I was out and about in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem yesterday, and I couldn’t help noticing that the Palestinian/Jerusalemite storeowners in the city’s iconic Arab Market may have mixed feelings about Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Lets analyse the photo I snapped here of one of the many T-Shirt stores that cater to the city’s tourists.
Ok, this is one we might expect. Totally logical that the Palestinians should support the R4BIA movement that we have written about quite a bit here, here, here and here.
This one is also a no-brainer. I would be disappointed if they didn’t have a smiling Arafat T-Shirt.
Palestine! Again, can’t blame them can we? (BTW, wouldn’t a Nazi/Apartheid/Fascist Zionist state crackdown on such flagrant expressions of sedition?)
Aw, thats sweet. See? All they want is Peace! They’re not ALL extremists! Some of them want to live here in Peace/Shalom/Salaam.
Wait a minute! Whats THAT doing there? Surely a mistake. Israel Uzi? Some one obviously put that up there accidentally…..
Hmmm….. Police? Israeli Police??? Maybe they helped get a little Palestinian kitty out of a tree…..
IDF Intelligence?????? And a hokey joke about them?
The IDF!! Ok, thats just blatantly catering to Zionist pride.
This is partially blocked, but it says “America, don’t worry. Israel is behind you”. No comment.
The other stalls are full of Kiddush cups, kippot, mezuzahs and menorahs along side the Keffiyehs, water pipes and Jesus memorabilia. All of this really just suggests that these guys will sell anything to carve out their meagre living. But I also find a little optimism in all of this. Is the blood SO bad between us if they find it in themselves to sell symbols of Jewish and Zionist pride to tourists? Or is it the same in any “oppressed” place? If I go to the market in Tibet, can I buy a Mao Tse Tung T-Shirt? Can I find some nice Vladimir Putin memorabilia in the tourist gift shops in Chechnya? If I was taking a tour of Soweto in the 1980s, would I have found any pro Viljoen or Botha propaganda in the local shops there? Something tells me the answer to these questions is no.
