False Dichotomies

If everyone behaves like Fonzie nobody gets hurt. Having taken a day off work to stand against the fascism of Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir in Umm-el-Fahm, this was my hope against hope. Our bus was cheered as it arrived in town, our gesture of solidarity appreciated by the town’s men-folk (for it was, mostly, men-folk), the gentle claps of a cricket match rather than the whoops of a street-battle, perhaps a sign of how strange we all seemed to the town’s residents, or perhaps – I thought – a signal of the peaceful opposition that was to follow. The bus was organised by Peace Now, but there were also members of Meretz and Hadash there, everyone in bed together for the day, although Labour members were notable in their absence, no doubt getting ready for the big vote to decide whether or not to enter the government later this evening. Read more