Purim is over, and April Fool’s day has not yet arrived. So how do we explain this?
In a move to protest the IDF’s plan to send thousands of officers into the country’s schools on Wednesday, New Profile – a movement opposed to what they see as “brainwashing” by the army – plans to set up a demonstration in which members dressed as IDF officers will wash a large model of a human brain.
The organizers of the planned protest hope to draw attention to the IDF’s nationwide campaign for students and voice their opposition to the “militarization of Israeli society.”
“I think the fact that military officers have free access to schools exploits the status of soldiers and the status of schools,” said Lotahn Raz, a New Profile activist and organizer of Wednesday’s demonstration, which he called a “street performance.”
If this isn’t enough, Raz makes his satirical intent clear (to me, anyway):
“The army is a hierarchical organization,” Raz continued. “It doesn’t have respect for life, and they have no regard for the equality of women. It encourages following orders instead of individual thinking.” — Jerusalem Post
Although I’m sure it’s a put-on, let me point out a few obvious things just in case:
- Lotahn, you live in Tel Aviv, Israel, The Middle East, and not Berkeley, California.
- If you have a problem with the “militarization of Israeli society”, you will have to take it up with the Arabs, who are responsible for this.
- It’s not true that the army has no respect for life, in general. Just the lives of the guys trying to kill you.
- Yes, it’s hierarchical and they have to follow orders. Duh.
Update [26 Mar 2008 1858 PDT]: It’s not a joke! They actually held their demonstration. Here’s a picture of their ‘brain’:
I am struck dumb by the stupidity and self-delusion of these people.
These are people who refuse to recognize the difficult nature of the reality the people of Israel live in. This is escapism , pure and simple- the effort to deny reality by finding some simple formula for what is wrong with it.