Arab shoppers – The Real Jerusalem Streets

BDS in Jerusalem

March 12, 2013rjstreets

Sorry I do not know any BDS, Boycott, Divest and Sanction folks,

so I can not ask them how boycotting Soda Stream

and putting hundreds of Palestinian workers out of a job

is good for anyone.

I can only assume that they are simply anti-Israel or ignorant,

as they would hurt those that BDSers are supposedly are out to help.

What I do see in Jerusalem, Israel, is that

Arab girls shop.

That is not new or news

and certainly everyone here knows that

Arab women shop.

But the biggest change in the last two years

that I have seen

is that now

Arab males shop.

Not just for cell phones,

or candy,

or food

in the supermarkets,

or in the shuk, Machane Yehuda Market,

or in a bakery.

They walk the Jerusalem streets while shopping with women

and girls,

and they carry those bags home too.

Especially in Mamilla Mall,

groups of young Arab men

can be found every day

and at night.

I have been asked what this means,

I am really not sure.

However, I do see that BDS in Jerusalem, Israel

is not boycott, divest and sanction,

but more like Boys Do Shop!

Time to add another pin on the BDS Fail Map

this time from the heart of Israel.

Mamilla Mall

February 21, 2012rjstreets

While Mamilla Mall was under construction

there were many who doubted its potential.

It was a convenient route to the Jaffa Gate and the Old City,

but who would shop in the expensive stores along Mamilla Avenue?

Stores have closed,

but new businesses open immediately.

The crowds keep coming…Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, and lots of tourists.

Brides favor the location for wedding photos.

Street actors and mimes often perform on the avenue

and colorful balloons are a common sight.

Every night as the lights go on, it is the place to visit.

Often tourists can be found posing with the works of art on display.

Music is the current theme of the art exhibitions

and the pieces are varied.

The original stones were numbered, taken apart, and put back up.

The results can be seen behind this piece of art.

And people come to eat…

often there are lines to get in to the most popular places.

Most days you will find the “United Jerusalem” guy,

but you will not find any signs of BDS: boycott, divest and sanction

or Israeli apartheid in Mamilla Mall,

located in Jerusalem,

next to the walls of the Old City.

Israeli Apartheid?

Israeli Apartheid?

March 8, 2011March 8, 2020rjstreets

Saudi Arabia bans protests, Turkey locks up journalists,

Iran and Libya kill their opponents,

Egypt killed protesters, Syria kills hundreds every day.

Haneen Zoabi, an Arab woman is an elected member of the Israeli Knesset

and has led anti-Israel protests.

Israeli apartheid?

Her actions would never be tolerated in any of the surrounding countries,

but Zoabi’s anti-government pieces are routinely published

in main stream Jerusalem newspapers and supported by the courts.

While Saudi Arabian women are forbidden to drive a car,

in Jerusalem, many Arab women take driving lessons

and sit where they want on public buses.

School girls are not afraid to share the same streets,

no matter what uniforms they wear, and go on to attend Israeli universities

and find work in the medical professions in Israeli hospitals.

Arab women walk alone

through the streets of the Old City

and in all the neighborhoods

around

Jerusalem, Israel

dressed in clothing

of all types

and colors.

Often Arab women shop

in Mamilla Mall,

in the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk,

on Jaffa Street,

King George Street,

and in Talpiot.

They can eat in a street cafe or restaurant

or walk with a male companion.

With young children

or alone,

Arab women are not afraid or forbidden to move around freely.

Israeli apartheid?