Trojan Horse at Balfour & Subs at Democracy Square
Trojan Horse at Balfour
Submarine Pilgrimage - Out of the Judean Sierra Madres and Into the Holy City
Marching into the capital
This post is a sequel to the Big Submarine March, which took place November 14th, 2020, from Hemed Junction to Balfour st, Jerusalem*. As I mentioned in that post, inflatable submarines were snatched out of protesters’ hands by police, punctured and dumped over the rails. Two attempts were made by police to block Road 1 in order to prevent protesters from proceeding. Several arrests were made.
Nevertheless, all other protesters eventually made it to Jerusalem, even if some were forced to walk through the Judean “Sierra Madres”.
And – surprise upon surprise, two of the submarines have also made it to destination!!!
As the clip above demonstrates, after gathering forces under the Chords Bridge at the entrance to the City, the pink submarine showed up from nowhere. We all lined up behind it, chanting and drumming as we walked through an empty Jaffa street towards Balfour and Democracy Square.
*For clarification, the term “Balfour” is widely used to describe the entire area. Balfour street itself, where Bibi’s Residence is located, is out of bound. Protests take place on Democracy Square (officially Paris Square) and the streets around it.
Submarines in a Stone-clad Holy City
Bringing a taste of the sea
Since time immemorial Jerusalem was about stones. With tremendous efforts and cosiderable skills, ancient peoples over the generations constructed cisterns and water pools, built conduits, dug wells and tunnels, and channeled water from nearby springs to bring the precious H2O to the mountainous holy city. Under the Arab siege of Jewish Jerusalem in 1947, families had to make do with a bucket a day.
We, protesters, brought the first submarines to that city…
And we made them PINK…
Pink revolutionaries
Above: Our Amazon sisters and brothers from the PinkFront are hoisting the pink inflatable submarine saved from the Hemed police attack in the newly-named Democracy Square.
As mentioned in the previous post, Pink features highly in this revolution:
“The feminine color of power, the color of hope, optimism and love… Pink spread from a small group of artists to take over the protests.“ (Na’ama Riba, Ha’aretz magazine, Oct 10th, 2020)
This solid submarine (below) states: “We have woken up. My sister is awake! Don’t mess up with our hope!” and the same in Arabic.
My sister is awake solid pink submarine
Black is another prime color of the revolution. We ignore Yair Netanyahu’s stupid and outrageous comparison to ISIS, and keep waving black flags side by side with the blue, white and pink ones. This black submarine has made its way from the Judean Sierra Madres and onto Democracy Square.
The Biggest surprise waited us marchers at Balfour
It was miraculous enough that the submarines and all of us, minus the detainees, made it all the way here to “Balfour”.
But we were rewarded with an even larger surprise: A Trojan Horse at the heart of Jerusalem!!!
Trojan Horse at Balfour
The artists who created the Trojan Horse asked themselves the question: What can a people do if it is abandoned by its leadership?
Chanting “Yes and yes and yes, you did wrong and we will mend it”, inspired by the Trojan Horse benevolent presence
Top: construction of the Trojan Horse in situ (on location); Bottom: Trojan Horse lit from within
The chant “Time has come, Change starts from here, Finally my people are ready” is sung from top of Trojan Horse and by the excited crowd below.
Troy and Jerusalem
The installation is called “Horse or Troy?” It is 4 meters tall and 6 meters long, and is a product of a coordinated artist group effort. It is installed and uninstalled on location in front of the police barricade separating the Netanyahu’s compound from the living, protesting streets.
The artists who created this marvellous piece posed the question:
What can a people do if it is abandoned by its leaders?
According to them, “The Israeli democratic system is being exploited by parties and politicians who cheated their voters and are fortifying the rule of a prime minister blamed for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The State of Israel, like Helen of Troy, is held captive by politicians and wheelerdealers who serve nothing but their own desires. We are not seeking for violence or chaos, but are saying : Enough! Time for Change!”
Police and Protesters in the Holy City
Police seems to have lost its humanity
That’s a big topic, actually “the” big topic.
It is not even “slowly but surely”; it is happening at a mind-boggling pace. Most people who watch the mainstream media get a watered-down sugar-coated version of the events.
And the reality???
Israel is turning into a police state.
Every demonstration we face police over the barricade rails. Every time they let us execute our democratic right to protest unperturbed for about two hours. After that, they start marching in file into the crowd, handing fake reports and fines, arresting people for made-up excuses, stealing megaphones and musical instruments, hitting and pushing protesters. Water hosing stopped for the meantime after a major public uproar.
One extreme case of police brutality and mishandling of protesters was recorded November 28th as a female demonstrator was stripped and dragged on the ground, supposedly for “not wearing a mask”. She is recorded crying “I am in my underwear”. Did we mention Dictatorship under the guise of Corona???
I cannot copy the clip, but here is the link. Video is second from the top.
https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/HkDfBbgiP
Documented by Democrat TV.
Some of the worst arrests and abominations seem to happen in front of Benny Gantz’s mansion in Rosh Ha’Ayin, our “substitute prime minister “and the biggest disappointment of his more than a million voters, myself included. Protesters are kidnapped and thrown into dark lots, hit and arrested for no reason and treated like common criminals.
In addition, see the update below regarding the war against art and culture, typical moves of totalitarian regimes afraid of citizens’ free spirit.
As usual, protesters and police face each other across the barricades meant to protect the alleged crime minister from democracy warriors.
Figthing for our endangered democracy
In this demonstration, as in all others I have attended at Balfour, police and protesters face each other across this ominous blockade, separating a prime minister under indictment trying to escape his trial and probable jail sentence, from protesters who want to retrieve our democracy, our institutions, our freedoms and the country we love.
Here and There Around Democracy Square
At the beginning of the protest, before the demonstration actually started in real, children relished in kicking the police blockade rails, probably inspired by the Trojan Horse…
This is the peak of protester “violence” I have witnessed in about 15 demonstrations I have attended so far…
On the other end of this scale there are police violence and Bibi fan (Bibists) violence. What a difference…
Top: Sign : In Balfour I buried the State of Good Values, a satire of Theodor Herzl’s famous saying: In Basel I established the Jewish State
Bottom: Quiet in the middle of the storm at Balfour, a child enjoying its own peaceful corner
Update: No End to Surprises on Democracy Square. Not Just the Trojan Horse.
Israel Hero
This news is dynamic.
Democracy Square and the Kreative protest movement never stop producing new surprises.
I am writing now, December 4th, the night before a very big protest is planned at Democracy Square in expectation for Bibi’s upcoming trial scheduled next week.
This afternoon, a sculpture was unveiled on the square: Israel Hero.
Gifted artist, Itay Zalait, has worked on it for four months. It refers generally to “The Protester”, the one who is willing to take risks, get hit and arrested by police, be flushed with water cannons, or heroically lie under one to prevent others from getting hit, as did advocate Gonen Ben Itzhak.
Gonen is now hailed as one of the top heroes of the movement as he is indicted for “interfering with police on duty”. He is going to reverse his indictment and sue the police for unlawful and dangerous use of the water cannon against the protesters… He also defends the protesters legally, one good reason the regime is persecuting him.
Yael Kronenberg-Shor with Itay Zalait and the Israel Hero scuplture, Democracy Square, December 4th, 2020 (Source, Facebook)
The sculpture is made of 800 kilogram bronze, 5 tons concrete base and was shaped over four months of intense work. The artist created it “as a tribute to all citizens fighting for Israeli democracy”. People will guard it all night prior to the demonstrations tomorrow against any chance of hooliganism. The sculpture is also meant to inspire people to arrive at the protest tomorrow from all around the country.
Tribute to the Protester
In the artist’s words (with Google Translate):
“I created this statue as a tribute to protesters who are the heroes of Israel at this time. I received an emergency injunction (Tzav 8, or Order 8, in the IDF jargon) to protect our democracy. The protester is Israel’s hero, who is actively participating in defending israel as a democratic state.”
And he added:
“Tomorrow when you get to Balfour to demonstrate, you will know that this statue is for you. To strengthen you. For me you are heroes and heroines of Israel“.
Top: the Israel Hero sculpture by Itay Zalait
Bottom: Iconic photo of Nimrod Gross holding the Israeli flag as the water cannon hits him.
Here is a link to a live Facebook clip of the unveiling:
https://www.facebook.com/842818907/videos/10158810415158908/
Update: The Police State
December 5th, MORNING UPDATE:
POLICE TOOK DOWN THE SCULPTURE AT 3:30 IN THE MORNING USING A CITY-OF-JERUSALEM CRANE “TO PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY”….
This happened after hours in which Bibi fans were busy cursing profanities towards anybody who doesn’t agree with them. Reportedly, they used words commonly used by Antisemites. The police did nothing to stop them.
Folks, this is no longer a democracy. Take note!!!
Art is the enemy of fascism. Stupidity and cruelty are its friends.
If you find any factual errors in this text, please contact me directly.
For more videos from this event and from other protests and demonstrations around Israel see my You Tube playlist: Wave of Demonstrations Israel
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