English Summary of Clip
(The two organizers of the protest interviewed are Etan Bronstien and Dalit Baoam.)
The groups are protesting the JNF box that has been displayed on Rothschild Avenue. The protesters indicate that what today is JNF park territory was created on land which used to house seventy Palestinian villages. This was done while totally ignoring and/or suppressing the Palestinian history of that land. The JNF claims in the ads which have been published in European magazines that the JNF has built a green country on swamps and rocks. Displaying this JNF box without talking about the truth of where the land really came from is what the protest is about.
The founder of Zochrot Etan Bronstien explains that: Zochrot is an NGO that has been working for the last five years to raise the consciousness of Israelis in reference to the Palestinian "Nakba", which is the Palestinian horrendous catastrophe, when they were either forced to leave or fled in terror from their homes. They were never allowed to return to their homes and land, although this is a violation of international law and in fact was a condition placed on Israel for the acceptance of Israel into the United Nations. Today the Palestinians are dispersed all over the world; most of them are still refugees. We want Israelis to know this because we think that knowing will help Israelis to take responsibility for what we as Israelis have contributed to the Palestinian "Nakba". Without this kind of responsibility there will never be a true and lasting peace here.
A passer-by that has just read one of their flyers is responding: So what you're trying to say is that because Palestinians used to live on this land we should evacuate Tel Aviv?
A woman from Zochrot in response to this comment: people are only thinking in extremes and are not willing to look at this from a perspective of how we can live together now. How can we honour this memory and still live together. I think what this is expressing fear and desperation, because deep inside they know that the only way out of this conflict will involve a radical change for the Israeli society. Israelis know this, but in a different way, they see it more as a negative thing, but actually this can only be good and our message is that it can be done.
A question from another passer-by: how do you see Israel in the future?
Woman from Zochrot: Things are changing constantly, and we are here only to try and influence changes that are already happening. |