For me, there were two parts to this demo: The march, and the gathering at the museum.
The March
When first arriving at the gathering area under the Zeev Fortress on King George St., one could feel the excitement in the air. Everybody knew immediately this was going to be a big one. Finally, there were faces we didn’t recognize!
The drums were pounding, the horns were blowing, the Arabs and the Jews were walking down central Tel Aviv, chanting in Arabic and Hebrew. Also, I have to give credit when due: The Arabs are much better demonstrators than the Jews. It reminded me of a Tupac song, California Love, where he goes “California knows how to party.” I’m tellin’ ya, them Arabs know how to rally. They sing their hearts out, wave the flags and wear their anger on their sleeves. Guess that’s how it is when you’re on the receiving side of Israeli policies for so long.
There were so many people, you couldn’t see the beginning of the march, nor the end. It was really an impressive sight. Here’s some footage I took:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2lEpd_49gk[/youtube]
I especially liked the stickers handed out that people put on their backs, saying: “I am Jonathan Pollak,” the activist who recently went jail for 3 months for protesting Operation Cast Lead on his bike.
The Gathering
If you Google “anti-climax,” you’ll probably come up with the second part of the demo, the gathering in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Since the march was so long, not all of us got in time to hear the speeches. The ones I didn’t see I caught later on Youtube.
I was hoping to be swept off my feet. Maybe see a glimpse of a leader, someone who could take this crowd and its energy, use it to mobilize them. Instead, all I heard was dull speeches from grey politicians and activists.
To Nitzan Horovitz, who thought that screaming his head off was cool for some reason, all I wanted to say was: “Now? Now you wake up? Too late. Your party is already dead.”
Sure, he’s a swell guy – but who the hell let Meir Sheetrit on the stage? The people who felt the need to be bipartisan, even at these times? Screw bipartisanship. Just another sign the left has lost its mojo.
20 thousand people, waiting for someone to look up to, and no one to pick up the gauntlet. Pathetic.
I’m hoping some young people understood just how pathetic it was, and start moving in a new direction politically. Forget Meretz, forget Avrum Burg, forget Hadash.
Time for a new movement. And it better happen soon. Elections are just around the corner.