Palestinian Literature Festival: Day Five

The second annual Palestinian literature festival, PalFest, is currently being held. It stopped in Jerusalem on Saturday.

Shaanan Street wrote in Yediot Acharonoth:

Palestinian lovers of literature from my city looked forward eagerly to Saturday, May 23, the date on which the festive opening ceremony of the PalFest, the second annual Palestinian literature festival, was to be held.  It is easy to understand why. International cultural events are rather a rarity in Jerusalem, and all the more so in its eastern quarters.

PalFest is a young and ambitious festival, which is partially funded by UNESCO and by the British Council, and it is attended by male and female authors from across the Arab and Western world.

Watching a YouTube clip that I reached easily by means of the official festival website, and which was watched (on the day since it was posted) by thousands of surfers, I saw clearly how the cultural interest and festivity of the event was supplanted by shock and helplessness as soon as some 10 Israeli policemen (who appeared to me in the clip to be rather embarrassed) arrived to prevent the event from being held.

If only we could, both the public and the government, make room for the Palestinians' feelings as they are expressed in contemporary culture and literature, without becoming so frightened, perhaps we would be able to welcome the birth of a relevant cultural discourse in Jerusalem.

Until then, however, we are probably going to continue to whine about the dearth of culture and to behave in keeping with the cultural codes to which we've grown accustomed. Codes that involve stopping mouths, shutting ears and thuggish and blind clichés that every person can observe from his home without any difficulty on the internet.