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The Rubble-Bucket Challenge

Posted August 26th, 2014 by Lesley Hazleton

If you happen to live in Gaza, the one problem with accepting the ice-bucket challenge is that it requires a plentiful supply of ice. After seven weeks of bombardment, water is in short supply in Gaza, and electricity is scarce, so there’s no way to make ice. As journalist Ayman al-Aloul noted, however, what Gaza has in abundance is rubble. In fact thanks to the Israel Defense Forces, it has whole neighborhoods of it. Thus: the rubble-bucket challenge, which I accepted this afternoon halfway round the world in Seattle.  Please consider this an open invitation to take the challenge too:

rubble_compo

(The rubble I used came, either ironically or appropriately, from a building site.)

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File under: Middle East, war | Tagged: Tags: Gaza | 6 Comments
  1. Nuzhat says:
    August 26, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    Too much of a chicken….for both, ice and rubble!
    Instead, we have a rice bucket challenge started in India yesterday. A great cause here too.
    We just got to take a pail of cooked rice to the nearest poor locality. Not too difficult for us, surrounded by starving fellow beings that we encounter each day. A practical and humanitarian move!
    Nuzhat.

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      August 27, 2014 at 10:56 am

      Totally love the rice-bucket challenge, which actually makes a difference: kudos!
      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/26/india-rice-bucket-challenge_n_5710481.html

  2. Guy de la Rupelle says:
    August 27, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Brilliant!

  3. amin tan says:
    August 27, 2014 at 5:21 am

    Dear Lesley Hazleton,
    You have been polite and assuage their ego that you use a passive or docile description of Israel armed forces as Israel Defence Forces. By doing so you are encouraging or embolden the Israel soldiers that their killing, destruction and bombing are strictly defensive in nature.
    I think it is grossly a misnomer.
    There is no such thing as Defence Forces. The prevailing fighting strategy is always attack as the best form of defence or the American calls it pre-emptive strikes.
    It would do humanity, goodwill and human welfare a lot of good if israeli is sincere by uplifting the blockade and removing all the road blocks and other humiliating treatment of human race in Palestine. What is the point of Israel continue to impose atrocities upon the Arabs of Palestine on the daily basis and at the same time they are shouting to the world that they are the vIctims.

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      August 27, 2014 at 10:53 am

      There is an irony in the affairs of men…

  4. Zmurrad says:
    August 28, 2014 at 3:56 am

    I think it is really ‘cool’. May be we can all help rebuild Gaza bucket by bucket through this challenge. Where will they begin? Overwhelming!

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