Here we are on the steps of the Old Post Office once again and once again we are honored by the presence of Hagrid, in the red jumper, from Mahsoun Watch in Israel. Sivan, Hellen, Hinde, Sue, Esme, Sandra and myself with Geraldine in our hearts. In one of the images you see Hagrid and a friend in a deep conversation with a young Australian-Palestinian man. This is the wonder of the streets, where for an hour history lives in the lives and passions that cross public paths. For me, this return to our Women in Black community was especially important since less then a week ago I had been operated on for uterine cancer. At one point in this vigil, Hagrid said she felt she was in exile from her own tribe in Israel because of her peace activism, and here I could hold her and say, we will form a new country of the heart and mind, all us Jews who are on the hate lists of other Jews, who are forced from jobs or podiums, who loose family connections, who are told we are traitors because we see the suffering of others caused by Israeli national policies and refuse to be silent in the face of these injustices. We hold each other on the narrow territory between the rising anti-Semitism of Europe--note the rise of the anti-Jewish, anti-Roma, anti-immigrant nationalistic party of Hungary--and the Israeli nationalistic state that sees not its own racism or calls it "protecting Israel," we know the dangers and we will not allow them to silence our hearts or our conscience.
We always gather for coffee afterwards, to catch up on all the political actions our women are involved in and here you see us reading over a petition supplied by Hellen against the racist elements of the Northern Intervention Act. And know that all over the world, Women in Black groups are taking on the issues of their place and time. This is another face of 21st century feminism.
No comments:
Post a Comment