One year ago this Saturday, a young Tunisian man named Muhammad Bouazizi set himself on fire after police in the southern interior city of Sidi Bouzid confiscated the goods he was trying to sell at a fruits and vegetable stand.
Authorities said he did not have the proper permits to do so. He said he had no choice but to try selling the goods after he lost his job. But Bouazizi failed to convince the policewoman who confronted him. To protest what he considered to be an injustice, he set himself ablaze.
Demonstrations in his hometown ensued, followed by a similar nationwide out-pour of support. Then, the writing was on the wall, literally. Graffiti scrawled across one municipal government office wall read, “leave you thief,” a clear message to then-President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali that he had to go. And go he did.
Tunisia's President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's picture in the street (photo: magharebia/flickr)
Inspired by Tunisia, protests across much of the region followed. In the West, they were dubbed the “Arab Spring,” a contrast to the Tunisian winter when Bouazizi gave his life.
In honor of this anniversary, I was asked by the Jerusalem Post to share my thoughts on my recent visit to Tunisia. I had traveled there earlier this year to cover the elections and found the moment to be a slice of history-in-the-making.
I invite you to read my thoughts: “Tunisia, the fire within.”
Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war – the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and the massive retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed unleashed by these events has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Hamas’ murderous assault in southern Israel has devastated and shocked the country to its core. Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza is wreaking destruction on the already besieged strip and killing a ballooning number of civilians. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to escalate their attacks on Palestinians.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 13 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, the entrenched occupation, and an increasingly normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is the leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists and activists can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.