Calling for a 3rd Intifada?

BY CARMIA

There is a lot of talk in the media about the possibility of another intifada, sparked by recent events in Jerusalem. On a trip to the Galilee with a stop in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel and with a clear Muslim majority, I saw handwritten signs which appeared to attempt to incite the local population. The posters were plastered on several official notice boards of the municipality, but obviously without the necessary permits.

The top poster reads, "al-Quds [Jerusalem] is calling us... and Nazareth... is answering the call." The bottom left poster: "Al-Quds is calling us, alas who is answering?" The last poster states, "Raise your hands [illegible] al-Quds". The signs are topped off with a red hammer and sickle. The makers of the posters may have been hesitant in identifying themselves for a number of reasons, including to avoid paying the fee for posting on the boards. Perhaps there is a link to Abnaa el Balad.

Third Intifada?

BY AMOS

If the recent unrest in Jerusalem spirals out of control, the international news media will surely rush to find some symbolic spark. Perhaps, they will blame the announcement of the Ramat Shlomo expansion. Or maybe the dedication of the restored Hurva Synagogue in the eastern part of the city. They will ignore the wave of Jerusalem-related incitement in the past year, and especially in the last few months, by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab states, including countries allied or enjoying in-the-closet relations with Israel. The rhetoric, which includes a smear campaign alleging that Israel plans to "Judaize" Jerusalem by destroying Muslim antiquities, has been employed by the nationalists as well as the Islamists. It has gone hand-in-hand with the patently absurd efforts to deny any legitimate Jewish religious claims to Jerusalem and other sites. In all of this, Jewish attachment to places such as Hebron is dismissed as extremist political posturing by settlers - as if the religious sentiments of Jewish settlers have less legitimacy than those of Palestinian Muslims.

Remnants of the Intifada

BY CARMIA

The Second Intifida, which began in 2000, has long fizzled out but the memorials remain. Today is the seven-year anniversary of a suicide bombing which took place near my house and blew up a bus. Seventeen people were killed on bus number 37, which goes to and from the University of Haifa through the Carmel and Hadar, all the way down to the old central bus station at Bat Galim. One of my former students was lucky - he survived this bombing, albeit with hearing and vision damage and a face full of shrapnel.

An unofficial memorial has also grown on the location. It is made up of personal messages dedicated to the various victims of the bombing and messages to humanity in general that people have left all over the wall by the site.

On the other side of the Green Line, there are memorials as well. My friend took some pictures on her visit last year to Nablus and was most struck by the line, "Never Forgive, Never Forget" on the memorial below.

The memorial is obviously intended for the international media as well, having been written in (misspelled) English. The memorial below for "shaheeds" is not meant for the international community.