My mother lives next to a Palestinian family. Well, actually two, because shortly after one family moved into the house, they were joined by more relations from the auld sod. This drives her crazy because they let their sons run wild – something that my cousins who lived in various middle eastern countries for over ten years assure us is perfectly normal in Arab culture. It’s a shame, too, because my mother loves kids and would befriend them, bake them cookies, and semi-adopt them as grandkids given the chance. Instead she’s morphing into the old bat every kid hates, screaming, “Get off my lawn!” several times a week.
Saturday night, the men of the household gathered on the front lawn and ululated and screamed for 45 minutes. Noise aside, that’s a disturbing action just for the strangeness of it. What did it mean? What did they hope to accomplish? If their goal was to meet a couple of local cops, it worked perfectly. And after that introduction, they went meekly back inside and peace reigned throughout the neighborhood. We’ve been debating ever since – was there a politically correct way to describe this problem to the 911 dispatcher? One of the PC options we considered was “Asian,” which, as Kathy correctly observes, “Enough with the “Asian” crap already.” What she actually said was, “There’s a bunch of middle eastern men standing in the front yard screaming at the top of their lungs and I don’t know what they’re capable of doing.”
In an effort to find out why they were celebrating – or complaining – I checked Google News for stories on Palestinian, bombing and several other keywords. And found this unrelated gem:
Gay Arab-Israelis struggle as outcasts in two societies
Underground drag queen shows serve as the only refuge for some
 A 26-year-old Arab-Israeli performance artist dresses as The Bride of Palestine, a popular character at underground Tel Aviv drag shows. The shows draw a few hundred people. ANNA BLACKSHAW: MCT |
… “My fight,” said The Bride, who lives at home with his willfully ignorant Muslim parents, “is through my art.”
In an effort to carve out a space for themselves, Palestinian drag queens gather every few months at a club in the heart of Tel Aviv to take part in underground shows. These parties offer a rare forum for them to explore complicated and convoluted ideas about sexuality, politics, nationalism, militancy and religion.
They’re forging their identities at the center of what some consider an occupying power. The Palestinian nationalists among them recognize the irony in the fact that Israel has become their sanctuary.
“I didn’t choose this place; it’s the place that I found I could be myself in,” said M, a 24-year-old Arab-Israeli woman with short black hair who’s performed at the club. “That’s my only refuge.”
… “It’s not enough that I’m oppressed as an Arab in Jewish society, I’m oppressed as a queer in Arab society,” M. said. “The thing from both sides is difficult, but what is most difficult is to be oppressed by your own community.”
I would give a lot to see how a protest on this would play out at Berkeley. A lot.
