Getting poetic about Palestinian eroticism

مشكلة عرب اسرائيل وثماره – كابوس، فتعداد العربي في إسرائيل قد تخطى المليون وهو ينمو بسرعة
انظر إليهم – تسودّ الدنيا في عينيك! سأقولها من دون أجرح اليهود: العرب في الليل يحرثون ليعظموا جنسهم
ما هذا – خسوف ضوء القمر، نفحة ملاك الموت، علامة الشغب؟ فأنثى الأرنب، القطة، الجرادة لا تعرف مثل هذا الشَّبَق!"


· The problem of the Arab-Israelis and their produce – a nightmare; the number of Arabs in Israel is over 1 million and increasing.
· Look at them - Life blackens in front of your eyes! I will tell it without taking anything from the Jews – the Arabs are working hard at night in order to make great their race!
· What is this – is it a lunar eclipse, the breath of the angel of death, a signal of riot? Even the female rabbit, the cat, and the locust do not know such eroticism.


The above is a poem written by Gershon Ben-Ya'acov, and posted in the Russian-Israeli newspaper, Vesti (August 25, 2005). Needless to say, they're being sued for incitement of racism. And possibly also on aesthetic grounds.

It's been raining in Nasereh

It's been raining in Nasereh.
We've been blessed with grey skies and temperatures of 14 degrees.

So this afternoon I stole the opportunity to indulge in the company of coffee, and in that of a beautiful Nazarene by the name of K.

For some reason, on this wet afternoon in Nasereh, the coffee finally tasted like it should.

Disenfranchised Bedouin youth

The Center for Information and Higher Education in the Naqab (Negev) presented troubling information as regards education among the Arab Bedouin of the Naqab. Only 2,000 Arab Bedouin graduate from high-school every year, and less than 10% thereafter enter institutions of higher education. In addition, approximately two-thirds of students change their program of study when at university/college, while a quarter of female Bedouin do not complete their bachelors.

Approximately two-thirds of Bedouin that do enter institutions of higher education do not succeed in English. Furthermore, on average a Bedouin student stays a year longer at an institution of higher education than his Jewish counterpart. (www.arabs48.com, November 23, 2005).

You need only to see the living conditions for Bedouin in the unrecognised villages of the Naqab to understand why the above is happening.

It's very shocking, and such a shame that youth are being deprived of a future. They have no present, and the only way to make a future would be through education - and they don't even have that made available to them.

Unreal.

جدارية في بيت لحم

On Sunday, the Arab HRA's 'Human Rights Education and Community Outreach' Department took around 30 youth to Bethlehem, in the West Bank, to throw a Diego Rivera on the Wall.

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As there are always aguafiestas looking to rain on the parade, this occasion was no different. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were quick to disperse the muralists in action.

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In any event, I'm of the opinion that these young artists well deserve a round of applause.

Chilling in al-Quds with Loay Qudsi

I spent the 26th and the 27th of November in al-Quds/Jerusalem with sa7iby, Loay Qudsi.

In case you were wondering, his last name has no connection with al-Quds because he's originally from Nabulus.

In any event, we dabbled in some nightlife on the 26th, and the next day, which also happened to be my birthday, we spent in the Old City, at Hebrew University and at Fort David (Gila3t Dawood). The suug in the old city was something else, and let me tell you about the hummus!

Al-Quds also houses a piazza, and together with its cafés and live music, it felt at times European. I liked it.

Yes, I liked it. But not everyone would agree - others feel there's just too much tension in the air. The population roughly breaks down like this - 30% religious Jews, 30% secular and 30% Arab. Since East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel, it has become a city that breathes tension. The annexed East Jerusalemites refused to take on Israeli citizenship, and the majority to date identify as Palestinian.

For information on Israel's current policy in East Jerusalem, and how the population is daily being strangled, see this leaked report from the European Union's Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah.

I'll post the following pictures to relay the rest of the story.

On the way to the Old City

Qudsi sizing up the entrance to the Old City

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Al Aqsa in the distance