More on Israel

Since the protest outside the Israeli Embassy a few bits of information have come to light. One of the wardens at the hall I live in told me that he used to be a security guard at a nearby Embassy. He explained that the Israelis were complete cowboys. For example they would often harass him while he was walking home from work. On one occasion a suited Israeli guard demanded that he stop with one hand raised in a stop motion, the other firmly gripping a gun holstered to his midrift. This despite the fact that they are not allowed to carry hand weapons and he was merely walking down the pavement.

The Embassy itself is a sight to behold. I hope to have photos from the protest up shortly. In the mean time, picture this. The embassy is one of a number which line the beautiful, leafy Hyde Park. Most other of the embassy buildings are large estates with medium-sized fences out front. You can walk past them quite comfortably and admire the manicured gardens and exaggerated entrances with their large floppy flags. The Israeli Embassy on the other hand is surrounded by two cement barricades painted black and running the length of the front of the property. It actually reminded me of a classier, more green, less dusty version of the US Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan (minus the gun turrets). The outer barricade is manned by nervous British police officers wearing bullet proof vests, guns, batons and a number of other devices I couldn't quite make out. Behind this barricade stand at least two suited Israeli agents with dark glasses and ear pieces. The embassy is located in one of the most posh and peaceful localities in London, so this picture of barricades and armed people is quite antithetical to the general ambience of the place. That's the magic that an apartheid state can bring to a place, I guess.

Speaking of barricades, an Arab Israeli friend of mine just told me about her ordeal the other day in leaving Britain for Israel. She's an Israeli citizen, a lawyer of some years of experience, a former UN translator, and scholarship holder. She was also the victim of some over zealous Israeli security. Before she was able to board her El Al flight to Israel, she had her bags searched three times. They took all her possessions leaving her alone with her purse to go through the usual immigration process and wait nervously in the departure lounge in the hope her luggage had made it to the plane. When it came time for her to board the plane she was searched again.