Apr 12 2007
Cola Wars
Could it really be as simple as this?
I lived in Israel/Palestine/the Holy Land–whatever the heck you wanna call it–twice, both times for a significant period of time. I saw more hate, more anger, more terror… Oh, I can’t even begin to describe it. Suffice it to say that I lived right in the middle of two groups of people who hate each other and, as far as I can predict, will never, ever find any sort of reconciliation.
And the first time I lived there, it was in 1991, during the great Cola Wars. You know, Coke vs. Pepsi.
Nowadays, I’m in the middle of “moving” which means that I’m going through millions of old boxes and finding old things I’d entirely forgotten about. Last night I stumbled across these soda cans. The red one is a Coke, in Hebrew. The other is a Pepsi, in Arabic. And this was back in the day where once a cola company got their foot in the door, they had the cola monopoly in that country. But Israel/Palestine/the Holy Land was a very complicated place because it wasn’t really a “country” to many and to others it was virtually TWO countries, so the cola wars had an interesting task on their hands. In the end, in one half of Jerusalem (the Jewish half) you could buy Coke, and in the other half (the Palestinian half) you could buy Pepsi. And often, it seemed like the side you were “rooting” for (as though all these people’s lives were some kind of trivial sport’s event) was the side who sold your cola of choice.
Pepsi and Coke seem to have made up somewhere along the way, since you can now buy either product in either section of Jerusalem. Maybe the cola wars really will change the world– one caffeinated, kidney-shriveling sip at a time.
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Huh! Who would have thunk it. I would have been planted firmly on the Jewish side of THAT fence! COKE FOREVER!
That place scares me. Thanks to my Evangelical friend, I’m convinced that everything in our world is going to come down to that area. That all the fighting and hate all over the world stemmed from that location.
He is also telling me “the end is near.” so he just altogther scares me with this stuff.
That is a perfect example of their separation, though.
I don’t prefer Coke nor Pepsi. I just drink Sprite.
How interesting that you were there, I have wanted to go, but have felt pulled away somehow. I like to think of myself as an adventurer but…
Oh yes and Coke rules and Pepsi drools.
What I love is that your brought those cans home and KEPT them! You are a pack rat’s dream. I love you.
I’ve got a glass coke bottle from Charles and Di’s wedding.
Kateastrophe,
My parents always bought the generic crap. We were trying so hard to be “neutral.”
Butrfly,
Yeah, it ought to scare you. I love it dearly and have so many wonderful memories there, but I still wake up with nightmares from some of the things I saw there.
TheThinker,
Alas, Sprite is owned by Coke. Your interest in neutrality says a lot about your character, though. I guess that’s what makes you The Thinker. Right?
Jessica,
I too am an adventurer. No place was ever too scary for me. But now this place is. I’ll likely never go back, even though I’d love to share some of the good things about it with my hubby and kids.
Soccer Mom,
Yep. You’ve got me pegged. 16 years ago, those pop cans spoke to me. And I still have them. And I can’t bring myself to throw them away just yet, even though I’ve now immortalized them here. And OH MY GOSH, I’d sell my pinky toe for that coke bottle! Seriously! How cool is that?
Couldn’t resist popping along because of the title of your blog. It’s my daughter’s favourite poem.
Best wishes
See, this is why I love Dr. Pepper. And hey! Your blog looks great! Evertime I’m here it’s a little different and I dig it. That saying you have on your title bar…what is that? Why does that sound so familiar to me? “..the jaws that bite, the claws that catch”
so influential those colas… maybe they shouldn’t have had those jewish/coke and palestinian/pepsi versions but instead they should have had both colas in both jewish and palestinian. or maybe they should get the english versions.
mcewen,
Hey there! Thanks for popping in! Your daughter has excellent taste, I see. Come back any time. I’m scurrying to roll out the welcome mat!
Jewels,
Yes. You have found the true elixer of life. I couldn’t agree more. As for the poem, click on my “What Does It Mean, Anyway” button in the sidebar for further explanation. As for the new design, well, let’s call it “designer’s A.D.D.” or something, since I seem to have a very hard time picking something and sticking with it. It’s really just a ploy to make people come back over and over again to see what’s new here. (Oh, I wish I were that clever!)
Tani,
Very influential indeed. I think that all the world’s problems can probably be traced back to the Cola Wars…