Israel/Palestine: The Old Man & The Blood
by Liat Shlezinger
Ilan Shalif is already 70 but it does not prevent him arriving every Friday at the demonstration against the separation fence in Bil'in and confronting the soldiers of the Israeli IDF. Every Friday for the last year and a half, like a watch whose battery never runs out, he travels the road from Tel-Aviv to the Palestinian village of Bil'in.
What causes Ilan Shalif, Doctor of Psychology, to leave his grandchildren, climb the hills and spend his Fridays in the endless fight of the anarchists in Bil'in?
Ilan Shalif is already 70 [really only 69 - I.S.] but it does not prevent him arriving every Friday at the demonstration against the separation fence in Bil'in and confronting the soldiers of the Israeli IDF.
"Armed" with only a yellow water bottle and matching yellow pouch, Ilan Shalif is on his way to another battle against the separation fence. Every Friday for the last year and a half, like a watch whose battery never runs out, he travels the road from Tel-Aviv to the Palestinian village of Bil'in. He has not missed even one demonstration... Well, he did miss one when he had an open-heart bypass operation [it was really two demos I missed then, and two more when I was banned from travelling to Bil'in after being released from police custody - I.S.]. But, he stresses that a week later he was back running with the kids [the Israeli Anarchists Against The Wall - I.S.] and dodging the rubber-coated bullets as they whistled by.
In the village of Bil'in, where the most violent demonstrations of the left have been taking place recently, people are "crazy" about him. They call him "grandpa". While others of his age prefer to spend time with their grandchildren, Shalif at 70 prefers to spend his Fridays in the company of shock and teargas grenades.
My idea to join him in the demo was regarded at first as an intriguing experience, but surely not as massive physical effort. However, after a short march with the demonstrators, at quite a fast tempo, I looked around me and saw that Shalif was nowhere to be seen. Actually, he had long ago overtaken me and I just could not match his speed!
Each demonstration in Bil'in begins with a long march accompanied by the singing of the villagers and the demonstrators, who wave flags all the way up to the point of confrontation with the soldiers at the fence separating the village lands and the areas of Modi'in Illit [the settler town built on the lands of Bil'in and other neighbouring Palestinian villages - I.S.]. Shalif is marching fast under the hot sun and his position is at the head of the demonstration. When the confrontation between the demonstrators and the soldiers starts, he sits down on one of the big stones and looks around. From time to time he wipes the drops of sweat from his forehead and cleans his round glasses.
Right behind Ilan sits his son Gal, 42, guarding his father. He puts a firm hand on his shouder every time he wants to go nearer and join the demonstrators [in confronting the soldiers - I.S.]. "Father, sit down", he says in an authoritative voice. "Father, enough. Not this time. It's not for you any more. Father, it's not possible this way." He worries about his father. Every Friday, Gal serves as Ilan's chauffeur to Bil'in and back to Tel-Aviv. But more importantly, Gal defines himself as "his personal guard".
"I know my father... If I don't go with him, he will do something stupid and get injured. He is a person who is getting on in years, but often he behave like a child," he says, smiling. [The reporter does not know the details of my medical vulnerability after the heart bypass operation a few weeks before, as a result of which Gal agreed to accompany me to the demonstration in return for a say on cautious behaviour for both of us - I.S.]
Rest of Interview...
Ilan Shalif is already 70 but it does not prevent him arriving every Friday at the demonstration against the separation fence in Bil'in and confronting the soldiers of the Israeli IDF. Every Friday for the last year and a half, like a watch whose battery never runs out, he travels the road from Tel-Aviv to the Palestinian village of Bil'in.
What causes Ilan Shalif, Doctor of Psychology, to leave his grandchildren, climb the hills and spend his Fridays in the endless fight of the anarchists in Bil'in?
Ilan Shalif is already 70 [really only 69 - I.S.] but it does not prevent him arriving every Friday at the demonstration against the separation fence in Bil'in and confronting the soldiers of the Israeli IDF.
"Armed" with only a yellow water bottle and matching yellow pouch, Ilan Shalif is on his way to another battle against the separation fence. Every Friday for the last year and a half, like a watch whose battery never runs out, he travels the road from Tel-Aviv to the Palestinian village of Bil'in. He has not missed even one demonstration... Well, he did miss one when he had an open-heart bypass operation [it was really two demos I missed then, and two more when I was banned from travelling to Bil'in after being released from police custody - I.S.]. But, he stresses that a week later he was back running with the kids [the Israeli Anarchists Against The Wall - I.S.] and dodging the rubber-coated bullets as they whistled by.
In the village of Bil'in, where the most violent demonstrations of the left have been taking place recently, people are "crazy" about him. They call him "grandpa". While others of his age prefer to spend time with their grandchildren, Shalif at 70 prefers to spend his Fridays in the company of shock and teargas grenades.
My idea to join him in the demo was regarded at first as an intriguing experience, but surely not as massive physical effort. However, after a short march with the demonstrators, at quite a fast tempo, I looked around me and saw that Shalif was nowhere to be seen. Actually, he had long ago overtaken me and I just could not match his speed!
Each demonstration in Bil'in begins with a long march accompanied by the singing of the villagers and the demonstrators, who wave flags all the way up to the point of confrontation with the soldiers at the fence separating the village lands and the areas of Modi'in Illit [the settler town built on the lands of Bil'in and other neighbouring Palestinian villages - I.S.]. Shalif is marching fast under the hot sun and his position is at the head of the demonstration. When the confrontation between the demonstrators and the soldiers starts, he sits down on one of the big stones and looks around. From time to time he wipes the drops of sweat from his forehead and cleans his round glasses.
Right behind Ilan sits his son Gal, 42, guarding his father. He puts a firm hand on his shouder every time he wants to go nearer and join the demonstrators [in confronting the soldiers - I.S.]. "Father, sit down", he says in an authoritative voice. "Father, enough. Not this time. It's not for you any more. Father, it's not possible this way." He worries about his father. Every Friday, Gal serves as Ilan's chauffeur to Bil'in and back to Tel-Aviv. But more importantly, Gal defines himself as "his personal guard".
"I know my father... If I don't go with him, he will do something stupid and get injured. He is a person who is getting on in years, but often he behave like a child," he says, smiling. [The reporter does not know the details of my medical vulnerability after the heart bypass operation a few weeks before, as a result of which Gal agreed to accompany me to the demonstration in return for a say on cautious behaviour for both of us - I.S.]
Rest of Interview...
posted by Alice at Wednesday, June 14, 2006
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