Wednesday, July 15
Tuesday, July 14
Boycot cellcom...
i guess u have to admit being their client, however, there must be a way to get away from that obnoxious company.
Posted by
yudit
at
7:01 PM
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Lotsa' luck, or, almost a catastrophe
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yudit
at
4:49 PM
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Labels: halamish, housing problems, Jaffa, municipality, ron huldai, urban planning
Saturday, July 4
There are no illegal children
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yudit
at
11:06 PM
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Labels: democracy, demonstration, discrimination, Israel, police, police harassment, Tel Aviv
Shooting in the 'hood
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yudit
at
5:39 PM
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Demonstration against the new migration police activities and the crazy "aid to illegal aliens act"
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yudit
at
9:35 AM
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Labels: Acco, democracy, demonstration, discrimination, hate, Israel
Thursday, July 2
Israel's old new hate police: privatization of a dangerous force
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yudit
at
6:15 PM
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Labels: democracy, Israel, police, police harassment, police violence, racism, social justice
Arnon Giladi is at it, once more
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yudit
at
5:13 PM
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Labels: discrimination, hate, Jaffa, siksik mosque
Naomi Klein in Jaffa
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yudit
at
4:59 PM
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Tuesday, June 30
filthy justice
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yudit
at
12:40 PM
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Labels: crime, drugs, Jaffa, municipality
Tuesday, June 23
Community involvement at the Jaffa Siksik mosque
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yudit
at
10:09 PM
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Labels: community activity, Islamic movement, Jaffa, siksik mosque
Monday, June 22
twittering/blogging from Teheran
This little bit of info has been doing the rounds:
If you're on Twitter, set your location to Tehran & your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut down Iranians' access to the internet. Cut & Paste & Pass it on Revolution/Revolucion !
Posted by
yudit
at
8:22 AM
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Labels: cyber action, democracy
Saturday, June 20
The "Siksik" Mosque as a point of reference
The mosque, constructed in the 1880-ies, consists of a room, an elegant minaret and a lovely sabil. It's located on Siksik street (today's Beyt HaEshel street) .
It was constructed by the Siksik family, still living in Jaffa, next to the ancient khan they owned and operated. Traders on their way to the Jaffa market would stay there during the night, after the walled city's gates had been locked for its citizens' peace, quiet and security.
Up to this very day the mosque is owned by the Siksik family's "waqef" (non profit organization) and under their responsibility. Omar Siksik functions as the mosque's moutawali (caretaker), elected by the family to take care of the mosque.
The family has engaged in legal battles over the years, in order to prevent its demolition and its being taken over by the "Keter" plastic factory located just behind it on what, perhaps, once upon a time, were storage rooms of the mosque and khan. Paperwork possessed by the Siksik family indicates the existence of those storage rooms but does not exactly state their location.
The mosque has not functioned as a place of prayer for many years, but is being maintained and safeguarded by the family, until last week.
The southern section of the Islamic movement entered the mosque, cleaned it and exchanged the locks without the Siksik family's permission.
Jaffa has several active mosques and in the flea-market area has become a predominantly Jewish over the years. The problem is not a lack of prayer space. Moreover, the large "Mouhmoudiyeh", Jaffa's main mosque, is a short walk away.
So why did the southern section of the Islamic movement decide to undertake its self appointed and not very necessary mission right now?
One needs to look at the bigger picture: the construction of a hotel on top of the Jaffa "Kishle" (the old Turkish police station and jail), next door to the Mahmoudiyeh mosque.
The whole area of the clocktowersquare, kishle and mosque included, are protected buildings. When the Nakash brothers bought the Kishle building for some 38.000.000 NIS three years ago, they bought it in order to construct a hotel, and apparently they bought it with very generous building rights. Building rights that allow them to build a huge block on top of the old structures, dwarfing them and the lovely surroundings.
The construction will change the Jaffa skyline and the whole area for ever. A barbarous act of destroying cultural heritage for us and the next generations. Something carried out by money hungry, but very blind, people with no respect for another culture, architecture and art. And also lacking all respect for another religion, Islam.
The planned hotel's royal suite has a swimming pool on its balcony, overlooking the mosque's courtyard where prayers take place. How callous can you get?
Constructing a hotel next to a mosque demands a lot of respect and thoughtfulness on the side of those planning the hotel. However, thoughtfulness concerning the mosque's attendees feelings is NOT something the hotel's architects took into consideration (and i went to the city planning office to have a look at the actual plans). The fight against the hotel's construction has been taken up by the northern section of the Islamic movement.
The southern section kept quiet. Although they, as members of the Muslim council (something like the city rabbinate) should have been the first to take up the fight. So the next question should be: why didn't they? How come they did not oppose the building permits actively?
This is where the rumors start: some suggest money was handed over, or in less nice words, bribes were paid.
The southern section kept quiet. But now they must show they DO care about mosques and religion, which may be the reason why they targeted the Siksik mosque for their activity.
Posted by
yudit
at
11:05 AM
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Labels: community activity, Islamic movement, Jaffa, kishle, municipality, Muslim Council, Nakash brothers, siksik mosque, urban planning
Saturday, June 13
Some sort of victory, for the time being at least.
The fact that all of the Jaffa organizations are involved in the coalition, is important;
The tender has been canceled!
Posted by
yudit
at
4:01 PM
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Labels: community activity, demonstration, gentrification, housing problems, Jaffa, municipality, ron huldai, urban planning
Wednesday, June 10
Help Ezra Nawi
I met Ezra when, as a young student, demonstrating every Friday with "women in black" against the occupation.
He used to come over and hand out water to all women.
At the end of every demo, week after week, year after year, he would turn up with a huge number of red roses, handing out one to every participating woman.
Ezra is a kind, gentle hearted man, sensitive to others' needs and always trying to help in his way: finding hard to get by medicine for this family, food for that.
More information on Ezra can be found here:
Please assist him.
Posted by
yudit
at
5:29 PM
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Labels: freedom, human rights, prison, west bank
Tuesday, June 9
Jaffa demo today
Posted by
yudit
at
11:38 PM
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Labels: demonstration, history, Jaffa, kishle, protest, urban planning
Demonstration today at 18.00
Posted by
yudit
at
3:39 PM
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Labels: community activity, culture, demonstration, Jaffa, jaffa governance, kishle, municipality, Old City
Monday, June 8
If you love Jaffa....help us save her
The ancient "Kishle" is a historic and protected building. When it was bought in 2006 by the Nakash brothers (of Jordache fame) for a whopping 38 million, the idea was to turn it into an exclusive boutique hotel. However the plans submitted to the municipality show someting entirely different: a 140 room monster, adding several floors to the original building, thereby dwarfing not only the original ancient walls surrounding the Kishle's court yard, but also the clocktower and the Mahmoudia mosque, which togehter make up part of Jaffa's beautiful skyline.
This is not just uglyfying one lovely building, but completely destroying Jaffa's northern entrance and skyline.
In addition the planned added floors will created problems for the Mouhmoudia mosque.
Oh, and by the way, the whole thing is designed in th style of "andromeda orientalism".
Posted by
yudit
at
10:31 PM
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Labels: Jaffa, kishle, municipality, Old City, police, police violence
Sunday, June 7
Anti Occupation Demo in Tel Aviv
Several thousand marched in Tel Aviv to protest against the continued occupation.
Posted by
yudit
at
8:21 AM
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Labels: demonstration, Tel Aviv
Saturday, June 6
"What do women want?"

I feel uncomfortable with the definition"women's art". Does it imply art created by women? About women? Dealing with femininity and gender? The exhibit is titled "What do women want".
Some of the shown works are profound and moving (e.g. photographs by Shosh Kormush and Noa Ben Nun Melamed and a portrait by Leah Golda Holterman), but others are, hmm, how to put it gently, not of the same high standard. Some choices are surprising as well, if you show one work per artist, i would expect her best or one of her best.
Another point is also the lack of works by some of the most profound women artists currently active in Tel Aviv.
The hanging is messy, without a clear concept. Although it's nice to have a big exhibit in Jaffa, this is not the way to go about it: sloppy and haphazardly.
The Amiad Centre, 12 Amiad Street, Jaffa
Posted by
yudit
at
5:33 PM
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Labels: art, culture, Fleamarket, Jaffa
Cruelty Alley
Yet the other "little girl" L. is still severely traumatised and crying non stop, tears streaming from her cataract covered eyes.
Some 15 years ago the place was a successful fish restaurant, before all the other places along Kedem Street (street nr. 60 or Ajami Street prior to 1948) were opened. The clients preferred the newer and fancier places, business went down and the restaurant closed. It stood empty for years.
Its very wealthy owner owns another very successful restaurant in the north and didn't care too much about the Jaffa place, that had stood neglected for many years. Having grown old and perhaps somewhat tired, he let his younger brother take care of business.
The younger brother, well aware of the severe housing shortage in Jaffa, divided the place into 5 small crummy flats and started to rent them out for some 500-600 $ a month. No contract.
You pay a few months ahead and receive a key, you miss a payment and you are out.
Of course the restaurant owner's brother did not bother to get a permit (to turn the property into housing units) from the municipality, nor did he bother to pay the very old and by now huge debts to that same municipality and the electricity company, so water and electricity supply "are somewhat problematic". The tenants, not having contracts, cannot register the municipal and electricity bills in their own names.
Only very poor people, having no other choice, are willing to take the risk to live in such a place. My friend A, divorced mum of two little girls, and barely surviving on her cleaner's salary, is one of them. Her neighbour H, with his young daughter and elderly, retarded, half blind sister live there as well. Some two years ago, their key money flat's ceiling caved in and they have been living in "the restaurant" ever since, while the legal procedures on the other house continue, slowly as these things go.
Their financial situation is very bad and they missed last months rent payment. So today the owner sent in the goons. L. the elderly sister, a sweet women known all over the area, likes to play with dolls together with the little girls that live in the alley. Although half blind and elderly, she really is "their age" and the little girls accept her, as she is sweet and innocent. L. was home alone when the goons arrived.
She was scared so she didn't open the door as she has been instructed no to when alone at home and strangers knock on the door.
The goons broke the door and started yelling at her that she should pack her things because she owes rent. They then started to throw the family's belongings out on the street.
L's screams brought out the all the other tenants who intervened on her behalf, pointing out that L is retarded and that the goons should talk to her brother. They formed a fierce defence around L and called the police. At that point, the goons took off (although the police never arrived and told L.'s brother H. should come in and file a complaint before).
Posted by
yudit
at
10:19 AM
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Labels: Ajami, housing problems, Jaffa, justice, municipality, police, social justice


