| Summary/Abstract |
Excuse me, what is the time?” A seemingly innocent question. However, if you are a young Arab or Jew who looks “Mizrachi,” stopped in the center of West Jerusalem, there is a reasonable possibility that this question is not in the least bit innocent. In recent months activists of the racist Lehava organization have been roaming West Jerusalem, searching for Palestinian passersby or workers to attack and compel to flee from what they consider to be an exclusively Jewish area of the city. Since many Jewish residents of the city are themselves descended from immigrants from Arab countries, with dark skin as well as hair, and clothing styles consistent with global pop culture, Lehava activists often struggle to ascertain the identity of city residents and determine precisely who is “Jewish” and who is “Arab.” Therefore, they harass people walking by with “banal” questions such as “What time is it?” in order to pinpoint their ethno-national identity according to their accent.
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