Copyright (c) 2000 by:
Moni di Montebianco   --e-mail:  de_Rothschild@yahoo.co.UK    
& Don Pinjas Ricardo Goldstein y Wimberly de Jerusale'n

RE'SUME'

The following is a analysis of what happened on the sociopolitical scene of Palestine-Israe-l at the end of October, 2000.
The paper is by no means an exhaustive collection of facts, for they are getting accumulated very fast daily. It is rather an insight into the fundamental mechanics of the Israe-li-Palestinian-Israe-li conflict. The perspective presented is a mixture of intellectual and artistic perceptions. The author's aim is both to feel and discern this realist script of the war tragedy theatre.
Defining himself as an apolitical Citizen of the World and Jewish Palestinian, he feels compassion for any single life lost, harmed, or endangered on either side, irrespective of who was the aggressor and who was his victim. For the author a greatest value in this world is Gift of Life. Consequently, he refrains from retributing the wrongdoers by means of vendetta (Italian-style revenge or retaliation).
Instead, he attempts to find a re-educational psychotherapy in which all actors and directors of this war scene would be finally healed from chronic war-fatigue. Healed by transforming all the negative energies, accumulated over decades of suffering, into positive ones. This and other articles published in 'The Actual Jerusalem Magazine' by Mr Moni di Montebianco are meant to serve an antidote for many politics-polluted black-and-white media, whose sole goal is populist brainwash, consumptionism, and cheap entertainment for masses.
The task of Moni's editorial *licentia poetica* (Latin: 'poetic licence') is not to raise up the adrenaline level in readers' blood. His writing mission is very simple: to raise in all of us awareness of all-interconnected Middle Eastern and shrinking world community. To sow more seeds of Peace in the Holy Land, even against the odds of ever seeing its ripe fruit in one's lifetime. The greatest global revolution of Peace can take place only only when it starts first from an individual person's own will to change his/her own evil inclination rather than find a scapegoat for his/her own trespasses.
Let us look at Mahatma Gandhi or Dr Matin Luther King and see how much they won support both on the domestic and international fronts with the very weapons of peaceful protest and constant passive resistance. The ceaseless longing for Peace is the most lethal weapon against enmity and hatred, and Peace / Salam / Shalom shall prevail at last all over our Onearth Common Homeland for all.

PREAMBLE: JEWISH-MUSLIM LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP?

      'Those who speak do not know; 
       those who know do not speak.'
                           -- A saying.

Jews / Bney Yitshak / Bani 'Isra'il and Arabs / Bani 'Isma'il / Bney Yishmae-l are sons of one father Abraham o.b.m / 'Ibrahim (a"s / Avraham Avinu a"h. Where has our fraternal love aged over 3 000 years gone at last? Gone with the wind?
Actually, we cannot do without each other. While under the Muslim Arab rule the Jews had had a good and protected time against the Xian Inquisition stakes, forced conversions, and pogroms. Due to the Arab Brethren the present-day Israe-lis have got a place to live at, as the majority of buildings in this land have been built by Arabs (Cohen 1998). Indeed, Arabs are good constructors. By the way, they have got also their well-established profession of the stone cutter. Subsequently, the Jerusalem Stone Law was implemented under the British Mandate by the British to safeguard the stone cutters' jobs (Wimberly 2000).
Moreover, could any big observant Jewish family do without the *shabes goy* (Ashkenazic Hebrew: 'a non-Jew employed inter alia for work forbidden for a Jew on Sabbath') before the timer was invented? Even now, the timer has not managed to solve all Shabat (Sefardic Hebrew: 'Sabbath') work intricacies. This is a reason why majority of Israe-li hotel staff are Arab employees. They are doing this job tremendously well, and have won the applause of their employers many times. For an example see the best employee of the month award table in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel at Shderot Herzl St. in West Jerusalem.
Besides, how could a G-o-d fearing Jew fulfil the *mitsvat shmita* (Sefardic Hebrew: 'the Tora[h] prohibition for a Jew to cultivate the Jewish-owned land every seventh year') if he had no Palestinian Arab cousin in the *Shtahim* (Israe-li Hebrew: 'The [Occupied] Territories') or Israe-l proper, where some Israe-li Arab farmers might be growing something, like the non-Jewish Druze and Circassian communities residing herein as well.

The exemplary message of brotherly love is Psalm 133. Actually, the semantics of this Biblical pean has been changed some fifty years ago into the high-tensed reciprocal enmity in the region. The enmity is like that in the War of Roses in England, where the members of the same royal dynasty were fighting each other. It really amazes me to which extent people who should be more bound reciprocally by bonds of kinship still can like dislike each other much more than an alien enemy.

The current enmity between the Sons of Abraham in this land has got different forms. Besides the most drastic manifestations, when the power is used, the on-going psychological warfare is visible. It looks sort of the Cold War in the post-WW2 Europe between the Soviet and Western blocs. The props of the professional or routinuous Israe-li-Palestinian stage of conflict are the symbols of modern Levantine Knights' regalia. First and foremost, these are:

wall graffiti,
school curricula,
radio broadcasts,
posters, &
car licence plates; others include:
flags,
stickers,
leaflets,
calendar dates,
traffic signs, &
language.
Let us look at them closely.

Re (1) Statistically, the most frequent graffiti in the city I live in now ('Al-Quds / Jerusalem) are Arab (in East Jerusalem). They are usually in the Arabic-language in spray. They reflect factions and attitudes within the PLO (*Fatah* 'Palestine liberation movement'; *Harkat Fatah* 'Fatah fight') and outside it (*Habash* in a very special logo way -- George Habash being the founder of a radical Palestinian party; to be seen on the metal door of the Anadie-l art gallery in the Old City's Xian Quarter, about 100 yards beyond the New Gate). Other frequent graffiti are elaborate logos of *Jihad* ('Holy War of Islam'; with a five-point star in between), PLO flag, and *Filastin* ('Palestine'; with the PLO flag hanging from the letter *lam*).
Besides, in Jerusalem's Arab (i.e., Muslim and Xian) Quarters I have noticed a few paintings of *Magen David* (Israe-li Hebrew: 'The Star of David'). Two of them were accompanied with a swastika implying the Israel-i Jews treat Palestinians as the Jews themselves were persecuted by the Nazis during the Holocaust. After the recent clashes erupted here the swastika symbol was also painted over Joseph's Tomb in Nablus / Shchem. The swastikas drawn by an allegedly Jewish hand I can also regularly see on Messianic Xian ads put up in Jerusalem's Ben-Ye-huda Street, Jerusalem. These ads offer free-of-charge tours of the Xian Quarter and Bethlehem; and once the tour is over its participants are invited to Messianic meetings. Apparently, some Jews perceive this as a missionary threat to their Judaism, so consider a historical link between the Nazi *Hakenkreutz* (German: 'hooked / broken cross; swastika') and the symbol of Xian crucifix.

The second most frequent group are Jewish wall grafiti. They are prevailingly in Hebrew (West Jerusalem). Their usual text is *Mavet Learavim* (Hebrew: 'Death to Arabs') -- the same contents I have seen also in Hebron). A mysterious curiosity example I found on the inside fence wall of the Arabic-language St. Dimitrius School premises in the Xian Quarter. These were four Hebrew letters: Fey Tav Alef Het. Did the author really mean the PLO's 'Al-Fatah political party?

The least frequent and least politically oriented are English-language wall signs (in both E. & W. J'lem). The most conspicuous exceptions from the rule in the latter are those appearing along King George Street, Jerusalem. They read 'Israel is fascism', and are drawn on: (i) on a metal construction box opposite the Central Synagogue, and (ii) on the phone box near the junction with Keren Kayemet Leyisrae-l. It is probable the same hand that might have also drawn the Hebrew-script graffiti 'Sone Yisrae-l' ('I hate Yisrae-l') on the 14 bus stop side glass wall opposite the afore-mentioned synagogue.

Interestingly, a great many overtly or covertly racist graffiti in any of the three languages are usually not painted over. This might result from the prevailingly homogeneous ethnic or political socio-structure of the local neighbourhood, where the drawings and paintings are left. In Jerusalem they tend to paint over Israe-li anti-government demonstration posters. Most probably that job is done by rival party members or security services to avert a potentially uncontrollable hot public gathering. Such gatherings, practically, could not be publicised in regular dailies or on TV, as majority of present Israe-li media are of a sororal left-wing persuasion.

Re (2) The beautiful theory of peace-oriented teaching does not always match the daily sad reality. Cf. just the opposite discrepancy as shown in the film 'The Dead Poets' Society'. The mis-educative action of some teachers and educational institutions is aimed at misleading masses of children and youths. Both Israe-li and Palestinian societies are very young, due to a high growth rate. Thus, more young people could be potentially intoxicated by biased and prejudiced schooling in their formative years on both formal and informal levels.

Re (3) The Voice of Palestine Radio studio broadcasting from the Palestinan Authority (P.A.) area was bombed several days ago by the Israe-lis, as an act of retaliation against 'Palestinian propaganda' according to Israe-li sources. The programming was resumed soon, though.

Re (4) The rhetoric of those posters appeals deeply to readers as the poster visual and verbal message is based on good puns and human emotions. During the recent conlict I have noticed about four different anti-Palestinian Israe-li posters directly referring to the on-going clashes. Recently, on my visit to the New Orient House, I saw two XXL colour PLO posters. These were addressed to Israe-li soldiers and police, and called to 'stop killing Palestinian children'.

Trying to be a well-informed and objective professional journalist, wherever I go to gather some material for my new article I intend to base my knowledge on first-hand sources of information and original artefacts. Part of the latter are political posters, a copy of which I like to collect for reference to other Middle Eastern journalists or scholars now or later. Since there is usually no address or telephone number mentioned on them (at least the real one) for obvious security considerations, I can never get those more radical and somewhat banned materials from regular aliens in the street. Consequently, I have no choice but to take a copy of each if the glue and paper thickness allow me to remove them right off the wall. I do want to reiterate here, it is not for my personal disagreeing with their contents sometimes. Since I have been brought in a liberal tradition of free speech I aim at respecting social diversity. Yet, to avoid misreading of my intentions on the part of average masses I am made to take some of the posters published by both sides for my archives under the cover of night. This way I can be safer myself and do not fill with anger those passing by, which might emerge from an unintended cross-cultural misunderstanding. As far as political graffiti are concerned, I archivize them with my photo camera.

The question I could not find an answer to so far is who tears off PLO flag stickers in East Jerusalem: anti-Arab Jews, Israe-li police, pro-Israe-l Xian visitors, Arab owners of the shops (on which the stickers were stuck) afraid of Israe-li police interrogation, or journalist-minded curious collectors of original MidEast 'souvenirs' like me? Sounds quite a rhetoric question, doesn't it?

Re (5) Yellow licence plates are used by Jewish and non-Jewish Israe-lis drivers alike. White or green are used on the cars of P.A. residents only. A hint: first, you'd better know where and what for you are travelling on a car with a specific licence plate to know whether it is worthwhile risking your car chassis and windows and yourself. Paradoxically, Israe-li Arabs' cars may be sometimes stoned by some fellow Arabs brothers who are not Israe-li ID owners. Regrettably too, law-abiding Arab citizens of the State of Israe-l are sometimes not always treated equally by some Jewish Israe-lis as they should.
Subsequently, the hybrid social category of the Israe-li Arab (I do not know why media do not use a more adequate label of 'Israe-li Palestinian') makes these people a 'third nation' in this region: suspected by both parties in conflict. Other kinds of license plates that you might encounter here sometimes, and which might be more neutral to both parties, are those of the U.N., Kingdom of Jordan and the European countries of the East Mediterranean.

The non-/Israe-li passports or I.D.'s are a less conspicuous parallel of the car licence plate category, unless they check your documents and you have to play the open cards.

Re (6) The national flag has been a most revered symbol in majority all wars on many national fronts, And many soldiers have been killed while attempting to put it up the national banner of pride to raise up the morale of fighting soldiers or as a sign of ultimate victory. The PLO flag use had banned under the Israe-li law more or less until the Peace Accords signed up by PM Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yasser Arafat at Washington, DC on 13th September, 1993. After that date, the ban on using this flag has been limited to the City of Jerusalem. Practically, though, the rule has remained a law on paper only, not exercised in real. The unofficial PLO government residence of the New Orient House in East Jerusalem has got a big PLO flag put up on its mast day and night.

On Friday, 6th October, 2000, Palestinian-Israe-li clashes erupted in the Lion's Gate, situated close to an Israe-li police station. The station was burnt down during this fight, and the PLO flags was put up at the North-East end of the Temple Mount as well as on one of the mosques there. Then they were removed by the Israe-li forces as the Temple Mount control has been a most sensitive issue during Israe-li-PLO peace talks. Neither side is willing to totally compromise on the issue of control over Jerusalem, that has been an intrinsic part of its national ethos. Symetrically, Israe-li and U.S. flags are often burnt down ritually during demonstrations and clashes in Gaza and main West Bank cities like. Cf. salute to the flag and national anthem in many countries; such a practice, BTW, is a taboo for an apolitical worldwide Prostetant-like church of J. Witnesses.

Re (7) If you cannot wave a flag openly, you can still put up a sticker with it. It can be so, considering it is much more difficult to remove a sticky sticker surface from a wall than remove a real flag, and the police could not arrest you that easily. By the way, it is worthwhile knowing the overall number of Israe-li security cameras that are to monitor the Old City street 24 hours day is ca 400; many have been already installed. The present-day Palestinian opposition sticker standard depicts the PLO flag with Arabic or English words saying 'Al-Quds/Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.

A current Israe-li sticker standard in Hebrew: 'Ahshav anaknu yodim: Kahana tsadak', referring to the late Rabbi Meir Kahana, who supported the forced exile of all Arab popolulation outside Israe-li boundaries. (Cf. the world community-condemned deportation of Palestinian dissidents into South of Lebanon by Israe-lis several years ago). R' M. Kahana was assasinated by a Jordanian national in the U.S. several years ago. The shot-dead man's brother Nahman Kahana is also a Rabbi, but his views differ from those of his brother. Nonetheless, it is important to him that a Jewish presence is retained in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. (Cf. MK Arie-l Sharon's non-inhabited residence in the Muslim Quarter on the way from the Wailing Wall to the Bab 'el-(Amud (Arabic: 'Damascus Gate'). Consequently, R' Nachman. Kahana runs the Young Israe-l synagogue in the Muslim Quarter, close to the Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim, The latter being a higher Talmudical school for the study of laws pertaining to the Temple and Jewish priests.
Technically, the quality of a great many stickers, like posters, reflects high modern colour printing standards.

Re (8) Psychological war leaflets are usually thrown around on the ground during politically-minded demonstrations, or stuck to walls with glue or, less often, with scotch tape. Unlike Messianic Xian leaflets and books left around the Great Synagogue and other parts of Jerusalem, Muslim or Jewish materials are usually left within areas populated by a local Arab or Jewish majorities respectively. I.e., Palestinian Arabs do not tend to address their materials to Israe-li Jews, nor do they write them in Hebrew, as Israe-lis turn to other Israe-lis. Although, in demonstrations, whose members are more of an academic ambience, the signs in all three languages can appear side by side, to better attract the attention of media.

Re (9) When the annual Israe-l's Independence Day is a festivity to many Israe-lis, at the same time it is a painful anniversary of 'Al-Nakba (Arabic: 'The Catastrophe') to many Arabs here. The Jewish state's self-declaration of indepenence in 1948 bitterly reminds the Arab refugees and their children of the homes and property they have left over there. They have had no chance to come back here and to reclaim their houses ever since. Another grievous symbolic date the Muslim Palestinians commemorate is the anniversary of the unsuccessful attempt on the part of some Australian tourist to blow up a Temple Mount *Masjid* (Arabic: 'mosque') many years ago in the Israe-li state.

Both Jewish and Muslim main holidays may evoke hot emotions in some Nationalist-minded woshippers, as they might further stress their own ethno-religious tradition and elements that block its continuity. Main festivals attract masses of people to the Temple Mount area. The maximum number of people that can be in the 'Al'aqs.a mosque is ca 8 000, and all those on the Temple Mount: about 400 000 souls -- during (Id 'Alfit.r and (Id 'Al'adha holydays.
For publicity reasons some people may make advantage of big religious gatherings, and start running their own political actions then. Thus, the preaching of their religious truth serves them a cover for their ulterior non-religious motives.
Usual times for great Jewish reunions at Jerusalem, where the Temple stood in the past, are three pilgrimage holidays. Their names are: *Pesah* (Sefardic Hebrew: 'Passover'), *Shavuot* (Sefardic Hebrew: 'Weeks'), and *Sukot* (Sefardic Hebrew: 'Booths'). An unusually big number of Jews and Jewesses come up to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to participate in the special *Birkat Kohanim* (Sefardic Hebrew: 'priestly blessing') ritual at Jerusalem's *Hakotel Hamaravi* (Sefardic Hebrew: 'The Western Wall'), which is usually performed on intermediate semi-holyday days of Pesah and Sukot. The latter has evoked a tense political reaction on both sides this year.

Re (10) The painting over some Arabic or Hebrew lines on the trilingual Hebrew-English-Arabic traffic signs in West or East Jerusalem respectively. Cf. an attempt of 1998 on the part of some anti-Arab-minded MK to cancel the status of Arabic as one of two official languages in the State of Israe-l. Also see the commentary on the Language aspect of the Palestinian-Israe-li-Palestinian enmity right below.

Re (11) The linguistic conflict between the two parties is manifested by verbal harassment towards those speaking the minority language in a bigger homogeneous community. Avoidance of the 'enemy's' language when speaking to him is another phenomenon. Also reproachful are mocking the voice of muezzin and frowning upon Arabic music on the part of some narrow-minded ghettoized Jews. Cf. the clinical Russophobia behaviour on the part of Nationalist Roman Catholics of the Privislinskiy Kray aka poland, and Flemish-French latent bilingualism or quasi-monolingualism in present-day Belgium.

Here is a vocabulary sample some non-Israe-li P.A. Palestinian and Israe-li Jewish media might use refering to the same ideas respectively:

(1) 'Israe-li occupation forces / warplanes'	(1) 'Israe-li army / IDF; Israe-li aircrafts / IAF'
(2) 'The Occupied Territories, West Bank, Palestine'	(2) 'The Territories' , YESHA (Yehuda; Judea, Shomron; Sameria, Azza; Gazza)
(3) ' 'al-Quds'	(3) 'Israe-l's Undivided Capital; Urshalim-'al-Quds' (in this sequence, as used in Kol Yisrae-l Radio Arabic service and Israe-li offices)
(4) 'settlers'	(4) 'residents of the Territories; settlers'
(5) 'Jewish repatriates from Russia'	(5) 'Zionist immigrants'
(6) 'Zionist entity'	(6) 'The State of Israe-l'
(7) 'martyr'	(7) 'PLO / Hamas terrorist'
(8) 'via Israe-l' (as part of an int'l letter address to Israe-l-Palestine under the line for postcode and city name)	(8) 'Israe-l'

The ambiguous love-hate relationship between the two sons of Patriarch Abraham has not been a recent phenomenon. This might have resulted from two quite different enough cultural patterns they chose to follow in order realize their life goals. We might look at the Arab-Jewish co-existence as a historic marriage or co-habitation. We know both Islam, Judaism, and some Xian churches allow for the divorce if the two parties suffer together by inflicting each other.

Generally, as far as the psycho-biology of marital relations is concerned, an average female is always more emotional than her average analytical-minded male partner. My task here is not to find out who might play the role of a husband or a woman here but try to draw some psychologically natured conclusions relevant for the MidEast political science. Each and every marriage cannot live long without an argument. It is so for nobody is perfect, nor everyone is the same as us, and many argumenets an be an expression of constructive dialectical wisdom. Cf. the laws of historical dialectic put forth in 'Das Kapital' (German: 'The Capital') by the Jewish philosopher Karl Marx. Together with Frederick Engels he is the author of philosophy of dialectical materialism, 'which applies Hegel's dialectical method to observable social processes and to nature' (Guralnik 1974:389).

It is quite understandable, even though, not justifiable, that long-growing frustrations finding no outlet and patience tested excessively can have very devastating effect upon those suffering. My aim is to explain and not to blame or defend Zionists or Palestinians, Jews or Arabs, Israe-l or Palestine, Judaism or Islam, etc. etc. My sole principle in this study is emotion-free logic and objectivity. The quality of being free of subjectivism cannot be attained unless we remove far away our distorting emotions and employ common sense only. Even if it be very painful in short term, we should patiently follow the hard path in order to win much more: self-generating peace in long-term. Only Peace / Salam / Shalom can be a winner for it is a perfect quality of G-o-d / 'Al-lahu / Hashem. And The New Peace Meal Deal has got to come soon since the world has been starving to death without it for too long.

A *Tanah* (Hebrew: 'Hebrew Bible') quote motto on the bumper sticker of *Netivot Shalom* (Hebrew: 'Tora[h]'s Paths of Pleasantness'), which is a Israe-l-based observant Jewish peace group, says: *Bakesh shalom veradfehu* ('Ask for peace and pursue it')...

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Moments of Reprieve by Primo Levi.