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Monday, December 04, 2006

The bubble-wrap protest

From YNet:
The plight of Sderot's residents struck a chord with students from the Jerusalem Visual Theater School who decided to opt for an ironic display of protest in their effort to convey frustration with the state's continuous foot-dragging over the residential fortification project.

The students decided to go ahead and fortify a home in Qassam-struck Sderot by themselves. With bubble wrap.

The students call it a social-art project, but Merav Svirsky, who used to live in nearby (and often Qassam target) kibbutz Be'eri said that the group has no political pretensions.

Wrapping the house in Sderot with bubble wrap (Photo: Amir Cohen)

"We aren't holding a political protest because we don't have political solutions," says Svirsky, "we're not pretending to save the day or come up with solutions. We came here to discuss the fortification problem and the absurdity that it has been dragged for so long. There is protest in our actions, but no political statement."

The house selected for the bubble treatment belongs to Moshe Nagar who lives in the heart of town. His house has been damaged by Qassam rockets more than once in the past.

"At first I thought that they were coming to fortify my house, so I was pleased," said Nagar, "but even after Svirsky told me it was only a display I agreed."

Nagar says that one of the reasons he agreed to have his house bubble-wrapped was his desire to keep the fortification issue on the agenda.