, in this situation, I cannot expect Agassi to boycott, divest, or sanction (check out the BDS movement here) his own homeland, but it raises questions about the future of green businesses world-wide. The organic food movement in the US comes to mind. When it originally started to gain momentum, it was with the idea that it would small-scale and community oriented- a way to not only to eat well and improve our health, but to strengthen our civil society. Then, after a couple of decades, when there was now a market demand for organic food, it because industrialized, exploitative, and barely even "organic" anymore. Migrant workers on the big industrial farms are paid almost nothing, the farms are huge, the machines used to harvest pollute, and there is barely any more connection between the consumer and the source.
I know that any kind of business, whether it's environment-friendly or not, relies mostly on the laws of our economy to thrive. As I see it, this entails a certain amount blindness to the human aspect of the investment, as long as the region is stable and the labor is cheap. Call me a commie, I thought that there was some element of socio-political justice ingrained in the environmental movement, which would mean that investors look at not only a good economic opportunity, but also the human situation. They would maybe ask questions like, does this country treat it's people well, or am I supporting an unjust socio-political infrastructure by dumping money into this business, in this place. Am I really that naive to have assumed this? If so, then that's that. But if not, and this is supposed to be a pretense for the up-and-coming green businesses, then it seems, as usual, that all bets are off when it comes to this country and this conflict.
Article about new electric cars in Israel
Choosing between causes has been a constant struggle for me, as I think it is for many 20-somethings right now. Specifically, choosing between environmental causes or human ones? Do I devote myself and my career to urgent environmental action, or trying to achieve justice for people? Really, it sounds so self-righteous, "What shall my cause today be?" But it's how I feel. Environment is the environment, it's the biggest victim I can think of. When I read about it or watch an informative video, I'm motivated to take action and join a worth-while project. But then I just can't get over how humans can look other humans straight in the eye, and still proceed to kill them, starve them, ruin them.
This dualism or "clash of causes" has recently popped up after I watched this TED speech by Better Place CEO Shai Agassi and now I'm all stirred up. It's 20 minutes, but I promise you it's worth your time.
Agassi's speech outlines his grand plan to widely distribute and create a sustainable infrastructure for electric cars. It's amazing, and I champion him and his vision. A few countries have committed to building this electric car system, and Israel was first. As Agassi is originally from Israel, this makes sense. There are already some charging or "swapping" stations here (I plan to seek them out and admire). I'm proud of Peres for being so forward thinking and into this cause.
However, the closing point of Agassi's speech bothers me. He compares our current need to transition away from our oil-dependent economy to the past need to transition away from slave-based economy. It wasn't only the economically progressive approach that also helped usher in the industrial revolution, but it was the moral choice. He closes with an urgent call to support our transition to electric cars, "If we don't, then we will lose our economy right after we have lost our morality."
Agassi doesn't seem to have extended the definition of "morality" to how a state treats the people within its borders, specifically in his home country. In this land, morality has long-since been reduced to an almost entirely relative term, and the economy is already headed for the crapper. But how can you argue with his logic? If you do, then you might as well go out and get yourself a slave. I agree with his argument though- environmental causes are moral and economic, so we should all get our heads out of the sand and support them. But what about when the environmental causes are morally compromised? What are you supposed to do then??
Alright, in this situation, I cannot expect Agassi to boycott, divest, or sanction (check out the BDS movement here) his own homeland, but it raises questions about the future of green businesses world-wide. The organic food movement in the US comes to mind. When it originally started to gain momentum, it was with the idea that it would small-scale and community oriented- a way to not only to eat well and improve our health, but to strengthen our civil society. Then, after a couple of decades, when there was now a market demand for organic food, it because industrialized, exploitative, and barely even "organic" anymore. Migrant workers on the big industrial farms are paid almost nothing, the farms are huge, the machines used to harvest pollute, and there is barely any more connection between the consumer and the source.
I know that any kind of business, whether it's environment-friendly or not, relies mostly on the laws of our economy to thrive. As I see it, this entails a certain amount blindness to the human aspect of the investment, as long as the region is stable and the labor is cheap. Call me a commie, I thought that there was some element of socio-political justice ingrained in the environmental movement, which would mean that investors look at not only a good economic opportunity, but also the human situation. They would maybe ask questions like, does this country treat it's people well, or am I supporting an unjust socio-political infrastructure by dumping money into this business, in this place. Am I really that naive to have assumed this? If so, then that's that. But if not, and this is supposed to be a pretense for the up-and-coming green businesses, then it seems, as usual, that all bets are off when it comes to this country and this conflict.
Article about new electric cars in Israel
Palestinian man shot dead on Friday
This past friday, Basem Abu Rahme, a 29 year old Palestinian man was killed during a demonstration against the wall in the village of Bi'lin. Basem was shot in the chest with a high velocity tear gas canister by Israeli soldiers. If this sounds familiar, it's probably because a similar shooting occurred just last month to American activist Tristan Anderson, who was shot in the head with the same type of canister, and is still in critical condition.
Here is a link to an article written about the event, and a movie documenting his shooting.
Notice that you see a wound in his chest as he's lying on the ground, but no canister. This is because this tear gas canister:
is inside of him. There is a REASON why you don't shoot these things at people. Because they are fucking fast and huge, and can kill someone if you hit him/her. Apparently these soldiers just don't care.
Also notice the list of those who were killed in the past during protests against the wall.
My friend who was at the demonstration gave me a shaky, teary-eyed account of what she saw. She said that she was about 20 meters away from Rahme when he was shot, and that she saw the soldier aim the tear gas launchers directly at the people (this is instead of shooting them in an arc, like they are supposed to be fired). When people started yelling for help, the soldiers kept firing the gas at them, keeping them away from Rahme. She said, "And the worst part is that nothing will happen to this soldier. We have pictures of him shooting the canister, but we're in Israel, and he'll be protected."
That's how it works. Ni'lin and Bi'lin are Israel's wild west. There is no rule of law there. Soldiers do what they want, and protesters are the ones who suffer, recieving absolutely no justice for their pain.
I don't really know what to say or what kind of reflection I have on this event other that pure anger and an intense urge to make this soldier and the system that supports him pay for what he did. How do we live in a world where this is acceptable?? Where people die... really die for no reason other than someone else decides to shoot. How do we let this happen?
Here is a link to an article written about the event, and a movie documenting his shooting.
Notice that you see a wound in his chest as he's lying on the ground, but no canister. This is because this tear gas canister:
is inside of him. There is a REASON why you don't shoot these things at people. Because they are fucking fast and huge, and can kill someone if you hit him/her. Apparently these soldiers just don't care.Also notice the list of those who were killed in the past during protests against the wall.
My friend who was at the demonstration gave me a shaky, teary-eyed account of what she saw. She said that she was about 20 meters away from Rahme when he was shot, and that she saw the soldier aim the tear gas launchers directly at the people (this is instead of shooting them in an arc, like they are supposed to be fired). When people started yelling for help, the soldiers kept firing the gas at them, keeping them away from Rahme. She said, "And the worst part is that nothing will happen to this soldier. We have pictures of him shooting the canister, but we're in Israel, and he'll be protected."
That's how it works. Ni'lin and Bi'lin are Israel's wild west. There is no rule of law there. Soldiers do what they want, and protesters are the ones who suffer, recieving absolutely no justice for their pain.
I don't really know what to say or what kind of reflection I have on this event other that pure anger and an intense urge to make this soldier and the system that supports him pay for what he did. How do we live in a world where this is acceptable?? Where people die... really die for no reason other than someone else decides to shoot. How do we let this happen?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Passover, sun-fun, and Tzfat
A lot has happened this past week and half, but among the highlights were the Sun blessing festival (Birkat Hachama) and Passover that I spent in Tzfat with friends.
Tzfat is sort of a hub for those who study Kabbalah, which can be summed up at Jewish mysticism. Yes, Madonna has recently become a fan and apparently studies it in some way, and even tried to buy a house in Tzfat, only to be rejected by the town's municipality (phew!). It's also a huge artist colony, and the overlap of art and intense mystic religious study has created some seriously, seeeriously incredible people. This is the second time I've been, and both times I have considered throwing all of my worldly ambitions to the wind and simply settling down and getting lost in this town for the rest of my life. This might happen some day, but for now I'll just blog about it :)
So my Passover seder was led by an Orthodox family, which means that it was, among other things, very very long. Seders as I knew them growing up were fun, sing-songy, an excuse for the grown-ups to drink a lot, and an opportunity to eat a lot of good Jewish cooking. This was the same, plus four additional hours of religious explanation for what this holiday is about. Definitely a long "groooaaan" involved, but it was a great learning experience to see how the religious-religious people do it. Frankly, I was so hungry, tired, and tipsy that I barely remember anything significant, but I do know that there is a lot of wisdom, appreciation for our community as well as our sheer existance encompassed in this holiday.
So moving on from my sort of blacked out seder, a little tidbit to share that I learned while there was the Jewish concept of giving and the meaning of wealth. When we say "give" the opposite we would automatically think of is "take," right? Not so much in Judaism. The dualism in Jewish thought is "give and receive." As a sociology major, this kind of stuff is like spiritual catnip. There is a term in Hebrew called "tzedaka." Anyone who grew up even sort of Jewish is probably familiar with it. I always considered it to mean "charity." There's a tzedaka box in many homes, you make them in Hebrew school, your synagogue usually collects for certain tzedaka-related causes. It does mean charity in Hebrew, but the root of the word literally means "justice." The idea of giving to those who are less fortunate has less to do with you being a generous person and more about doing what needs to be done to make things a little more right than they currently are. Yessss.
A big questions I have is if this concept of justice count for non-Jews, too. I know that Orthodox Jews consider Jewish souls to be at a higher level than non-Jewish souls (as do most religions with their respective peeps I think), so does this idea of evening the scale count for the souls who aren't really up there with the Jewish souls?
Some sun blessing pics. Soooo wonderful:
Tzfat is sort of a hub for those who study Kabbalah, which can be summed up at Jewish mysticism. Yes, Madonna has recently become a fan and apparently studies it in some way, and even tried to buy a house in Tzfat, only to be rejected by the town's municipality (phew!). It's also a huge artist colony, and the overlap of art and intense mystic religious study has created some seriously, seeeriously incredible people. This is the second time I've been, and both times I have considered throwing all of my worldly ambitions to the wind and simply settling down and getting lost in this town for the rest of my life. This might happen some day, but for now I'll just blog about it :)
So my Passover seder was led by an Orthodox family, which means that it was, among other things, very very long. Seders as I knew them growing up were fun, sing-songy, an excuse for the grown-ups to drink a lot, and an opportunity to eat a lot of good Jewish cooking. This was the same, plus four additional hours of religious explanation for what this holiday is about. Definitely a long "groooaaan" involved, but it was a great learning experience to see how the religious-religious people do it. Frankly, I was so hungry, tired, and tipsy that I barely remember anything significant, but I do know that there is a lot of wisdom, appreciation for our community as well as our sheer existance encompassed in this holiday.
So moving on from my sort of blacked out seder, a little tidbit to share that I learned while there was the Jewish concept of giving and the meaning of wealth. When we say "give" the opposite we would automatically think of is "take," right? Not so much in Judaism. The dualism in Jewish thought is "give and receive." As a sociology major, this kind of stuff is like spiritual catnip. There is a term in Hebrew called "tzedaka." Anyone who grew up even sort of Jewish is probably familiar with it. I always considered it to mean "charity." There's a tzedaka box in many homes, you make them in Hebrew school, your synagogue usually collects for certain tzedaka-related causes. It does mean charity in Hebrew, but the root of the word literally means "justice." The idea of giving to those who are less fortunate has less to do with you being a generous person and more about doing what needs to be done to make things a little more right than they currently are. Yessss.
A big questions I have is if this concept of justice count for non-Jews, too. I know that Orthodox Jews consider Jewish souls to be at a higher level than non-Jewish souls (as do most religions with their respective peeps I think), so does this idea of evening the scale count for the souls who aren't really up there with the Jewish souls?
Some sun blessing pics. Soooo wonderful:
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Passover and Sun festival- Chag Sameach!
(Sunset in Tzfat/Safed from this past summer)
While I know we say "next year in Jerusalem" every year on Passover, I'm headed out of J-town for the holiday and up to a small super-spiritual/religious artist town in the north called Tzfat (or Safed in Arabic) instead. I just can't pass up the amazing events that are going on this year.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning is the sun's "birthday" according to Judaism. Jewish mysticism says that every 28 years, the sun returns to the same position that it was in when it was born on the 4th day of creation. This year, it happens to be on the first day of Passover, so the week-long holiday coincides with this week-long festival that honors the sun. I'm choosing not to care about whether I'm a believer in all of this or not, and just getting really excited about this cool overlap in events and heading up to Tzfat to celebrate in a big "Sun Blessing Festival!" Putting my own reservations aside, I am excited to be in a place where everyone is so excited to connect with nature and their own spirituality. Along with deciding to stay and work towards ending the Israeli occupation, this kind of thing is the OTHER reason why I'm here. Spiritual awesome-ness in the holy land. Plus, I'm a Leo, which is a sun-sign, so I figure I owe to my zodiac roots to check it out ;)
I hope to do some hiking around on some of the many trails out there after and then head down to Sinai for the rest of the vacation.
May your Passover, Easter, or any life-event this coming week be full of compassion and gratitude.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Ultimate Peace cont'd
Simply put, this event was great.
Read an article about it by Al-Jazeera here- it gives a good summary of the project and it's goals, etc.
Read about the "spirit of the game" and what makes ultimate super-awesome here
I volunteered with Ultimate Peace on Thursday, which is when 140 Palestinian and Israeli kids, through the Peres Peace Center, came to Tel Aviv to learn how to play Ultimate. Previous to this day, the group of about 20 American ultimate coaches who came with Ultimate Peace visited villages in Israel and the West Bank, introducing the sport to the kids in their home towns. Then they hosted a workshop on Wednesday for Israeli and int'l ultimate players to work on their frisbee skills. The idea was to teach kids the sport, and then work on the older players' skills as well, all to help frisbee take hold in the country.
On Thursday, the kids seemed to have a blast learning the game. A full day in the sun running around can be a little tough on anyone, and these kids were fantastic the whole time, with high spirits. I worked with the younger girls, aged about 9-11 I think, and they had such enthusiasm! While my group was great, I did here from one coach that there were a few Israeli kids in his group who simply refused to play with their Palestinian team mates, saying that they were "stupid." It was upsetting to hear about, but frankly I'm surprised that this was the only incident, and consider it a success nonetheless. If being part of this program allowed even some of them to forget their differences and what separates them from the other, even if it was for an hour, or 10 minutes of the day, then that's something. It's worth it.
The last two days of the event was a big hat tournament for all of the Israeli and int'l ultimate players. There is some serious talent in this country for ultimate, and it would be great to see them bring some tough competition to the world championships.
My reflection on the event so far is that while there is an urgent need to end the occupation and avoid "normalizing" the issue, but there is also a need to help make any change sustainable. Even if the occupation ended tomorrow, that doesn't change the fact that both sides have stopped seeing the other as human. It's projects like this that help to change that. Plus, ultimate is the best :)
(The girls taking a rest after a frisbee relay race)
Read an article about it by Al-Jazeera here- it gives a good summary of the project and it's goals, etc.
Read about the "spirit of the game" and what makes ultimate super-awesome here
I volunteered with Ultimate Peace on Thursday, which is when 140 Palestinian and Israeli kids, through the Peres Peace Center, came to Tel Aviv to learn how to play Ultimate. Previous to this day, the group of about 20 American ultimate coaches who came with Ultimate Peace visited villages in Israel and the West Bank, introducing the sport to the kids in their home towns. Then they hosted a workshop on Wednesday for Israeli and int'l ultimate players to work on their frisbee skills. The idea was to teach kids the sport, and then work on the older players' skills as well, all to help frisbee take hold in the country.
On Thursday, the kids seemed to have a blast learning the game. A full day in the sun running around can be a little tough on anyone, and these kids were fantastic the whole time, with high spirits. I worked with the younger girls, aged about 9-11 I think, and they had such enthusiasm! While my group was great, I did here from one coach that there were a few Israeli kids in his group who simply refused to play with their Palestinian team mates, saying that they were "stupid." It was upsetting to hear about, but frankly I'm surprised that this was the only incident, and consider it a success nonetheless. If being part of this program allowed even some of them to forget their differences and what separates them from the other, even if it was for an hour, or 10 minutes of the day, then that's something. It's worth it.
The last two days of the event was a big hat tournament for all of the Israeli and int'l ultimate players. There is some serious talent in this country for ultimate, and it would be great to see them bring some tough competition to the world championships.
My reflection on the event so far is that while there is an urgent need to end the occupation and avoid "normalizing" the issue, but there is also a need to help make any change sustainable. Even if the occupation ended tomorrow, that doesn't change the fact that both sides have stopped seeing the other as human. It's projects like this that help to change that. Plus, ultimate is the best :)
(The girls taking a rest after a frisbee relay race)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ultimate (frisbee) Peace in the Middle East
Many people I still meet laugh at me when I say I've played ultimate frisbee competitively for years, but they just don't know. It's awesome, competitive and really damn hard. No, it's not something I play with my dog. Yes, there are rreeaaal rules, and it involves running. A lot of running, and a lot of skill. Yes, just as much as soccer/football. And basketball. Check it out here. So there is this event I'm volunteering for this week, and I think it's pretty innovative. www.ultimatepeace.org. I have yet to experience what it is like, but I will blog about it after :)
Basically, the rules of ultimate frisbee are mostly self-refereed. There is no ref on the field that blows his/her whistle and calls a foul. It's self-called and then resolved right then and there on the field. Part of the magic of ultimate is that the calls on the field mostly never lead to any kind of fight and is resolved in a peaceful, respectful way. It's all done in the "spirit of the game" that encompasses respect for yourself, your fellow players, and a good, healthy competition.
Anyway, the theory behind this event, as I see it, is to teach Palestinian and Israeli kids how to play ultimate and in the process, teach them how to engage in a form of interaction and competition where they realize it IS possible to co-exist and even compete, but in a way that encourages respect for what you're engaged in and for each other. Not a bad idea.
I'm mostly excited about this event, but one thing that nags at me about it is this concept here of "normalizing" the occupation. A lot of activists are wary of many peace-making programs because they don't specifically address ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and people. Like, trying to raise the quality of life for Palestinians as it is under the occupation instead of simply trying to END the occupation. Does this make sense? Examples of this are programs that aim to foster "coexistance" or Israelis and Palestinians showing artwork together, or a joint summer camp for kids...or the Ultimate Peace project. Many people don't see this hand-holding type of project as useful. I understand this. People are being killed. People are being arrested and held without their rights. Homes are being demolished and families are left with nothing. Ending the occupation is urgent to say the least. And when you see these things first hand all you want to do is go make someone pay the consequences for what is being done to these people. You want to make it END! But does that mean this kind of program isn't useful? Not sure.
I know Israelis who haven't had a real conversation with an Arab person other than when they were in army, serving in the oPt (occupied Palestinian territories), and had a gun in their hand. They have no concept of these people other than how they saw them when they were in a position of command over them. This is sad. How can you really value, really really understand the human-ness of someone unless you talk to them, and experience them on equal ground?
Anyway, I'm eager to see how this project goes, and how these kids take to it. Look for it on CNN international because they're covering the story!
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