Touring Gaza via Tel Aviv
Touring Gaza via Tel Aviv
Interesting, artsy tourism idea here in Tel Aviv. A tour of Gaza through the streets of Tel Aviv was just formed up. The idea? You go on a website, download a map of Gaza City superimposed onto Tel Aviv and follow the map to 20-odd spots in town. Once you go there, you find a sticker on a wall/signpost and dial a local phone number printed on it. When you go there, you’ll hear a short story about the corresponding spot in Gaza City.
The tour was created by You Are Not Here, an “urban tourism mash-up website” that also created a tour of Baghdad through the streets of New York. The audio dialogue (all in English) for the pieces is written and performed by Palestinian journalist Laila El-Haddad (The Guardian), who also writes the popular blog Gaza Mom. El-Haddad is a Gaza native who has been vocal in her desire for one state to rule over the whole of historic Palestine. According to the map’s creator, Israeli graphic designer Mushon Zer-Aviv, his decision to work with El-Haddad was designed to provoke Israelis and others:
“I wanted someone from there to choose [sites] and talk,” he says. “There is a problem with Israeli art that talks for Palestinians. I looked for a character that had an unapologetic tone, one that is different from the pleasant and secular Palestinian who is ‘easy’ for us. Laila for example, does not believe in the concept of ‘two states for two peoples’ and we do not always see eye-to-eye on political issues. However, she is accessible, sensitive and touches one’s heart.”
I went on a guided tour of the Gaza-in-TLV sites a few days ago that was given as part of the recent ArtTLV biennial, given by a very capable and exuberant fellow journalist. The audio descriptions of the sites are interesting, well-performed and evocative; the maps that mashed-up Gaza City with Tel Aviv were well done.
But… it was all in English. The recorded stories were not told in Arabic and no written/spoken Hebrew description was given. The Israeli-Palestinians just a mile down the road in Jaffa, who may well actually have relatives in Gaza, are excluded from the project unless they are fluent English speakers. For that matter, so are the vast majority of Israeli Jews who are not fluent in English. Instead, it was a project aimed at international tourists, foreign expatriates in Israel and the small fringe of Israelis — mostly wealthy Tel Avivians and Jerusalemites — with university-level English skills. A bit of preaching to the converted there, but what can you do.
I would have really dug hearing this project in Arabic and Hebrew too, if only to practice my skills. Oh well… next time.
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Neal,
This link was sent to me by a friend. Please allow me to make some corrections that many of my destractors like to get wrong: I am NOT Palestinian-American, just Palestinian -I do not have US citizenship, just the accent (which last time I checked, doesn’t make you a national); also, I, like many others increasingly, am a vocal supporter of a democractic one-state solution- one person, one vote, all parties and people included.
Oh other thing: the project WAS recorded in Arabic (by a 1948 Palestinian), as well as in Hebrew, but I believe (and Mushon can say more about this) the latter proved too labor intensive to follow through on (we lack funding and this is a completely pro bono initiative)
Thank you,
Laila (Gazamom)
Thanks for the clarifications, Laila – I misinterpreted some of your blog posts and apologize for the confusion.
In any case, I enjoyed the project and you did a good job with it.
Best,
In response to another comment. See in context »Neal
whoops, that should have read detractors
Hi Neal,
thank you for your post. I actually agree with you about the necessity of a Hebrew version, but it comes down to a time issue. Laila do not speak Hebrew and to find dedicated translators/actors to produce translated audio clips is a tough task.
In the interest of making the project sustainable, we decided to choose English as the language to go with, so we can also make sure to update it every now and then. But yes, I agree with your that this decision does also means some of those experiencing the work will have a harder time following the content.
Since this is an ongoing project, and we intend to upload new and updated maps to the site every now and then, what would, in your perspective be the way to go? Do you think we can get volunteers to help translate, record and sustain the project?
Thanks again for your post and for your constructive feedback.
Mushon