The Terror and violence in Jerusalem's eastern neighborhoods has become a routine, but it turns out that in between throwing stones and Molotov cocktails the local youth are trying to maintain the balance with a cold beer and a little something to burn...
At the main entrance to Beit-Hanina neighborhood there is a pair of broken traffic lights that have been out of function for over a year now. After numerous cases of vandalism and the theft of traffic signs and lampposts, the Jerusalem municipality decided to send the traffic lights to an early retirement – vehicle movement would manage by itself, and Allah will help.
If you ask the local residents they will tell you that this is the official policy of the authorities, who prefer to avoid dealing with this part of town as much as possible. “If I call the police and tell them that one of the residents here stabbed his neighbor – it does not interest them,” says Walid, a 22 year old youngster who works in a local shawarma shop “The only thing that matters to them is that the violence will not extend to the Jewish neighborhoods”.
But Walid has passed the stage of complaints about discrimination a long time ago because “whining about the situation did not help me at all, at least we have learned to enjoy what we have,” he says and immediately takes another generous toke from the Joint in his hand.
At a time when tension between Jewish and Arab populations in the holy city reaches new heights, it seems that the last common denominator left between the two is getting high at the end of the day.
No Beer please
Once the last customer leaves, Walid locks the shop and we both went walking in the streets of Beit-Hanina. Some of the walls are decorated with graffiti calling for the liberation of Palestine, and I start to notice the significant difference between the relatively well-kept main street (where the light rail is) compared to the side alleys of the neighborhood.
After about fifteen minutes of wandering, we reach to an open area overlooking an enchanting hill with the sundown starting in the background. A few of Walid’s only male friends joined us and after a brief introduction we all sit together under the colored sky to share another Joint and a bottle of cider.
“Nobody here drinks beer?” I asked them in light of the conspicuous absence of alcoholic beverages “beer is only inside, indoors,” explains Faraj, “Here in Beit-Hanina we’re not allowed to drink alcohol just like that in the street, there is not even a single store in the neighborhood that sells alcoholic beverages, it is against Islam.”
When a Muslim girl falls in love with a Christian boy
“What about women?”I’m trying to change the subject: “They do not join your meetings?” “Women are a sensitive issue,” replies Ahmed, “Usually it is not acceptable that a woman will sit in the evening with the men to drink and smoke with them.”
I asked the friends to explain to me what is the usual procedure for when a male meets a young woman in the neighborhood and he would like to get to know her better – how can he get her phone number without being concerned that he would find her brothers waiting for him under his house armed with a blackjack?
“This is very dependent on her family,” says Walid, “There are all sorts of people in the neighborhood, everyone has a different religious view and a different level of education… but also in the ‘open’ families, it is customary that at some point after a couple are going out for a while that the man should go to the girl’s family and talk with the father – it’s not good that they will wander around together for a long time without the families knowing and agreeing”.
“And what will his parents tell him if he brings them home a Christian girl?” I tried to challenge Walid. “They will say ‘welcome!'” he replied emphatically. “Islam has no problem if I marry a Christian woman, she does not even need to be Islamized, although it is preferable. Of course, their kids will be Muslim anyway, according to Muslim law.”
Enough with the discrimination
In the background I can hear the call from the mosque urging residents to come for the ‘Aasha prayer’ (the last prayer of the day), I suddenly remember that I made sure to arrive with a little treat for the friends.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a “king-size” joint of fine medical cannabis. the sweet aroma reached the nostrils of a guy named Rami, who immediately confirmed his hypothesis with a big grin on his face: “Ooohhh, that’s green is it?” I nodded positively, “I love this smell so much – it takes me back to America.”
It turns out that Rami is an American born & raised, but longing for the homeland of his ancestors has led him to Palestine. He came to Beit-Hanina a few years ago and decided to do what Americans do best – he opened a Burger restaurant. “When I first came here there were still many Jews who came to the neighborhood and bought items in the shops,” says Rami, “Now the situation is different. I can’t remember the last time an Israeli entered my restaurant.”
But the lack of Jewish clientele is not the only problem that Rami has to contend with: “When I lived in the United States I hardly drank alcohol – not because of religion, simply because I did not like the effect, and the place was full of excellent weed in every corner so I preferred to smoke.” He continues to reflect on the good times in America, “but this country is another world, the adult generation in this neighborhood are still looking at the whole cannabis issue wrong – for them smoking a joint is for junkies – besides the material here is in very poor quality, the hash that I get here does not get even compare to the weed in Atlanta.”
Rami takes another toke from the Joint, I can see that he enjoys the taste, and probably is stoned. “You mean to tell me you never got to smoke weed in Palestine at all?” I ask him. “Almost never,” he says, “I understand from friends that there is a small amount of good cannabis going around here, but I do not get to smoke it. This is probably a privilege that only the Jews have, we Arabs are damned with this disgusting hashish.”
In the Israel of 2017 the “chosen people” get to enjoy high grade cannabis while the unfortunate Arabs get stuck with bad shit, and if this is not an example of an apartheid state, I do not know what is …
Originally Published in Weed World Magazine Issue 128