I am almost as excited as the Egyptians who are flooding Tahrir Square with their jubilation at the news that Mubarak has fled. The TV news made me cry. I ran to the phone to call friends whom I knew would share in my elation. They won! They won without firing a shot! They won because they were many and they persisted and they knew what they were doing. Yes this was more than a spontaneous outpouring of fed-up, unemployed young people. They had been planning, using the internet and secret meetings, testing the mood in the streets.
I do not have much information about the leadership, but it seems that they are from a broad base, are not ideologues, and are respected by the crowds of ordinary people. They know what they have to lose and what they want to gain. Their goals of getting rid of a dictator and his whole oppressive regime resonate with me – and with the vast majority of the Arab Muslim world.
However, after this night of euphoria begins the hard and tricky work of creating a functional system that will protect the human rights of all Egyptians. Do the protesters have the skills and leverage to stand up to the military ? Actually, can they get the military to answer to them? The military is not neutral. It looks to where its bread is buttered; it is buttered by the U.S.. And, although Obama gave a good speech after the people’s victory, he is still the President of the Empire, and the generals/CIA do their dirty deeds behind our backs.
Meanwhile, in Palestine, when people in Ramallah first tried to demonstrate in support of the Egyptians, they were attacked by the Palestinian Authority police. They tried again on Saturday, February 5th and managed to attract 2,000 nervous participants, who didn’t dare to call for the ouster of Mahmoud Abbas, even though everyone knows he collaborates with the Israelis against his own people. The PA would prefer to see Hosni Mubarak in power, helping to control Gaza and keeping the lid on popular unrest in the Arab world.
But this status quo cannot hold any longer. If the Tunisian people have enough power to unseat their president, and the Egyptians have enough power to overturn 30 years of dictatorship, other oppressed people, including the Palestinians, know that they have the same potential. They already have a history of nonviolent resistance, and in the last 5 years more than ten villages have faced Israeli tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at weekly nonviolent protests in the West Bank. Recently the youth in both Gaza and the West Bank have started to issue their own manifestos of fed-upness.
However, Palestinians are not united and do not speak with one voice. Over the last 60 years, Israel has managed to divide Palestinians against each other and create a huge network of collaborators. It won’t be easy to overcome this legacy, but now it seems there is a choice. Once you know you have a choice, you are almost free.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
There Is a Man Under That Hood
THERE'S A MAN UNDER THAT HOOD
I am hungry. It is the third day of a 12 day liquids-only fast. I am in the company of about 40 other fasters whose spirit and commitment keep me going. Our purpose also keeps me going We are trying to bring justice to the remaininng 173 Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay Prison who are being held indefinitely by our government, some already cleared for release others not yet charged with any crime. And they're not the only ones. We know that there are at least 600 men in detention --without access to lawyers -- at Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan and some others at secret sites around the world.
In our criminal-justice system people in prison are supposed to have done something wrong, told what they did, and given a trial to determine if they are guilty. Not that that system runs perfectly. Not that it isn't sometimes arbitrary and unjust, but with a good lawyer, you can hope for justice. The men at Guantanamo Military tribunals have cleared 90 of them for release, but they are still there. The others, although given the right of habeas corpus by our Supreme Court back in 2008, are still there, still without being charged with anything and still without access to a trial.
So we in Witness Against Torture are bearing witness to their suffering by fasting, vigiling, processing slowly through the streets of Washington in orange jumpsuits and black hoods, lobbying and risking arrest. Here's what that feels like:
Today (January 13) the temperature was around 35 degrees in the sun, but about 20 degrees when the wind blew. I had on my down jacket and long underwear under the jumpsuit but my fingers were cold until Matt handed out hand-warmers. Our group of about 40 vigiled outside a Federal District court where the ACLU was getting a preliminary hearing on the case of Ali v Rumsfeld. (Guess who is the criminal in this case.) Having been barred from entering the courthouse (we think illegally), we stood still or walked slowly in a circle. Standing still made my lower back ache, and holding my hands behind my back made my shoulders ache. So there I am, cold, hungry and aching and wondering how long this would last before our leadership would announce that it was time to stop that particular action. Under my black hood, hands behind me, I couldn't be looking at my watch, and being part of a solemn, silent and purposeful vigil, I couldn't just sit down or walk off.
While I am standing, I start to think trivial thoughts- like needing to remember to cut the nail I broke this morning. When I catch my mind wandering aimlessly like that, I attempt to focus myself. I think about the people I usually pray for every day. That feels worthwhile, but doesn't last long before I have strayed back into trivia. Then I think about the men at Guantanamo and the horrible journeys they have been on from capture to torture to indefinite imprisonment. I have seen documentaries showing their ordeals, which remind me of the pictures that came out of Abu Greib prison in Iraq a few years ago.
I am cold, but they were colder, with no warm clothing, no blankets and sometimes tortured by having cold water poured over them. My shoulders ache, but they were tied in stress positions, or made to stand against a wall with their arms shackled over their heads their feet barely touching the floor, for hours on end. I am hungry, but they were hungry and then fed such filthy food that they went on a hunger strike. If they persisted, they were force fed by a tube through the nose, sometimes overfed so that they were bloated, and then the tube would be yanked out causing pain. I am under a hood through which I can see dimly, but they were put under purposely foul-smelling, very thick hoods that made them feel like they were suffocating. I wish this standing in the cold would be over-- knowing it will be, but these men never knew when their torture session would be over and now don't know when or if they will ever be released. Our fasting is an act of solidarity with their suffering.
Of these 173 men, 90 have been cleared for release by their captors. But they are not released. Fifty-eight of them are from Yemen, and President Obama has signed an order that no more men be released to Yemen...because the Christmas bomber was trained there. So far no other country has offered to take these men. The other 31 cleared men are also waiting for a country to take them, because the U.S. has passed a law against receiving them here. Forty-eight detainees have been designated as too dangerous to release - ever. Does that mean that they have been tried and found guilty of horrific crimes? No, it means they are being held without charge or trial - most likely because we have tortured them so badly, that we dare not set them free. That leaves 33 detainees who have had or will have a military commissions trial, a highly discredited substitute for justice.
A poet from New York City's "Peace Poets" named Luke recited a very moving poem he wrote-- and I hope to post as soon as I get a copy -- in front of the Department of Justice where we were temporarily blocking the entrance. It's title and repeated refrain is, "There is a man under that hood," and that is what we want our government to recognize. Personally, I fear for my country when it carries out policies like indefinite detention and will not prosecute those who have been proven to have authorized torture. We must see that there are men under those hoods, men who should be treated humanely and justly.
We fast and protest for justice because our country is in a moral, and some would say a constitutional crisis, where the loss of civil and human rights for one group is a slippery slope for us all.
I am hungry. It is the third day of a 12 day liquids-only fast. I am in the company of about 40 other fasters whose spirit and commitment keep me going. Our purpose also keeps me going We are trying to bring justice to the remaininng 173 Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay Prison who are being held indefinitely by our government, some already cleared for release others not yet charged with any crime. And they're not the only ones. We know that there are at least 600 men in detention --without access to lawyers -- at Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan and some others at secret sites around the world.
In our criminal-justice system people in prison are supposed to have done something wrong, told what they did, and given a trial to determine if they are guilty. Not that that system runs perfectly. Not that it isn't sometimes arbitrary and unjust, but with a good lawyer, you can hope for justice. The men at Guantanamo Military tribunals have cleared 90 of them for release, but they are still there. The others, although given the right of habeas corpus by our Supreme Court back in 2008, are still there, still without being charged with anything and still without access to a trial.
So we in Witness Against Torture are bearing witness to their suffering by fasting, vigiling, processing slowly through the streets of Washington in orange jumpsuits and black hoods, lobbying and risking arrest. Here's what that feels like:
Today (January 13) the temperature was around 35 degrees in the sun, but about 20 degrees when the wind blew. I had on my down jacket and long underwear under the jumpsuit but my fingers were cold until Matt handed out hand-warmers. Our group of about 40 vigiled outside a Federal District court where the ACLU was getting a preliminary hearing on the case of Ali v Rumsfeld. (Guess who is the criminal in this case.) Having been barred from entering the courthouse (we think illegally), we stood still or walked slowly in a circle. Standing still made my lower back ache, and holding my hands behind my back made my shoulders ache. So there I am, cold, hungry and aching and wondering how long this would last before our leadership would announce that it was time to stop that particular action. Under my black hood, hands behind me, I couldn't be looking at my watch, and being part of a solemn, silent and purposeful vigil, I couldn't just sit down or walk off.
While I am standing, I start to think trivial thoughts- like needing to remember to cut the nail I broke this morning. When I catch my mind wandering aimlessly like that, I attempt to focus myself. I think about the people I usually pray for every day. That feels worthwhile, but doesn't last long before I have strayed back into trivia. Then I think about the men at Guantanamo and the horrible journeys they have been on from capture to torture to indefinite imprisonment. I have seen documentaries showing their ordeals, which remind me of the pictures that came out of Abu Greib prison in Iraq a few years ago.
I am cold, but they were colder, with no warm clothing, no blankets and sometimes tortured by having cold water poured over them. My shoulders ache, but they were tied in stress positions, or made to stand against a wall with their arms shackled over their heads their feet barely touching the floor, for hours on end. I am hungry, but they were hungry and then fed such filthy food that they went on a hunger strike. If they persisted, they were force fed by a tube through the nose, sometimes overfed so that they were bloated, and then the tube would be yanked out causing pain. I am under a hood through which I can see dimly, but they were put under purposely foul-smelling, very thick hoods that made them feel like they were suffocating. I wish this standing in the cold would be over-- knowing it will be, but these men never knew when their torture session would be over and now don't know when or if they will ever be released. Our fasting is an act of solidarity with their suffering.
Of these 173 men, 90 have been cleared for release by their captors. But they are not released. Fifty-eight of them are from Yemen, and President Obama has signed an order that no more men be released to Yemen...because the Christmas bomber was trained there. So far no other country has offered to take these men. The other 31 cleared men are also waiting for a country to take them, because the U.S. has passed a law against receiving them here. Forty-eight detainees have been designated as too dangerous to release - ever. Does that mean that they have been tried and found guilty of horrific crimes? No, it means they are being held without charge or trial - most likely because we have tortured them so badly, that we dare not set them free. That leaves 33 detainees who have had or will have a military commissions trial, a highly discredited substitute for justice.
A poet from New York City's "Peace Poets" named Luke recited a very moving poem he wrote-- and I hope to post as soon as I get a copy -- in front of the Department of Justice where we were temporarily blocking the entrance. It's title and repeated refrain is, "There is a man under that hood," and that is what we want our government to recognize. Personally, I fear for my country when it carries out policies like indefinite detention and will not prosecute those who have been proven to have authorized torture. We must see that there are men under those hoods, men who should be treated humanely and justly.
We fast and protest for justice because our country is in a moral, and some would say a constitutional crisis, where the loss of civil and human rights for one group is a slippery slope for us all.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Seasonal Concerns
It is holiday season - to me a sacred season, although Spirit has to fight for air time. There are many distractions and concerns that clutter my mind. For the first time in many years I am not writing my annual letter, not even sending out Christmas cards. Still, I feel moved to write to my blog audience with a few thoughts and updates.
I’ll start with Palestine, birthplace of Jesus and where he walked many a dusty or muddy road. Funny how we know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but we don’t know he was born in Palestine, and we don’t know about Christian Palestinians. There a lot of Christian Zionists who build and support Israeli settlements inside Palestine in order to squeeze Palestinians out, but do they do this knowing that some Palestinians are descendants of the original Christians? Well, let’s not get started on Christian Zionists, because we can’t reason with their ideology. Let’s just remember that they support Israel’s expansionist, colonialist policies and military occupation of what is left of historic Palestine - the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
I need to say that Obama’s attempt this Fall to bribe Netanyahu was a most disgusting, pathetic, and even criminal offense. I am referring to his offer to GIVE Israel $3 billion worth of brand new F-35 fighter planes if only Netanyahu would agree to resume the freeze on settlement construction for a mere 90 days. That’s not all he offered: I remind you that he also said he would veto any Security Council resolution that did not favor Israel and would never again ask for a settlement freeze if just - pretty please - Netanyahu would put another temporary halt to construction inside Palestine. And probably you didn’t even hear that Obama would allow a future peace agreement to include a “residual” Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley. That means INSIDE Palestine.
Who is Obama to give away Palestinian security and sovereignty in the Jordan Valley? And how does he justify further militarizing the already military occupation by supplying the latest in fighter planes? And how can he plead for a settlement freeze when the building of settlements is already illegal by international laws that we supposedly subscribe to?
The only good news in this is that Netanyahu, our staunch, never-to-be-abandoned ally, refused the offer. He pulled the plug on settlement freezes, and construction has been booming ever since, especially in Palestinian East Jerusalem.
There are many ideological settlers who think their government cannot grab more land and homes quickly enough, so they resort to violence and destruction to achieve their ends. One example: in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, a family of 14 was forcibly removed from their home on November 23rd. Settlers said the home was sold to them by one of the 5 brothers who inherited it from their parents. It appears that one brother sold his share to the Wohl Investment company, a front for Elad, which finances Jewish settlements in Jerusalem. There was not time to appeal for a judicial review of what should become of this home and its inhabitants. The Israeli police (and courts, when they are used) supported the settlers’ claims and executed the evacuation.
Another example: On November 25, settlers attacked and beat a 7 year old boy, Adam Mansour Al-Rishiq, as he was walking through his neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Another example: in October, when I was in Palestine, settlers in the North burned down 2500 olive trees in one village, Burin.
Turning to Gaza, which may seem like another country as it is rarely mentioned in the same breath as the West Bank, it continues to be under siege by Israel. The pretext is security, lest the Hamas “terrorists” import some weapons to fire at Israel. The result is the impoverishment and imprisonment of an entire population - 1.5 million civilians. In early December reports from Gaza, verified by the U.N., showed a decline in the amount of wheat that Israel allowed into Gaza, bringing to a critical shortage the grain needed for bread and for animal feed, particularly chickens. In Palestine, bread is central to every meal, and chicken is the main source of animal protein for those who can afford it. Bakeries have had to cut back on hours of production, and farmers are also curtailing the number of birds they can raise. For the last two weeks of November, animal fodder allowed in dropped from 16,000 tons a week, to 2,000 tons a week.
As for construction materials, desperately needed to maintain sewage treatment plants and rebuild schools, clinics and homes since their destruction by Israel in 2008-09, they are at 11% of pre- 2007 levels. (June, 2007 is when Hamas assumed complete control of Gaza and the international community started the punishing sanctions that are mostly still in place today.) Even the U.N. run schools and clinics receive only 7% of needed materials for rebuilding.
Gaza has been allowed to export only strawberries and carnations, which doesn’t make for a vibrant economy. In response to international criticism, Israel recently said they would allow more exports, but promises are usually forgotten once outside clamor for justice subsides. Of Gazans who wish to travel outside their tiny homeland only 1% of the 2000 level are given permits by Israel.
One more item about Gaza that usually escapes our media. Israel has declared a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel, which is entirely inside Gaza and takes up 35% of its arable land and 85% of its fishing waters. The boundaries of the buffer zone are not marked, but anyone seen inside of it is shot. Fishing ships that stray outside of the 2 mile limit are shot at too. To date, six Palestinians have been killed and 50 injured in the buffer zone. To say that Gaza is a prison is a fairly accurate description - an Israeli prison funded by our tax dollars.
Well, friends, I didn’t know I had that much to say about Palestine in this Holy Day season, but to get back to the existence of Christians there, you should know that my friends in Bethlehem will be holding several days of demonstrations and celebrations, acknowledging the birth of Christ the Rebel and Redeemer. Maybe next year I will join them.
Not really giving it the space it is due, I want to mention my recent experience protesting the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The train ride down and back was a little too long (22 hours each way), but the spirit of the 2 days of protest and song, workshops and film and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Central and South America paid for the travel.
A kind of reverence infused the event, most poignantly felt when the names of the murdered and disappeared at the hands of graduates of the SOA were read one by one from the main stage, and we who marched by with our small white crosses responded, “Presente!” to each one. You would have cried to hear the name of a child five years old or 20 days old, or the young father, 27 years old, or the great-grandmother, 80 years old - without ever knowing how they were killed or tortured, but knowing that we North Americans are responsible.
I don’t go to Georgia every year, (this was only my fourth time), and I don’t risk arrest there because the penalty now is 6 months in jail, but I had to go this year following my visit to El Salvador last Spring with Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of the SOA Watch and this annual protest. Father Roy is one of those humans of such humility and courage that you just fall in love with him. In El Salvador I fell in love with Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, whose life we were honoring on the 30th anniversary of his assassination. It is fitting to end with a quote from him to inspire us to keep on trying to defend the rights of the poor against the abuses of the mighty, and to defend out planet Earth from our own ravages:
“Each of us has individual greatness. God would not be our author if we were something worthless. You and I and all of us are worth very much, because we are creatures of God, and God has prodigally given his wonderful gifts to each person.” (September 4, 1977)
I would add that God has given us this Earth, not to own but as a gift for us to treasure. So in celebration of the Solstice, and of Christmas, and as a promise to the New Year, let us take care of one another and of the Planet and be happy that we have this opportunity! Sherrill
I’ll start with Palestine, birthplace of Jesus and where he walked many a dusty or muddy road. Funny how we know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but we don’t know he was born in Palestine, and we don’t know about Christian Palestinians. There a lot of Christian Zionists who build and support Israeli settlements inside Palestine in order to squeeze Palestinians out, but do they do this knowing that some Palestinians are descendants of the original Christians? Well, let’s not get started on Christian Zionists, because we can’t reason with their ideology. Let’s just remember that they support Israel’s expansionist, colonialist policies and military occupation of what is left of historic Palestine - the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
I need to say that Obama’s attempt this Fall to bribe Netanyahu was a most disgusting, pathetic, and even criminal offense. I am referring to his offer to GIVE Israel $3 billion worth of brand new F-35 fighter planes if only Netanyahu would agree to resume the freeze on settlement construction for a mere 90 days. That’s not all he offered: I remind you that he also said he would veto any Security Council resolution that did not favor Israel and would never again ask for a settlement freeze if just - pretty please - Netanyahu would put another temporary halt to construction inside Palestine. And probably you didn’t even hear that Obama would allow a future peace agreement to include a “residual” Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley. That means INSIDE Palestine.
Who is Obama to give away Palestinian security and sovereignty in the Jordan Valley? And how does he justify further militarizing the already military occupation by supplying the latest in fighter planes? And how can he plead for a settlement freeze when the building of settlements is already illegal by international laws that we supposedly subscribe to?
The only good news in this is that Netanyahu, our staunch, never-to-be-abandoned ally, refused the offer. He pulled the plug on settlement freezes, and construction has been booming ever since, especially in Palestinian East Jerusalem.
There are many ideological settlers who think their government cannot grab more land and homes quickly enough, so they resort to violence and destruction to achieve their ends. One example: in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, a family of 14 was forcibly removed from their home on November 23rd. Settlers said the home was sold to them by one of the 5 brothers who inherited it from their parents. It appears that one brother sold his share to the Wohl Investment company, a front for Elad, which finances Jewish settlements in Jerusalem. There was not time to appeal for a judicial review of what should become of this home and its inhabitants. The Israeli police (and courts, when they are used) supported the settlers’ claims and executed the evacuation.
Another example: On November 25, settlers attacked and beat a 7 year old boy, Adam Mansour Al-Rishiq, as he was walking through his neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Another example: in October, when I was in Palestine, settlers in the North burned down 2500 olive trees in one village, Burin.
Turning to Gaza, which may seem like another country as it is rarely mentioned in the same breath as the West Bank, it continues to be under siege by Israel. The pretext is security, lest the Hamas “terrorists” import some weapons to fire at Israel. The result is the impoverishment and imprisonment of an entire population - 1.5 million civilians. In early December reports from Gaza, verified by the U.N., showed a decline in the amount of wheat that Israel allowed into Gaza, bringing to a critical shortage the grain needed for bread and for animal feed, particularly chickens. In Palestine, bread is central to every meal, and chicken is the main source of animal protein for those who can afford it. Bakeries have had to cut back on hours of production, and farmers are also curtailing the number of birds they can raise. For the last two weeks of November, animal fodder allowed in dropped from 16,000 tons a week, to 2,000 tons a week.
As for construction materials, desperately needed to maintain sewage treatment plants and rebuild schools, clinics and homes since their destruction by Israel in 2008-09, they are at 11% of pre- 2007 levels. (June, 2007 is when Hamas assumed complete control of Gaza and the international community started the punishing sanctions that are mostly still in place today.) Even the U.N. run schools and clinics receive only 7% of needed materials for rebuilding.
Gaza has been allowed to export only strawberries and carnations, which doesn’t make for a vibrant economy. In response to international criticism, Israel recently said they would allow more exports, but promises are usually forgotten once outside clamor for justice subsides. Of Gazans who wish to travel outside their tiny homeland only 1% of the 2000 level are given permits by Israel.
One more item about Gaza that usually escapes our media. Israel has declared a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel, which is entirely inside Gaza and takes up 35% of its arable land and 85% of its fishing waters. The boundaries of the buffer zone are not marked, but anyone seen inside of it is shot. Fishing ships that stray outside of the 2 mile limit are shot at too. To date, six Palestinians have been killed and 50 injured in the buffer zone. To say that Gaza is a prison is a fairly accurate description - an Israeli prison funded by our tax dollars.
Well, friends, I didn’t know I had that much to say about Palestine in this Holy Day season, but to get back to the existence of Christians there, you should know that my friends in Bethlehem will be holding several days of demonstrations and celebrations, acknowledging the birth of Christ the Rebel and Redeemer. Maybe next year I will join them.
Not really giving it the space it is due, I want to mention my recent experience protesting the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The train ride down and back was a little too long (22 hours each way), but the spirit of the 2 days of protest and song, workshops and film and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Central and South America paid for the travel.
A kind of reverence infused the event, most poignantly felt when the names of the murdered and disappeared at the hands of graduates of the SOA were read one by one from the main stage, and we who marched by with our small white crosses responded, “Presente!” to each one. You would have cried to hear the name of a child five years old or 20 days old, or the young father, 27 years old, or the great-grandmother, 80 years old - without ever knowing how they were killed or tortured, but knowing that we North Americans are responsible.
I don’t go to Georgia every year, (this was only my fourth time), and I don’t risk arrest there because the penalty now is 6 months in jail, but I had to go this year following my visit to El Salvador last Spring with Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of the SOA Watch and this annual protest. Father Roy is one of those humans of such humility and courage that you just fall in love with him. In El Salvador I fell in love with Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, whose life we were honoring on the 30th anniversary of his assassination. It is fitting to end with a quote from him to inspire us to keep on trying to defend the rights of the poor against the abuses of the mighty, and to defend out planet Earth from our own ravages:
“Each of us has individual greatness. God would not be our author if we were something worthless. You and I and all of us are worth very much, because we are creatures of God, and God has prodigally given his wonderful gifts to each person.” (September 4, 1977)
I would add that God has given us this Earth, not to own but as a gift for us to treasure. So in celebration of the Solstice, and of Christmas, and as a promise to the New Year, let us take care of one another and of the Planet and be happy that we have this opportunity! Sherrill
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Hope for Palestine, or Not
I am just back from Palestine where almost everyone told me that they have lost hope. I hadn’t been hearing that in the past years, so it was pretty depressing.
Then today in church the pastor said that to lose hope is to fail to honor those who have gone before us.
And tonight I talked with a Palestinian who lives here in Massachusetts, and he said that there hasn’t been any hope for Palestine since the Oslo Accords set the stage for unfettered Israeli expansion.
Hope for what? The hope that has been lost since my last visit in 2009 was for the international community to finally come through with pressure on Israel to stop building settlements so that there might be the possibility of negotiating an end to the occupation. But when Obama said “please stop”, and Israel said “no thank you”, that was the end. It became crystal clear that Israel was going to continue to do just as they pleased, and no power on earth was going to stop them.
As for honoring those who went before, those who have struggled for Palestinian liberation since 1948 or before, right up to the Turks who died on board the Mavi Mamara trying to reach Gaza, and including the olive farmers killed in their fields this season, and the Silwan resident shot by a settler in September as he was on his way to early morning prayers at the mosque, do their deaths require us to have hope in a falsehood called “the peace process?” Maybe we honor them more by looking facts in the face.
That’s what my Massachusetts Palestinian friend was saying. Any chance of Israel changing course has long since vanished. Israel was founded with a plan in place to take the whole of Palestine, and now they are armed not just with military weapons, and a nefarious set of regulations, but with a propaganda machine that reaches right into the U.S. Congress and media.
Catching up on my mail today, one article illustrates the hopeless situation facing Palestinians in their daily lives. The article is from an Associated Press journalist, Diaa Hadid, reporting from Jenin, West Bank, Palestine. She tells of the Helou family who are trapped in this city because Israel will not recognize their residency in the West Bank. The father and four of the children were born in Gaza and have Gazan IDs. The mother and four younger children were born in Jenin. If they try to travel outside Jenin with a Gaza ID, they will be deported to Gaza. If they were to return to Gaza even to visit they would lose their West Bank home. There are about 20,000 Palestinians in this same predicament. They cannot travel between the two parts of Palestine, and with Gaza IDs they are subject to “deportation” to Gaza. This is one of Israel’s tools for clearing the West Bank of Palestinians. There are hundreds of such tools.
I don’t want to lose hope for Palestine. I know a lot of fine and loving people in there, and I want them to have a life. But the facts on the ground, put there by Israel and sustained by the United States, look hopeless. So I turn to a poem by Wendell Berry called “Practice Resurrection”. It was in my “to read” pile of papers and turned up today. Here are some of the lines:
“So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute....
“Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable.
Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.....
“As soon as the generals and politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it.
Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn’t go.”
His words shake my mind loose from the facts on the ground and allow me to find hope for Palestine in the unpredictable, in miracles, in the farmer’s inexhaustible love for his land. And maybe that's enough.
Then today in church the pastor said that to lose hope is to fail to honor those who have gone before us.
And tonight I talked with a Palestinian who lives here in Massachusetts, and he said that there hasn’t been any hope for Palestine since the Oslo Accords set the stage for unfettered Israeli expansion.
Hope for what? The hope that has been lost since my last visit in 2009 was for the international community to finally come through with pressure on Israel to stop building settlements so that there might be the possibility of negotiating an end to the occupation. But when Obama said “please stop”, and Israel said “no thank you”, that was the end. It became crystal clear that Israel was going to continue to do just as they pleased, and no power on earth was going to stop them.
As for honoring those who went before, those who have struggled for Palestinian liberation since 1948 or before, right up to the Turks who died on board the Mavi Mamara trying to reach Gaza, and including the olive farmers killed in their fields this season, and the Silwan resident shot by a settler in September as he was on his way to early morning prayers at the mosque, do their deaths require us to have hope in a falsehood called “the peace process?” Maybe we honor them more by looking facts in the face.
That’s what my Massachusetts Palestinian friend was saying. Any chance of Israel changing course has long since vanished. Israel was founded with a plan in place to take the whole of Palestine, and now they are armed not just with military weapons, and a nefarious set of regulations, but with a propaganda machine that reaches right into the U.S. Congress and media.
Catching up on my mail today, one article illustrates the hopeless situation facing Palestinians in their daily lives. The article is from an Associated Press journalist, Diaa Hadid, reporting from Jenin, West Bank, Palestine. She tells of the Helou family who are trapped in this city because Israel will not recognize their residency in the West Bank. The father and four of the children were born in Gaza and have Gazan IDs. The mother and four younger children were born in Jenin. If they try to travel outside Jenin with a Gaza ID, they will be deported to Gaza. If they were to return to Gaza even to visit they would lose their West Bank home. There are about 20,000 Palestinians in this same predicament. They cannot travel between the two parts of Palestine, and with Gaza IDs they are subject to “deportation” to Gaza. This is one of Israel’s tools for clearing the West Bank of Palestinians. There are hundreds of such tools.
I don’t want to lose hope for Palestine. I know a lot of fine and loving people in there, and I want them to have a life. But the facts on the ground, put there by Israel and sustained by the United States, look hopeless. So I turn to a poem by Wendell Berry called “Practice Resurrection”. It was in my “to read” pile of papers and turned up today. Here are some of the lines:
“So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute....
“Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable.
Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.....
“As soon as the generals and politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it.
Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn’t go.”
His words shake my mind loose from the facts on the ground and allow me to find hope for Palestine in the unpredictable, in miracles, in the farmer’s inexhaustible love for his land. And maybe that's enough.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The West Bank Is Also Under Seige
Here is a family I know quite well, having been a guest in their house in Nablus many times, and having hosted the father and his youngest son in my house as well. It s Mohammed's family: his wife, Samar, his older son, Yazan, 23 and 15 year old Majed. ( The daughter, Raya, is married and out of the house.) Not only are we friends, but Mohammed and I are both involved in the struggle to free Palestine from the grip of Israel's occupation.
I respect Mohammed's perspective and values which are informed by more than 15 arrests and times in Israeli prisons simply for his involvement in grassroots organizing, and by his deep Muslim faith. Further, this family is an urban, professional family, both parents being university professors, and the children either with advanced degrees or aspiring to such. Thus their opinions on Palestine's present status and future prospects are important to record.
Mohammed believes that it will just take one incident to set off a violent revolt among Palestinians, and that spark will come from the action of Israeli settlers. Settler violence is on the rise in rural and urban areas alike. If the reaction becomes a full Intifada, it will be different from the others, but he can't forsee what shape it will take.
For years settlers have stolen the sacks of olives from farmers after they have completed a day of hard work to harvest them, or they have burned and cut the olive trees in order to deprive Palestinians from this vital crop. But this year Israeli settlers have added a new tactic to disrupt the olive harvest: they are coming into the olive groves at night and stealing the olives off the trees. When the farmers arrive in the early morning to start picking, they find the trees are bare of fruit. The settlers thus avoid direct confrontation with the farmers while provoking them with a poisonous surprise. The settlers also get around the arrangement that the Palestinians have managed to make with the Israeli army whereby farmers are given from one to four days to harvest without fear of settler interference. These arrangements do not allow enough time to complete the harvest nor to provide time for pruning trees and conditioning the soil. Under normal conditions, a farmer attends to his trees all year round.
In urban East Jerusalem, settlers have been steadily expanding their holdings, but now their armed "guards" are roaming through Palestinian neighborhoods at night and in September shot and killed a man on his way to early morning prayers. In the neighborhood of Sheik Jarrah, Palestinian families have been forcefully evicted from their homes of which they are the lawful owners, in order for settlers to move in. So far the reaction from Palestinians has been non-violent demonstrations, in which they are joined by outraged Israeli peace activists and by international supporters. However, with many more homes already targeted by settlers for take-over, one has to wonder how long the Palestinians' anger will remain corked.
Mohammed’s wife adds that the so-called peace talks won't give Palestinians their rights. "I am not optomistic," she says. " Israel doesn't want peace, so things will get worse." Maybe there will be another Intifada. She wants to see two states, and believes that many others want that solution also.
Yazin's anger at Israel simmers just below the surface. He was arrested on trumped up charges three years ago, tortured and imprisoned for 2 years. (As in most cases of arrest of young Palestinians, the charges were vague, the military trial unfair, and the sentencing arbitrary.) As a result, Yazin suffers from bleeding ulcers and "fire" in his lower legs where he was beaten, by inability to sleep and difficulty concentrating on his university studies. Mohammed says that his son's personality has been changed by the prison experience. He used to be gentle and generous; now he is moody, defiant and angry. I have little doubt that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In answer to my questions about prospects for peace with Israel, Yazin said, " There is no Israel." I was puzzled by this statement and pressed him for an explanation. In essence, he said that Jews came to Palestine and took the land. It wasn't theirs before the state of Israel was formed, and it still isn't theirs. So there is no Israel-- only Palestine.
Yazin finds it hard to stay interested in his university major in Business Administration, which he was forced to suspend while in prison, because there is little prospect of finding work in Palestine when he graduates in 2 years. The occupation, with its goal of squeezing Palestinians out of Palestine, has destroyed the economy. Still, he is thinking ahead and wants to get his Masters in the U.S., and then go wherever he can find a good job.
I later asked Mohammed what Palestinians think of the Free Gaza flotilla movement. He said that they support it from the humanitarian point of view,, but want the international community to realize that the West Bank is also under siege, and that Gaza is not a separate entity. We must create interventions that address all parts of Palestine.
I wonder if we must think of an over-land caravan through Jordan to the Allenby Bridge crossing into the West Bank to coincide with the flotillas aimed at Gaza.
I respect Mohammed's perspective and values which are informed by more than 15 arrests and times in Israeli prisons simply for his involvement in grassroots organizing, and by his deep Muslim faith. Further, this family is an urban, professional family, both parents being university professors, and the children either with advanced degrees or aspiring to such. Thus their opinions on Palestine's present status and future prospects are important to record.
Mohammed believes that it will just take one incident to set off a violent revolt among Palestinians, and that spark will come from the action of Israeli settlers. Settler violence is on the rise in rural and urban areas alike. If the reaction becomes a full Intifada, it will be different from the others, but he can't forsee what shape it will take.
For years settlers have stolen the sacks of olives from farmers after they have completed a day of hard work to harvest them, or they have burned and cut the olive trees in order to deprive Palestinians from this vital crop. But this year Israeli settlers have added a new tactic to disrupt the olive harvest: they are coming into the olive groves at night and stealing the olives off the trees. When the farmers arrive in the early morning to start picking, they find the trees are bare of fruit. The settlers thus avoid direct confrontation with the farmers while provoking them with a poisonous surprise. The settlers also get around the arrangement that the Palestinians have managed to make with the Israeli army whereby farmers are given from one to four days to harvest without fear of settler interference. These arrangements do not allow enough time to complete the harvest nor to provide time for pruning trees and conditioning the soil. Under normal conditions, a farmer attends to his trees all year round.
In urban East Jerusalem, settlers have been steadily expanding their holdings, but now their armed "guards" are roaming through Palestinian neighborhoods at night and in September shot and killed a man on his way to early morning prayers. In the neighborhood of Sheik Jarrah, Palestinian families have been forcefully evicted from their homes of which they are the lawful owners, in order for settlers to move in. So far the reaction from Palestinians has been non-violent demonstrations, in which they are joined by outraged Israeli peace activists and by international supporters. However, with many more homes already targeted by settlers for take-over, one has to wonder how long the Palestinians' anger will remain corked.
Mohammed’s wife adds that the so-called peace talks won't give Palestinians their rights. "I am not optomistic," she says. " Israel doesn't want peace, so things will get worse." Maybe there will be another Intifada. She wants to see two states, and believes that many others want that solution also.
Yazin's anger at Israel simmers just below the surface. He was arrested on trumped up charges three years ago, tortured and imprisoned for 2 years. (As in most cases of arrest of young Palestinians, the charges were vague, the military trial unfair, and the sentencing arbitrary.) As a result, Yazin suffers from bleeding ulcers and "fire" in his lower legs where he was beaten, by inability to sleep and difficulty concentrating on his university studies. Mohammed says that his son's personality has been changed by the prison experience. He used to be gentle and generous; now he is moody, defiant and angry. I have little doubt that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In answer to my questions about prospects for peace with Israel, Yazin said, " There is no Israel." I was puzzled by this statement and pressed him for an explanation. In essence, he said that Jews came to Palestine and took the land. It wasn't theirs before the state of Israel was formed, and it still isn't theirs. So there is no Israel-- only Palestine.
Yazin finds it hard to stay interested in his university major in Business Administration, which he was forced to suspend while in prison, because there is little prospect of finding work in Palestine when he graduates in 2 years. The occupation, with its goal of squeezing Palestinians out of Palestine, has destroyed the economy. Still, he is thinking ahead and wants to get his Masters in the U.S., and then go wherever he can find a good job.
I later asked Mohammed what Palestinians think of the Free Gaza flotilla movement. He said that they support it from the humanitarian point of view,, but want the international community to realize that the West Bank is also under siege, and that Gaza is not a separate entity. We must create interventions that address all parts of Palestine.
I wonder if we must think of an over-land caravan through Jordan to the Allenby Bridge crossing into the West Bank to coincide with the flotillas aimed at Gaza.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Al-Walaja Village Gasps for Breath
We went to see Al-Walaja with professor and activist Mazin Qumsiyeh who wanted us to witness how the Separation Wall is encircling the village of 2300 people in order to separate it from the agriculutral land from which it survives. The benefits for Israel are: 1) that the village's land that will be on the other side of the wall will be available for expansion of the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, and 2) villagers who can no longer make a living, will leave, thus reducing the overall Arab population that Israel has to deal with.
To put today's crisis in perspective, Mazin gave us this history. The original Al-Walaja was completely demolished in 1948 by Jewish forces fighting the indigenous Arab inhabitants in order to establish a Jewish state free of an Arab population. It had been a prosperous food-producing area on its 17,793 dunams (4440 acres) of land. When the 25,000 villagers were forced to flee, they dispersed to Jordan and to refugee camps all over the Middle East. Among them was Abu Nidal (Ahmed Bargout) who was hosting us on this visit. He was also among the 10% who came back in 1963 to rebuild. By then the village was reduced to a quarter of its original size and under the control of Jordan.
However, life was to take another sorry turn in 1967 when Israel conquered the Jordanian territories and started the military occupation that endures until today. At that time, and without notifying the citizens of Al-Walaja, Israel annexed most of the village into Jerusalem. Al- Walaja did not come to realize what that meant until 1982 when all of their homes and structures received demolition orders for being erected on land claimed by Israel. The orders were promptly executed. Having nowhere else to go, and determined to hold onto their ancestral lands, the villagers lived in caves and shelters until they could once again rebuild. This time they knew that their new homes, schools and mosques would be considered illegal by Israel and subject to demolition at any time. Many have been demolished.
Fast forward to 2006 when Al-Walaja heard of the Israeli plan to build the separation wall around the village. They went to court - Israeli court - and though a case is still pending to decide if the wall can be put there, the wall is under construction. We could see parts of the tall, concrete structure that have been finished, and, just below Abu Nidal's living room where we sipped tea, we could see the heavy equipment moving up and down the dirt road where the wall will soon be. Like many things in pPalestinian daily life, there was a surreal quality to this view. On the near side of the dirt road are Abu Nidal's house, animal pens, fruit trees, gardens, and us sipping tea as if everything were normal. On the other side of the dirt road and down the hillside into the valley below are Abu Nidal's olive groves, grape vineyards and sheep pastures--90% of his land. Also on that side is his family cemetery where his mother is buried. The view out another window shows one of the village roads, which has been blocked from use while the wall construction goes on. When the wall is finished, he has been informed, the reopened road will be about 5 feet wide, which cannot accommodate a car.
When the wall is finished...which won't be long now, the houses inside of it will not be exempt for demolition orders. More than half of them already have the orders. Part of the torture is that no one knows when the bulldozers will come...
Abu Nidal is a distinguished-looking man with white hair who must be in his 70's. He has seven grown children. Three of his sons have not married because they don't have any money. He ended his explanation of what is happening here by mentioning the emotional stress everyone is under which shows up in the increase of tensions within families. One of the biggest strains is the separation from parents, siblings and children caused by the restrictions on travel. For example, he has a sister in Jerusalem, but he is not allowed to go to Jerusalem from the West Bank. And soon his sister will not be allowed into Al-Walaja because only its residents will have passes to cross through the gate in the wall.
We asked Abu-Nidal what he thought about the future. He laughed. "Bleak," he answered. There is alot of animosity towards the occupier, the world doesn't do anything to help, and there are those within Palestine who collaborate with Israel. The PA doesn't do anything and "this is more dangerous than the settlements." He called it a "conspiracy of silence."
Before we said goodbye to Abu-Nidal, he took us up to the roof for a better view of Al-Walaja and Jerusalem just across the valley. As a parting gift he cracked open his home-grown walnets and handed us the fresh meats.
Mazin then took us to meet with the leader of the Village Council of Al-Walaja, Abu Ahmad. He added more history and analysis to the picture. Before the occupation there were 26 water wells in the village. Now there are only 2, and these are being tapped by the nearby settlements. When the wall is finished, the 2 wells will be on the other side, and the occupation does not alow Palestinians to dig new wells.
Sixty percent of villagers now depend on U.N. aid, for which they are eligible due to being officially designated as refugess from '48. I asked Abu Ahmad what he thought of the PA's economic development plan. Did he see any benefit for Al-Walaja? He answered, "The PA is under occupation." To illustrate his point, he pointed out that Israel forbids Palestinians to import fertilizers or pesticides.
As for pledging allegiance to a "Jewish state" as Israel's parliament is now considering, he said he was shocked that the U.S. would support this idea because it takes away the rights of all Palestinians, those who live in the diaspora and want to return and those who live inside Israel but could not swear loyalty to a state only for Jews. He concluded that moderates in the Arab world who want a peaceful solution for Palestine are losing credibility, which will leave the radicals in charge of the field. Here in Palestine, people voted for Hamas in 2006 because they were fed up with Fateh, not because of Hamas' ideology, but if they voted today, the resistance parties would win because they are willing to fight.
Meanwhile, Al-Walaja is gasping for breath.
To put today's crisis in perspective, Mazin gave us this history. The original Al-Walaja was completely demolished in 1948 by Jewish forces fighting the indigenous Arab inhabitants in order to establish a Jewish state free of an Arab population. It had been a prosperous food-producing area on its 17,793 dunams (4440 acres) of land. When the 25,000 villagers were forced to flee, they dispersed to Jordan and to refugee camps all over the Middle East. Among them was Abu Nidal (Ahmed Bargout) who was hosting us on this visit. He was also among the 10% who came back in 1963 to rebuild. By then the village was reduced to a quarter of its original size and under the control of Jordan.
However, life was to take another sorry turn in 1967 when Israel conquered the Jordanian territories and started the military occupation that endures until today. At that time, and without notifying the citizens of Al-Walaja, Israel annexed most of the village into Jerusalem. Al- Walaja did not come to realize what that meant until 1982 when all of their homes and structures received demolition orders for being erected on land claimed by Israel. The orders were promptly executed. Having nowhere else to go, and determined to hold onto their ancestral lands, the villagers lived in caves and shelters until they could once again rebuild. This time they knew that their new homes, schools and mosques would be considered illegal by Israel and subject to demolition at any time. Many have been demolished.
Fast forward to 2006 when Al-Walaja heard of the Israeli plan to build the separation wall around the village. They went to court - Israeli court - and though a case is still pending to decide if the wall can be put there, the wall is under construction. We could see parts of the tall, concrete structure that have been finished, and, just below Abu Nidal's living room where we sipped tea, we could see the heavy equipment moving up and down the dirt road where the wall will soon be. Like many things in pPalestinian daily life, there was a surreal quality to this view. On the near side of the dirt road are Abu Nidal's house, animal pens, fruit trees, gardens, and us sipping tea as if everything were normal. On the other side of the dirt road and down the hillside into the valley below are Abu Nidal's olive groves, grape vineyards and sheep pastures--90% of his land. Also on that side is his family cemetery where his mother is buried. The view out another window shows one of the village roads, which has been blocked from use while the wall construction goes on. When the wall is finished, he has been informed, the reopened road will be about 5 feet wide, which cannot accommodate a car.
When the wall is finished...which won't be long now, the houses inside of it will not be exempt for demolition orders. More than half of them already have the orders. Part of the torture is that no one knows when the bulldozers will come...
Abu Nidal is a distinguished-looking man with white hair who must be in his 70's. He has seven grown children. Three of his sons have not married because they don't have any money. He ended his explanation of what is happening here by mentioning the emotional stress everyone is under which shows up in the increase of tensions within families. One of the biggest strains is the separation from parents, siblings and children caused by the restrictions on travel. For example, he has a sister in Jerusalem, but he is not allowed to go to Jerusalem from the West Bank. And soon his sister will not be allowed into Al-Walaja because only its residents will have passes to cross through the gate in the wall.
We asked Abu-Nidal what he thought about the future. He laughed. "Bleak," he answered. There is alot of animosity towards the occupier, the world doesn't do anything to help, and there are those within Palestine who collaborate with Israel. The PA doesn't do anything and "this is more dangerous than the settlements." He called it a "conspiracy of silence."
Before we said goodbye to Abu-Nidal, he took us up to the roof for a better view of Al-Walaja and Jerusalem just across the valley. As a parting gift he cracked open his home-grown walnets and handed us the fresh meats.
Mazin then took us to meet with the leader of the Village Council of Al-Walaja, Abu Ahmad. He added more history and analysis to the picture. Before the occupation there were 26 water wells in the village. Now there are only 2, and these are being tapped by the nearby settlements. When the wall is finished, the 2 wells will be on the other side, and the occupation does not alow Palestinians to dig new wells.
Sixty percent of villagers now depend on U.N. aid, for which they are eligible due to being officially designated as refugess from '48. I asked Abu Ahmad what he thought of the PA's economic development plan. Did he see any benefit for Al-Walaja? He answered, "The PA is under occupation." To illustrate his point, he pointed out that Israel forbids Palestinians to import fertilizers or pesticides.
As for pledging allegiance to a "Jewish state" as Israel's parliament is now considering, he said he was shocked that the U.S. would support this idea because it takes away the rights of all Palestinians, those who live in the diaspora and want to return and those who live inside Israel but could not swear loyalty to a state only for Jews. He concluded that moderates in the Arab world who want a peaceful solution for Palestine are losing credibility, which will leave the radicals in charge of the field. Here in Palestine, people voted for Hamas in 2006 because they were fed up with Fateh, not because of Hamas' ideology, but if they voted today, the resistance parties would win because they are willing to fight.
Meanwhile, Al-Walaja is gasping for breath.
Applying Israeli Justice to Palestinians
Mazin Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian activist, known to many in Palestine because of his courage in contronting Israeli soldiers at demonstrations or home demolitions, for his astute analysis of the Israeli occupation, and his knowledge of Middle Eastern history. He is a genetecist, a professor at Bethlehem University and has taught at several American universities, including Yale. He is just finishing his second book, this one about the history of nonviolent struggle in Palestine going back to the early 1900's. Mazin decided to move from the States back to Palestine 2 and a half years ago, to share in the hardships of the occupation while continuing the struggle for freedom for his homeland.
He is now being summoned to court by the Israeli military. The manner in which he was informed of this demand speaks to how Israel treats Palestinians:
--On October 19 Mazin received a hand-delivered registered letter dated October 3rd.
-- It is written entirely in Hebrew, for which he must seek translation.
--It gives him 30 days to answer "the charges against him", which are not stated in the letter.
This means Mazin must get an Israeli lawyer to investigate the charges and prepare an answer within eleven days--actually 7 working days.
This is Israeli military justice, the system that enforces the law in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. All Palestinians who are detained for any reason and need to appear before a judge, must do so in a military court. Israeli civil law does not apply to them.
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