White Night in Tel Aviv: 'Jewish Girls Don't Go With Blacks' [View all]

[Purveyor]

Although organized anti-African protests and attacks seem to have become less frequent in south Tel Aviv, a group of friends encounters a new type of organized racism during the city’s “White Night” celebrations.

By Leah McDonnell and Rebecca de Vries

Racial tension in south Tel Aviv is not a new phenomenon, generally taking the form of xenophobic marches, protests and anti-refugee demonstrations. Although the number of protests and participants seems to have diminished, there is a new, developing trend. As of late, there appears to be an increase of smaller, more individualistic attacks against refugees in the south of the city.

As the research I have been working on focuses on the issues of crime in south Tel Aviv, I believe it is safe to say that these incidents are increasing in frequency. Researching this topic has brought me in contact with many people who have suffered from racist attacks (both verbal and physical), but on the evening of June 27th, I became part of my own research.

A group of friends – six of us in total, one happened to be African – went out to partake in the “White Night” festivities taking place throughout the city. The start to the evening was wonderful, with hundreds of people walking around, live music and lots of cheer – people all around were laughing and enjoying themselves. After a few hours, we began to walk back through the busy streets and decided to head south on one of Tel Aviv’s major thoroughfares, Alenby. It was then that our night took a very dark turn.

As we made our way back to south Tel Aviv, two young men wearing matching black security uniforms and yarmulkes approached us. They first asked, “Is the kushi with you?” (Kushi is a derogative Hebrew term for black person.)

A conversation between my friend and the aggressors went as follows:

“He is my boyfriend, leave us alone,” my friend said.

“In that case we have a few questions for you.”

“I am not interested in your questions.”

“Why? Are you an idiot? We are from the security!”

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http://972mag.com/white-night-in-tel-aviv-jewish-girls-dont-go-with-blacks/75198/