Cheat Seeking Missiles

Posted by: Laer at 04:41 am

s an odd and spirit-rebuilding counterpoint to the violence and totalitarianism going on in Iran, you can’t beat this: A handful of Gazan surfers loosely tied to their Israeli counterparts whom they’ve never seen, surfing for peace.

The story starts with Mohammed Abu Jayyab, 35, and Ahmed Abu Hasiera, 29, Gazan lifeguards who saw surfing on TV and managed to bring in a cheap surfboard from Israel during a lax moment in tensions. The Times (UK) picks up the story:

The two men shared their single beaten-up board for years as the siege tightened and Israel launched deadly raids into Gaza, fighting Hamas and other militant groups firing rockets into southern Israel. Then, two years ago, their story was picked up by an American newspaper and was spotted by an elderly American who had introduced surfing to Israel half a century ago.

Don Paskowitz, a surfer from California, moved to Tel Aviv in 1956 and introduced what was then the eight-year-old Jewish state to the art of riding the waves.

In 2007, aged 86, he was inspired to repeat his mission in the besieged, war-torn slums of Gaza. He took a dozen surfboards down to the huge checkpoint in the fence surrounding the tiny enclave. After a certain amount of haggling, he was allowed to hand over the boards to Mohammed and Ahmed, who had gone to the other side to meet him.

From that moment, a loose organisation called Surfing 4 Peace grew, although because of the strict travel restrictions in and out of Gaza, neither Ahmed or Mohammed has ever been able to meet any of the Israeli surfers involved.

A few years ago, there were only two surfers in Gaza. Now there are at least 20, bobbing out at sea as bemused Gazans look on, some of them sitting in deckchairs by the water’s edge, smoking waterpipes.

“In sports, there is no war,” says Ahmed. “Hamas guys do surf.” So did Fatah guys before they were ousted.

So they surf the fetid, sewage-rich waves off Gaza, hopeful that someday they’ll be able to compare notes with Israeli surfers, and maybe even see some of those California girls we wish they all could be - you know, the ones that go to the beach in bikinis, not burkhas.

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