Hmm. I don’t know about that. I realize many secular post-army Israelis like to travel across the Far East, but comparing Israel to Tibet is a bit far off… Even politically.
Now, I know there are a ton of Anglos in Jerusalem… and lots of street artists… but I never expected to walk through the center of Katamon and find this:
I was following Homestar Runner back in college. The SB email in which Trogdor the Burninator was born is a classic… Which is why worlds collided right there, on Hizkiyahu Hamelech street, where the Trogdor of my pre-aliyah days meets Anglo youth culture of Jerusalem.
TROGDOR!!
TROGDOR!!
Not quite street art, but temporarily tonight Keren HaYessod street was painted with the anger and frustration of local teachers:
The sign reads: “Brother, brother! Your son is my student!”
Sometimes, this country seems like one big block party where literally everyone is separated by a few degrees. In this case, the holders of the sign make an excellent point, bringing the strikes home for the members of the National Labor Court, which is where they were stationed tonight. The same teachers who are striking are the professionals who are currently not in classes teaching your children… Bridging the gap between lawmakers and underpaid professionals.
A serious message from the streets of Jerusalem: The Hebrew alphabet is written out with every third letter underlined and the message below is “One out of three women are raped…”
Eerie in any language.
A friend of my husband comes to Israel every once in a while and takes pleasure in his hobby of street arting Jerusalem. He comes equipped with a message and a talent. Thankfully, he also has a sense of humor:
The Hebrew reads: “HaNitzachon HaAmiti” or, “The true victory” and the graphic is… well, you took 9th grade biology, didn’t you?
This one had us laughing when we realized what it meant:
I’m not going to give it away… Read it really fast… And think in Hebrew.
Don’t get it? Here it is in literal English: “Enough of the conquering.” A highly political message, but well done.
The first time I saw this one, it was Cookie Monster that caught my eye, of course. But the phrasing below His Munchiness is anything but yummy:
”Soldiers are not cookies.”
No, they are not. You can’t consume your own 18-21 year-old population like Cookie Monster devours his cookies. They are also not trash, that you can just dispose of carelessly; Oscar would be very grouchy about that.
Won’t you tell me how to get, how to get to security and peace?
If you live in, or even visit Jerusalem, you can’t help but come across some very - creative - street art. It’s taken pretty seriously and also not seriously.
Personally, I think street art is the new bumper sticker as far as Israeli political/social expression. Unless, of course, it’s just meant for smiles.
Here it is, the Jerusalem street art series, kicked off with a kickback to an awesome thing: