Category: English

No Voice For Peace

The big events of OneVoice movement were postponed. It began with threats against the event in Jericho, which led to it’s cancellation. A day or two later, the event in Tel Aviv and all the other mirror events around the world were canceled by Daniel Lubetzky’s movement.

I was communicating with them via email and I’ve also followed their blog. They have been preparing for this big day for many months. All their energy was directed towards October 18th. I had the privilege to meet Lubetzky in Tel Aviv, tow months ago, and was impressed by his positive and optimistic spirit.

They had a tough choice. They could let the show go on, without the Jericho event. This would send a message saying that despite the threats and the cancellation of the Jericho event, they are still pursuing peace.

On the other hand, that would have missed the main message: One Voice. Without the parallel event in Jericho, there wouldn’t be one united voice for peace.

I hope that the events are only postponed, and that a new date will be set up soon. Insisting on having parallel events, as originally planned, and making it happen after this week’s disappointment, will just make the message stronger. A terminal cancellation will be a big blow.

Free Hugs Anniversary

The Free Hugs movement / campaign / initiative / whatever celebrated it’s one year anniversary. A small street party was thrown in Rabin Square.

Free Hugs Anniversary

More Free Hugs Pictures.

I got to know the Israeli huggers from the very beginning. I randomly met on the street, took some pictures and posted them. They wanted my pictures, contacted me, and invited me to join their next session.

They offer free hugs every Tuesday afternoon, and I began joining them, later becoming friends with some of them. In the past months, I’ve rarely gone there. The media made a big story, and many people doubted that they’ll prevail. But since October 2006, they’re on the street every week. Additionally, more hugging groups have sprung across the country.

The celebration, this Tuesday, contained mostly mingling, and not too much hugging of strangers. It was fun meeting all the “generations” of huggers. Some of them are deep into “New Age” culture, and some are just “normal” people.

There were special guests from Italy: Luca and Giordano. They are traveling from Italy, overland, across Europe and the Middle East. We all asked them how was Syria for them. The answer was disappointing: They told us that as soon as they appeared on the streets with the Free Hugs signs, the police approached them, fearing that they were starting some demonstrations or public disorder of any kind. So, they didn’t do much hugging over there.

So, this anniversary was fun. The huggers’ dedication, much after Juan Mann’s buzz, is very impressing.

Mixtape of Political Protest Songs – I’m selling it!

No I haven’t made a fresh mixtape of Political Protest Songs. I just put the mixtape “on sale”.

There’s a new Web 2.0 site called Mixaloo. They offer users to mix a tape and offer it for sale on their site. The revenues are shared between the Mixaloo and the user.

I reached this site through a promotion on TechCrunch, which I was lucky to enter. Officially there are only 1000 invitations to TechCrunch readers, but I doubt that I’ve been so quick with responding to the promotion. TechCrunch is popular, so I’m sure there were more than “only” 1000 invitations.

So., here’s the mixtape for sale:

I recommend buying the full albums that I’ve featured in the mixtape. U2, Tracy Chapman, Bob Dylan, R.E.M, Sting, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Neil Young and Pearl Jam are all superb artists. I chose songs that I love from albums that I love, with many live performance versions. Preferably, buy albums at a local store, and not through iTunes or a big network.

I doubt that someone will pay $9.90 for the mixtape. But, it’ll sure be an interesting experiment…