More than just two lines on a police beeper

A simple student protests is always enhanced by burning tires. Obviously. (Photo: Me)

My police beeper woke me up just before seven this morning, letting me know that there were 20 students protesting outside the prime minister’s residence over the recent decision to continue giving stipends to haredi students who study torah full-time and do not work. Meh. I turned over and went back to sleep.

Only later, when I was writing up my article, did I read the rest of the message: 20 students protesting outside the prime minster’s residence… with chickens and roosters.

“Um, so what was up with the chickens and roosters this morning?” I asked the student union head that afternoon. “To send Bibi a message to wake up, of course!” he said, huffily, incredulous that I hadn’t made the connection myself. Oh. Naturally.

It was a moment of levity in my relationship with the police beeper, which later in the day returned to normal events: a fatal car accident, discovery of a partially decomposed body, etc. Noticeably absent today was the daily round-up of arrests of youths for throwing stones at patrols of border policemen. Since I’ve started, I can count on my fingers the number of days that there haven’t been rock throwing incidents in east Jerusalem.

I haven’t been stoned – yet – thought I was in the car behind the Knesset members when they were stoned after leaving Beit Yehonatan, a heavily-fortified Jewish apartment building in the middle of Silwan. Now when I write  up the rock throwing incidents, I barely give a thought to the event, just dutifully writing up a brief and sending it into the desk as soon as I can.

There’s one beeper message about a stoning that I save d. It’s noting dramatic or exciting. “On the Mount of Olives stones were thrown at a private vehicle, one man was lightly injured and drove himself to the hospital, an investigation was opened.” It happened just before Simchat Torah, at the end of September.