August 8, 2001

The exquisite artwork of Jerusalem’s Ethiopian church.

Elizabeth headed from class into Jerusalem while Marthame went back home to do some chores. She headed into the Ethiopian church (just north of the Russian Compound, on Ethiopia street), whose existence we have only known about recently, to admire its icons and architecture. It was very beautiful, and the icons were lovely - many were of saints who had created monasteries in Ethiopia. we hope to learn more about Ethiopia - it has such a fascinating history (with a history of Judaism and claims on the line of David through the child born to the Queen of Sheba and Solomon, and a history of Christianity noted in Acts, when Philip explains Scripture to the Ethiopian eunuch).

Attendees of the Koch Party rally. The bumper sticker reads, “No Arabs, No Terrorists” - a call to ethnic cleansing.

We also got word that today the followers of Meir Kahane were holding a rally in Jerusalem. Kahane's family members and followers are part of the radical right, the Jewish supremacists. He was martyred for the cause, as were some of his followers. Their party, the Koch Party, was declared illegal by the Israeli government for being explicitely racist (We were told that this rally was technically legal because they organized it not as the Koch Party, but simply as individuals). Some leftists decided to organize a counter-demonstration. The police did their best to keep them separated by an intersection, but there was enough mixing to make it interesting.

Kahane's followers are essentially calling for the ethnic-cleansing of Israel of all Arabs. They have made bumper stickers that read, "No Arabs, No Terrorists" in Hebrew - in other words, you get rid of all the Arabs, you get rid of all the terrorists. Easy solution. The counter-demonstrators had hung up a sign saying "No Arabs, No Hummus" in reply. Before the demonstrations actually began, we saw a number of very animated and passionate conversations as members of both groups mingled a bit. At first, the saddest part was the children whose their anger and hatred were palpable. Once the demonstrations began, most of the counter demonstrators stood at the street corner holding signs for passers-by, traffic, and the Kahane group to see. Most of the Kahane crowd stayed in the small city park listening to the speeches. However, quite a few folks from the media and probably from the counter demonstrators went over to take photographs (often unwelcome) of the Kahane group.

We also saw a few tough-looking youth, whose demeanor and actions made us think of skinheads in the States. We saw them more than once come over and hassle counter-demonstrators and tear up their "End Racism" signs. Then the saddest part was that so many passers-by were taking the Kahane group's free bumper stickers.

We left the scene a little early for dinner with a couple of friends who have been working with pacifist groups over the past two weeks. Jerry and Sis Levin are Birminghamites who have worked diligently for the cause of peace. Their story is told in Sis's book, Beirut Diary, which tells of Jerry's kidnapping in Lebanon, his year-long hostage ordeal, the US's unwillingness to help and even their interference, and Sis's bravery to break the silence. Theirs is an unbelievable story, illustrating some of the complexities and tragedies of the situation in the Middle East in the 1980s - so many of which spill over to today.

Marthame caught the taxis back to Birzeit (unremarkable except for the driver whom we all thought was deaf until we figured out he was simply mute) while Elizabeth headed off to a party at a friend's in Jerusalem.