Protesters crash apartheid ‘beach party’

A lone man sat on a bench in Central Park on the edge of a mock beach holding a sign reading, “When do we Jews notice that Israel is insane?” Police told him that he must leave, as that area of the public park belonged to Israel for the day. But more protesters came, and they refused to be silenced.

The Palestinian organization Al-Awda New York, organizers of the protest, stated: “On June 21st, Central Park is being handed over to Israel for the day to set up a ‘Tel-Aviv Beach.’ The Zionist Tourism Commissioner says the event is about the ‘fun and lightheartedness of Tel Aviv,’ but in reality it is a celebration of ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

The Israeli Tourism Commission promoted the day as a celebration of Tel Aviv’s 100 years of existence. The “beach” area was located in front of the Central Park Bandshell, site of many summertime concerts. A giant, double-sided billboard loomed with an enticing photo of Tel Aviv’s beach filled with sunbathers, hotels and sailboats.

On the stage a band played loud music, and below people danced. An enormous square sandbox was erected on the ground. Inside, adults and children played with beach balls, Frisbees and other beach toys. There were bikinis, beach chairs and umbrellas, banners and Israeli flags. And of course, literature tables advertising Tel Aviv’s beach resort: “Vacation in Israel!”

Everything was there—except the truth.

For instance, that Tel Aviv was created by the destruction and replacement of the Palestinian port city of Jaffa, along with the killing and expulsion of its people. It’s estimated that 95 percent of Jaffa’s residents were displaced. Today there are around 70,000 Palestinian refugees from Jaffa, according to Al-Awda.

The city of Jaffa goes back more than 6,000 years. Because of its vitality, the city was known as “the Bride of Palestine.” Jaffa was central to the Palestinian economy, culture and national identity before the 1948 Nakba (“catastrophe”) when the Zionist military arrived, backed by the U.S. and Britain.

Jaffa was finally shut down by the Israeli settler state in the 1950s.

“Tel Aviv was designated as a colonial space for white European colonizers planted in the heart of the native Arab population in Palestine—in much the same way as Europeans established themselves in apartheid South Africa,” noted Al-Awda

The day’s “beach party” was no more than a pep rally for Zionists. There was a major New York Police presence, in uniform and plainclothes. Protestors were corralled by barricades, and no protesters were permitted to leave the barricades with their signs in hand. Hecklers walked by, as well as people engaging in conversation and seeking more information.

Al-Awda’s protest of this “celebration of atrocity and expulsion” was joined by demonstrators from several organizations, including the International Action Center, Code Pink, Socialist Action, Palestinian Action Union Square East, the ANSWER Coalition, and others, including two Israelis students studying in the U.S.

One of the students, Naama, said she was there because “It’s important for Israel to be reminded of its crimes against the Palestinians. There is no happiness in this event, and the price paid by Palestinians and others must be mentioned. Israel’s behavior of 42 years is apartheid, and its liberal presentation of itself is a lie.”