The Jerusalem municipality and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs is behind this promotion in the occupied Old City of Jerusalem: a knights festival on three Thursdays this month. (Full text at the site). Fourth year in a row.
At the festival, the audience will meet dozens of knights, various interesting figures, knights battles, markets and heroic stories… wander around the Old City on magical evenings… take part in ancient dances, watch knights fighting.
Is it innocent? Is any militaristic white-guy festival in an occupied city innocent? Do you remember how much trouble George W. Bush got in when he used the word “crusade” in the context of the American occupation of Iraq; the man had let his guard slip, in the clash of civilizations. What will these knights do to the Jews– or the Muslims?
/Is it innocent? Is any militaristic white-guy festival in an occupied city innocent? /
Something wrong with being white guy now ?
Isn’t it racist to say something like that?
Oh for pity’s sake– they are truly mad, as if it were ever in doubt.
It’s a desecration, and another in a long line of provocations. Will the Occupied Palestinians be allowed to partake in the macabre “festivities”?
(Where, oh where, is Saladin?)
Is it innocent? Is any militaristic white-guy festival in an occupied city innocent?
Neither innocent nor a “militaristic white-guy festival in an occupied city”. It’s about cultural identification and tourism. It’s an attempt to show that Jerusalem is just another, normal European town with some old walls, where we can dress up as knights and ladies, joust and play the hurdy-gurdy. No ethnic cleansing, home demolitions, apartheid, walls of the non-romantic variety, etc. Just good clean European fun. And after you’re done, you can follow the “Judea and Samaria wine trail” and pretend you’re in Bourgogne.
“Is it innocent?”
Not a flaming chance! It’s to reming the CZ (et al) tourists that their European ancestors were at war with the ‘Ayrabs’ nearly a millennia ago just as the poor Israelis are – and that plus ca change, in the current time, they’re still the enemy.
I hope the Crusaders win this time.