Bissan writes (Ar) that because she believes in, among other things, the Palestinian Right to Return and that Palestine belongs to the Arab nation, she therefore opposes the upcoming visit of Mahmoud Abbas to Lebanon as well as the prospective Palestinian state intended to be voted upon at the UN.
Tag Archives: arabic
MENA: Can a Hashtag Spread Hatred?
Over the past few days, more than 250,000 Israelis have protested in the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities over the rising costs of housing and food. The protesters there borrowed much from the Arab Spring. They even carried banners that read “Leave, here is Egypt” in both Arabic and Hebrew, and used the well known Arab Spring chant where they kept the first part of it in Arabic and added a Hebrew part to it to become “Al-Shaab yurid Tzedek Chevrati” (The People demand Social Justice”).
A call for the ruler to leave: In Tunisia they used it in French (Dégagé), then in Egypt it was used translated into Arabic (Erhal), and finally in Israel they also used to Arabic text in this banner. Photo taken by Elizabeth Tsurkov (@Elizrael)
Tel Aviv, Israel – 7 August 2011
On Twitter, Egyptians followed the protests, using a derogatory hash tag that makes funny analogies [Ar] between the events the took place during the Egyptian revolution, and imaginary similar events using names of Israeli officials and mock characters instead. However the name of the hashtag #ThawretWeladElKalb, which literally translates to “Sons of Dogs Revolution,” sparked lot of debate on both sides.
Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov noticed the hashtag and tweeted her disappointment with it.
@Elizrael: Heartbreaking, coming back from the demo to twitter and seeing Arabs tweeting about #j14 with the anti-Semitic tag #ThawretWeladElKalb
She also added:
@Elizrael: While we chanted for equality and an end to the occupation, Arabs on twitter are calling #j14 “the revolution of sons of a dog”. Sick
On the other side of the border, people were divided. While some defended the hashtag, others found it inappropriate.
Palestinian Abla Awadallah asked people to dig into history before criticizing the hashtag, while Nabil Kabalan mocked what he saw as people protesting in a land that is not theirs:
@cold0shoulder: An Israeli exclusive: protesting in someone else's occupied land!
Comr4da – who agrees with Ramy Zreik [Ar] that such protests might only lead to building new settlements on occupied land – said:
@Comr4de: الى المعاتيه اللى بيأيدوا مظاهرات الصهاينه.الحل الوحيد لمشكلة السكن اللى هى سبب التظاهر هو سرقه أرض جديده لبناء مستوطنات
@Comr4de: To all those crazy people who support the Zionist protests, the only solution for their housing problem, which is the reason for the protests, is to occupy more land to build settlements.
Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff also tweeted:
@CarlosLatuff: Egyptians don't be fooled. Protests in Israel have more to do with middle class living costs than against occupation
From Tunisia, Marwan-el-Tounisi added:
@Marwouantounsi: I am Tunisian and I support this: #ThawretWeladElKalb 10000%, Die Zionists.
On the other hand many others opposed the hashtag. Sara Abdelazim believes that generalization is bad. She added:
@Lujee: So for years ppl complain that nobody in Israel speaks up against what their government is doing and when they do, they get insulted for it?
Differentiation between Jews, Israelis and Zionists in daily Arabic language is sometimes not that clear. So, Nada Iskandar – who believes the hash tag is racist – tweeted that we should pay attention to such differences. Essam El-Zamil also decided to stop using the hashtag since some of the participants in the protests are Arabs. Ahmed Saker and Amr El Gohary found the hashtag childish and non-constructive respectively.
Despite how the education systems in both sides raises hate, Kuwaiti blogger, Mona Kareem, blogged against the hashtag.
I do not hate Israelis (although the Arab educational system raises you up to hate Jews automatically, and to feel superior towards others in general) but I definitely oppose and hate the crimes done by the state of Israel, just the way I do with our Arab dictatorships (keeping in my mind that Israel has been acting way more merciful with its own citizens, unlike our almighty police-state regimes). On the other hand, I also have the same feelings towards Arab suicide bombers who kill people in a night club or a school bus. I believe killing a human cannot be justified what so ever, regardless of the ideology, identity, or religion of the victim and the victimizer.
Mona then added how the peaceful protest of Arabs in their Arab Spring shouldn't be stopped there.
Arabs cannot give up the peaceful path they chose, just when the subject comes to their “classical enemy” Israel. Arab revolutionaries should act more responsible not to contradict themselves and clearly understand what Gandhi once said “an eye for an eye makes the world blind”. They should give up their long heritage that is filled with epics about revenge represented within heroic frames.
Arabs should also understand that their revolutions will only stand up truly when they strongly believe that the revolutions are not only against figures of their regimes but also revolutions to reconstruct their cultures and root out all forms of discrimination because simply discrimination can never be justified and verbal abuse only makes you look worse. Arabs cannot label every Israeli as a criminal, and ironically enough, they do not know that people who protested recently in Israel come from different backgrounds including anti-occupation activists and Arab-Israelis.
Another Israeli blogger, The Elder of Ziyon, wrote saying that the reference of Jews as dog is historic.
The tag is #ThawretWeladElKalb, which means “Sons of Dogs Revolution”. The reference of Jews as dogs is of course a popular motif in Arab history.
In fact, calling someone a dog is also one of the most common swear words in Egypt. It is so common that it is one of the few swear words that are not censored in movies. Recently there was a debate in Egypt on whether a political reform should come first, or the rights of the poor; and an Egyptian blogger wrote a post under the name “It's the poor first, sons of dog [Ar]“, attacking those who care about political reform and constitutional changes more than social justice. The blog became so popular so that many people used to quote its title in their discussions on and off-line.
And finally, Ahmed Kamal suggested an alternative hashtag.
@ahmed_virgine: Thawret Welad El3am ,,,hom mesh bany admen zayena ….wallahe alsho3oa 3′albana al7okam homa wlad elkalb.
@ahmed_virgine: Cousins Revolution … aren't they humans like us … seriously poor people, it's only the rulers who are sons of dogs.
Further reading:
Palestine: Israeli Bulldozers Blamed for Cutting Off Gaza Telecoms
Reports are appearing online of a total communication blackout in Gaza. On Twitter, users are blaming Israeli bulldozers for the outage. Here is part of the conversation.
Egyptian Mohamed El Dahshan was among the first to break the news in a tweet:
@TravellerW: BREAKING – Israeli bulldozers break cables, sever ALL COMMUNICATIONS- mobile, landline, internet -from Gaza! http://t.co/ASIIQ1W #Palestine
JalalAK_jojo clarifies:
@JalalAK_jojo: Note: It's been almost 6 hours since Gaza went into a sudden communication blackout due to Israeli bulldozers communication networks.
And Israeli journalist Joseph Dana is confused:
@ibnezra: According to reports on twitter, communications from Gaza have been cut off. Unclear if it is Israel which cut them off
From Jordan, Ali Abunimah checks if any of his Palestinian friends can read his tweets:
@avinunu: Friends in Gaza can you read this? Report that Israel has cut off all phone/internet communications
Benjamin Doherty posts similar concerns:
@bangpound: I’m checking up on my Gaza tweeps and none have said a thing in the last hour or so…
And Andy Carvin, NPR's senior strategist, replies:
@acarvin: @bangpound Twitter proximity search around Gaza. Not much posted. https://twitter.com/#!/search/near%3A%22gaza%22%20within%3A10mi
From the US, Darryl Li tweets his attempts to contact multiple landlines in Gaza, without much success.
@abubanda: Have tried dialing multiple landlines in #Gaza via skype, including UN offices, getting error messages — not even ringtones.
He continues:
@abubanda: So far, mobiles in #Gaza I have called have been giving me standard non-service messages
And half an hour later, he adds:
@abubanda: Still not getting any ringtones in #Gaza, except in one high-level UN office (sep network?). Have tried >30 numbers, landlines & mobiles
Meanwhile, Leila is angry and calls for action:
@LSal92: Unbelievable! Israel is trying to completely shut off Gaza from the rest of the world. Stop your silence! Speak up! #Gaza
In a short news article, Maan News also blames (Ar) Israeli bulldozers cutting off cables for the outage.
Some Kadima MKs Withdraw Support for Bill Eliminating Arabic and English as Official Languages
PNN – Palestine News Network – 05.08.11 – 11:04 Tel Aviv – PNN – After initially supporting a bill in the Israeli parliament that would change Israel’s definition as a “Jewish and democratic state” to “the national home of the Jewish people,” several MKs from the opposition Kadima party withdrew their signatures from the bill. [...]
A special form for Arab passengers to warn airport ahead of their arrival
Saturday, July 9 2011|Dimi Reider | +972 Magazine Israel responded to the “flytilla” with a wildly disproportionate deployment of police and extraordinary security checks. But Palestinian citizens of Israel are discriminated at the Ben Gurion Airport on an hourly basis – and are now able to racially profile themselves, using a specially provided form to [...]
Palestine: Call to Free Khaled Zawahre
Occupied Palestine shares the plight of Khaled Zawahre, who is detained in Ofer prison, allegedly for beating up an Israeli soldier and throwing rocks. Occupied Palestine maintains Khaled's innocence and shares photographs and videos.
Palestine: Hopes Dashed as Rafah Crossing Stays Closed
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
On May 28, 2011, Egypt opened the Rafah Crossing between it and the Gaza Strip, supposedly on a permanent basis. However, Palestinians soon discovered that Egypt was limiting the number of people who could pass through the crossing, and thousands were left waiting in frustration. A week later the crossing was closed again by the Egyptians, “due to renovations“.
Still living under an Israeli blockade, bloggers in Gaza are angry that the promised freedom of movement to Egypt has not materialized. Sameeha Elwan's mother has been waiting to go to Egypt for urgent medical treatment:
Everyone was very enthusiastic about the news of opening the only official border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, I was not less enthusiastic. It was such a relief. Even with the restriction on the movement that took place only two days after the glorious news. It sounded a relief. But, it never does when you are one of the 400 other travelers who’d get turned back or who are denied access or those who have to wait. I understood how difficult it is to wait. How painful! How tortuous! But, we Palestinians seem to be destined for waiting.
Palestinians take part in a rally at the gate of Rafah border crossing. Image by ASHRAF AMRA copyright Demotix (28/05/11).
At Sleepless in Gaza, Nader writes about visiting the crossing to see for himself:
June 2nd 2011 was the first time for me to ever see the border. On the gates, I was literally jumping out of excitement that I have finally seen what is the border like with my own eyes. There was security by the gate and this huge gate, and many people were outside waiting either for friends or relatives to arrive or waiting for some traveller who wants to get the bags carried to a taxi, as a way of breadwinning.
As I waited for over 20 minutes in the hot sun waiting for the guards to let me in, I witnessed how it is like to arrive for the first time in so many years. Hugging each other so hard, kissing each other’s cheeks. And what were heart-touching the most is the happy tears. I could feel a lot whenever I witness such scenes.
As we entered the gates, we took a taxi to take us to the departure hall, where I entered with total excitement. I look around and all I see is tired people with pale looks and hopelessness. It was 4 PM by then and the borders close at 6 PM. Kids, old men and women.
The people there were of almost all ranges of ages. I talked to a few of them asking them about what is happening and why are they still in the departure hall. Finally, I came up to the conclusion that the Egyptians don’t let more than 350-400 passengers pass a day.
Ola Anan writes:
.. الناس الي كان بدها تدخل لغزة دخلت .. بس الي كانوا بدهم يطلعوا ما عرفوش يطلعوا .. بمعنى ان المرور عبر معبر رفح كان مفتوح باتجاه قطاع غزة فقط ومغلق لمن يريد الخروج نحو الأراضي المصرية .. وبعدين عبور الناس كان مشيا على الاقدام في المنطقة الجاري فيها ترميم البوابة .. بدال ما يكون باستخدام الباصات
النقطة التانية انو موضوع الترميم كله على بعضه مش منطقي !
النقطة التانية انو موضوع الترميم كله على بعضه مش منطقي !
The people who wanted to enter Gaza did so, but those who wanted to leave were unable to do so… Meaning that passage through the Rafah Crossing was only open in the direction of the Gaza Strip, and closed to those who wanted to go to Egypt… And also people were walking where the gate was being renovated, instead of using buses.
The second point is that of the renovation; it’s completely illogical!
The second point is that of the renovation; it’s completely illogical!
Laila El Haddad posts this video:
A fantastic video shot by a group of Palestinian activists exposing the realities of the much heralded opening of Rafah Crossing, which has been closed for the third day in a row.
Back to Sameeha Elwan, who concludes:
Last year, I was asked by a journalist whether I remember a time when there were no restriction over movement or when we were able to travel freely. It didn’t take me much time to answer with a “No”. I still remember how we used to celebrate my uncles by making them big banquets every time anyone of them would make it to Gaza in a day or two. While celebrating their victorious effortless 3-day journey of return, we would be chatting of the way the Egyptians, the Israelis and the Palestinians would each treat Palestinian travelers.
If I’d be asked the same question today, looking at the packed bags leaning along the room, I would still answer: No.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Palestine: The Insanity of Poetry
Damascus Remains, Throbbing Wounds, Insanity of Poetry, Tears in her Hands, Sword's Caravan and many other poems and reflections on women, human beings, war, heroism and the world by Ibrahim Shakarneh from Nahalin village, in Palestine, can be found on his blog.
Egypt: Opening of Rafah Crossing with Gaza
The post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Egypt opened its Rafah order crossing with the Gaza Strip today, allowing people to cross freely into Egypt for the first time in four years. The border, which is Gaza's main gateway to the outside world, was opened sporadically during the reign of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Following are some reactions from Twitter on this latest development.
Reporter Hannah Allam shares more details on Twitter:
restrictions on #rafah crossing: no palest. men betwn 18 and 40 w/out sp permit, students w/ proof of study in egypt ok, women all ages ok
@onelittlepixie adds:
#Rafah crossing is only available for passengers to pass through. Restrictions remain on the passing of goods.
and continues:
About 350 people left Gaza through #Rafah crossing today.
Damdoma, from Gaza, can't believe the news:
بالنسبة لفتح معبر رفح لو انو 1 نيسان كان قلت انها كذبة .. عنجد لهلأ مو مصدقة انا !! #Gaza #Rafah #Egypt
Regarding the opening of the Rafah Crossing. Had it been announced on April 1, I would have thought it was a lie. I still cannot believe it
Also, from Gaza, Ola Anan, shares similar sentiments. She tweets:
الاخبار كلها عن فتح معبر رفح .. الي انا حاساه خبر اعلامي مش اكتر .. لازم حد فينا يجرب يسافر عشان يتأكد من التغيير ! #gaza #rafah #egypt
All the news is about the opening of the Rafah Crossing. I still feel it's news for media consumption and nothing more. One of us will have to try and travel to make sure there is a change
Palestinian Mahmoud Omar, who describes himself as a refugee in Cairo, is grateful to Egypt's revolution for making this possible:
شكرًا مصر, شعبًا وثورةً وكرامة #Egypt #Rafah
Thank you Egypt, to your people, your revolution and your dignity!
Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah asks sarcastically:
هي اسرائيل هتحاربنا امتى؟ مش الناس قالت فتح المعبر هيخلي اسرائيل تحاربنا؟ و حماس هتبعت الارهابيين بتوعها يخربوا مصر امتى؟
When will Israel wage a war on us? Haven't people said that when the Rafah Crossing opens, Israel will go to war against us? And didn't they say that Hamas will send us their terrorists to destroy Egypt. When?
and Mahmoud jokes:
@alaa انا سمعت لو فتح المعبر حيدخلوا اهل غزة يخلصوا كل الجبنة والعيش، أصله الغزازوة والصين متوازيين في الكمية والاتجاه
I heard that when the crossing opens, the people of Gaza will finish all the cheese and bread (of Egypt). Apparently, the people of Gaza and those of China are equal in numbers and disposition
The post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Palestine: Survey for Netizens
A survey (Ar) is available for Palestinian netizen to update their information, for the Amin Media Network. Questions on the survey include: location; age; blogging language; and favourite citizen media platform.
Palestine: Remembering Murdered Italian Activist Vittorio Arrigoni
Long before the deadline set by his captors arrived, kidnapped Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was killed, apparently hanged. Bloggers in Gaza and elsewhere have reacted with disbelief, anger and sorrow.
Vittorio Arrigoni by Carlos Latuff (@CarlosLatuff)
Arrigoni, an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Gaza, was planning on visiting Italy soon because of his father's health [it].
Jared Malsin, who had met Arrigoni, writes:
I met Vittorio several times when I was in Gaza last year. I first met him when I accompanied him and several other activists to visit Palestinian families who had been injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes in the mid-Gaza area. He was a burley, bearded man, dressed in black and smiling wide. Talking politics the whole way, we shared the front seat of a van on the ride from Gaza City down to Deir Al-Balah. He had a tattoo of the word “resistance” (“muqawama”) in Arabic on the inside of his right arm.
He was a man who lived and died to express his solidarity with Palestinians. He was big-hearted and he was brave, twice participating in blockade-defying sea voyages to Gaza, three times jailed by Israel for his activism.
He embodied a certain spirit of the European anti-fascists of the 1930s and ’40s, who went to fight and die as partisans in Italy and Spain. “I come from a partisan family,” he once told an interviewer. “My grandfathers fought and died struggling against an occupation, another occupation. It was the Nazi-Fascist one. For this reason, probably, in my DNA, there are particles that push me to struggle.”
His murder is an outrage and an enormous tragedy.
Vittorio Arrigoni. Image by Peter Philips, used with permission.
Mohammed Rabah Suliman was friends with Arrigoni:
“Ween?” (the Arabic for “where”) was the first thing Vittorio ever asked me. He was looking for my phone number and sent me a FB message titled, “ween”. Today I ask him the same question: “ween?”
I can’t think of one reason that would make a “Palestinian” kill someone like Vittorio. A man who dedicated his life to fight injustice. A man who abandoned the luxury of Rome and came to one of the most turbulent regions in the world in order to expose Israeli atrocities committed against Palestinians. A man on whose right arm was big brilliant tattoo: resistance. A hero in whose eyes there was a whole lot of unmistakable meanings of profound love, loyalty, hope, sacrifice, truth and courage. Vittorio has done for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank more than those who killed him.
[…] Vittorio is a man who loved Gaza, he loved Gaza’s land, its sea, and its sky. Two things Vittorio obviously loved to do: to wave the Palestinian flag, and to sing “Onadikum” (I call upon you!). Wholeheartedly, Vittorio sang, “Onadikum” time and again. He poured his heart out as he sang it. It’s probably the only thing he could say so fluently in Arabic.
Now that you moved to live in our hearts, we’ll become stronger and fiercer in the battle against occupation, humiliation and injustice. Vittorio. Such an inspiration to all of us. You taught us that life isn’t worth living if one isn’t ready to fight against its injustice, and that’s what gives it a meaning, that’s what makes it all beautiful. Now, empowered by your “memory”, we’ll carry on the fight together.
Nazek Aburahma also remembers him, and she writes [ar]:
لا أعلم بصدق كيف أسطر ما أريده ، صباح يلتف بالدموع والاستياء ، استيقظت على خبر مقتل أحد المتضامنين الأجانب في مدينة غزة ، عرفته عن قرب باسم “فكتور ” في كل مرة كنت أراه فيه كنت ألاحظ شعلة الحب لفلسطين في عيونه والعلم الفلسطيني كان وشاحا ورفيقا لكل خطوة يحركها على تراب الأرض المحتلة ..
[…] ” فيكتور ” كان متحمسا وكان يلوح بيديه بعلامة النصر دائما ، والآن نلوح ورود الوداع على جثمانه ، ودموع العزاء لن تجف على جسده ، سيبقى حيا في ذهن كل حر كل فلسطيني كل انسان يتناصف أنفاس الحرية مع الآخر ، قتل “فكتور ” لكننا لن نغفر لمن قتلوه وستبقى دمائه معلقه في زاوية الآثام يتيمة حتى يعاقب من اقترف تلك الجريمة !..
لن ننساك ، ولن أنساك أبدا وستبقى فلسطين كهفا يلجأ اليه الأحرار على ترابها وان شطرت عروقنا عليها ، فحامل الرسالة اي كانت جنسيته ، ديانته يبقى مخلدا في التاريخ روحه وجسده لا يموتان ، رحمك الله يا صديق القضية والانسانية
[…] ” فيكتور ” كان متحمسا وكان يلوح بيديه بعلامة النصر دائما ، والآن نلوح ورود الوداع على جثمانه ، ودموع العزاء لن تجف على جسده ، سيبقى حيا في ذهن كل حر كل فلسطيني كل انسان يتناصف أنفاس الحرية مع الآخر ، قتل “فكتور ” لكننا لن نغفر لمن قتلوه وستبقى دمائه معلقه في زاوية الآثام يتيمة حتى يعاقب من اقترف تلك الجريمة !..
لن ننساك ، ولن أنساك أبدا وستبقى فلسطين كهفا يلجأ اليه الأحرار على ترابها وان شطرت عروقنا عليها ، فحامل الرسالة اي كانت جنسيته ، ديانته يبقى مخلدا في التاريخ روحه وجسده لا يموتان ، رحمك الله يا صديق القضية والانسانية
I truly don’t know how to write what I want. A morning swathed in tears and dismay: I awoke to the news of the murder of one of the foreign solidarity activists in Gaza City. I knew him as “Victor”; with every encounter, I noticed in him the flame of love for Palestine in his eyes, and the Palestinian flag as his companion with his every step on the soil of the occupied land…
[…] Victor was passionate, always waving victory signs, and now we wave farewell flowers to his corpse. The tears of mourning will not dry on his body, they will remain alive in the minds of every free person, every Palestinian, every human who shares the breath of freedom with another. Victor was murdered, but we will not forgive those who killed him; his blood will remain on the wall of sins until those who committed this crime are punished!
Lina at Live From Gaza writes:
Vittorio Arrigoni was a very recognizable face in Gaza. I didn’t personally know him, but I came to know about his bravery from the documentary “To shoot an elephant”. Vittorio was one of the activists who stayed during operation “Cast Lead”. He was one of the voices which told the world about the brutality of the Israeli invasion.
Sadness and anger prevail over the murder of the Italian activist. Those who claimed responsibility for the abduction and murder of Vittorio call themselves Palestinians and Muslims. But Islam washes its hands from such brutal act. Moreover, International activists who visit Gaza have always felt the warmth of the Palestinian hospitality. This will never change, the only threat the Palestinians and these activists share is the threat of the Israeli occupation.
Vittorio Arrigoni holding a Palestinian flag (profile picture from Facebook)
Also in Gaza, Omar Ghraieb gives an account of how the news of the kidnapping and murder unfolded, and ends:
Vittorio was Italian by birth but his dedication to Palestine and Gaza made him no less Palestinian than any other Palestinian, he came to Gaza many times and live here for a while. He endangered his life numerous times while working as a volunteer with the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) in Gaza when he was trying to protect farmers and fisherman, in addition to his participation in all buffer-zone protests.
Vittorio meant a lot for Palestinians, Gazans and his friends everywhere. He is a huge loss for us all, may he rest in peace.
Eva Bartlett worked with Arrigoni in Gaza:
I first heard of Vik before arriving in Gaza. Vik had just been injured by the IOF [Israel Occupation Forces/Israel Defense Forces] water canon attack which shattered the windows of the fishing boat he was accompanying. Vik had some injuries from the shattered glass. […] He was taken from Gaza, briefly, by the IOF navy, when they kidnapped 15 Palestinian fishermen and 3 accompanying activists, including Vik, in November 2008, from Palestinian waters. At the time of his abduction, he was electrically shocked while peacefully avoiding abduction by diving into Gaza’s cold waters.
He returned to Gaza, via Free Gaza again, before Israel began its war on Gaza. He continued to write and report from the enclosed, bombed Strip.
Stay human, he always said. And so was the title of his book on the Israeli massacre of Gaza in 2008-2009. Stay human. […] During the Israeli war on Gaza, we all worked together, riding in ambulances, documenting the martyred and the wounded, the vast majority (over 83%) civilian. Vik was always on the phone, Italian media taking his words and printing them for the public to see. […] He was there to joke with us, to counsel us, to smoke shisha by the sea…He wrote the truth, spoke the truth, stayed human.
Another fellow activist, Ken O’Keefe, has made this video, with footage from the press conference announcing Arrigoni’s death.
Jeff Halper from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions knew Arrigoni well:
Vik was truly a person greater than life. He was so filled with energy, a mixture of joy, camaraderie and impatience with the confines of boats and prisons like Gaza, that he would suddenly lift you into the air, or wrestle with you – he was a big, strong, handsome guy, ebullient and smiling even in the most oppressive and dangerous situations – as if to tell you: Yalla! These Israel naval ships shooting at us and the Palestinian fisherman cannot prevail over our solidarity, outrage and the justice of our cause! (Vik was wounded in one of those confrontations). He would come up behind you and say: The Occupation will fall just like this! (and he would wrestle you to the ground, laughing and playing with you as he did).
Vik, who like me received Palestinian citizenship and a passport when we broke the siege of Gaza and sailed into Gaza port in August, 2008, was a peace-maker exemplar. […] Vik worked in the West Bank as well as Gaza, and was jailed three times before being expelled by Israel. But his peace work did not take the form of activism alone. Vik was a master of communication – physical, verbal, written (his blog, Guerrilla Radio, was one of the most popular in Italy) – and he mixed personal experiences, reportage and analysis effortlessly.Vik was what we call a “witness”: someone who put himself physically with the oppressed and shared with them their triumphs, tragedies, sufferings and hopes. Yet he was one who through his actions tried to affect genuine change. […] I’ll miss you, man. But every time I feel tired or discouraged, I’ll feel you lifting me up over your head and, with your huge smile and laughter, threatening to throw me overboard if I even hesitate in throwing myself into the fight. You were and are the earth-force of the struggle against injustice.
Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras has aggregated tweets about this news on Storify which you can find here.
During the Gaza war of 2008/9 Global Voices translated and quoted extensively from Vittorio Arrigoni's blog posts. To read them click here.