Although “She” May Not Like Pink With Passion, The Muggle Umbridge is Way More Evil Than The Magical One.

In an age of social media, communicating with those near and dear seems to be easier said than done. Because of the development of reliable postal services and booming e commerce like Amazon, it seems as though we’re in the lap of luxury. Through mails and couriers we share everything and although “messaging” and “emails” have replaced letters, it’s still a matter of privacy. In a particular valley, it seems that this “leisure” is taken away from the people and this entire situation rings a bell. Dolores Umbrige, the most hated villain in the Harry potter fandom and she had a thing or two to do with mail interception. Well, Israeli authorities become Umbridge when it comes to mail delivered to Palestine because eight years seems like a really long period even though there are security concerns.

The Israeli authorities at ports and airports often seize mail addressed to Palestine to investigate it because of security concerns. This mail isn’t delivered to those who they are rightfully addressed to , for long periods of time. As a result, most people have converted to using more expensive forms of couriers and other transport services just to ensure goods reach on time. The constant struggle and blows between Israel and Palestine are not exactly a thing of the past, but the fact that it goes to the extent of mail interception is crossing a line. Imagine writing a letter to your family listing out your date and details for travel- if it falls in the wrong hands or is even checked and inspected, and for some reason, god forbid, you are considered a threat to Israel, your fate is sealed. The reason this move seems to mimic Umbridge is because of similar decrees passed during Harry’s fifth and to an extent, sixth years of Hogwarts where mail was intercepted and read and all floo networks and fires were watched over. With students adopting risky methods of transport, it seems as though this situation is a perfect replica of something most of us have read about.

Six tonnes of packages being seized simply because of safety concerns and more than 7000 violations in 2020 do not seem to be completely based around safety issues. Unless the Israeli government wants to cause intentional harm to Palestine, I don’t see why this major obstruction is being caused. The fishy thing is that these delays are only being faced by “international” mail. Does processing letters and couriers take more than eight years? Taking into consideration the 2010 time stamp, it seems highly unlikely. Waiting for mail to come for years is one thing but a wheelchair? A person who needs a wheelchair from abroad is definitely in urgent need of it, right? And also, what does a wheelchair have to do with safety issues? Although Palestine was granted autonomy, it really seems as though Israel regrets this decision it probably made under pressure and is trying to get it withdrawn every living moment.

Although Umbridge wasn’t defeated by the students, she was symbolically won over many times such as the formation of Dumbledore’s army or through sheer cheek and protests and swamps. It seems Palestine is using a similar technique through the application of postal codes. An extreme symbol of autonomy, this move plans to make the interception of goods illegal. But because the land consisting of Palestine is wedged between Jordan and the West Bank does not have an airport or a port, this move is probably only symbolic. International mail interception cannot be prevented because well- Israel is still in control of ports and airports and because they now have the excuse of no “postal code” laid in front of them on a silver platter, is this “symbolic” move practically any good?

Only time will tell the answer for that. And perhaps only time can tell whether Karma caught up to the muggle Umbridge or not. But till then, what we can do is form a Dumbledore’s Army which spreads the message of change and builds a better world.