Young activists talk about the Jerusalem they have discovered during the course of the month-long wave of protests
By MELANIE LIDMANTent city protests(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Politicians and activists love to talk about the “brain drain,” the exodus of well-educated young people from Jerusalem who flee to Tel Aviv as soon as they finish their degrees in the capital.But one unanticipated reaction to the tent protests is the opportunity for young people to break out of their comfort zone and connect with others of their own age across the spectrum – prompting a flurry of conversations about issues, cooperation, and being young in this complicated city, and a new appreciation of the city’s social activism scene.In Jerusalem caught up with a few of the 20- something protesters over the past few days to hear what they’ve learned about Israel’s complicated capital city:Hila Adiv, drama student “I learned that it’s possible to work together. Different types of people can help each other reach the same goals, not just to agree but to be on the same page. Jerusalem feels kind of like a big kibbutz here. It’s also really meaningful to be here on Tisha Be’av.As a religious person, it feels like a type of redemption. Maybe I’m exaggerating but it’s amazing.”Snir Levy, youth counselor “I learned that there’s a lot of power for good and for social justice. There are some people who are trying to destroy us, because we’re involved with justice and uniting different types of people, especially because we’re in Jerusalem in the middle of a big conflict. But we’re keeping it united.”Yair Fink, business student and aide to Jerusalem City Councilwoman Rachel Azaria, one of the central tent protest organizers “Jerusalem is really different. Jerusalem is special, because we have haredi, secular, national religious, Arab, Jewish... everything is more complicated. But I learned that there are a lot of social justice activists, and lots of organizations for young people. Everyone is really cooperating, especially now that the national religious have joined the protests, it’s a really mixed group.”
Yoav Scheiner, dairy farmer on Kibbutz Almog “I learned there are a lot of social organizations that are active on a daily basis that I didn’t know anything about that are really great. Also, meeting with religious organizations was really interesting and surprising. In my day-to-day life I have lots of conflicts with the religious community, but here we had a lot of cooperation.”Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance students Einat Mazor (dance), Chanan Ben Simon (vocal), Netta Lova (music)“I learned there are people who care about this city. It’s amazing how people of all ages – young and old – left their homes. Everyone wants something different, now it’s more than just about apartments, the whole nation wants something to change. There’s a lot of love between people, I know it sounds cheesy, but there is.”Amos Zruk, teacher“There’s a lot more solidarity than people think. People think there’s a lot of conflict here, and it doesn’t exist. People are really sitting together and talking.”Bar Peled, spokeswoman for Ruah Hadasha (New Spirit) and one of the central tent protest organizers“There are two main things: people in the tents in Jerusalem are working in cooperation, putting aside egos to get to know everyone.I believe because of this there will be a lot of cooperation in the future, we’re meeting lots of people who we would never have worked with otherwise. I think there will be a lot of beautiful partnerships coming out of the tent city. Also, you get to the tents, and it’s so heterogeneous.Everyone comes from their own separate place and everyone gives what they can, and everyone’s working in a way that’s really orderly and successful.”
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