Israel: Clarifying the Truth to Chinese Workers at the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station

(Minghui.org) Many Falun Dafa practitioners in yellow shirts and light-colored pants arrived at the plaza at the old central bus station in Tel Aviv one Saturday morning.

It is a crowded and busy place, packed with bargain clothing shops, greengrocers, moneychangers on stools in the middle of the sidewalk, housewares for sale, fish shops, and electronics stalls. Loud rock music blares, and masses of Chinese residents are buying groceries and other products. People shout and raise their voices—there is a lot of noise. You can also smell the fish, including some that had spoiled.

In the midst of all this chaos, there was an “island” of silence and beauty that Saturday morning. These were Falun Dafa practitioners in yellow shirts, standing in rows and doing the exercises to the sound of the gentle exercise music. Like lotus flowers emerging from a swamp, they appeared amidst the noise, dirt, and chaos of the market.

Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrate the exercises for passersby.

Israeli practitioners decided in 2001 that it was very important to clarify the truth directly to Chinese residents, and that we needed to tell them about the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China.

Chinese who live in Israel can accept and read information about the practice without any apprehension, and can think for themselves. It is important that the Chinese people living in Israel see that practicing Falun Dafa in Israel is safe, that it is allowed, that they will not be threatened, and that no one thinks it is a bad thing or that there is anything wrong with it.

The practitioners included children, women of all ages, including one 90-year-old who stood in the blazing heat (it was 91 degrees Fahrenheit) with her hands raised in the air, looking very healthy and strong. You could tell that she cherishes Falun Dafa. There were also whole families and young couples. Each came of their own free will.

The practitioners, who came from all over the country, lined up in rows and did the exercises to the sound of the gentle exercise music. Despite the noise, the practitioners were able to close their eyes and concentrate on the practice. Some handed out brochures and lotus flowers, and some held signs.

Practitioners held signs with information in Chinese.

Most of the passersby there are Chinese workers. They all spoke Chinese to each other. Falun Dafa practitioners of Chinese descent who live in Israel spoke with them and managed to convince some to quit the CCP. They told them about Falun Dafa and about the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Some signed to quit the CCP, others listened and nodded in understanding, while some just wanted to flee, still believing the CCP’s lies about Falun Dafa and refusing to take a flyer.

A Chinese practitioner clarifies the facts to a local Chinese worker.

One woman approached a practitioner who was holding a sign and asked her, “When will you come back?” She said she remembered us well, and added, “Twenty years ago you saved me!” and showed the practitioner the scars on her forearm. She said, “You are really good people.”

A driver sitting in a car that stopped by said that he knew us and that he’d met us several times at the Jaffa Promenade. Smiling from ear to ear, he emphasized that he was a fan of ours and thanked us for the important work that we do.

A Chinese passerby turned to a non-Chinese practitioner and said, “You have no idea what is really going on in China. I am from China, and I know that Falun Dafa is bad.” He refused to take the Chinese newspaper we offered him, but he was the one who approached the practitioner and started the conversation with her in the first place. At some point, a Chinese-speaking practitioner joined the conversation. After a deep and lively conversation with him, the Chinese passerby finally accepted a flyer.

A man of African descent was given a flyer in Tigrinya and read it aloud. Suddenly he stopped. You could tell he was feeling very emotional. The practitioner who gave him the flyer said that what is happening in China is very sad, and he agreed with her, in tears.

One practitioner said that the atmosphere was magnetic and that she could see how all the years of protesting and clarifying the truth at the central station culminated in this moment. She handed out truth-clarification flyers and a Chinese language newspaper published in Israel. At first, the Chinese refused to take it. She told us, “Once I approached them with compassion and righteous thoughts, they accepted the flyer. At first the barrier was hard to cross, but once I focused on their wellbeing and how important it is for them to learn the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution, they accepted the flyer.”

Another practitioner said, “I stayed after everyone left, and handed out flyers. I stood at the same spot where we did the exercises, and handed out flyers. Our Chinese-speaking practitioner was about to leave on her bike, but when the Chinese arrived, she approached them and had them sign to quit the CCP.”