Ziggy Marley brings message of peace to war-torn Israel

By Jo-Ann Mort,
July 31, 2006

Entire families are crammed in rooms for long stays.

Shai and Orit Erera and their 8-month-old daughter, from Haifa's suburbs in northern Israel, are there for 10 days, subsidized by Shai's company, IBM. Unfamiliar with Marley's music, Shai said he is glad nonetheless that night life continues. "When you pass the Haifa line, it's like going abroad."

Marley, whose wife is Israeli, is in the country to perform a weekend concert originally scheduled for Achziv Beach -- within shooting range of the Lebanese border -- and a second concert in a Tel Aviv nightclub. But after the Katushya rockets fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon landed in Israel's northern cities, organizers moved the concert further south, collapsing two nights into one.

They decided on a beach on the Sea of Galilee -- until Katushya rockets hit nearby Tiberias, so they moved even farther south, to Ra'anna, an upscale, suburban-style city of 70,000 about half an hour from Tel Aviv.

A week earlier, Ra'anna saw starkly different gatherings: two large funerals took place in the military cemetery for local soldiers killed in Lebanon.

Crowds are sparse

Last Thursday, 7,000 people filled the park. In Israel, Thursday nights mark the beginning of the weekend, and often, conscript soldiers, most of whom are in their late teens and early 20s, get leave to let off steam. But now, few soldiers are among the crowd of mostly high school and university students, Baby Boomers and young families with children.

Summer is time for outdoor concerts and festivals in Israel. But cultural performances are sparsely attended these days, even in safe spots such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and they are canceled in the north.

Marley's concert appears to be an exception. It's overflowing. Israelis want to encourage foreign talent to appear here, especially during difficult times.

And rock music provides a lifeline and an escape.

"It's important for us to feel part of the bigger agenda of the world. It brings a lot of energy," says Hanan Pomagrin, a 39-year-old architect from Tel Aviv who's not upset by the change of venue or worried by the rocket attacks. "In the Middle East, you can't make plans for maybe more than two hours ahead."

Eldad Elazar, 26, a film student from Sderot, where Qassam rockets, lobbed by Palestinian militants in Gaza, keep falling, says he's ready to fight if Israel calls up more reserve soldiers. Elazar, who wants to be the "Spike Lee of Israel," is of Ethiopian descent. A number of Israeli Jews from Ethiopia are in the crowd.

Amit Dadun is here with two childhood friends. He lives near Afula, where the Katushyas have hit. "It's a little weird being here, but we need to continue." He adds: "We came here to forget about the war and now you come and remind us."

But it's Marley who reminds the crowd, with an extremely political set. He sings about the war in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

In a song called "Shalom, Salaam," he asks, "Who will take the blame for my children dying from tanks and suicide bombers?" referring both to Israeli tanks in Gaza and Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel.

Adina Kruger, a religious university student from Be'er Sheva, is here in spite of the message. "I don't like people from outside making peace for Israel. I came for music, not to talk to him," she says, referring to Marley.

Feelings of guilt

She has several family members and friends serving now in Gaza and Lebanon, including her brother-in-law.

"He planned to come to the concert. I feel guilty by being here because I know so many soldiers who are out there."

But Rotem, who wouldn't give her last name, a female soldier on weekend leave from her duties in a northern bomb shelter, thinks otherwise.

"It sounds like a cliche, but it's nice to be at an event for peace," she says with a sigh.

The colors of the Jamaican flag flash on the stage; Marley comes back for an encore. He introduces the song his father, Bob, made famous by dedicating "something special to Israel and for Lebanon, too," to "all the mothers, women, sisters who lost children in this terrible war."

Thousands of Israelis join in for "No Mother, No Cry," as they leave the war in their region -- at least in song -- for the shantytowns of Jamaica.

"It helps them to relax and to adjust as they are used to hearing TV at home," Malanaphy says.

In one "suite" a little white poodle named Bijou is lost in the embrace of Morpheus with "Little Nemo" and his cartoon friends swimming by in an eternal loop on the TV set.

A stay at "Doggie Day Camp" without the overnight goes for 20 dollars the day.

Half of the boarders come every day. "It's better than leaving them at home alone," said Cyra, one of the pet "mothers," as she drops off her Labrador and her poodle for Day Camp before running off to the office. Here "they can socialize," she said.

For potty breaks there is a 20 square meter (215 square foot) "relief room" complete with a plastic tree. "For security reasons, no outdoor walking," says Malanaphy.

Meredith, in charge of animal recreation, says that if dogs "are aggressive or play too rough, we give them a time out in a cage" for 15 minutes. "After twice, they get the message," she says.

The Bethesda site has room for 180 dogs and 26 cats. Cats stay in plexiglass cages known as "kitty cottages" for a mere 14 dollars plus tax a night, which includes 15 minutes of TLC -- Tender Loving Care, otherwise known as petting.

The Phoenix, Arizona-based PetSmart Inc. launched the pet hotel concept three years ago and it is "the fastest growing sector" of the pet business, said spokesman Bruce Richardson. "Now we have 32 hotels; we anticipate 240 by 2010," he said.

Gina Martin, a consumer retail analyst at Wachovia Bank, sees only growth in the pet care industry.

"General spending for pets is growing at an extraordinary pace," said Martin. "There is a trend for the treatment of the pet as another human being."

Americans spend nearly 40 billion dollars a year on their household pets -- 30 percent more than five years ago. The figure is close to what Americans spend on toys for children -- 48 billion dollars -- and more than twice the 17 billion spent on cosmetics, Martin said. (Source: Chicago Tribune)