so how was it?  
 
I don't know why I don't seem to have sent any real reportage between mid-July and mid-August. A rather extensive search through my mail (and I almost never throw anything out) I hasn't yet brought up any additional materials that might be included here.

It's now Tuesday, and I still haven't written anything about the demonstration I attended on Motz'ei Shabbat in Tel Aviv. (Actually, I haven't yet even acknowledged that I attended.) I've wanted to, but strangely, as I've tried to collect my thoughts about it, it's been difficult for me to find the right handle. In the meantime, Mark has sent a few items about the demonstration and I'll try to incorporate some "reactions" to those in my review here.

First, however, how was it?

I went with Gary who drove, and Hila came with us. She was going to be off to a two-day Hashomer HaTzair seminar for madrichim at GIv'at Chaviva Sunday morning, and though I'd found a ride for her to the train in the morning, when a friend of her's from Neveh Shalom reported that she'd also be at the demonstration, and that she could go with her in the morning to the train (a different station), she decided to pack her bag and meet her there and not come home. (In general I've primarily been home alone while Tzippi is in Canada because Hila has hardly been here.)

At the demonstration I met my next door neighbors who also brought my (other-side) next door neighbor. One of their daughters was also at the demonstration, and I saw three others from Hatzor there. We also bumped into a few other former Hatzor members, so I guess it's fair to say that we had a respectable contingent, unless we remember that 25 - 30 years ago we used to fill two full buses to go to Shalom Achshav demonstrations in Tel Aviv.
As an aside, I'll note that one of the Hatzor people we met there had sent out a letter to the Hatzor listserv (actually, a Google Group) urging others to attend. Her letter met with two far from enthusiastic reactions, and a reaction to one of these (that had told us that there was no way to compromise with Hamas) from Tzvi Hollander whom Mark will remember, now in his mid-90s. Tzvi wrote "asking" what the previous writer suggested we do with the almost two millions residents of Gaza who clearly aren't Hamas soldiers - should we really kill them all? Like us, they're not going to leave. Is destroying the Gaza Strip instead of talking with them really a solution? Tzvi added that even more distressing was the atmosphere within Israel where anyone who dares to mention that innocent civilians are being killed in Gaza is considered a traitor, concluding that such a situation is more frightening than a "code red" siren. I made a point of thanking him for writing when I saw him in the chadar ochel Friday evening.

So, we demonstrated. The news reports (not only "internal" estimates) told us that there were about 10,000 attending. I think that at one point we were told 15,000. Sadly, I'm convinced that that was quite an over-estimate. On the other hand, Gary noted that he expected perhaps 1,000, so in comparison to that expectation it was a big success. I saw a number of people whom I know, though perhaps fewer than I expected. I noticed one woman who teaches at Machon Mofet as I do and we exchanged a few sentences. I noted that I'd never seen her at these demonstrations before, and she responded that she'd never seen me. I then remarked that that's probably a bad sign - if both of us are traditional attendees, the fact that we saw each other this time suggests that this was a much too small turnout.

Mark sent a collection of news reports on the demonstration which I'll forward to Libbe after sending this (apologies). David Grossman's speech was translated by J.J. Goldberg and is worth reading.

Any demonstration of this sort is a coalition, and the attempt to find a common denominator blurs the "message" (as though there really is only one). The clearest message was that a military solution isn't a solution, and that Israel can't have "quiet" (not to mention "peace") if the needs of Gazans aren't met. Reading between the lines, what that means is that some participants thought that Israel had no choice than to carry out some sort of military action, while others (probably) opposed any sort of military action, but everyone agreed that there's no alternative to negotiations. As is often the case in demonstrations like this (and particularly small ones, and again, this one was small by "traditional" standards) the attendees tend to be the more militant (I won't write "radical"). Organized groups (parties) are able to show up en masse, suggesting a greater relative weight that doesn't really reflect their actual influence. I note all this in order to "explain" why it seemed that even limited support for Israel's military response was lacking (though in David Grossman's case I think that it was clear he had "supported" some sort of action). Naomika Tzion, who lives in Sderot and has lived through numerous shellings (and is also the granddaughter of Ya'akov Chazan, something she used to milk) seemed to my mind to bend over backwards to tell us of the suffering in Gaza, as though there was some sort of competition between the speakers not to harp on the rockets that landed in Israel. So on the one hand this is understandable, but on the other problematic - if we're going to have any influence on Israeli society (and that's the only place where we might) it's necessary for us to honestly recognize the legitimate fears of the vast majority of Israelis.

Among the items Mark sent was "the latest" from Michael Lerner. Lerner writes:
One of the most bizarre responses I've gotten to some of what I've written on Gaza is the whine "What can we do? They are shelling us?" This rarely comes with an acknowledgment that the shells almost never get through (for which I'm quite thankful, because I want my people to be safe).   Of course, the obvious answer that seems beyond the capacity of these respondents to imagine is: What Israel can do is apologize for its part in creating the Palestinian refugee problem and for all the damage that has happened since then (not 100% responsible, but apologize for its part instead of pretend to be the righteous victim), end the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza (my  book Embracing Israel/Palestine lays out how that culd be done in a way that would be both respectful to Palestinians and safe for Israelis www.tikkun.org/eip) and assist in creating an economically and politically viable Palestinian state, and do so in a spirit of repentance, and genuine open-heartedness.

Besides the fact that the latest sentence there is a super-long one, it's also ... well, it's classic Michael Lerner. First he wants "us" (some amorphous group that's ill-defined, since though he writes "they are shelling us" he probably isn't referring to Israelis) to apologize, and then he acknowledges that "we're" not really 100% responsible, but still .... I think that what was most encouraging about the demonstration was the fact that the people attending were for the most part not pre-occupied with Lerner's sort of posturing. In the beginning of his piece he lets us know that not all Israelis rally around Netanyahu (and seems to take credit for this) but who the hell ever really thought that they did? Lerner suggests we read Uri Avnery's piece. There are many issues around which I don't agree with Avnery (and he tends to paint Israeli internal debate as much more monolithic than I think it really is) but what comes through what he writes is a deep-seated conviction toward a two-state solution, and even a need for Israeli security (and even an acknowledgment of an historic, "biblical", Jewish attachment to the land). So again, those who attended the demonstration on the whole (and I'd prefer even more so) were people who didn't have to jump through hoops to show their concern for either side, but who rather "naturally" showed up in Kikar Rabin on Motz'ei Shabbat because doing so was a integral part of their "Israeliness".

  

sent: August 19, 2014
 
to the next letter

to War warrents writing