As the decorative plate sold in the gift-shop at a Jerusalem hotel eloquently stated: shalom y'all
In this e-mail I want to talk about a fascinating phenomenon, and how it relates to the current situation in Israel. No articles, this is purely my opinion and thoughts.
I find this subject matter particularly riveting - I hope you do too...Writing this was unusually cathartic, so you have to deal with some of my emotional waffle to get to the point.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS WHOLE E-MAIL I SUGGEST YOU LOOK AT THE ATTACHMENTS.
IF YOU WANT TO SKIM READ I'VE PUT A FEW KEY SENTENCES IN BOLD
I was running a weekend for muchanim (pre-shnatties), and as I often, absentmindedly do - I glanced at haaretz. Something caught my eye this time. And I refreshed the page a few times to make sure, then I laughed, then I was deep in thought.
Someone had hacked into the site, and put on the home page a picture of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians in front of the wall...and spiderman was climbing through the wall (I've attached the picture, spiderman.jpg).
Relating back to the situation at hand:
There was a tragic suicide bombing in Hadera. I'd like to take a moment to remember the victims.
Perahiya Makhlouf, 53
Yaakov Rahmani, 68
Michael Koifman, 68
Sabiha Nissim, 66
Jamil Muhammed Qa'adan, 48
As someone who reads the news a lot I have to admit, death barely registers an emotional response anymore. I'm not proud of it. Its just a fact (...of life?). Sometimes I become so engrossed in the political side of things, I just read a number - 5 - and its another figure to relate to chanichim in an Israel update. It really hits at one of the key Zionist questions. How much of a Zionist are we in the diaspora? I couldn't be much of a Zionist in the diaspora if I can't even relate to our countrys tragedies because they only exist as intangible concepts on a website I read. But as usual, I immediately disagree with myself - because if you take that argument a step further, someone with more empathy than me would be a 'better' zionist.
Zionism is not just about tragedy, its just for some reason I feel particularly isolated from Israel at this point in time, with an overriding desire to not just be there, but be involved there.
Israeli's and Palestinians are back in their 'cycle of violence'. It's just like biblical times... Suicide bombing begets helicopter gunship strikes, begets qassam missiles, begets assassinations. And if you'll allow me to state the bleeding obvious - People are dying: Soldiers, terrorists, civilians, on both sides. And I keep forgetting it.
Why am I writing this e-mail? Because I was reminded of the 'human side' of the conflict. The picture of spiderman in Ha'aretz is a political statement. And no-one has to die for it to be effective. You can argue the legitimacy or legality of hacking into a website til you're blue in the face. The fact is, it got me thinking. And its not an isolated protest. Check out the other two attachments. They are politically charged. They announce a hope far more effectively than a bomb. The picture of the silhouetted girl floating up the wall is poignant in a way that death can no longer achieve in the media.
This is a damning indictment on the world we live in. Wars are also fought in the media, and consumers like me experience a commodified exposure to death every day. Another example of entrenched capitalism. 5 deaths doesn't cut it any more. We need hype and spin, new racial tensions, governmental mistakes, scandal, natural disasters with appropriately shocking footage and enough dead people to sell a newspaper.
There is a certain reality that I am conveniently ignoring. Graffiti on a wall is not going to get the Israeli government to stop the occupation. But it is part of a conflict, and it makes a huge impact, and no-one's family has to decide how to continue on with their shattered lives.
I'm sitting here writing and writing and not stating anything particularly new. But I felt that it had to be said.
What do you think?
Benji
the website of the artist who did the wall graffiti: www.banksy.co.uk
Spiderman photo:
Silhouetted Girl: Graffiti:
 
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