Gay Kids Attacked in Tel Aviv

I am astounded to read this piece of news. A masked gunman walked into a gay youth center in Tel Aviv and opened fire, killing two and wounding 15. This is particularly shocking because Tel Aviv is considered "the gay capital of the Middle East" and for good reason. There is a large and thriving gay community there, with gay pride held every June with no problems. Protesters strongly oppose a gay pride march and festival in Jerusalem, due to the higher number of religious residents there, but the Tel Aviv festival has not had such opposition from the right. In fact, in December of last year, Israel was one of the 66 countries that signed the UN's declaration decriminalizing homosexuality. The document recognized the human rights of gays.

What is also interesting about this piece of news is that the word "terrorist" was not used. If a Palestinian gunman had done the damage, or was suspected of having done it, reporters wouldn't call him a "gunman," they would call him an "armed terrorist." Even when acting alone, such as last summer's "bulldozer terrorist" did, Palestinians who hurt Israelis are almost always referred to as terrorists. But far-right Israelis, even when hurting unarmed civilians for a political aim, are not called terrorists. Another article about the same incident said, "Israel Police said that the incident at the club on Nahmani Street did not have a terror motive." Really? Opening fire on kids at a community center did not have a terror motive?

Because one can't be a terrorist without first being an Arab. At least in Israel.

Uuuuummmm....WHAT?

The Tel Aviv District Court today sentenced eight gang members to various prison sentences for crimes like assault, conspiracy to commit a crime, and racial incitement.

Oh yeah, and the gang was a neo-Nazi gang.

Huh?

Ha'aretz says:

The court stated that the phenomenon revealed during the investigation of the case is extremely severe, shocking and horrifying - particularly in light of the fact that the suspects were all youths and immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent states. According to the original indictment, filed last September, the eight defendants - mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union between the ages of 17 and 20 - perpetrated violent hate crimes against Asians, religious Jews, drug addicts and homosexuals.

So, ok. Let me see if I can just wrap my head around this. You are from countries that 60 years ago were under Nazi occupation. Countries where your grandparents were possibly killed because they were Jews. And then your parents got the good sense to get the heel out and move you to the only Jewish state in the world. Which is when you join a neo-Nazi gang.

Um...no, I still don't get it.

Price of Palestinian Blood Low Due to Recession

Back in this post, I interviewed members of an organization called Zochrot, which seeks to bring the story of the Palestinian Nakba to the Israeli public. Zochrot member Ranin Geries told me that Israelis think "the blood of the Palestinian is very cheap" and this sentiment was echoed last week by the sentencing of Avraham Tomer in Tel Aviv.

In October of 2006, Tomer and a few other Border Police officers detained Iyad Abu Ra’iyeh and two other Palestinian men at the construction site where they worked, on suspicion of living in Israel illegally. The men were detained in a small room on the construction site and beaten while they were questioned.

Israeli Human Rights group B'Tselem reports on the case and Judge Oded Mudrik described the events in his verdict:

The three PSIs [Palestinians] were forced to sit with their backs to the wall, and the defendant was posted to guard them. The defendant cocked his rifle, which was lying on his shoulder in the “cross” position, while aiming it at one of the PSIs, Iyad Tawfiq Abu Ra’iyeh (hereafter: “the deceased”). In this situation, as he was cocking the rifle, the defendant absent-mindedly pressed the trigger. A bullet was fired from the weapon of the defendant and it struck the neck of the deceased, causing his death.

For "absent-mindedly" pressing the trigger of his gun, Tomer was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to one year in jail. You can go to the B'Tselem page if you have any interest in reading Judge Mudrik's justification for the sentence he handed down.

Your Dog's Poop Under Investigation

Once or twice a month I feel the need to start a blog post with the word "Wow." I have barely restrained myself in this post, but you get the point.

Anyway.

Reuters reports today:

Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, the city of Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is asking dog owners to take their animal to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA.

The city will use the DNA database it is building to match faeces to a registered dog and identify its owner.

Big brother alive and well in Israel.

They Just Don't Worry About That Stuff

Prepare yourself for the following EXCELLENT example of Israeli culture:



Keep in mind, this is a busy street in Tel Aviv during rush hour.

As we pulled up to this scene, Carmel burst into laughter, pointed, and said, "That's Israel for you."

American Slang Explained by Israeli

What we learn from this is basically:

• Israel is full of hot chicks
  
• Israel is full of smartass guys
  

We heard there was a tapas bar that served cheese and champagne and sent you outside with it. And that was exactly what we found. Literally, a bar that you can order cheese, meat, and champagne. There are literally 6 stools against the wall. Reason number 826,432,097 why I love Tel Aviv in summer. The land of milk and honey? Shit. The land of cava and champagne!

So we took our NIS67 ($20) bottle of champagne outside to the square and stumbled upon the above gathering. People slowly began to fill up the square and musicians warmed up with the theme from Mario Bros. and Billy Joel's Piano Man on harmonica. And our new friend Amir from Mahzelet was more than happy to explain just what his group does.

By the way, what he means by "no bar will enter us" is "we don't pass selection." Hence, they created an alternative.

Israeli Weddings: Wish You Were Here

Vestiges of Middle Eastern Culture

You recognize this, right?



And this, I'm sure...



But how about this?



Besides the yellow light to warn of the impending red light, Israelis also have this. The combined red and yellow light indicate that the light is about to turn green, which allows drivers to speed ahead and pick off pedestrians as fast as they like.

Also, do you recognize this?



How about now?



This was seen in a mall, next to a McDonald's, a KFC, a "China Town" and a shawarma place.

Zionist Inside Joke

The 2008 Zochrot conference was held June 22-24 in Tel Aviv at the ZOA House. The Zionist Organization of America was an ironic place to host a conference focused on the return of Palestinian refugees. But what was even more entertaining was the graffiti that was painted all over Ibn Gvriol Street and the ZOA house prior to the conference.

Theodor Herzl, considered the father of Zionism, tirelessly campaigned all over Europe and the Middle East in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for a Jewish homeland. He felt that something bad was in the works for Jews in Europe. At first he met with mostly resistance and disbelief. Nobody believed his idea would work. But he said, "If you will, it is no dream." Every Israeli child grows up learning this Herzl quote, and many others, as well as seeing Herzl's ubiquitous photograph.

Which is why seeing this graffiti outside the ZOA house and Right of Return conference was so funny:



It says literally, "If you don't want, there's no need." But it's a figure of speech and in English we would say, "If you don't want, so nevermind."

Author's Note: it was rather difficult to get this to be funny with the translation and the lack of context and blah blah blah for those who aren't familiar, so thanks for bearing with my explanation.

Duck is Raped, Swan Watches

Note: you'll want the sound up on this one.



You'll notice Dante is the only one who seems mildly concerned about the duck's cries for help. What is this world coming to?

Croc Soldier

Soldiers routinely fill the train stations all over Israel- usually returning from leave. Or...leaving....for leave. But usually they wear uniforms. Or carry...equipment. Or something.

Cats Doing it Like Bunnies in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv has a feral cat problem. They are aware of this. The program in place now to deal with this is pure genius. Most other animal agencies worldwide would simply kill the cats. The Tel Aviv agency realizes that killing the cats would only increase the resources for the remaining cats and therefore increase reproduction. So what they do is tour around, pick up some cats, take them back to the agency, and sterilize them. To remember which cats have already been fixed, they then clip the tip of the cat's ear off. When future animal control officers are trolling around, looking for cats to pick up, they look for cats with two undisturbed ears.

The resources then remain the same for the same number of cats, and the reproduction rate eventually slows.

See? Genius.



UPDATE:
I have now taken photos of a cat with its ear clipped.

Dante vs Goat

Dante made a visit to the petting zoo in Hayarkon Park at midnight. He met some interesting and odd creatures but in the end, his self preservation trumped his curiosity.

By the way..........WHAT is this thing?

Yiddish Still Alive and Well

Amidst the bustling metropolis of Tel Aviv, these guys clop along with their horse and cart. They move through every neighborhood in turn, yelling, "Altazachen! Altazachen! Altazachen!" which means old things in Yiddish and German.

They are called Asfanay Schmatez by the people who know them: junk collectors. The backs of their carts are filled with dysfunctional refridgerators, ovens, and random pieces of leftover metal.

This video was taken on Dizengoff Street, the trendiest and busiest shopping area of Tel Aviv. The Asfanay Schmatez pass by the designer shops one by one, albeit much slower than the taxis that honk at them as they pass.

Wherein Lola is Stalked by Bees

You can see by the sheer number of shots I was able to get that this was no coincidence. There were even several I did not include here. They hovered near me, just......watching. You can also see by the various positions of Dante in the background how long this went on.



I mean...imagine how still they had to hover for me to get this many shots of them. Do you know how fast bees usually move? I think you do.



It went on...fo-ev-uh.

Lola Loves Fonts

The wonders of product design. Does this look familiar?



It's amazing how they managed to make the D in "diet" look exactly the same in Hebrew, even though it's a completely different letter. Further, Hebrew is read right to left so the letter that looks like the D is actually the T. I will keep an eye out for other product design miracles.



In other news, the "pinat hei" (life corner) in the park has an odd assortment of animals. Deer, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, imus, geese, and some I don't even recognize. They all live together, with no walls between them. Eat together, play together, and cuddle each other. They seem pretty happy.

Poop Bag Artwork Tells All

And here begins my quirky outsider observations of Israel.



These boxes are all over the park. They hold poop bags, for dogs. The text says literally "Sacky-Cacky." Or as we like to say, pooper scooper. The best part, though, is the artwork. That really says it all.



And in other poopy news: the toilets. In an effort to save water, toilets are outfitted with two handles. The small one is for when you "make wee" as my mother-in-law says. The large one is for when you "make cacky."

Dante Goes to Israel

I've been here less than 24 hours and I've already noticed a distinct lack of the climate of fear I had become accustomed to in the U.S. In Hayarkon Park, two blocks from where I'm staying, there is an all-night cafe open. That is because people walk in the park at night. Sometimes even by themselves.

That is not a comment on the crime rate, it is a comment on the outlook of the residents. Just because it is possible for something bad to happen doesn't mean it is likely something bad will happen. And that is the main difference in outlook between Israelis and Americans.

I'm going out a limb to say our media might be contributing to this outlook. Violent crime is over-represented in the news. Why do we all know the details of the Jonbennet Ramsey case? The Scott Peterson case? Every year there is a high profile, nationwide crime fixation. It keeps the subject of violent crime on everyone's minds.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency reported that the US has higher incarceration rates than any other country, disproportionate to the crime rate (source). The US and Israel have fairly similar homicide rates. The US reports 5.9 homicides per 100,000 people, where Israel reports 2.62. For perspective, Pakistan reports 0.05 and Jamaica reports 46.59 (source).

And it's not just that I notice other people feel safer. I feel safer too. I can tell by the way men look at me that they are not predatory. Men here treat women like their mothers, sisters, or daughters. A man who is old enough to be your father will act like your father. Men do not stare at me. I do not feel objectified. Suddenly my body image is a non-issue. Because here in Israel, I'm a person, not a fem-bot.