Al-Jazeera goes where no foreign press goes

In a surreal moment, after going to an anti-war protest last night, I came home to find that Israel had launched a ground invasion in Gaza. The protest - and a counter-protest from the right - were in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. The anti-war movement included MK Dov Khenin, Jeff Halper (who sailed to Gaza from Cyprus this summer to protest the Israeli blockade) and a procession of socialists, anarchists, Communists, Palestinians and people I had learned Arabic with in Tel Aviv and Beer Sheva.

Meanwhile, the only foreign press to give the demonstration serious coverage was Al-Jazeera.

Below are photos from the demo. Here's a woman with a sign about Gaza being rocketed.


"Not a leader. A murderer." This is a play on Defense Minister Ehud Barak's campaign slogan, which is "Not friendly. A leader."


Anti-war clown.

"Traitors, go to Gaza" - a slogan from the anti-protest protest.


"We have to talk to Hamas!" This is the book stocker at my favorite Tel Aviv cafe, the Little Prince.


"In Gaza and Sderot, kids want to live."

I guess this lady didn't get the memo that there was a large demonstration planned for the street right by her destination for a salad.



There was a cogent NY Times analysis this morning arguing that the Gaza invasion is suffering from "Mission Creep" - i.e. that gradually the aims of the attack and the responsibilities of the soldiers are getting bigger and bigger. That is to say, at first Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak advocated showing Hamas that Israel has deterrence power, and now his new goal is to topple the democratically elected ruling party in Gaza.

The strange thing about my feeling that this war will neither bring long-range peace nor advance Israel's security is that from inside Israel, it is difficult to see the battlefield in black and white. Of the Israeli soldiers in Gaza, one is the brother of a good friend of mine. Other people being called up include plenty of people I know well. They are going because they believe in supporting Israel and protecting the country. The big decisions are made by the Israeli leadership.

On the other hand, it is so frustrating to watch the news and see television studios suddenly filled with all men - from the decorated generals reporting on the situation to the correspondents who report from the rocket-beleaguered Israeli town of Sderot, dropping references about their army service decades ago. It is as if in the shadow of a war, nothing else matters - not the crumbling education system, not the increasing gaps between rich and poor, not the deteriorating environment. It's all about the war and about the men who know what real combat is. Unfortunately, as elections are slated for next month, this means that the deep, incisive discussions about Israel's character are just not happening. Instead we get rolls and rolls of IDF press office footage of Israeli soldiers greasing tanks for war.

Meanwhile, I was thwarted twice more in the quest to get a Beer Sheva refugee discount. Once was at a cafe. When asked about the discount, the waitress said, "Honey, this is possibly the most capitalist, dirty, money-loving cafe in the city. It's not going to happen." The Philippine woman from whom I bought tofu in a Far Eastern grocery also turned me down. That's four cold-hearted refusals in all.