(Minghui.org) Many Falun Dafa practitioners gathered at the plaza at the old central bus station in Tel Aviv on Saturday morning, July 16, 2022. 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.

In the midst of all this chaos, there was an “island” of silence and beauty that morning – Falun Dafa practitioners doing the exercises to the sound of the gentle exercise music. The practitioners come to the market once a month to do the exercises together and share the beauty of Falun Dafa.

Israeli practitioners decided in 2001 that it was very important to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution, especially to Chinese people residing in Israel, most of whom work in manual labor, mainly in construction. Israeli practitioners want them to see that practicing Falun Dafa in Israel is allowed, that it is safe, that they will not be threatened, and that no one thinks it is a bad thing or that there is anything wrong with it. It is important for the practitioners to make sure that the Chinese see who practitioners really are: people of all ages and walks of life, including men, women and children. 

The practitioners, who came from all over the country, performed the exercises to the sound of the gentle exercise music. Despite the noise, the practitioners were able to close their eyes and meditate. Some handed out brochures and lotus flowers, and some held signs with information about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China.

Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrating the exercises at the old central bus station in Tel Aviv.

A practitioner who comes regularly to hand out truth-clarification materials, said, “This activity is the highlight of my month. I consider it a great privilege. I always walk around there with a big smile on my face, whether the Chinese people accept the leaflet or refuse to. I understand that these people have been bombarded since kindergarten with misinformation, so that they will become grateful to the Chinese regime, and believe that it is the one that provides for them. They find it hard to believe that things are not as they were told back in China. But here, they are exposed to the fact the Falun Gong is legitimate, meaning that practitioners are not dangerous to themselves or to the public, as the Chinese propaganda had told them. From my experience, after a few weeks or months of refusing to accept the materials, they soften up… some gesture “no” with their hands, but eventually they take the leaflet. Some smile back at me, and I realize that they already know the truth. I think that we are melting their hearts with our compassion and perseverance.”

The practitioners set up a large TV screen next to a group of Chinese standing in line at a local money exchange shop. The line moved slowly, and those standing watched the videos that were played on the screen – videos in Chinese, telling the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution, videos that refute the lies of the CCP’s propaganda. The videos showed that before the persecution started, Falun Dafa was a very popular practice in China, and the regime supported it. The videos included original reports from Chinese media outlets that praised Falun Gong and portrayed the beauty of the practice and the great benefit it brought to people and society. The videos also covered how the CCP aims to destroy traditional Chinese culture, the staged self-immolation incident in Tiananmen Square, and a general overview about the persecution, with an emphasis on the atrocity of forced organ harvesting. They also cover the Tuidang Movement – the withdrawal of Chinese people from the Communist party and its affiliated organizations.

Chinese passersby watching truth-clarification videos

One of the practitioners who initiated the idea of setting up the TV screen, said, “I noticed that the Chinese are reluctant to take printed truth-clarification materials from us. I realized that here in Israel we don’t speak the Chinese language, and it’s difficult for us to communicate with the Chinese and talk with them. This is how the idea of setting up a screen came about, to allow them to watch truth-clarification programs in the Chinese language, which will give them the opportunity to learn the truth about Falun Gong, and also to later take printed truth-clarification materials and withdraw from the CCP. I also noticed that there were inspectors among them. For example, if someone reached out to take a copy of the book “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” or a truth-clarification leaflet, another Chinese person would show up and push him away or push his hand aside, especially if he was about to sign his name to renounce the CCP. Apparently, there are also Chinese who practice self-censorship.”