Another View Of Israel

When I posted about the racism I saw in Israel, I was reminded of another image which has stuck in my memory all these years; it wasn’t pertinent, so I didn’t include it: so here is a post script to a post.

We were travelling on an Israeli coach between two cities; it was busy – most of the seats were taken. I was sitting on the aisle. Across the aisle – a row in front – sat a soldier. We saw soldiers everywhere – indeed, we saw guns everywhere (not something we were used to in 1970s England) – so this wasn’t surprising.

This guy was sleeping; he had his rifle cradled in his arms as he slept.

That this made the rifle point at me concerned me.

The rifle slipped from his arms onto the floor. He didn’t wake up.

As the coach sped along the road, the rifle rattled up and down the coach, just as an empty can does in almost every bus everywhere.

No one wanted to touch the gun, so for the rest of the journey, there was the sound of the rifle rattling on the floor.

Another View Of Israel

When I posted about the racism I saw in Israel, I was reminded of another image which has stuck in my memory all these years; it wasn’t pertinent, so I didn’t include it: so here is a post script to a post.

We were travelling on an Israeli coach between two cities; it was busy – most of the seats were taken. I was sitting on the aisle. Across the aisle – a row in front – sat a soldier. We saw soldiers everywhere – indeed, we saw guns everywhere (not something we were used to in 1970s England) – so this wasn’t surprising.

This guy was sleeping; he had his rifle cradled in his arms as he slept.

That this made the rifle point at me concerned me.

The rifle slipped from his arms onto the floor. He didn’t wake up.

As the coach sped along the road, the rifle rattled up and down the coach, just as an empty can does in almost every bus everywhere.

No one wanted to touch the gun, so for the rest of the journey, there was the sound of the rifle rattling on the floor.