As you may know, there's a war going on between Israel and Palestine, complete with kidnappings, aerial bombings, murders, mass arrests, and the requisite small band of peaceniks. What you may not know, is that even the peaceniks scuffle with each other every now and then (granted, a nonviolent scuffle, but it still aint pretty). At the Tel Aviv train station, as 60 or so people boarded the private airconditioned bus heading to Sufa, the southernmost quasi-entry/exit point into/outof Gaza (quasi because Gaza is sealed off in both directions), something just didn't feel right. For example, I sat diagonally across from someone who smelled of Zionism while a seat in front of him, sat two stinky radicals. The division became clear at the bathroom-break. Turns out, there were probably about 5 anti-Occupation groups on board that bus, and while everyone opposed the recent Israeli invasion into Gaza, there were disputes about the specifics and the logistics. Lots and lots of arguing between sips of coffee. Whatever... the action must go on. Or so we thought... After the bus made a few wrong turns, we ended up at a military installation where everyone unloaded their signs and crafted some impromtu chants, but momentum was at an all-time low as soldiers, licking their ice cream, looked at us like we were a friendly swarm of mosquitoes. So a piece of the group breaks off in order to march closer to the Sufa border point. Well well well, the Zionists paid for the bus right? So no way were those crusty radicals going to ruin the plan. Confusion set in and the group was divided. Lies were told and anger was unevenly directed. A little bit at the soldiers, some at the police, but the large chunk was mostly aimed at sub-factions within the group itself. After a few sound bombs, sirens, and alleged arrests, the groups, divided they stood, got on the bus and headed back to Tel Aviv. On a scale of one to ten: one - a single protestor waving a wet noodle at an unmanned Israeli flag, and ten - an angry mob that convinces the army to cease its fire at millions of innocent Gazans, I'd rate this protest at a two, maybe a two and a quarter. Bad planning, no leadership, minimal risk taking, and confusion all around, not to mention the environmental damage caused by the tour bus. At least everyone present got some photo ops and the soldiers and police officers got some popsicles courtesy of the IDF.
This photo was taken by my comrade Tal
And this is Tal and I. I was cranky after the pathetic protest, but Tal was a persistent picture-taker.
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