adayinpalestine

Letter to the editor in response to the article (linked below) which appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette today:

www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/09289/1005836-109.stm
 

Stop Buying Into Apartheid

Fresh off the plane from a month in the West Bank, and Frida Ghitis’ October 16^th article “West Bank Boom Town” knocks the wind out of me.  She convolutes economic reality and perpetuates tired, destructive bashing of ideology.

 

The Israeli occupation continues to annex land and resources, leaving the Palestinian economy dependent upon Israel who monopolizes the electric, natural gas and oil companies.  While settlers splash in swimming pools, Palestinian villages suffer severe water shortages.  In Susiya, I slept in tents with families whose houses were demolished by bulldozers.  Water pipes under our feet, power lines over our heads, yet only settlers enjoyed running water and electricity.  The wall obstructs Palestinians from harvesting their olive trees, and forces entire communities to buy their occupier’s products. 

 

Ghitis paints Israel’s “separation barrier” as a white-picket fence barricading pesky neighbors; it’s an Apartheid Wall condemned illegal by International Law.  Israelis continue to build and enforce apartheid policies, while Americans continue to fund them.  Collectively, we strip the Palestinians of human rights and dignity.  For six decades we have bulldozed homes, divided families, annexed land, uprooted olive trees, restricted movement, imprisoned the innocent, denied jobs, education, medical aid, and most recently, massacred hundreds of children.

 

The Palestinian economy is far from booming.  The wall does not prevent terror it embodies terror.  Let’s quit pushing peace into the next millennium, stop buying into apartheid and start building a just future for ALL children.

Now back home:  During my last two weeks in Palestine I returned to Bil'in and Susiya and spent time with families, new friends, and working with human rights organizations.  I didn't detail my encounters much.  Now back home I am working on articles, posting them to share.

Travels in Palestine:  Bil’in

 

“Each step we take leaves a blood mark.”

 

Those words left the mouth of an Israeli activist branding a devastating image in my mind of the beautiful and contentious land called Palestine/Israel, and our role back in the United States.

 

It was a hot Friday afternoon in the West Bank’s inspiring village of Bil’in.  Vicious tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets rained down on the residents of Bil’in along with International and Israeli activists who marched toward the illegal wall, protesting the annexation of nearly 60% of Bil’in’s land.   The weekly non-violent demonstration against Israel’s Apartheid Wall had just ended. As the dust began to settle, people descended the hill, stopping to cough, gag or vomit.  An older couple draped in colors of the Palestinian flag sat on a pile of rocks near the bottom of the hill.  The man sprayed squares of tissue with alcohol, the woman placed them in our hands, and we inhaled the fumes to remind our brain to breathe then wiped our eyes and faces to stop the burning sensation.

 

My throat seared from the noxious tear-gas as I rested under the shade of thick, aged olive trees. Situated on the land surrounding me, stood three distinct Israeli settlements boasting their defiance of international law.  Over the last three decades Israel has continued to build one illegal settlement after the other on Bil’in’s land; each one an insulting reminder of Israel’s ongoing and destructive land expansion fueled by racist, apartheid policies. I never realized how close the settlements were to Palestinian homes until I was there; how massive, intrusive, and untenable they truly are.  Obama’s short-lived settlement freeze rhetoric was already thawing, and I was experiencing just a small taste of what occupation meant.

 

Occupation is exhausting when you consider 60 years of colonizing, oppressing, racially discriminating, dehumanizing and ethnically cleansing the Palestinian people.  Remarkably, occupation doesn’t sleep.  Occupation thrives in the nighttime, particularly in Bil’in where families awake from nightmares to nightmares as young soldiers dressed in guns invade families’ homes to inexplicably arrest young men.  They leave children scared, heirlooms shattered and men beaten.  These soldiers are masked as they target the homes of Bil’in’s resisters. 

 

“Why do they wear masks?” an International shouts.

 “Because they are ashamed.” answers an Israeli.

 

While staying in Bil’in I met some of the most amazing human beings.  I learned that resistance is not just marching to the wall every Friday. It is not just staying up all night on rooftops watching for Israeli soldiers who sneak through the fields by foot and storm the streets in a caravan of camouflaged hummers. Resistance is playing with children, cracking jokes, walking down the street with your head held high shaking neighbors’ hands along the way.  Resistance is living your life.

 

Now back home, my stomach unsettles at the unbridled support the US gives Israel and her brutal military occupation.  How many bloody footprints must we leave before we say enough is enough?

Falling Stars
Rooftop yoga
"I have many dreams. But the occupation stops them.  I want to go to moon. I want to be a pilot."

2 jeeps
4 jeeps
6 jeeps

Walking
Running
Chasing

Hard thick helmets
Masked faces
"Why do they wear masks?"
"Because they are ashamed."

Guns, guns, guns

The lights bring attention to
children's silohettes in the windows,
woken up by nightmares to nightmares as
soldiers storm through their houses to
arrest their brothers and cousins and uncles and fathers, as
soldiers hand over military documents,
as soldiers beat men and intimidate children into false confessions

I hear the tear gas  drop
but don't smell it

yallah, yallah

there are more at another house
live bullets are shot in the air
the soldiers pile into the jeeps and ride off

the numbness begins to fade away
all these faces,
sitting in all these plastic chairs

awareness circulates
they are all beyond exhausted
five years with no sleep
we sip tea

I cannot fall asleep
Falling tears

http://palsolidarity.org/2009/09/8481

I took a day trip to Jenin.  The name means "gardens" and as the  bus moved from Ramallah, to Nablus, to Jenin, green patches exploded from cracks in rocks.  There were palm trees in the center of the streets, some deciduous trees lining the sidewalks with beautiful purple flowers, cyprus trees seeminly taller than sky skrapers...and there was RAIN.  Oh how I miss rain.  I wanted to jump off of the bus, rip off my long sleeves, throw my head back and let the rain drops tap dance on my cheeks and chin.  Instead I just breathed it in:) 

I took a tour of the Jenin camp where 15,000 people live since Israel's brutal invasion in 2002.  The past year, renovations are being made to the bullet riddled houses and markets are filling up with fresh fruit and spices.  The Old City is smaller than others I have been to, but it had its own welcoming character and the usual gaggle of children following behind me.

On the way back in the service the sun set, call to prayer, and then the rustling of plastic bags.  The guy next to me poured everyone a glass of water.  As we threw back the last drops, he immediatley filled our glasses with some thick pink juice.  Then cookies, cigarettes and gum to finish.

My stay here during Ramadan has consisted of breaking the fast with delicious traditional food.  But in the service with junkfood abound, loud wonderful music, and smiling faces...this Iftar is one for the books!

It ranks up there in word frequency with words like: yallah, wallah, khallas, inshaallah...

When I hear it, I envision little men waddling in single file lines with muffins for heads, buzzing merry melodies while serving sweet treats and tea.

Moomkin shai?
Will you be here tomorrow? Moomkin

Moomkin makes me smile:)

The village of Susiya is a village in the South Hills of Hebron.  They have been attacked by the Israeli army year after year since the first intifada.  Houses and caves have been destroyed.  Water has been compromised.  And land has been confiscated by idealogical settlers.  Last week the army removed the settler's outpost.  In our news at home we hear about these "illegal outposts" but it is important to remember that all settlements are ILLEGAL.  Within the night the settlers built a bigger and better outpost.  So much for settlement freeze...the army did nothing after that.  Well they did protect the settlers when they came down and attacked the Palestinians. 

By the time I arrived the activity had calmed down, but in the tent where I was staying there was a new addition to the roof.  An unwanted massive hole compliments of the settlers throwing a little grenade. 

The family here was amazing, and I learned more Arabic in my three days here than the rest of my stay.  In the one tent, the two wives made tea and delicious food, and we sat around and tried to teach each other English and Arabic.  This involved quite a lot of charades.

The little children were adorable.  We played hide and seek behind huge rocks, massive cacti and in caves.  Sang each other our alphabets, and while the one girl was singling a song in Arabic (probably thick with meaning) I sang Bah Bah Black Sheep! One little girl had a Fisher Price dump truck and reenacted what the bulldozers did to her home for us.

At night, the stars were amazing...you could see the milky way.

People here are shepherds.  Shepherding seems like it should be one of the most peaceful jobs.  But early in the morning as the roosters cock-a-doodle-doo and the sun peaks over the hills, the soldiers wake from their tents.  On a good day they just stand and try to intimidate with telescopes and cameras.  On a regular basis they declare grazing lands as "closed military zones" and don't allow the sheep to graze.  Too often, the settlers attack.

The most insane thing of all, is that some of these settlers are shepherds too.  Wouldn't it be ideal, for everyone to just graze their sheep together?

One of the father's here showed us all the land that used to be his.  He said that he knows he won't get it back, but he doesn't want them to take anymore.

One of the sons looked at my wrist and asked where peace was.  "Where is it in the world? It is only on your wrist."

There are roughly 500 settlers living in Hebron.  Fore each settler there are between 4 and 5 soldiers to protect them.  The settlers can own 8 guns. 

A couple of young settler girls wanted to walk around Hebron, to start trouble they insisted to have an entourage of soldiers fowllow them around.  They harrassed Palestinians.  The soldiers only protected the girls.

Met an amazing Palestinian activist.  He invited us to his house and we sipped tea hinting a cinnamon flavor and munched on shortbread covered in raspberry jelly and chocolate.  To get to his house we had to climb through back yards, over walls and around trees.  While clearing out his garden, the settlers who live above him decided it would behoove them to throw a washing machine onto his property.  Last week they occupied their time throwing rocks at his head and throwing pig's blood on him and his family.

His house was decorated with children's artwork.  Colored beautifully there was a picture of children smiling, Palestinian flags waving in their hands.  They stood in front of the apartheid wall.  "Free Palestine" was written with large, bold letters.  On the other side of the wall was Jerusalem.  Can you imagine being a tourist, and showing your pictures of the Old City in Jerusalem to Palestinians who have never been there because they are not allowed?

Another picture was colored neatly, devastatingly.  It seemed to be an island separate from the rest of the world.  There were palm trees, sand and blood.  Women held bleeding men.  A flower bouquet was left to rot next to a dead woman.  A little girl was sprawled in a puddle of blood with her baby doll not far away.  At the top of the picture, "Peace for Palestine."

He says, " They can kill me physically, but the can not kill my thoughts.  They cannot kill my ideas."

"I teach my children to be confident and to resist."

On one state solution: "Why not now? Keep waiting, each generation will grow more radical on both sides. We need to start right now."