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[Israel] Shalom
Jun. 2nd, 2008 09:18 amI knew I'd have to bring my peace shirt with me this trip, and it's been interesting to wear.
While on the ride, it felt particularly appropriate, given that the Arava Institute is not only about regional environmental issues but also peaceful coexistence, and I received some very nice compliments (including questions about where I'd bought the shirt, which I'm counting as a compliment :-). I'm particularly glad I put the Arabic on the front (though I remember being disappointed when I found the Arabic, because it didn't 'look' like Arabic to me [it's in the bottom row, below the shin of shalom]).
It felt different wearing it around Jerusalem yesterday. Some of that was just the difference between being in a smaller group of like-minded people and being out in the greater world. Some was not. The shirt was a conversation starter with a woman at the half day of learning I went to yesterday, and that was great. Some people I passed said "shalom," or smiled. And then there were others I felt were not at all approving, because their assumption is that peace now would require costs they're not willing to pay, or compromises they're not willing to make. Once or twice I also wondered if someone read it as a greeting, or even a come-hither-and-talk, rather than a message of peace: shalom is also a greeting, both hello and goodbye (technically, anyway, though I don't often hear it as a goodbye; people are more likely to use "l'hitraot").
All of this is very different than at home, where peace is not as politically loaded, plus there are fewer people who even know what is on the shirt, given how many people are monolingual (the only English on it is Braille). (Not amongst most people I know, since many speak another language or at least recognize some of the closer cognates, but out in public, there's less automaticity.)
While on the ride, it felt particularly appropriate, given that the Arava Institute is not only about regional environmental issues but also peaceful coexistence, and I received some very nice compliments (including questions about where I'd bought the shirt, which I'm counting as a compliment :-). I'm particularly glad I put the Arabic on the front (though I remember being disappointed when I found the Arabic, because it didn't 'look' like Arabic to me [it's in the bottom row, below the shin of shalom]).
It felt different wearing it around Jerusalem yesterday. Some of that was just the difference between being in a smaller group of like-minded people and being out in the greater world. Some was not. The shirt was a conversation starter with a woman at the half day of learning I went to yesterday, and that was great. Some people I passed said "shalom," or smiled. And then there were others I felt were not at all approving, because their assumption is that peace now would require costs they're not willing to pay, or compromises they're not willing to make. Once or twice I also wondered if someone read it as a greeting, or even a come-hither-and-talk, rather than a message of peace: shalom is also a greeting, both hello and goodbye (technically, anyway, though I don't often hear it as a goodbye; people are more likely to use "l'hitraot").
All of this is very different than at home, where peace is not as politically loaded, plus there are fewer people who even know what is on the shirt, given how many people are monolingual (the only English on it is Braille). (Not amongst most people I know, since many speak another language or at least recognize some of the closer cognates, but out in public, there's less automaticity.)