57. Jerusalem, 1998 - Trapped
In which Eleanor is trapped.
Eleanor goes shopping. And nearly gets trampled.
Eleanor
4 December, 1998
I wonder if Imaad and Mahdi realized it was me in the Ops reports1 on the clashes in East Jerusalem yesterday. I provided an on-the-ground report of seeing first hand how the Israeli police were really the ones to escalate the situation and provoke the violence. What happened wasn’t new—it was the standard play. What was new was to be there on the ground and experiencing the events as they unfolded.
I was in the Damascus Gate area, doing some shopping, when the police arrived to break up a small demonstration for the release of Palestinian prisoners. Things turned from peaceful to ugly in half a minute. Suddenly, with no provocation, the mounted police came driving into the small crowd, no more than thirty or forty people, pushing them into walls, down narrow alleys, down onto the ground, and swinging at people with their batons. I had been on the sidewalk, walking around the small knot of protesters in the street. Within seconds I found myself pinned against a shop front window, fearing I was going to be crushed or trampled, a massive horse a few feet away from me. I am not afraid of horses, but a horse that large, in riot gear, being driven towards one—it was terrifying. And it was happening all around me. I felt the same fear of the Palestinians of being beaten and trampled.
The aggression and brutalness were shocking. But mixed with the immediate fear for my own safety, was revulsion and anger at the gratuitous aggression and violence.
They wanted to escalate this. They wanted to show their might.
So they did.
Reading from Book 2, the completion of Eleanor’s Adventure
Spring Writes Literary Festival.
May 15, 2025, 7pm ET
While y’all are reading Book 1, I’m working on Book #2 - the conclusion to Eleanor’s adventure.
Just how does she land up on that office bathroom floor one dark winter night? What’s her comeback strategy this time?
Register with Spring Writes at this Zoom link to listen to the next phase of Eleanor’s journey.
Political reports were identified by mission, not by author, on Ops reports.
"The aggression and brutalness were shocking." Your word choice of brutalness over brutality struck me. I looked up the difference and wondered what you may have meant by choosing the one over the other. —Your very detail-oriented reader : )
And I concur wholeheartedly with Frank!
I continue to be impressed with the willingness of diplomatic staff such as Eleanor to live and work under very difficult and dangerous conditions to represent their country and build relationships.