Arriving In Hebron

I spent a couple of days in Ramallah to attend the nonviolent resistence ISM training which more than prepared me for life in the Tel Rumeida (TR) section of Hebron. Actually, the training scared the heck out of me. Worst case scenarios were given and they certainly appeared to be the worse. I had roughly one day after training to make my way down to Jerusalem where I took in some of the sites in the old city before I headed to TR the following day. I didn't intend to do ISM work while there, only teaching the kids, but later would find that it was impossible not to help out in other ways due to my conscience.

From Jerusalem I took a service taxi with Katie and Mary. The ride takes just about an hour. We had to switch services in the middle of a highways just outside of Jerusalem because it could not pass through the checkpoint. The road system is quite strange due to divisions between Israel and Palestine. I never did quite figure it out in regards to this point. Once we switched we headed directly for Hebron. The terrain is quite beautiful.

Rolling hills covered with rock gardens and catus. It reminded me of the high desert in eastern Oregon and Washington states. Every so often you can see a small village with just a few houses that look as though they will fall over at any minute. The closer we got to Hebron the more trash we saw, evidence of extreme poverty.

Once we arrived in Hebron I had a nervous feeling. This was it! I'm here to stay. We passed through the checkpoint dividing H1 from H2. H1 is a Palestinian only section of Hebron. H2 is where the Tel Rumeida settlement is. I can't even remember at this point if they asked for ID but regardless if they did this time, there would be many, many more times in which they would. We exited through the metal detectors and looked out onto Shuhada Street (street of martyrs).

It was like a ghost town. All of the oxidized bluish-green doors closed up. Once the heart and soul of Hebron but now a heavily armed guarded area completely shutdown. It was hard to imagine at that moment how things once appeared. Immediately we turned right to begin our walk up the very steep hill on Tel Rumeida Street.

The Palestinians are forced to walk up and down these extremely steep hills on a daily basis. Palestinians in TR are not allowed to drive cars. However, the settlers can. If someone was handicapped and could not walk I am not sure what they would do. Most likely they would be confined to a life at home. Even I had trouble walking down the hills. I was always in fear that I would slip and fall. Most likely a psychological block because others, especially Palestinian women, could walk down in high heels! But, they have had years of practice. One positive thing I can say about the hills is that they helped maintain my leg strength for running (which I couldn't do at all in TR).

At the top of the hill we passed another checkpoint with armed soldiers stationed at both sides of the street. Directly across from us where the road dead ends sat two ISMers keeping watch over the soldiers. Up the hill to the left sat the TR settlement. The soldiers here are basically useless and their job seemed to be to harrass Palestinians instead of providing protection to anyone. Eventually I would see them day after day playing around with each other, pointing guns as a game at women and children who walked by, stopping young Palestinian men to ask them to lift their shirts and trouser cuffs as though they were equipped with bombs.

Across from the settlement is a Palestinian home. We were told that we are not allowed to walk up that direction passed a certain point. Even the Palestinian's family members are not allowed to enter the family's home that way. Instead they must walk all the way around the back. About a 15 minute extra walk. Just the beginning of the absurd things I would hear about and witness with my own eyes.

Off in other direction was the international apartment. Atop the apartment was a roof with the most incredible view of Hebron as well as the areas we would patrol.

Across the street was the community center where I would begin teaching my classes.

Injustices in Hebron

This is a copy of a report from ISM in Hebron. I cried when I read it. I cried not only because of the disturbing nature of the report but because it occurred at the school where a lot of my students attend during the normal school year as well as the place where the summer camp I worked for took place. (I have yet to write about the summer camp, but trust me, it is coming soon!) Regardless, it appears that Hebron is getting worse. I knew things were getting progressively more violent when I left last Thursday. I am not surprised as there is never a good explanation or reason for anything that occurs there. This report is life as normal for the Palestinians. This report is depressing and is why I went to Palestine in the first place and it is why I now sit here and cry and feel horrible about leaving so soon. I just hope that others who read this will try to help as much as possible, if only just by spreading the word around that would be enough.

August 6, 2007 12:20pm

At 12:20pm international human right workers received a call from a local Palestinian coordinator that a section of Quartaba Girls School had been set on fire by Israeli settlers.Quartaba girls school is located directly across from Beit Hadassah settlement.

When internationals arrived Palestinian residents were present as well as an Israeli policeman.They found that the back screen door, which is a metal frame, had been peeled up. This was how the Israeli settlers managed to enter the school without being seen.



The settlers had placed the metal frame of a bed on top of a table and set fire to it, along with pictures of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The burning effigy was placed directly in front of a metal door that the children and teachers use to enter the school.

The fire had been burning for about 10 minutes before nearby Palestinian residents came with buckets of water and managed to put the fire out and keep it from spreading.

The internationals documented the scene and were told by the Palestinians that an electricity wire had been cut above the fire. It was apparent that this fire was started by adult settlers as the act was quite methodical and symbolic in the way it was laid out, with the pictures (of the Dome of the Rock), and the way they broke into the school. They also managed to commit the act undetected by Palestinians which no settler child could accomplish, and leads one to suspect that the act must have been planned and coordinated.


Israeli soldiers also later came to survey the scene, and at one point actually said that, for all they knew, it could have been Palestinians who had started the fire. They said that their was no solid evidence that it was Israeli settlers who had started the fire. This was obviously completely wrong, and offensive, since no Muslim would burn pictures of the Dome of the Rock or set fire to a Palestinian girls school. The only people who had motive to start the fire are Israeli settlers, who have in the past frequently attacked the schoolgirls and the school itself.




After ten more minutes the door to the school was opened and the windows inside were opened in order to release the smoke trapped inside the school.

Except for smoke damage, which was quiet extensive, there appeared to be no more damage to the school except for the cut electricity cable which will have to be repaired.

First Arrival

When I first arrived in Palestine I headed directly from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to my final resting destination in Ramallah. The scenery from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is very similar to that of driving in southern California around the LA area or even in Las Vegas. The houses are stucco with red terra cotta roofs. The highways are wide and smoothly paved. I thought for a moment that I was in America not Israel. When I requested to be dropped off at the Damascus Gate the driver stopped short on the highway, pointed over to the right and said to me to hurry and leave. He just took my money, threw my backpack on the ground and took off. You see, not many jewish drivers will venture near the Damascus Gate. It is part of the muslim quarter. It is not as nice and new of an area as most of Israel. Still it was where I needed and wanted to be.

From there the scenery to Ramallah was quite different. Once you pass through the Qalandia checkpoint things get a bit rough.

The roads are bumpy and sometimes not paved. The service was crowded with 7 passengers, all Palestinian except myself. It was obvious that I was an outsider however I was treated with much respect. We had to wind through smaller streets that pass through neighborhoods with Palestinian children playing in the streets as well as donkeys towing carts with many supplies for their owners. It was obvious that the people were living in poverty. Buildings had missing windows with graffitti on the walls and trash all over the streets. This did not remind me of America, well not as a whole anyway. This was the beginning of a true Palestinian experience.

Finally I arrived in Ramallah which is considered to be one of the more modern cities in Palestine. It is the acting capital and a lot of money is being pumped into new construction all throughout the area. Christians and muslim palestinians inhabit this city along with many internationals. It is quite a contrast from the ultra-conservative muslim city of Hebron where I was living during most my stay in Palestine. In Ramallah it is common to see women sans hijab as well as wearing short sleeved tops. This is not so in Hebron, of which I will write much more later.

The money being given to Ramallah for development is rumored to be invested there in order to create more of a divison amongst Palestinians. Those living in the north in cities like Jenin and Nablus as well as those in the south such as Hebron do not necessarily receive as much funding. Therefore, many Palestinians living near Ramallah tend to be content, as content as one can be under occupation because the entire country is still occupied despite new construction and development. However, those in the north and south still face more economical hardships as well as internal and external problems. Those same problems just seem to be masked in Ramallah for the moment. At least that is the feeling I had while there.

I really didn't spend a lot of time there, but I did get to check out the wadi and have some coffee at the Americanized Starbucks offshoot, Stars & Bucks.

Here you can sit and watch the people walk around shopping and the cars fight traffic around the circle in the menara. The hustle and bustle of Ramallah from the cafe for just a moment made me feel like I was at home, but just for a brief moment. Here it was difficult to really understand what life under occupation was going to be like. For that brief moment, it seemed as though there really weren't any of problems that I had read about in the news. At least they were not apparent on the suface. Everyone was smiling, shopping and enjoying their nargila as well as their cappucinos. Life was moving on. That is one thing I've noticed in Palestine. The people are strong and adapt to situations of hardship better than most Americans I know, including myself.

It was only a very short time later that I was exposed to the true hardships and realities of life under occupation.

Returned

I am safe in the U.S. now so I will be able to update this blog very soon. My return was uneventful. The Israeli security people only seemed interested in my trip to Egypt in 2003. For some reason they questioned me for about 5 minutes about why I went there, who I visited including questions about visiting families who live there. The security girl, who was maybe 20 years old, also asked about a stamp from Morocco and again the same line of questioning. After I went on to have my luggage searched but they really only removed 3/4 of the items. They didn't look at my photos or videos or even question why I was in Israel. I am thankful for that because I really, really, really want to return much sooner than later, insh'allah.

Summer Camp

Yesterday was the first day of summer camp for over 100 Palestinian kids, agess 7 - 14 years, at the Qurtuba school in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. We organized the kids into 5 groups of approximately 20 kids each. It's great to see so many kids coming out. The camp takes place outside on the school's campus. Tarps were used as tents and makeshift classroom and sprawled across the street tied to Palestinian homes. My yoga/ESL classes take place up the hill near the school's basketball court. I'll post pictures later.

The settlement is right across the street from the school. Although an Islamic cemetery and a high wall keep the view of the settlers limited, the settlers do pass by and stop and stare. Well, last night some of them decided to try to tear down the tents that are on Palestinian land. Fortunately no major damage was done and camp was held today with only one minor gliche in the morning.

In order to enter the camp/school Palestinians must either walk down the hill through the olive groves or down Shuhada Street and pass a checkpoint manned by armed IDF soldiers and sometimes armed settlers. Yes, that is right. Settlers, who are civilians, are allowed to carry weapons freely and walk the streets. However, Palestinians are not allowed any weapons at all. I'll blog on that later. Back to this morning. Children have to walk up a steep flight of stone steps from Shuhada Street to get to the school. Settlers were sitting on the steps trying to prevent the kids from going to camp. EAPPI support teams and ISM intervened. The principal even had a brief conversation with the settlers which consisted of establishing that arabs hate settlers and settlers hate arabs so they are equal. And that the school has done nothing to the settlers so they should leave everyone and everything alone. Camp continued for the day without a problem. Eventually the settlers got tired and left. You see it is our job to wear them out. Internationals are only here to help the palestinians so we have all day to sit and stare and wait. And fortunately this time the internationals were able to outwait them.

I taught one yoga class to girls and boys around the ages of 7-9 years. Then one class of basketball to all (wild) boys ages 7-14. They don't know the rules but seemed to have a really good time. And in the end, that is all that matters.

By the ISM Media Team

June 29th, 2007. On Friday evening about 20 human rights workers including members of ISM, EAPPI and CPT went to the Jabari family home which is situated on land between the Kiryat Arba and Givat Havot settlements. Settlers have constructed a footpath crossing the Jabari’s land in order to connect Kiryat Arba to Givat Havot. In 2002, settlers erected a tent on the Jabari’s land which they call a synagogue. The tent was dismantled twice by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) but the settlers rebuilt it. Currently there are no plans to dismantle the tent, instead the settlers are not supposed to enter it. If this is not making any sense to you, then you are not the only one. I can’t make any sense of it either.

The Jabari family asked members of the human rights groups to accompany them to their land so they could clear the dried grass and prepare the land to be used agriculturally again. The family has not used the land in the last six years, because of settler harassment, especially from settlement guards who are stationed across the street. This is despite a court order allowing them to do so. In the past, the family grazed their sheep and goats and cultivated fig trees and grapes on the land.

We arrived on the land and began pulling up the grass and packing it into bags for the animals to eat. The family eventually plans to plant olive trees on the land. We called the Israeli police before we got there to alert them to what we would be doing so they would be present to prevent any mischief and interference from settlers. Last time the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) came here, settlers prepared breakfast in the form of eggs and tomatoes to the head. The army and police eventually showed up and stood around but did not try to interfere. Settlers came and went; one placed a chair on the footpath, produced a Torah, and began praying.

Working The Land Part 1.

The greatest thing about the action was that the family was able to bring their goats onto the land to help finish the work. Fear of settlers harassing the family and hurting the goats had prevented them from doing this for a long time.

Working The Land Part 2.

We left as it began to grow dark, but not before we had tea and snacks and some of use got to ride the Jabari’s Arabian horse!

The walk back to Tel Rumeida was chock-full of the usual settler and soldier shenanigans which Hebron is known for. Palestinians are prevented from driving cars on the road that splits Kiryat Arba and Givat Havot. So they walk, or ride bikes, or ride horses. Oops, wait, I take that back, they can walk their horses, but they can’t ride them. A couple of Palestinians on horseback rode down the street and were ordered off the horses by soldiers. It was like they were in the 6th grade and the hall monitor was telling them not to ride their bike in the hall. Except it was some teenaged soldiers telling 30 year old men they had to walk their horses.

Walking down worshipper’s way we were greeted by settler saliva and rocks as they passed us on the way back from the Ibrahimi mosque/synagogue back to Kiryat Arba. We informed the army of this and as usual they did nothing.

At the mosque, Issa, our fearless Palestinian ISM coordinator was detained by soldiers who asked for his ID and searched his bag. In the meantime, another soldier had spirited away a teenaged member of the Jabari family who had been accompanying us.

The soldier took him over to a dark corner and it was a minute or so before we realized that the soldier was violently searching the boy and punching him in the stomach. As soon as we noticed and started screaming at the soldier, he stopped and released the boy.

The is something I have seen quite frequently, soldiers in Hebron will not beat a Palestinian if they know human rights workers are watching, so they try to sneak them away to someplace where we can’t see and as soon as they are discovered, they stop because they know what they are doing is wrong.

In the future, the local human rights groups plan to continue to accompany the Jabari’s to their land so they can begin cultivating it once more.

Safe in Palestine

I arrived safely in Palestine over a week ago. The experience so far has been wonderful, sad, depressing, and yet one that I will never forget. This post is going to be short because I have to prepare my English lesson plan for the three classes I'll be teaching later this afternoon.

I am teaching 3 hours a day with lots of other hours filled with preparation and planning time as well as helping out with direct action work such as helping farmers clear their fields for use for the first time in many, many years and witnessing the harsh realities of daily Palestinian life. I can honestly say though that I feel safe but I am vigilent. The IDF scares me more than the Palestinians and I will explain more about all of that later. However, I have not encountered many problems yet though I know many who have. It depends on the time of day and location when the problems occur.

Palestine is a beautiful country and its' people are equally beautiful, especially the children.

I have posted some pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/people/38523564@N00/ Please feel free to view often as I hope to update this blog weekly or as time allows.

'ssalama