גולם

Today, I went to Jericho, near the Dead Sea, with Amoun for a girls' day and to run a few errands (like buy four trash bags of vegetables and fruits, since it is insanely cheaper). We hit a checkpoint, where they always, and I mean always, check your ID. We drove up, I was getting out my passport when Amoun rested her hand on the wheel, lazily yet full of confidence and force leaned out of the window, and said to the Israeli guard, Shalom, happy feast! (in Hebrew). And they just waved us on through. Even though everyone else in front of us had to stop. I looked at her in amazement, and said, 'how did you do that?' Her response: 'Dear, you just have to act like you occupy them.' She rocks.

So I have yet to talk about Hebron, although it was a week and three posts ago. Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank, and is one of the stark, visual representations of the clashes between settlers and Palestinians on a daily basis. There are over 80 Jewish families living in a settlement in Hebron, literally in some instances on top of Palestinian homes and businesses. Since the settlers arrived in 1948, there have been numerous clashes and conflicts in the city, with deaths on both sides. The settlers refuse to leave (Hebron is considered the second holiest city in Judaism), and the Palestinians face severe security and economic limitations because of their presence. In 1997, the Hebron Agreement divided the city into two zones, H1 and H2. H1 is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and H2 is the under the jurisdiction of the Israeli government and settlers. Yet over 30,000 Palestinians (and around 500 Jews) lived in the area deamed H2, and on a daily basis they find their lives severely limited. Many of the Arab businesses were shut down (for example, the pad locked doors), they are unable to freely move from their homes, face curfews, and must enter and exit multiple checkpoints on a daily basis. They can't even bring an ambulance in.

When we were walking around, we saw many visual examples of the constant clashes- 'Death to Arabs' written in Hebrew, graffiti, security cameras, watchtowers, bullet holes, and barbwire. When we were walking through a open-air market, there was a covering above to keep the trash and concrete blocks thrown by the settlers from hitting the Palestinians below (pics). We also had to turn around at one point from the direction we were walking, because Israeli soldiers were man-handling a Palestinian at a checkpoint, and the soldiers were shooing everyone away from visual sight.

We ended up meeting a man who's brother was a local activist and peace advocate. He invited us into his home, (and when we were standing outside, we could literally see and hear the settlers above the foliage on the hill) and described his work. He showed us videos shot on cameras given to them by B'tselem, and we saw settlers throwing rocks at Palestinian school children, and the verbal and physical abuse they deal with on a daily basis. These people have to keep steel-iron bars on their windows for protection, and find their property vandalized on regular occasion. I was getting mad, but all this man did was sit there and advocate peace. That's it. Non-violent resistance.

I cannot adequately describe the feelings of that day. I don't really want to analyze, defend, or argue. I think it all speaks louder than my words could convey.

And on that note, I had this conversation this week with a guy who was an IDF soldier in Hebron.

There is a folklore in Jewish mythology of a creature known as גולם, or 'Golem,' which is made of inanimate objects to become alive with the task of protecting the Jewish population. The most popular story is that of a Rabbi in Prague creating one to protect the ghetto against anti-semitic attacks. It came alive when the the word written on his forhead, 'met', translated as 'dead', added an alif (making the word 'emet', which made it 'truth'. The myth is that the alive Golem, while protecting the Jewish population, was not particularly smart, but performed according to instructions and with no emotion or connection. An Israeli here explained this story to me after I asked about his Hebrew tattoo, which was 'emet'. The meaning for him was twofold: one, he was a journalist, and it was a commitment and representation of everything he had ever written being the absolute truth. Two, it was his feelings about his relationship with the army and his country. From the beginning of his reluctant participation in the army, and continued contribution to it for over 20 years, he saw himself doing so as a 'golem'. He does it for the good of what he loves, but just goes through the motions and follows the instructions, without enthusiasm, forgetting what he had to see and do as a part of his role in protecting his understanding of Jewish society and 'identity'. To make the connection, in his former posts in Hebron, he was responsible for keeping both sides from killing each other, and therefore witnessed some of the worst on a daily basis. After speaking with him on multiple occasions, he is helpful, thoughtful, intelligent, funny, and all around an awesome dude. Yet this was part of who he is....and dramatic drum roll into the identity discussion!

Note: So this part post might be a little boring for some, delving a just a little of the rough- of the beginning- of the don't judge me yet-research stuff- but it is here by request of others. Much love.

I think the golem story is one of many examples demonstrating how impossible it is to box this stuff up in a nice, neat package. The more I try to tap into trying to understand it, the more 'Israeli identity' makes me want to throw my hands up in frustration. It's something that has captured a huge part of my project, as I look at the Gypsies. It's something that inadvertently shapes conversations such as the one above. I have a feeling such individuals exist on all sides, side-stepping humanity as 'golems' for a while to promote and protect that definition of identity (note: my interpretation, he didn't actually say the whole humanity thing). And it breaks down in so many ways, not only 'Arab' versus 'Jewish'. Much of the literature breaks it down into 4 national cleavages: 'Arab-Jewish', 'ethnic-class', 'religious-secular', and 'left-right'. Jerusalem is the central-point of this calsh of cleavages, encompassing all of these 'identities' in a city of 750,000, and what it means for how it uniquely defines the operation of such a centralized governmental structure. There is a lot of awesome literature on this, but I won't bore it with you here- just a taste.

It is within this clash of different identities that i find the Gypsies so interesting. As the golem example indicates, the stand-offs of identity and its connection with this land are intense and passion-driven (all about stating the obvious...). How does this small community, that most Israelis don't even know exists, fit into all of this? Today, looking at the most discussed cleavage, Arab-Jewish. They are Muslim. Some of the women wear the hijab. They speak Arabic, listen to Arabic music, and eat Arab food. Their families are spread throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They are not identified separately by the Israeli government as a minority, and the average Israeli wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an Arab and a Gypsy. Most hold identity cards, rather than Israeli passports. In the few instances they do marry outside of the Gypsies, it is often to an Arab.

But they are not accepted by the Arab population. They refuse to take a political stance of pick a side (despite prodding on my part). Personal examples demonstrate they do not always take the side of their Arab neighbors. Some of the children go to schools run by the Palestinian Authority, some to schools run by the municipality. The center finds much of its support from the Jewish population (many on the board are), and their persecuted pasts, including the Holocaust, and search for a homeland, creates a sense of understanding the Gypsies draw upon in their relations with the Jewish population.

I try to pick up on Amoun's dialogue to decipher how she sees herself and her community. On a few occasions, she will reference the Arab culture and include herself in that description (she is half Egyptian, her family being one of the few examples of marrying outside of the community). But more often than not, it's Gypsy- and she pulls on the differences between Gypsies and Arabs often. She makes a concerted effort to not take sides- she won't join the Palestine facebook community, or the Israeli one for that matter. When we talk about news stories, she calls out both sides and their exaggerations.

Yet when it comes to the cultural stuff, it is obvious that they find stronger identity with their Palestinian neighbors, although how far that translates into political and social spheres is debatable. I think a part of their resistance is to maintain that Gypsy identity that has been seeping away after years of both self-afflicted and societal-enforced assimiliation, in response to avoiding descrimination and changing lifestyles.

Anyway, this is one angle I am looking at for research- but there is still a hell of a long way to go, and more stuff for me to research, and more ideas to change, and more 'duh, you sound like an idiot' stuff for me to edit in terms of concepts and analysis. The goal is to further explore through the oral histories.

So I know who the cool people are that made it through this post, and the next time I ask you 'what is the arabic word for ice cream?' and you say 'buuza,' you get a special prize :)

And pertinent quote of the day on my blog: It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world. – Mary Shelley (1797-1851)