world FIVE DAY SALE 200/ 0 OFF Friday May 17- 21 Thursday Saturday Sunday Monday THE LOWEST PRICE MARKED* Shop Sherwood ... it's worth it. ee addias via/ azfrt 2 % OFF erie klate4t ~4/eel* I *Does not include Ekornes®, BDI or American leather sleeper. I 1 Must present coupon. Offer valid May 17-21, 2012. NM MI .11 M. MN MI =I JIM a Hours: Mon, Thur, Fri, Sat 11-7 • Sun 12-5 Tues, Wed by appointment 6644 Orchard Lake Road, just South of Maple West Bloomfield (248) 855-1600 www.sherwoodstudiosinc.com studios . 30 May 17 • 2012 Jerusalem Day from page 29 pilgrimage, a rehearsal for the renewal of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem when the Temple will be rebuilt. It is the largest event within the celebration of Jerusalem Day. Despite my years in Jerusalem, I had never experienced Rikud Degalim. The extravaganza and carnival-like event amazed me, with its throngs of young women dressed in blue and white, hold- ing Israeli flags and singing popular reli- gious songs as they marched. The names of their schools printed on their shirts revealed their affiliation with the settle- ment movement. They read Elad, Efrat, Bet-El, Atniel, Gush Etzion and more. Police estimated 25,000 participants. Soldiers and police were all around, making sure marchers did not go onto the sidewalk where Palestinian shopkeepers watched the parade in front of their stores. While walking on the sidewalk toward a shopping area in east Jerusalem, I chat- ted with several shopkeepers and asked how they felt. One said he doesn't care anymore, adding in Hebrew, it is Yom haApartheid, "Apartheid Day!' Aggressive Behavior Several days later, I found many film clips posted online documenting the other segment of Rikud Degalim, the male one, which I had not witnessed. (In keeping with strict observance of Jewish law, a sep- aration between men and women is kept throughout the route. Only in the evening do marchers merge at the Western Wall for a public prayer and ceremony.) Jerusalem Day 2011, it should be noted, marked the first time in the history of Rikud Degalim that the starting point was moved from downtown west Jerusalem into the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem. Because of construction on Jaffa Road and pressure from Am kaAri (the ultra- nationalist religious organization heading the annual Rikud Degalim), the munici- pality gave permission to reroute the procession to Sheikh Jarrah. The police, suspecting trouble between the ultra- nationalist marchers and the Palestinians and their Israeli supporters, mobilized nearly 2,000 police for the event. Around 4:30 p.m., more than 15,000 men left Israeli National Police Headquarters on Highway One and headed for the Old City. Several thousands entered Sheikh Jarrah for a reception ceremony organized by Jewish settlers of the Palestinian neighborhood. When the procession entered Authuman Ben-Afaan, the main street, Rikud Degalim was confronted by Jewish and Palestinian pro- testers — members of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Group. The protesters shouted, "Get out of here, occupiers,""Sheikh Jarrah, don't despair; we will end the occupation" and "Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies!' The Rikud Degalim participants coun- tered with "You are traitors;' `Butcher the Arabs;' "Death to leftists;' "Muhammad is dead" and "The Jewish nation lives!' The procession continued to the out- skirts of Sheikh Jarrah, to the grave of Shimon HaTzadik, Simon the Pious. Rabbi Yizhak Zeev Pindrus, senior deputy to the mayor of Jerusalem and a member of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism, welcomed the marchers and assured them the municipality will continue to build in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which he referred to as Shimon HaTzadik. After the welcoming ceremony, Rikud Degalim made its way back to Highway One. A group of several hundred young men separated itself and approached the main mosque on Authuman Ben- Afaan. On its roof were a number of Palestinians waving Palestinian flags. Several bystanders were outside the mosque watching Rikud Degalim pass- ing by. In the middle of this mayhem, a member of Rikud Degalim ran into the mosque with an Israeli flag, but was stopped by the police. The other marchers danced closer and closer to the mosque, obscenely flashing their fingers and spitting at bystanders while enthusiastically reciting an incen- diary, insulting song whose repeating refrain began with: "May your village burn down. Listen well, you Arabs! We don't want any making-up." The song continued, describing Islam's founder Muhammad as "not a prophet, just another Arab" with "a mustache full of fleas." The verse then descended into sexual insults before proclaiming, "Muhammad is dead, Muhammad is dead!' The videos of Rikud Degalim at Sheikh Jarrah and in the Muslim Quarter have been haunting me. I know that of the more than 25,000 participants, only a hundred or so took part in the aggressive behavior. While there can be no justifica- tion for that behavior, I wonder if it repre- sents the current atmosphere among the settlers. Do the Hilltop Youth (known for their "price-tag" policy of retribution toward their Palestinian neighbors in the West Bank) represent more than their relatively small number? As I am writing this and planning the next "Middle East Experience: Journey to Understand the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" trip for this Jerusalem Day, these scenes keep replaying in my head. Will the White Soldier be on patrol there again? What will be the course of Rikud Degalim? How will I participate this year? ❑ Shifra Epstein of Ann Arbor was born in Israel, served in the Israeli army and graduated from Hebrew University before earning her doctorate in anthropology/folklore in the U.S. She is a folklorist interested in Israeli, Jewish and Palestinian cultures and society, and an adjunct assistant professor at Wayne State University.