"We earn your trust – We provide the service – We grant the security" (the official Israel Police slogan)
NO YOU DON'T !!!
I was invited to join S in a Shantipi festival which took place over the weekend up in North (Kineret). S and his reggae band were performing at the festival and I came along.
The Shantipi festival (shanty - interior peace) takes place already more than 10 years; it is a celebration of nature, art and love. Tradition started by people seeking to create a society of harmony, love and mutual understanding, people of all ages, all colors.
Sounds great isn't it? Well, it would be, if we weren't living in 1984 like society, where the BIG BROTHER is watching us!
We reached Kineret around noon (Friday), and spent a lovely afternoon on the beach to the sounds of Reggae music. S's band preformed with the sunset, they were great!!! It was really in the spirit of the festival, reggae tunes on a background of amazing sunset, happy people around, feeling of freedom!!!
They finished and with all the good vibes we set around in a circle and celebrated the good day we had.
Unfortunately our celebration was very short, as in some point out of nowhere, three policemen jumped (and I mean jumped) on S. They grabbed him and shouted loudly, we all were shocked. S asked them to take their hands out of him, we all did, so what? They were convinced they have just seen him rolling something; they picked up from the grass a small dube lying next to S. Our repeated requests to take their hands of S and talk to us in an appropriate way were not answered and only made them more angry. We asked to know their identification, and this was not answered as well. Than they put handcuffs on him, do you believe it!!! Following, they searched all our bags (we were ~ 10 people), while S is standing hand-cuffed, few meters away from where he just played the tunes of freedom, ironic, isn't it. In one of the bags (belong to a girl that was with us) they found a box, inside which there were filters and rolling paper, NOTHING else. She was also taken to investigation, don't ask me why. They found nothing else!!! S and the girl were taken to the station for further investigation. As for the rest of us, we were harassed humiliated and insulted by people who supposedly "serve us", "grant us security", what a joke!!!
It lasted for another four hours; we set outside of the police station waiting for our criminals to be released, trying to understand on which basis at all they are hold. The girl was released after an hour or so, as for S it lasted longer. All our attempts to approach somebody who will talk to us as to human beings failed, we were verbally insulted, and threaten to be taken in as well, for different very creative crimes, such as insulting a police officer or interrupting a police officer, etc'. To my question if there is no such thing as insulting a civilian, I was asked to get the hell out of there (again, not in a polite way!!!)
Finally, S was free, but not for long. As he was crossing the gates he mumbled something, which made another "nice" policeman very angry and S was ordered to get in again for offending a police officer this time. When I asked what happened again, the nice man answered and I quote "For what he just said if we weren't here he would be very hurt", I became furious, in place where I come from people do not hurt each other (this considered in my eyes a crime) and this is a police officer!!! What the FUCK!!! (excuse my language)
Anyway, it took another hour or more for S to be out, with two cases open. One for attacking an officer (they couldn’t stitch drugs case, so instead S's reaction on people jumping on him and grabbing his hands out of nowhere, which we saw as an attack, was actually S attacking the police, ridicules!!! ) and another one for offending an officer (the same one who would beat the hell out of Sas he himself said).
We left the festival in the middle of the night, tired, humiliated and very angry. What made me angry the most is the fact that I am helpless, they just do whatever they want!!!
Hey, MANAYAKIM (and I am NOT sorry for saying it), here are some suggestions for a new slogan, a more suitable one:
From George Orwell's, 1984
"…The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake.
... We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end.
... How does one man assert his power over another?
... By making him suffer. Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is inflicting pain and humiliation.
... A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself. ..."
As for me, I smoke dubes, I do!!! I am very much aware of the law and willing to face any consequences BY LAW. BUT I WILL NOT suffer humiliation as such! I will NOT!!!
We live in a country where the government is corrupted, where criminals get out of punishment because of endless "combinot", where stealing and raping is a standard. But when it comes to civilians, who smoke a dube, they are considered to be real enemies (even if there are no evidence as you see from our sad story). The government chooses to ignore the fact that hunting for people who use Kanabis is NOT solving any real problem and it is about the time to face the reality and legalize self use, but this is a different discussion.
And one last question to the police, just out of curiosity, how many drug dialers were arrested during this weekend??? How many stolen cars were found, how many crimes were solved? Or were you too busy in harassing people in a festival which is all about love, harmony, peace and FREEDOM.
"We earn your trust – We provide the service – We grant the security" – hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
