Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Jewish Propaganda

Well, I was traveling through the West Bank recently and saw a bunch of cutesy little signs at many points along one of the major highways that upon closer inspection are extremely interesting. Here I will post them, with some of their translations for all y'all who don't speak so much Hebrew.
This one says, next to the cute little kid with the fake beard standing on top of a ladder, "Bethel. The place where the story of Jacob's Dream occurred. Judea and Samaria (Hebrew term for the West Bank): The Story of All Jewry"This one might be a little harder to see- but the picture is of a boy and a girl, dressed like old beduoin types. "Derekh Ha-Avot. The place where the stories of Abraham and Sarah occured. Judea and Samaria: The story of all Jewry." As well, I like this picture because, yes, that really straight line of houses back there is a settlement. This one is interesting as the kid is dressed like the ancient high priest- complete with breastplate and 12 precious stones. "Shiloh. The place where the story of the Tabernacle occurred. Judea and Samaria: the story of all Jewry."
So the thing I really don't get about these posters: what are they trying to say and who is their intended audience? Any settlers out there already know exactly what the land is and where all those biblical stories happened. Are they seriously trying to convince the Arabs? Or is this simply a propaganda blitz intended for the small number of foreigners who come through the area? Kinda hard to think of the last two since the whole thing is in Hebrew (not English or Arabic)...I also think it's funny that there is a little number you can call for more information and a website.

1 comment:

chad said...

Great photos. I want some just like it for my political geography class. It would be fun to have permission to go wander the West Bank.