Skateboarding In The Holy Land

When imagining what skateboarding in Israel might be like, one might picture someone breaking his roller skates owned by his father in the 70s, and nailing them to a piece of wood leftover from a bombed out house or something. Well, think again. Skateboarding is big here - really big - and as surprising as it may be, Israel even has a few burgeoning stars. In Israel, skateboarding may be best way to escape the years of bombs, political tension and terrifying atmosphere plaguing this beautiful place. Though we only have one skate park, it's surprising how much solace this personal sanctuary can provide. Once I skated there while explosions erupted a mere 600 meters away.

Personally, I have been skating for 16 years. Yes, I remember the days of the Bones Brigade, Mark Gonzales and the "new school" of Mike Vallely. Back then it was an escape from the pop culture desert of Israel. It was a much needed distraction from the total lack of fun here and helped us in our never ending search for "the western world." When I was skateboarding, it was easy to forget the conflict surrounding me, and that when I turned 18 I would have to join the army.

Skateboarding first rose to popularity here in 1989. My friends and I used to meet in a desolate park to hang out. The day someone built a launch ramp and I built a slide rail we had no clue this park would become the epicenter of Jerusalem's skate scene. We soon discovered we couldn't live with out this place. As more and more kids came to this spot, we also slowly discovered that we weren't alone.

Then, I turned 18 and had to give up my board for a gun. Being in the Israeli army sucked and I don't wish it on anybody! It robs you of three great years of your life when you have a perpetual boner and your farts sounds like music. Any childish joy you could possibly take from this is ruined by being forced to stand in the middle of nowhere and just wait for some bastard to come and get your ass, All the while, you can't speak, smoke or masturbate. Released from duty at the age of 21, I found myself fat, bald, smoked up and tired. I stepped right back on my skateboard and sought out my fellow skaters.

Among these close skaters friends in Jerusalem I am at home. Other people, though, sometimes see us as total aliens that look like Americans or Europeans. With its amazing combinations of food, smells and history, Jerusalem possesses a fantastic culture. Despite this, though, it is not yet fully accepting of skateboarding. Lately, the explosions have quieted down a bit, and I hope this will continue. Perhaps a person that reads this article will want to come here to skate with a bunch of cool guys that only want to laugh and destroy public property under our trucks. I think this person will see we're a lot like him. We like green plants and live on junk food. We skate all the time - almost as much as we talk about girls.

Sound familiar?

This is something I hope everyone realizes one day: we are the same.