Happy Independence Day yada yada yada

By Ami Kaufman May 10, 2011 | Edit

This Independence day we decided to take the kids to the desert. It’s not the first time we did it. Two years ago we went to the same spot, the Small Crater.

It’s kind of cool to escape the crowds in the center and north of the country. The whole place seems to be engulfed in barbecue smoke. In stark contrast, the Negev roads are empty, and we even had the whole crater to ourselves.

I’ve been fortunate to travel around the globe and have seen some beautiful spots. The Small Crater is one of my favorites. As opposed to the Large Crater and the Ramon Crater, no roads go through it. It’s clean, untouched. It’s almost a perfect circle. Nature at its best.

It was nice to just take it all in.

It was nice, because this Independence day I wasn’t in a celebrative mood. I wasn’t happy that after 63 years of statehood, 44 of them were spent occupying another people.

So yeah, we’re Start-up nation. Big deal.

We have the best air-force in the world. Hurrah.

We’re top notch in medical research. Yippee.

We can make the desert green. Wow.

It all means nothing when you’ve done it while putting your heel on someone else’s neck.

So yeah, it’s nice to look at a wonder that was here way before all this crap started.

After the Small Crater, we went to the colored sands in the Large Crater.

OK, after the desert we did eventually have some meat.

Happy Independence Day, yada yada yada.

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a 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 a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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