A(nother) Sad Story from Sabastiya

When last I wrote about Sabastiya, the village was rejoicing over the cessation of sewage dumping on their farmland.  At that time (April), the concern was how long it would take to renew the land so crops could again flourish in the fertile northern Palestinian farmland.

Today, I write with a heavy heart.  My EA colleagues now serving in Tulkarm report that they were called to Sabastiya late Thursday night because of a fire in the olive groves. 

Fire in the olive groves

According to Jussuf, one of the EAs currently in Tulkarm, the team arrived on the scene about midnight and were told that between 50 and 70 olive trees were burning and that the Palestinian firefighters who were summoned to the scene were denied access to put the fires out.  Likewise, the farmers whose trees were burning were pushed back under threat of force from the Israeli soldiers!

Depending upon the news source, the fires were either started by Israeli soldiers engaged in “exercises” or by the settlers of Shave Shomeron (the same settlement where the raw sewage spills of last winter/spring originated!)

Shave Shomeron - from the hills of Sabastiya

Jussuf and his fellow EA Sissel did get into what Jussuf described as “the combat zone” to “obtain photographic evidence and reverse immediately before reinforcement (military jeep to intercept witnesses) was fetched.” 

He reported that, by the time they got there everything was already burned although settlers then arrived and spend 30 seconds spraying water - “superfluous” at that point, and probably for show, Jussuf said - then added, “I could not hold on, the grief, the fear, the desperation of the farmers, who are faced with the scorched earth… [Again we] are witnesses of devastation, quite helpless.”

As if this weren’t enough, two days later Jussuf writes of again being called out to witness a fire and a violent confrontation between settlers and villagers in Fa’rata – another Palestinian town in the Tulkarm area.  This time, not only were firefighters and farmers kept off the land by armed settlers, but villagers who tried to protest were beaten and, in some cases, arrested.

Villagers were beaten...

Did I mention that the Israeli army is there to “protect” the settlers, but there is no one to protect the Palestinians – and that the US government continues to turn a blind eye to the settlement building that is putting these people in peril?

And, sitting here in my peaceful home in Portland, Oregon, on a beautiful summer day with my five-year-old granddaughter playing quietly beside me, I too am overcome with grief and anger!

Only last weekend, I was at the Oregon/Idaho United Methodist Church Annual Conference, celebrating passage of a motion that would authorize establishment of a “task force” to study how the church can help our Palestinian brothers and sisters.  Divestment is our ultimate goal, but we have to tread gently, taking “baby steps” so as not to upset the church hierarchy.

Yet Palestine continues to implode far more quickly than all the well-meaning people in churches, schools and businesses can act to make a difference.  And the US government continues its unconditional support of Israel! 

Please join me in prayers for Sabastiya and Fa’rata – and, indeed, for all the Palestinian people. [With thanks for Jussef and Ahmed for sharing their photos]

For more details about the Sabastiya fire: http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=22713

Racism

No, it’s not THE most pressing problem in Palestine, but a couple of non-Palestine related reports that I read today “spoke to me” – and, being me, I can always tie them to life in the Occupied Territories.

The first report was about a young Hispanic boy (age 11), a US citizen, born and raised in San Antonio, TX, who was invited to sing the Star Spangled Banner at a San Antonio Spurs basketball game. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C5n4vQlpLJU#t=0s] The feedback (via Twitter) on his performance was obscene – mostly along the lines of, “Why should this Mexican be singing the Star Spangled Banner”?  and “I bet this kid isn’t even a US citizen; shouldn’t that song be reserved for real Americans?”  I understand these posts have since been deleted – no doubt out of embarrassment rather than of any sense of wrong-doing!

The second report was about an advertisement by a cereal company that utilized a bi-racial couple and their adorable daughter.  This, too, caused a lot of “flak” and was quickly re-worked to conform to more “appropriate” social mores.  (In protest, a group did its own alternative version of the ad – with a bi-racial gay couple! [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/13/cheerios-parody-hilarious-biracial-ad_n_3436239.html?1371143128] Gotta love creativity!)

And that brings me to racism in Palestine/Israel – something that didn’t escape my notice when I was living there, but was overshadowed by other issues.

My Tulkarm team (Adeline, Roland, me and Esteban)

Let’s start with Esteban, one of my Tulkarm teammates.  Esteban was 21 years old, the youngest member of EA Team 47.  He was from Peru, and it took him five hours of questioning by a number of Israeli interrogators before he was allowed in the country.  Could it possibly be because he was dark-skinned?  And, even when in Palestine, every time Esteban had to cross a checkpoint into Israel, he again got the “full treatment” by the soldiers at the checkpoints!

He wasn’t the only one.  When I was going through Ben Gurion Airport (in Tel Aviv), I noticed that dark-skinned and/or “Arabic-looking” people – particularly young men – were routinely pulled aside for additional questioning.  Coincidence?  I think not!

Segregated busses (shades of Rosa Parks!) are another example.  While I was living in Palestine, one of the Israeli bus companies started providing “separate but equal” bus service for the Palestinians and the Israeli settlers who, of course, live cheek-to-jowl with the settlements towering over the Palestinian villages.

This Palestinian man was ejected from an Israeli bus

Another story in today’s news (I read lots of news files from Middle-Eastern sources, so may read different stories than a lot of you do!) had to do with a Palestinian man who was ejected from an integrated bus (in Israel) because the driver demanded his identification – something he did not ask of any of the other passengers.  A rider on the bus protested – and contacted Ha’aretz (English language Israeli newspaper) – the bus company told the reporter covering the story that the driver had “done the right thing.” [http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/arab-passenger-tel-aviv-bus-driver-threatened-to-put-a-bullet-in-my-head.premium-1.529460]

It should be of no surprise, then, that the Palestinian citizens of Israel are, indeed, second-class citizens in every sense of the word.  The identification cards that they carry are different from the cards carried by Jewish Israelis – and, they are indeed “second class” citizens – in education, employment, housing and every other way you can think of.

It is not only tourists and Palestinians who are victims of racism in Israel and Palestine. Jewish Israelis with dark skin, such as those from Africa, are also treated poorly.  While in Israel, our group heard stories of Ethiopian Jewish women who were sterilized without their knowledge or consent, and learned that “black” Jews had a much more difficult time obtaining citizenship than did immigrants from, say, Europe..  

Obviously, as you can see from the stories reported at the beginning of this post, we in the US are not above criticism for our racist treatment of our fellow citizens.  But, for those who would try to deny the applicability of the term “apartheid” to the present Israeli “regime,” it would be well to look to their treatment of minorities – whether they be visitors or citizens – and wonder anew at the claim that Israel is “the only Democracy in the Middle East.” 

Disturbing News from Palestine

The road to Shufa was closed for the second time in two years.

The news from Palestine continues to be disturbing.  The village of Shufa, in which my fellow EA, Adeline and I enjoyed a weekly “English” discussion group with the local women, recently had its main access road closed for the second time in two years.  Fortunately, this closure (for reasons no one knows!) was relatively short-lived; the road was re-opened after about two weeks.

Then I read that the US Congress has been asked (by the "Israel Lobby") to pass legislation that would include Israel in the US’ “visa waiver program,” while allowing Israel to continue to block the admission of American citizens who Israel deems “unacceptable” (i.e. those of Palestinian/Arab backgrounds or those who are known “peace activists.”)

1929 poster at Israel Museum

This one takes a bit of explanation.  A number of countries currently participate in the “visa waiver” program which means that US citizens can visit those countries without a visa, and their citizens can visit the US without a visa.  This bit of legislation (HR 938 and SB 462 - which I am sad to say is co-sponsored by Oregon’s own Ron Wyden!) would grant visa waivers to Israeli citizens who come to the US, while accepting Israel’s continued refusal to grant admission to ALL US citizens who wish to visit Israel.  And our legislators are supporting this institutionalized discrimination against our own citizens?!  Memo to US readers - Tell your elected representatives to vote NO!

Another troubling piece of news involves Israel’s “new” policy of requiring certain visitors to Israel to sign a statement that they will not enter the West Bank.  My friend Naomi, an ordained UCC pastor working for the YMCA in East Jerusalem, had to sign this waiver – which means she cannot even enter Bethlehem!  I have not heard any explanation of why this policy has been enacted, or who is being targeted (although many stories I have heard involve Christian clergy!) but I have a theory – and it isn’t pretty!

Checkpoints and soldiers do not make good neighbors!

I have long thought that peace would have come to this part of the world a long time ago if the people could only meet each other on common ground – and learn that they are really more alike than they are different.  Sadly, the Israeli government is making this increasingly difficult – walls, checkpoints, armed soldiers and militant settlers are not the best way to develop personal relationships.

And this policy of denying tourists access to the West Bank can only increase the isolation and estrangement.  When I was preparing to leave Palestine, I asked a number of my contacts what they most wanted me to tell people when I got back home.  Without exception, they said, “Tell them to come and see for themselves.” 

But it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the Israelis don’t want the rest of the world to see Palestine!  Not only do they want to keep the people locked up in a huge open-air prison; they don’t want them to have visitors (who might, after all, go home and protest to their governments about the way the Palestinians are treated)! 

Entry to Bethlehem Checkpoint 300

Even in Palestine, there are warnings about the “danger” of entering Palestinian villages.  Versions of the red sign in the photograph are posted all over the West Bank – presumably aimed at tourists and settlers.  Every time I saw this sign, the South Pacific song, Carefully Taught, popped into my head.  Take a listen – and see what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHKzn8aHyXg

Stories Yet to be Told

On the one-month anniversary of my return to Portland from Palestine, I did a presentation for my “church family” (First United Methodist of Portland, Oregon).  I’d already done a couple of “low-tech” presentations – showing snapshots and telling stories to small groups – but this was the first major presentation (i.e. more than 10 people) and the first at which I utilized Power Point. 

Blessings on David Jenkins, the administrative assistant at my church, who used his creative talent to turn my “black and white Kansas” into a “Technicolor Oz” Power Point – complete with music and video inserts!  And blessings on my audience, for being kind and receptive!

While I was never really “nervous” about sharing my experiences, I’d had so many “suggestions” of what I should (or shouldn’t!) say, advice on how not to offend anyone, and advice on how to answer the “difficult” questions that always come up in relation to this topic that I was concerned about striking the right balance between facts, feelings and the stories themselves.

Because, when all is said and done, it is the stories that people are going to remember.  And, hopefully, it is also the stories that will make people realize what terrible things are happening and how our governments and politicians are contributing to the wrongs!

But all the stories don’t fit on a 45-minute Power Point.  They don’t fit in the postings that have been published on this blog since I started writing it last autumn.  And yet, they crowd my brain – and my heart!

There was the woman whose name I never learned, who stopped to talk to me when I was in the street in Fa’run, talking to Bassam about his demolition order.   Without a word of common language, she told me that she was a farmer who had to walk four kilometers to get to her fields in the “seam zone,” and that, sometimes, after she’d made the long walk on her arthritic knees, the soldiers wouldn’t let her through the gate.  She gave me a bouquet of herbs, and thanked me for being there; I gave her my tears and a hug.

There was Ahmad, who coordinated peaceful protests in Sabastiya when the settlers were dumping raw sewage on their farm land.  To date, Sabastiya is the only Palestinian village where sewage dumping has actually been stopped – and Ahmad credits internationals and journalists for this!  He gave me an old Palestinian coin and a piece of the rubble from the Roman ruins in Sabastiya, and I wear them on a chain around my neck as reminder that sometimes it is possible to make a difference.

And there were the women of Shufa – with whom Adeline and I had a weekly English conversation group and who ended up being dear friends who laughed with us and shared their lives while they fed us amazing lunches!  I have just learned that, since my departure, the road between Shufa and Tulkarm has again been closed by the Israeli army.  Can the new EAs continue to visit them?  And are these wonderful women doomed to remain imprisoned by the Occupation?

As long as there are stories to tell – and people to listen to them, then I will keep telling them.