"The People of Israel Live"

After managing to semi convince the lady at Border Control that I had no intention of visiting Palestine, I immediately headed for Tel - Aviv. Tel – Aviv is an unusual city to say the least. Paranoia is ingrained here, somewhat understandable given the spates of suicide bombings of recent years. The most striking thing is the guns – more specifically, the age of the people carrying them. Noa informs me that they are all 18, but many look as young as 15. And these aren’t just guns, these are weapons of war; grenade launchers slung under the muzzles of assault rifles, machine guns and sniper rifles carried on the backs of sweating teenagers. The boys take an arrogant swagger as they move around, standing almost to attention as they wait for their buses to Barracks. It is unnerving to say the least, these people are trained, and more likely than not, willing to kill, and yet many are younger than I am. I asked a man at the bus station why so many young people are so heavily armed, he replied “The youth are not trained to think about what they are doing, just to do it”. Zionist Graffiti garnishes every conceivable surface, from Stars of David to “Palestine = Israel”. The Israeli flag is flown from every car, house, building and lamppost. The colours are used everywhere, from shop fronts to Tooth paste tubes. Shops sell Military equipment as souvenirs, “Support the IDF (Israeli Defence Force)” T – Shirts can be bought on nearly every street. Some are particularly disturbing; one depicts a pregnant Palestinian women with crosshairs on her stomach with the slogan “One shot, Two kills”. Markets sell lighters with the equipment of the IDF emblazoned; model Israeli fighter planes are commonly sold children’s toys. The fanatical marketing of the IDF is on a scale I have never seen before. Noa told me about her ‘Refusnik” friends. Scorned by parts of society, the Refusniks refuse to carry out their national service, with many of them spending the 3 years in State prisons alongside common criminals. It rapidly becomes apparent why Israelis are so defensive of their country, from a young age the importance of being a Zionist and nationalist ideas about Israelis future are hemmed in from every angle. I asked another friend what he thought the future was for peace: “I don’t think much will change for a long time. The Palestinians have every reason to hate us, and Israelis hate the Palestinians. It’s not just that wrongs were committed in creating Israel, it’s that they still continue. Israeli society does not have the will to change itself and change things, people just don’t care. This is why I will emigrate, I don’t want to be a part of this.”