Today I have the opportunity to teach everyone some army slang which you'll be able to use quite a lot in the forthcoming weeks if the events of the day are anything to go by.
"Tzambarim" is a contraction of "Tzamigim Bo'arim" or "burning tires" which are fast becoming the weapon of choice amongst those who oppose the disengagement plan.
Heading for Tel Aviv this morning cars were slowing to avoid 3 or 4 smoking objects between Sha'ar HaGai and Latrun with the police and fire department already on the scene. Then this evening, upon exiting the Malcha Mall in Jerusalem and approaching the main road, plumes of black smoke were in evidence and the backed up traffic made it clear that this was another incident; one of many as it turned out, the news reporting multiple traffic jams caused by protestors and their tzambarim.
There are a large number of Israelis who support the disengagement but are very sympathetic to the tragic plight of the settlers; causing hold ups for the average Israeli, who already has to sit in traffic any time he approaches the Gannot Interchange or a car rear ends another, is not going to win him over - in fact, if there is one thing that is guaranteed to tick him off, it's messing with his daily commute. As I sat in traffic this evening, I found my sympathy evaporating fast.
The smell of smoke carries the whiff of desperation. It seems that the settlers have given up on trying to talk people round and are just trying to make the process as complicated and annoying as possible for as many people as possible.
Despite the quick response of the security forces (at the tax payers expense of course), I fear we're in for a long summer on the roads.
Gilly
3 comments:
well, burning tires in the middle of the road and causing traffic jams isn't exactly going to win more supporters... sure it shows that you're ticked off, but if you want more people to back you, annoyance maybe isn't the best route to go
The anti's who do this remind me of the spoilt kid who says to his parents:
"If you don't buy me a Playstation I'm going to pour coffee in the TV".
Yellow Boy
and for those who started off with little sympathy then it just gets worse. you are absolutely right that the settlers have managed to convince no-one and are now just causing trouble.
in fact, nothing has changed since 1967 it appears.
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