🖤

(public post)

From Brexit to Corona to the murder of George Floyd...to riots in the US (and this is everything we know...I'm sure there's so much more) ...2020 has been...phew!

I wanted to say that I am trying to keep my head up, as I am sure many of you do too.

I am in pain and I'm sad. I'm frustrated and my mind is full of thoughts, from the second I wake up to the second I fall asleep...and it's probably haunting my dreams (that I luckily don't remember).

I shared a few thoughts on Instagram over the past 3 days. You can find them in the last 3 posts. I will do my best to make a 'regular' new post on here later on this week. In the meanwhile, I am sending all of you positive thoughts, optimism, strength with loads of hugs!

Ben x

-

#1 Words by Trevor Noah / Compagnie XY (original vid by Noah here)
“Many people online saying 'these riots are disgusting. This is not how a society should be run, you do not loot and you do not burn...this is not how our society is built'.
That triggered something in me; 'Society' - WHAT IS 'Society'.
Fundamentally, when you boil it down, Society is a contract.
It's a contract that we sign as human beings amongst each other. We sign a contract with each other as people whether it's spoken or unspoken and we say, amongst this group of us, ‘We agree in common rules, common ideals and common practices that are going to define us as a group’.
Then some members of that society, namely black American people, watch time and time again how the contract that they've signed with society is not being honoured by the society that has forced them to sign up with them. When you watch Ahmaud Arbery being shot, when you see George Floyd on the ground, and you see a man losing his life in a way that no person should ever have to lose their life at the hands of someone who's supposed to enforce the law ...What part of the contract is that?
-
In Malcolm Gladwell's book 'David and Goliath', he talks about the Principles of Legitimacy.
He says, in order for us to argue that any society, any legal body or any power is legitimate, we have to agree on core principles. Those core principles of legitimacy are based on three things:
1. The people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice — that if they speak up, they will be heard.
2. The law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today.
3. The authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.
-
According to those principles, it's safe to say black Americans have seen their principles completely delegitimise."
― Trevor Noah
⠀
📷 Compagnie XY. Primrose Hill, London, UK. April 20, 2017.

-

#2 Nazi Germany, Palestine and Kanah Flex
“Diversity is not something we tolerate, it’s something we celebrate” ― @kamasiwashington
⠀
What's happening in the USA, feels strangely familiar.
Growing up in Israel as a (white) Ashkenazi Jew, grandson of a Holocaust survivor, brings to mind pre-World-War-II-Nazi-Germany. Seeing how US citizens are treated by police, makes me think of Jews in ghettos, being restricted by the Nazis.
At the same time, I see similarities with how US police are treating the black population and how Palestinians have been occupied and treated by the Israeli army and police.
⠀
Racism in the US and Israel isn't new. We have a LONG way to go ...but it feels like civilisation is getting a good shake in the last 4 years; #MeToo movement, COVID-19 and now the rise of #BlackLivesMatter. Despite being at the lowest, I believe we're making progress.
The fact so many of us out of the USA are thinking about what's happening there and the fact it's making me think of Palestinians ...It's a mirror to examine ourselves; Where do we experience racism and oppression in our lives and surroundings? WHY does it exist? Where is it coming from and what can do about it? THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY.
⠀
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ― Martin Luther King
⠀
Photo (1): Last Saturday, Iyad Halaq, an autistic Palestinian man (32) was shot dead by Israeli police in occupied East Jerusalem, while he walked to his special needs school. As a result, an online campaign started with #PalestinianLivesMatter.
In 2015, I photographed @kanahflex for my 'Transfiguration' project. Kanah is an incredible British black dancer who worked with FKA Twigs and starred in Calvin Klein and Nike campaigns. He credited his autism for inspiring his creative drive, and would use his platform to raise awareness about it. He started dancing when he was about 15 years old.
⠀
Let me repeat Kamasi Washington's words whose quote I started this post with: “Diversity is not something we tolerate, it’s something we celebrate”.
⠀
2 - Cartoon by @sabaaneh
3 - Iyad Halaq and George Floyd
4 - Israeli protesters drew parallels with the killing of George Floyd in the US

-

#3 Bring down the government
Radiohead's 'No Surprises' came out as a single in 1998.
Their words "Bring down the government, they don't speak for us" are now more relevant than ever, 22 years later.
Ever since I was a kid I had a feeling that something was wrong. It was also one of the reasons that made me leave Israel and move to the UK in 2008. We all have this feeling. We all know what needs to be done.
We need to remove this structure from our society.
Finance, education, health...all of these systems must go through a fundamental reform. Deep restructure.
The 'Governments' concept is over. It is not by the people and it is not for the people.
⠀
I am not the Israeli government.
I am not the Israeli army.
I am not Israeli.
I am a human.
-
All of the Americans are not the US government.
They are not the US police.
They are not the US army.
They are humans.
-
We are all humans (it’s crazy but we need to be reminded).
⠀
Bring it down. Bring it to a human level.
All of these titles are an illusion.
There are no governments. There is no police. There is no army.
Bolsonaro, Erdoğan, Netanyahu, Trump ...and the list of dictators goes on.
BRING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT THEY DON'T SPEAK FOR US
⠀
The future is not governments, police or armies.
The future is people. Earth, nature, life, humans.
Respect. Harmony. Love.
⠀
The revolution will be televised.
Turn up the volume.
We are coming.