Global Voices » Rachel Barenblat

Israel: more disengagement reactions

Rachel Barenblat — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:48:41 +0000

Here are a few additions to Haitham's excellent round-up of reactions to the disengagement:

Allison talks about how many Israelis are focusing their attention elsewhere: “My point: this is a huge, historic big deal, this disengagement. But in order to really feel that it's happening, you have to be paying attention. And a lot of people are deciding not to pay attention. Which, considering how painful it is to watch, may not be such a bad decision.”

In contrast, though, Imshin asserts that “No Israeli has the right to turn his head away, to turn off the television, to pretend it isn’t happening. We must see it all. See without judgment.”

Lisa of On the Face tells a vivid story about going into Bethlehem for an art exhibition, and the politics of choosing what language to speak to Palestinian cab drivers:

“On the way up, he asked us if we were Israelis. Upon hearing our confirmation he started to speak broken Hebrew, assuring us that it had been fluent once, before the checkpoints and the separation barrier were erected and Israelis could no longer visit the West Bank. I haven't spoken Hebrew for five years, he said, So I'm out of practice. He added that he had heard a few people speaking Hebrew very softly in the Bethlehem market. They're with your group, right? he said. Yes, I thought so. But they were afraid to be identified as Israelis, he said, laughing. Why are you all so afraid of us?”

Flickr has a ton of photos tagged with “disengagement,” among them this one of people praying beside their car, this one of the official roadblock closing the road into Gaza, and this one of a scene from a bus of settlers en route to a protest.

Orthodox Anarchist writes on being simultaneously pro- and anti-disengagement:

“what's going on right now is painful. i feel for the families yet find it difficult to fathom their shock and suprise as it's been shown in the news. this has been a year in the coming; they're acting like they didn't believe the day would come. their disbelief is staggering. israel's been terrorizing arabs, knocking down their houses, razing their villages, suppressing their rights, brutalizing and dehumanizing them for decades. they didn't think the government would do the same to them when they they no longer served the government's interests?”

Sha! writes about cognitive dissonance: “one of the most common sights in Neve Dekalim today is a house with a sign on the front door reading ‘We won't Move From this Place' and a whole lot of packed boxes inside.”

Out of Step Jew writes “Israel is life – it is not a toy or a game that you play with when you feel like it. It is not a vacation spot, not a place to find yourself, not a place to work out your life's problems and not a place to build your own utopia. Living in Israel is living reality. And reality demands compromise and ugliness.”

Bert (a.k.a. Yonathan) of Dutchblog Israel posts about settlers' acts of violence and why these acts actually make the soldiers' jobs easier, arguing that it is “less difficult for soldiers and policemen and -women to deal with violent than with truly non-violent resistance.”

Karen (of Karen Alkalay-Gut's Tel Aviv Journal) writes: “There is no way to see these days as joyous. Even though i have never ever believed in the justification of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, from the time of my own visits to Gaza in the early seventies, I could not help but feel today as a day of amputation.”

Ben (of Ben Chorin) asks “Where is the line between legitimate protest and illegitimate havoc-wreaking? Not a simple question. If you believe, as I do, that the withdrawal from Azza will bring only harm and that, moreover, the process by which it has been carried out is not only flawed but corrupt (the individuals involved most directly in the decision-making process all have direct or indirect financial interests in the withdrawal), you might be inclined to push the boundary pretty far out there.”

On Jewschool, a post about Amnesty International criticizing Israel for holding anti-disengagement activists without officially charging them with anything (and in the comments to that post, a debate about whether or not Amnesty is biased for or against Israel.)

And on a lighter note, Brian of This Normal Life tells a sweet story about eyeglasses, optometrists, and romance in A Different Disengagement.

Israeli blogosphere

Rachel Barenblat — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 20:26:12 +0000

In the English-language Israeli blogosphere these days, most bloggers are talking about the disengagement. Sarah (of Chayyei Sarah) clarifies her position: “I have a large, messy jumble of thoughts and feelings about the disengagement….If you are looking for black-and-white thinking, I suggest you go elsewhere. If you are open to nuance, stick around.”

Harry (of The View from Here) is sick of the sophomoric color wars and longs for the days when the choice of orange shirt or blue shirt was a fashion statement, not a political one. And the photo-essay Postcards from Gaza combines Gaza photographs by Kitra Cahana with text by Jay (of Metatronics), who writes, “No one really wins in the disengagement, though everyone gets something…”

Sara (one of the bloggers at Yesha Speaks Out) chronicles the process of preparing to leave her Neve Dekalim home next week. Meanwhile, Beth (of House of Joy) reports on the recent anti-disengagement vigil held at the Western Wall, expressing admiration for the religious leaders who channeled the high emotions into prayer, not politics.

Others are posting about non-political issues. Brian (of This Normal Life) recounts a mini-vacation gone wrong when a mouse intrudes on a long-awaited spa trip. In contrast, Rahel (of Elms in the Yard) is enjoying her encounters with small animals: parakeets and Palestine sunbirds [photo post]. And continuing the wildlife theme, Renatinha (of Balagan) talks about camping in Israel, and how the communal love of camping makes Israel different from her former home of Brazil.

And some posts aren't overtly political, but hold messages which could easily apply to the current political situation. Like Lisa (of On the Face), who notes that the Arabic version of “I Will Survive” is a big hit at gay dance clubs in Tel Aviv, which helps her keep smiling. And Seven (of Idiot the Wise) spins words and images about the need to forgive one another and move on: “i aspire to inspire 'cause there's only One designer and I'm not talkin jean suppliers…”

Al Jinane: Championing free speech in Morocco

Rachel Barenblat — Mon, 16 May 2005 00:09:54 +0000

For the next few weeks, we'll be offering profiles of bloggers nominated for the Reporters Sans Frontières weblog awards. This profile is part of the series. Please visit the RSF voting page and vote for your favorite blogs. - Your friendly editors

Tarik Essaadi is the blogger behind Al Jinane. His motto: “Bloguer pour comprendre la complexité du monde,“Blogging to understand the complexity of the world.” Al Jinane is the only Moroccan blog to be a finalist in Reporters Sans Frontieres' Freedom Blog Awards. In his post about the nomination, Essaadi stresses that Al Jinane is “open” to its readers because he hopes to expose the “panorama of Moroccan culture and identity” to a worldwide audience.

Al Jinane, Essaadi says, will soon celebrate its first anniversary, though he also edits an online magazine EMarrakech which has been online since 2000. “It's an old need, to communicate and think ‘in plural,'” he says of his decision to begin blogging. Essaadi strives to be a global citizen, grounded in a strong sense of what's local but reacting to global affairs like a man of the world.

In an email interview, he explained that originally he and his wife (a data processing specialist) worked together on this project; now a team of eight, plus collaborators and partners, work together to weave the fabric of Al Jinane.

Many of the posts at Al Jinane are written by guest authors who Essaadi invites to participate in the blogging conversation. In one recent post, scholar Mohammed Lebabi chronicles a recent conference on what the three “monotheisms” have in common (Lebabi spoke there about the burgeoning hope and liberty experienced by Moroccan Muslims at the dawn of the 21st century, though he chided the organization for the lack of female voices). The post A L'Ombre d'Islam publishes a letter from guest blogger Mohsin Moueddin, arguing in favor of dialogue about Islam and its essential qualities, and decrying anti-Muslim prejudice.

These are the kinds of voices Essaadi publishes, and together they offer a fascinating glimpse into the cultural and political tapestry of Moroccan life. Still, his focus isn't purely on Morocco. Julien Pain has blogged here about bloggers forced to stop publishing in Singapore. And for World Press Day, Al Jinane opened its doors to publish a range of specially-selected articles (often in excerpt form) on the themes of freedom of expression and of the press worldwide.”

Nous publions ces textes pour méditation et par respect aux 53 journalistes tués et 107 emprisonnés dans le monde, seulement pour l'année 2004. le Blog Al Jinane reste ouvert pour toutes réactions qui peut enrichir le débat et pourquoi pas creer l'environnement propice pour des actions qui peuvent être salutaires pour d'autres journalistes sous l'enfer des abus…”

(”We publish these texts [as foci] for meditation, and out of respect for the 53 journalists killed and 107 imprisoned around the world in 2004 alone. The blog Al Jinane remains open for all reactions which might enrich the debate and — why not? — create a propitious environment for actions which might be salutary for other journalists suffering the hell of abuse…”)

Essaadi hopes his blog will serve as a call to young Moroccan bloggers to “release the mooring ropes” and explore the liberty of this new era. He likes blogs which speak the unexpected, shake up static society, and which explore culture (especially in cross-cultural ways) — these, he says, are among the fine qualities of the best Moroccan blogs. His desire to see more Moroccans blogging has led him to help with the creation of WMaker, the first free blogging platform in Morocco, and plans call for launching Moroccan blogging portal Blog.ma soon. He's honored, he says, by the RSF nomination, and looks forward to sharing his perspective on Morocco with more readers as time goes by.