One Billion Rising – Israel

What will you be doing on February 14th? One Billion Rising is inviting you to a dance, and you don’t even need to worry about a date, because everyone will be there. It’s a dance like no other, out on the streets, in the city squares, under the open sky, taking place in cities and countries around the world on February 14th, a dance that will rock the world: women and men demanding an end to violence against women and girls.

One Billion Rising is a campaign launched by V-Day, the global activist movement founded by Eve Ensler to end violence against women and girls. Promising to be the largest activist action ever, the concept is based on a simple calculation: 1 out of 3 women will experience violence in her lifetime, which implies that over a billion women on the planet will be impacted by violence.

Inviting people to “walk out, dance, rise up and demand an end to this violence” the event is intended to raise awareness of the issue and effect change through the visual and physical presence of a billion people coming together in solidarity to protest.

Why dance? Dance celebrates the beauty, strength and freedom of our bodies, it is the physical expression of the human spirit. On February 14th, One Billion Rising events will take place all over the world, with women and men going out to dance in San Antonio, Addis Abbaba, Cape Town, Mindanao, Barcelona – in 177 countries around the world – and Israel will be dancing too.

In Israel, volunteers throughout the country are planning a main outdoor event to take place at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque from 18:00 – 22:00, with events planned in  Jerusalem, Herzliya, Hadera, Haifa, Nahariya, Karmiel, Merom Galil, Katzrin and Mevo’ot Hermon. The complete list of events in Israel can be found here.

A huge flash mob will take place in the square outside the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Everyone is invited to join, and they’ve made it easy to learn the steps ahead of time. Makom LaShevet will be holding a planning meeting and dance workshop on Monday, February 4th from 20:30 – 23:30 at 22 HaMashbir Street in Tel Aviv (see the event here). Can’t make it to the meeting? Here’s a video clip that will teach you all you need to know:

To learn more about the events, and receive updates, sign up on the Israeli website: http://onebillionrisingisrael.org/ and check out the facebook event page.

The flash mob on the 14th will look something like this demo, but one would hope to see a more diverse group on the day. I think this is the kind of revolution that would elicit Emma Goldman’s approval.