A Teacher In Ramallah

Interrupting Your Day for a Much Belated Announcement

2008-03-31T19:29:00.002+02:00

Those of you who know me personally have probably been aware of this for a while, but I realized recently that not everyone who has been reading my blog is a Facebook Friend of mine, a relative or someone who is on my friends and family e-mail.

In late January/early February, after much deliberation, I decided that the changes that we had made with my position at the school were not supporting me in my personal and professional goals, and that I was going to leave the job. I had hoped that a project that I had in the pipeline, to do conflict resolution/leadership training in Jerusalem was going to be funded, which would allow me to stay in the region. However, the sponsoring organization ran into administrative problems with the funder, and the project was put on hold indefinitely.

In late February, I returned to New York City, which is where I am right now. I am hoping to line up funding to do some programs this summer in Jerusalem and the West Bank. I need to raise about $10,000 to cover expenses, as I will have to bring a partner with me, as my original partner was recently denied entry by the Israeli army at the Allenby Bridge when she returned from a meeting with some colleagues in Jordan.

If you - or anyone you know, including grantmakers - would like to make a contribution or receive information about the project, please let me know. You can leave me a message with contact info in the comments section (only I can see it).

Thanks for following along with my adventure. There are so many things that I loved about being in the West Bank, and I am still sorting out my feelings about being back. When people ask me if I'm glad to be home, I say yes - but there is still a bit of yearning to go back to the Middle East. Life, in many ways, is simpler there, although the political situation is complicated...and very little is taken for granted. I am enjoying the creature comforts and cultural diversity of being in New York, but I also look at the price that people pay to live here, and often wonder if it's worth it. Obviously 8 million+ people DO feel that it's worth it, but I'm less and less sure that I'm one of them. When I left New York in August, I shed almost all of my personal possessions. Now, I could go anywhere with little fuss--everything fits into 2 large suitcases and 2 carry on bags. I have lots of options. Perhaps too many.

In my About Me, I mention how there are little pieces of my heart everywhere that I've lived. Add another piece for Ramallah. The question is: when home is where the heart is, but your heart is in so many places...where is home?

Send a Message

2008-02-02T09:30:00.000+02:00

I just found out about this service called Send a Message via Mightygoods that allows you to have a message spray-painted on the Separation Wall (perhaps a Valentine to Palestine? Or your sweetheart?).

Proceeds benefit the Palestinian Peace and Freedom Youth Forum, a local organization in Bir Zeit (very close to Ramallah).

Send a message: it's 30 Euros!!

End The Siege

2008-01-26T19:54:00.000+02:00

Edit: here's a video from an Israeli news outlet that covered the convoy/demo. Hebrew speakers will probably get more from this than others: http://www.tv.social.org.il/medini/stv-gaza-relief-convoy-26-1-08.htm

It was a cold and rainy day in Palestine today, which somehow seemed appropriate for the occasion. I went to Erez Crossing today for a demonstration to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

We brought a convoy of humanitarian supplies (thank you to those who donated!), and rallied outside the checkpoint to try to get them inside.

On the other side of the checkpoint (on the other side of the Gaza separation wall), Palestinians were having their own rally. I wish that we had been able to join with them. They could be heard faintly from where we were, and the word was that they could hear us, too.

Unfortunately, the Israeli commander would not allow our trucks through, so we ended up not getting to watch our trucks pass by into Gaza. It made for a bit of an anti-climatic end, but rumors were spreading that they would allow the trucks to pass by tomorrow.

I certainly hope so!

(unedited) photos from the day:

Palestinian women storm Rafah crossing

2008-01-22T18:58:00.001+02:00

Part of me says: These are some brave women--Way to go! Fight for your rights using non-violent resistance!

The rest of me says: How completely embarrassing that the world could allow a situation to become so desperate that these women would take these sorts of measures.

Perhaps calling on Egyptian embassies is a good idea. I know that they are probably concerned that opening the borders would lead to a massive number of people trying to enter Egypt, but at the very least they could open the border for medical emergencies.

Palestinian women storm Rafah crossing; Egyptian police use water cannons, clubs to suppress protesters

Date: 22 / 01 / 2008 Time: 15:34
تكبير الخط تصغير الخط
[Ma'anImages]
Gaza – Ma'an – Hundreds of Palestinian women were beaten by Egyptian security forces after the women broke through barbed wire on the Rafah border into Egypt from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon.

Egyptian riot police used water cannons and clubs to suppress a surging crowd of demonstrators. Women shouted "God is great!" while rushing the gate into Egyptian territory. A number of women lost consciousness in the ensuing violence.

The security forces arrested the women, using dogs to break up the crowd.

Demonstrations began at the Rafah crossing point on Monday, with protesters calling for the border to be opened to allow Palestinian patients into Egypt for medical treatment.

After months of tightening sanctions, Israel imposed a total lockdown on the Gaza Strip on Friday, blocking shipments of food, medicine, and fuel oil. Running on emergency generators, Gaza's hospitals were treating only the most serious cases.

Crowds of women gathered at Rafah crossing on Tuesday morning in a demonstration organized by Change and Reform, the Hamas bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

PLC member Huda Na'im said the demonstrators have no intention of backing down: "We won't surrender until they lift the blockade."

Hamas said that Gaza's problems will not solved be by shipments of fuel alone, but that a complete end to the embargo that has besieged one and a half million people in the coastal strip was necessary.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the demonstrations and sit-ins will not stop until the blockade is lifted.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

2008-01-22T16:13:00.000+02:00

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

I started this as my MLK Day post, but got side-tracked with the Gaza vigil and action alert.

If Dr. King were alive today, I have little doubt that he would have plenty to say about the conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere because when people are willing to enact or condone injustice, it creates an opening for people to continue behaving in an unjust manner, or for people to use the 'well they're doing it in ____" excuse to justify injustices that they may wish to perpetuate on others.

Very often I hear Israelis and Palestinians talk about their violence as though it is justifiable, and I find myself in the uncomfortable and usually unpopular position of stating that it is not.

It is not justifiable for Israelis to kill (directly) over 800 Palestinians in the past two years (number of Israelis killed by Qassams - 1) because rockets are being fired from the Gaza Strip. There are ways to stop rocket fire WITHOUT bombing heavily populated areas or sealing borders. Diplomacy--ever hear of it? Usually the response to that is that there is "no one on the other side to talk to." That isn't true, but you have to be open to hearing what the other side has to say. If you're only willing to talk to people who are going to tell you what you want to hear, there may be a problem finding someone.

As a result of the near-total failure of Israel (and the international community, especially the U.S.) to acknowledge Palestinians as equal human beings who have their own dreams of self-determination in their homeland, hundreds of Palestinians have died and countless Palestinians have been wounded or have died from related causes, such as not being able to get to a hospital or because of malnutrition, poor water quality and lack of adequate medical supplies.

There is no symmetry in the Israel-Palestine conflict. There is one very powerful country with a strong military and the nearly unconditional backing of the world's only military superpower, vs. the non-contiguous, fragmented Palestinian territories which has a weak governmental structure, no formal military, no control of its airspace or borders, and which constantly struggles with movement restriction and the constant confiscation of land via the separation wall and from Israeli settlements.

And yet, I also take the position that armed resistance is unjustifiable.

Often when I say that, many of my Palestinian and Palestinian solidarity circle friends balk. They want to know if I am suggesting that Palestinians just accept their fate and live out the rest of their lives being treated as "less than" Israelis and to be slowly driven from their land until Israel really is from the sea to the river Jordan. Of course not.

There is a difference between self-defense and what is being done with the Qassams. Shooting homemade rockets into a predominantly civilian area is not self-defense, and frankly, doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than antagonizing the Israeli government and giving them a reason to continue the strangulation of Gaza. Based on results, it appears that shooting rockets is only making things worse for Palestinians. Israeli policy towards Gaza and the West Bank is still oppressive when there is a ceasefire. It would be smarter to stop all rocket fire and then watch Israel try to justify its restrictions, and to demand that Israel acknowledge the Palestinians' rights to exist.

I am not suggesting passivity, but non-violent resistance. Non-violent resistance appeals to the good in humanity, in which eventually, people say "enough--this isn't working." Where is the Palestinian's Ghandi or MLK? I know there are many people who believe that nonviolence is the way, but how can they mobilize more effectively?

Ultimately, the answer is not in fighting injustice, but in preventing it from finding a foothold in the hearts and minds of people. That is the essence of the "I have a dream" speech. If there is to be peace in this region, there must also be a willingness for Palestinians and others to work (and struggle) with Israelis to to create a shared vision of what peaceful coexistence will look like. At some point, all of the people must shift and make a commitment to putting aside differences, making apologies and restitutions as needed, and forgiving past wrongs for the greater good and the future of the region.

The past cannot be changed. There is no way to turn back the clock and prevent injustices from taking place. The lives that have been lost are gone forever. Towns and villages have been reduced to rubble and dust, and 40-60 years of exile have created a diaspora of a people that will never be again who they were in 1947. There is not and will never be "justice" for that, any more than there could be "justice" for the Jewish Holocaust, the slaughter of the native people of North and South American, or history's many other genocides and dispossessions. Human beings have been doing terrible things to other human beings since they decided that their "own" people were superior to people who they could identify as "others."

We cannot change the past, but we can create a different future, and we do not have to accept that the way thing have been up until now (the injustice, the violence, the dispossession) is the way things have to be. Human beings are blessed with critical thinking and reasoning skills that are too seldom applied for the greater good.

It is time to start looking at the big picture.

I see my role in this, a citizen of the United States of America, as working with other Americans on this issue. We Americans have a lot of responsibility for how our role in the world affects others, including the Palestinians and Israelis.

I am not the Palestinian Ghandi or MLK, but I do believe there are a few good candidates for the role. I will be wholeheartedly behind them 100%.

Must Read

2008-01-22T15:27:00.000+02:00

Skip Schiel's blog: http://skipschiel.wordpress.com/

Skip just left Gaza a couple days ago. He is a photographer, writer and political activist.

Thanks for writing, Skip!

Gaza On Our Minds

2008-01-21T23:46:00.000+02:00

My friend Kathy wrote this, but I could have just as easily written it myself. I've been communicating with friends in Gaza via text messages and missed calls. The situation is very grim.

Tonight, we had a vigil in Ramallah at Al Manara Square. Here are the photos.

Please take action.

Dear Friends and Family,

For some time now the situation in Gaza has continued to worsen. Yesterday the Israeli authorities cut all electricity to Gaza. Al-Jazeera reported this morning that hospitals are running on emergency diesel fuel. Children in incubators in the hospitals will die when the emergency supply runs out and around 70 Gaza residents are waiting for kidney dialysis, just to name a few people and activities that are affected by this cutting of electricity. The temperature is cold in Ramallah and will feel even colder in Gaza due to the dampness of being beside the sea.

I tried to call friends in Gaza, but no one answers the phone. Of course the landlines are not working and people are trying to save their cell phones for emergencies.

What is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity. When will the world wake up and realize this and do something about it? All of this is happening on the heels of the visit of US President George Bush and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier here last week.

Following is a statement released by Al-Haq just 30 minutes ago. Information from the statement can be used as talking points.
Following the Al-Haq statement is some information about a group of Israeli activists responding to the situation in Gaza.

PLEASE ACT TODAY.....

1. If you live in the US or are an American citizen living abroad:

WRITE and TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU IN WASHINGTON AND DEMAND THAT THIS SEIGE END!
President George W. Bush (202) 456-1414 president@whitehouse.gov
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 Fax: (202) 456-2461
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (202) 647-6575
Any Senator (202) 224-3121
Any Representative (202) 225-3121
E-Mail Congress: visit http://www.congress.org
Embassy of Israel, 3514 International Dr., NW, Washington, DC 20008 (202) 364-5515

2. If you live in Canada or are a Canadian citizen living abroad, in addition to contacting your elected representatives,
please e-mail Prime Minister Stephen Harper at: pm@pm.gc.ca

3. Everyone:
WRITE TO/CALL THE MEDIA AND DEMAND THEY COVER THIS HUMANITARIAN DISASTER AND THESE ONGOING WAR CRIMES.
Media contacts:
http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/contact/media.asp
http://capwiz.com/adc/dbq/media
Ask Journalists to interview Palestinians; there is no shortage of those (e.g. in the US, here is a listing of many Palestinian Americans: http://imeu.net/news/palestinian-americans.shtml ).

******************************************************
AL-HAQ ACTION ALERT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ref.: 01.2008E

21 January 2008

End the Siege of the Gaza Strip

On Sunday 20 January 2008, Israel's ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip, including the blocking of fuel supplies, forced Gaza's only power plant to shut down, plunging over 800,000 Palestinians into darkness. According to the General-Director of the plant, the shortage of electricity caused by the lack of fuel will affect the provision of medical care and water and sanitation services. On Sunday morning, the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, which normally operates 130 wells as well as sewage treatment plants, stated that if the fuel supply is not restored by Tuesday, these services will cease to function throughout the Gaza Strip. Since Friday 18 January, Israel has also closed all Gaza's border crossings and blocked all humanitarian aid, except in exceptional circumstances. With some 80 percent of Gaza's population requiring food aid, the impact of these measures will be catastrophic. This escalation has also been accompanied by an intensifying of Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip in the first 19 days of 2008, costing the lives of 69 Palestinians, including four children and eight women, and the injury of over 190.

Israel 's current policy in relation to the Gaza Strip and its 1.5 million inhabitants constitutes an unmitigated violation of international humanitarian law including, but not limited to, Israel's obligation as an Occupying Power to, at a minimum, ensure the basic needs of the population under its effective control, and the prohibitions on collective punishment, coercion and unlawful reprisals.

Israel 's current policy and recent actions have shown a casual disregard for the lives and dignity of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, treating their suffering and the violation of their fundamental rights as little more than an inconvenience that will earn gentle reprimand from the international community and Palestinian National Authority, but will otherwise be irrelevant. With the intolerable conditions and constant state of fear that the Gazan population is now forced to live under, it is time for this position to change. Israel must not be allowed to shield itself from the implementation of its international legal obligations, nor should the international community shy away from enforcing such implementation. Inarticulate fears of disrupting a "peace process" that exists only in vague declarations and diplomatic handshakes, that treats the Gaza Strip as separate from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Palestinians as a divided people, cannot be an excuse for allowing the continued siege of the Gaza Strip. In fact, if any "peace process" is to succeed, the conclusion reached must embody a sense of justice. This requires, as an unavoidable starting point, that the fundamental rights of all parties be recognised and protected.

Al-Haq therefore calls upon,

Israel to immediately cease all military operations in the Gaza Strip and to end its policy of collective punishment, including the opening of border crossings to allow the movement of goods and people, and restoring the supply of fuel and humanitarian aid.

the Palestinian Liberation Organisation to establish Israel's obligations under international law in respect of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including ending the collective punishment and ensuring access to essential medical services, food and water and sanitation, as an integral part of any negotiations.

regional organisations and individual states to take concrete measures, including economic and diplomatic sanctions, to ensure Israel's compliance with international law.

all international agencies, including the UN, present in the OPT to actively draw the attention of international decision makers to the impact of Israeli policies on the Palestinian civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

the UN Secretary-General immediately bring the situation in the Gaza Strip to the attention of the Security Council.

concerned individuals and civil society groups to raise Israel's violations of international law with elected officials in their home counties.

Palestinian armed groups to immediately cease the launching of rockets targeting civilian population centres in Israel.

- Ends –

Rabie Abulatifah

Media & Communications Officer
Al-Haq
P.O.Box: 1413
Ramallah - West Bank
Palestine
Tel.: + 972 (0)2 2956421
+ 972 (0)2 2954646
Fax.: + 972 (0)2 2954903
www.alhaq.org

************************************************************

FROM GUSH SHALOM

On Saturday January 26,

nobody stays home!

End the Siege!

Relief convoy to our neighbors in Gaza

Does it help the children of Sderot when we force the children of Gaza to drink polluted water? It seems the government of Israel thinks so (if they think).

Gaza is under siege! Hundreds of commodities needed for maintaining daily life are not allowed into the Strip, by order of the Government of Israel. Even the entry of water filters - vital for purifying the water drawn from Gazan wells, which are heavily polluted by brine, oil and sewage - has already been prevented for over half a year. The Israeli media doesn't succeed (and doesn't even try always) to convey to the public a true impression of how severe the situation is. But anyone who has talked to Gazans in the past months understands that the situation has long since developed into a regional disaster, which puts us, too, in danger.

As is well known, the Gaza Strip is a small, poor, overcrowded territory even in "ordinary" times. The occupation of the Strip did not end with the "Disengagement"; on the contrary, passage of persons and goods, in and out of the Strip, was made far more difficult by the Israeli authorities, and no one can enter or leave, by land, sea or air, except by permission from the Israeli security services. As far as Gazans are concerned, Disengagement brought no liberty, but just made occupation that much worse!

However bad the suffering is of the residents of Sderot, Ashkelon and the kibbutzim and moshavim in the area under the barrage of Qassam missiles, mortar shells and sniper bullets, it is in no way a justification for a cruel siege which severely harms a million and half civilians - men, women and children. The siege is an immoral act and a violation of International Law - and from a practical point of view, increasing the bitterness and suffering in Gaza leads to an intensification of attacks on the Israeli side, not to their end. Unlike what we have been made to believe, residents of Sderot and residents of Gaza are not to be seen as opponents: both are victims of a stupid and vicious policy of the Government of Israel.

In the convoy, departing from all over Israel on Saturday January 26, 2008, we will take with us a large quantity of water filters and firmly demand of the military authorities that they be allowed into the Strip where they are urgently needed, together with basic foodstuffs - flour, rice, oil, salt, lentils, beans - for distribution to residents driven to extreme poverty and despair by the siege.

On the border of the Strip we will conduct a protest rally, simultaneously with a rally held by our Palestinian friends on the other side. Together, we will demand of the Government of Israel to remove the siege of Gaza forthwith! We intend to hold the rally where we can have eye contact with the Palestinians, at a distance of no more than one kilometer.

Our friends on the Palestinian side, peace and human rights activists of the Palestinian International Campaign To End The Siege such as the well-known psychiatrist Dr. Eyad Sarraj, will go to the border area despite the great difficulty and risk, in order to greet and support us. It is far easier for us to go towards them and support them. In a joint Israeli-Palestinian action on both sides of the border we will present a true alternative to the continuing escalation, to the shooting and killing, destruction and suffering, missiles and tanks. An alternative of ceasefire, of a true end to direct and indirect occupation, an alternative of peace and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians, for Sderot and for Gaza.

The convoy will include both buses and private cars. It is very important to arrive with a car, if you have

one, in order to create a long and highly visible convoy. If at all possible, let us know in advance, even before

Monday Jan. 21, to Ya'akov 050-5733276 or Teddy 052-5017141. It is especially important to let us know as soon as

possible if you can come with a car - so that we can make better preparations.

Donations to help buy products for the convoy, and defray other expenses, can be transferred via POB 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Israel, or handed to our activists during the convoy itself (checks should be made out to Gush Shalom, and prominently marked 'For Gaza Convoy').

We have made considerable and lengthy efforts to coordinate this activity. The convoy will depart from organized rendezvous points at predetermined hours, in order to arrive together and create a long convoy. The rendezvous points are as follows:

Haifa: Solel Boneh Square (buses & private cars) 7:45

Tel-Aviv: Arlozorov Railway Station (buses) 8:15

Reading Parking Lot (private cars, joined by the buses from Arlozorov 8:30

Jerusalem: Liberty Bell Park (buses) 8:30

Teddy Parking Lot (private cars, joined by the buses from Liberty Bell 8:45

Be'er Sheba: University Gate (buses & private cars) 10:15

Signs, posters and cloth banners for the buses will be available at the rendezvous points. Please arrive in time to 'decorate' the cars. Everybody is asked to bring from home commodities needed in Gaza (milk powder, mineral water [not of Eden Springs], oil, flour, school supplies [satchels, pens and pencils etc.] and cigarettes) as a family package for a Gazan family. If you want you can add a personal letter in Arabic or English to the recipients.

Those who arrive in their cars are asked to tie a symbolic aid package to the roof of the car (if you were not able to do it before arriving, please bring the products and a rope with you, and we will help you tie them at the rendezvous).

We also ask all of you to bring drums, whistles, and those who have them - a shofar, in order to make a huge outcry of breaking down the wall of the siege. Please bring food and drink for a whole day.

Registration for Tel-Aviv and Haifa:

taliashiff@gmail.comTalia Shiff 052-3738832

Registration for Jerusalem and Be'er Sheba:

moshepesach@yahoo.es Moshe Pesach 050-9702338

Participating organizations:

Gush Shalom, Combatants for Peace, Coalition of Women for Peace, ICAHD - The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Bat Shalom, Bat Tzafon for Peace & Equality, Balad, Hadash, Adalah, Tarabut-Hithabrut, Physicians for Human Rights, Alternative Information Center, Psychoactive - Mental Health Professionals for Human Rights, ActiveStills, Student Coalition Tel-Aviv University, New Profile, Machsom Watch, PCATI - Public Committee Against Torture.

Details on the Palestinian International Campaign to End the Siege to which we are allied:

http://www.end-gaza-siege.ps/IndexEn.htm

BDS - Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions

2008-01-13T20:36:00.000+02:00

Many people who are working to end the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip promote a strategy known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions). Prior to leaving for Ramallah, I was on a local coalition in New York that was exploring this strategy, and also trying to figure out ways to couple it with increasing support for the Palestinian economy through purchasing fair trade Palestinian olive oil, soap, handicrafts and other products. One of the member groups ended up with a creative campaign against Leviev Diamonds, which targets an Israeli American who uses his wealth to support settlement building activity in the West Bank.

BDS was one of the many strategies that helped to end the South African apartheid regime. It works by isolating the offending country economically and socially until they change the undesirable policy.

BDS in the case of Israel/Palestine is a bit more complicated than the South African case due to the level of support that the U.S. government gives Israel both economically and diplomatically (it recently passed a bill worth more than $30B in military aid to Israel). The U.S. never had such a strong backing for South Africa. To learn a little more about how the U.S. supports Israeli occupation and the double standard it has on the BDS strategy, read "Double Standard on Divestment" by Josh Ruebner, which briefly compares the concept of BDS in Sudan to BDS in Palestine.

Executive Decision

2008-01-11T09:19:00.001+02:00

This is my blog, and I started it to be an online journal of my experiences and observations of my experience in Palestine. It is not a news blog or even a political blog, and I am not obligated to allow anyone to use it as a forum for their own point of view. I will acknowledge that, because it reflects my personal experiences and opinions, it only tells one version of the Israel-Palestine story through the eyes of a non-Palestinian, non-Jewish American teacher living in Ramallah in 2007-2008.

I didn't start it as a means to have an online debate; frankly, my work here takes up too much of my time to adequately address those who have an opposing point of view. There are many, many other venues, both online and off, where people can become more acquainted with Israeli narratives and justifications for the occupation.

I am going to leave the old comments visible, but from this point on, I will be making comments closed to non-members of this blog. From time to time, should the topic of my current piece demand feedback from readers, I will re-open comments.

To Censor, or Not To Censor...that is the Question

2008-01-10T15:47:00.000+02:00

I support the rights of people to speak freely, and do not wish to moderate or censor comments on my blog, but sometimes when I read comments (on my blog and elsewhere on the internets), I wonder if that is a wise choice. After all, this is not a public forum; it is my personal blog. I don't have to give anyone else a space to comment. I could close them or delete them at my convenience.

What are the limitations of "free" speech?

Most people would say that you do not have the right to incite violence, to slander another person, or to commit acts of libel, and I think that most people would say that although lying is not technically illegal (except under oath), it is essential to tell the truth if you wish to be taken seriously.

Part of my personal resistance to moderation/censorship is that I don't want to be the arbiter of truth-telling or determining whether a particular statement qualifies as incitement, slander or libel.

This particular statement, by Mr. Kohen, in my opinion, and the one prior to it that I responded to in the comments section, qualifies as slander: "6. I love it when people try to weasel out of their responsibility for supporting terrorists: "No- not me. I supported the Germans in WWII by going to Germany to help them- but not the Nazis". Right."

Now, anyone who knows me would probably say that if I had been alive in Germany at the time Hitler rose to power, I would have been thrown into a death camp long before the Jews were, because= before he got around to that death project, he rounded up anyone who would have opposed his regime. It's utterly absurd to call me a Nazi sympathizer.

I'm also not a terrorist sympathizer. I don't support people who use violence or fear of violence in order to obtain a political or ideological goal--whether the people who being targeted are civilians or members of the military of the opposition forces (which would probably be more accurately described as resistance). I am a pacifist. This makes me unpopular with a lot of people, especially the ones who feel that the only way to overthrow an oppressor is through force. C'est la vie, it's what I believe. I think the only way to end violence is to break it non-violently, and there are many creative ways to resist non-violently.

---

Then we have the question of "what is the truth?" It seems like a silly question, but is it? Mr. Kohen sent me a whole list of links that claimed to teach "the truth, " but as I pointed out, consider the point of view the truth is being told from. Most of the links he sent were from right-wing organizations and Zionist groups, so I wouldn't exactly expect for them to be objective.

Then there is the question of using holy texts as an unquestionable source of truth. Well, that works if you believe in the holy texts' infallibility, but what if you are an unbeliever? Does that mean that you have to accept something you don't believe in as truth?

There is a reason why separation of church and state is a good idea.

-----------------

The relationship of a blogger to a commenter is assymmetrical--I can write anything I want on my blog, whereas a comment can be deleted.

What are the benefits of silencing another person?

If I allow people to comment and say things that may incite violence, commit slander or libel, or spread untruths (or partial truths), am I complicit?

At least I'm In Good Company

2008-01-09T21:33:00.000+02:00

I didn't realize that I had an (in?)famous commenter commenting on my blog.

I feel so privileged to have so much in common with Haaretz and the International Herald Tribune.

Religion

2008-01-09T16:45:00.000+02:00

I seldom talk about my religious/spiritual beliefs, but living in the Middle East surrounded by historical religious sites and people who have strong religious identities has encouraged me to be more contemplative about what I believe and why.

It has always been difficult for me to talk about faith. I have so many more questions than I have answers. So many people have been oppressed by others in "The Name of God," and those who have strong opinions usually will defend them aggressively. In many of my social circles, religion is a bad word, and the idea of having faith in something that can't be proven through science or reason is laughed at. Religious belief seems to be a uniquely human trait - and often a troublesome one - yet I have never found the idea of atheism appealing or, for that matter, any more convincing than the idea that there is some kind of Spiritual Truth out there that gives meaning to life.

It doesn't really matter what you call God in your religion, it seems that although most religions share many beliefs in common, the most damning belief that is widely shared among faiths can be summarized as: "We, the _____, are God's chosen people/righteous ones, our faith is the true faith, and if you do not believe as we do, and it is our responsibility to kill you/punish you/or at least banish you far away from us."

Is there really any wonder why there is no peace when there is so much self-righteousness? Is there any wonder why so many people who might be interested in exploring their spirituality would shun organized religion when it spreads that seed of hate?

Growing up in Iowa, I had lots of exposure to different types of Christianity and little else. My grandparents are particularly devout members of an evangelical Protestant church, but my parents (children of the 60s and came of age in the 70s) were pretty secular. I grew up in a Santa Claus and Easter Bunny, non-church-going family, and was periodically taught the fundamentals of the Bible when I visited my grandparents or on rare occasions, attended church (Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran or Mennonite) with a friend from school. In small-town Iowa, not going to church was a little unusual, but most of my friends complained about "having to get up early" or "going to lame Religious Ed classes", so I did not really feel like I was missing out on much, and I wasn't going to submit to the pressure to "accept the Lord Jesus as my Savior," in spite of the prayers and good intentions I think the people who applied the pressure had.

When I was in college, many of my friends were active in Wesley Foundation (United Methodist), Campus Crusade for Christ(mostly Evangelical Christians), Newman Center (Roman Catholic) and Hillel (a multi-denominational Jewish student organization). I became more interested in religion because all of these really good friends were so involved with and passionate about their faith. They really enjoyed the fellowship of having a religious community, and they were doing good work in the community. They invited me to come to their fellowship events and to do volunteer work with them, and I started to learn more about their belief systems. (I didn't know people who were not part of a Jewish or Christian tradition when I was in college; there aren't a lot of non-Christians in Iowa, frankly, Judaism seemed a little exotic in Eastern Iowa! If it hadn't been for an extremely popular professor I had my first yearRabbi Jay Holstein, I might not have known a lot of Jewish students at school. My circle of friends was not as diverse as it was after I moved to Virginia, and later New York City.)

I enjoyed being included in these different communities, but ultimately did not choose any of the above, which strained a lot of those relationships, because they felt personally rejected. For me, it was never a personal rejection of the person (although I did question the choices that some people made that were inconsistent with what they said they believed was right). To a larger extent, I think it was a product of being raised secularly and to use critical thinking, reasoning and my constructed beliefs about morality to guide me. My choices to not become a church member were not a judgment of individuals, but not accepting the religion's dogma/creed in its entirety and my belief that I did not need to choose one path over another.

Plus, I had too many questions that couldn't be satisfactorily answered:
Why would an all-powerful God be so limited in His/Her vision that there could only be one path to Her/Him? Why does there need to be an authoritarian interpretation of God? If God is everywhere all the time, then it must be in everything, and if it's in everything and we are all supposed to return to a Oneness/Paradise/Heaven, then shouldn't we be much more caring about each other and the world?

In my informal study of comparative religion via religious student organizations, I came to see that although there are many paths, they all are fundamentally the same when you strip away the names of the major religious figures, distill the stories to their roots, and focus on the main messages.

Seeking a community that could accommodate that worldview, I started to attend unprogrammed Quaker (Religious Society of Friends) meetings, and eventually joined the Charlottesville (Virginia) Friends Meeting after I graduated and moved away from Iowa.

If I were to describe what it means to be a Quaker in my own words, I would say: the central belief of Friends is that there is "that of God" in everyone, which allows us to have a direct experience of God. Quakers seek to tune into/magnify that of God in themselves and let that inner spirit (sometimes referred to as the Light within) guide your actions. Seeking that of God in others and letting it guide your actions in your relationship with them helps to ensure that your engage in positive relationships, because you are seeking the best in the other person (and actually finding out what connects you to them--your shared inner Light).

Some Quakers (and the original Quakers fall into this category), believe that Jesus Christ was the divine embodiment of the inner Light, and that we should follow Him and His teachings. My tendency is to view Jesus as one of the great spiritual leaders of his day, rather than the capital "S" Son of God, a holy being born into a human body to a Virgin Mother. I acknowledge that as a personal belief of mine and respect others enough to respect their point of view. I always hope that others can find it within themselves to respect mine. It is a contentious belief among Friends in certain circles.

Today, I still identify myself as a Friend (Quaker), and I am most aligned with a liberal, Universalist Friends interpretation of the tradition. I am mostly comfortable with that choice, although I am uncomfortable when some Friends who, having sampled some of the negative aspects of organized religion elsewhere, insist that the Universalist Friends version of spirituality is the best!

I don't see it as the best faith or spiritual practice, just the most accurate reflection of where I think I fit. I love it when my friends invite me to participate in their traditions, whether that is breaking the fast during Ramadan or Yom Kippur, having an Easter feast, chanting at a gathering of Buddhists or sharing yoga and meditations with Hindus. I love the beauty and variety of it all; it creates a wonderful counterpoint to the very simple, plain practice of a Quaker meeting for worship.

Sometimes, however, it is very difficult for me to be in this part of the world and to hold onto the belief of "that of God in everyone." The drama of religious war is played out literally here. When religious beliefs are used to promote a political agenda and or justify control of land and other resources, it is even more deadly.

It is easy to get caught up in the endless cycle of blame, violence and retribution.

It is easy to label someone an "other" and dehumanize them.

It is hard to be objective and also to be honest with people when you think that they are making wrong choices.

It is hard to say: "I see that of God in you AND your enemy."

It is hard when definitions of justice are not really about justice, but revenge based on who did what to whom and when. Can there ever really be justice for loss of life, livelihood, freedom or joy?

It is hard when everyone wants the same thing: self-determination for "their people" in a specific place, at the exclusion of the "other".

How do we break this cycle of violence and ensure the needs of all of the people of this region are met?

Conflict

2008-01-08T19:28:00.000+02:00

The gentleman who commented on my last post insists that the "Philistines", if they had only accepted the deals offered to them time and again (and I would wager that he thinks they were good offers), instead of rejecting them violently, would no longer be stateless. His solution now is: send them to Jordan.

This is an unproductive narrative. Transferring "the Philistines" to Jordan is a fancy way of saying ETHNIC CLEANSING. Ethnic cleansing=illegal. It was illegal when Hitler did it and when countless other regimes did it, and I don't think that Israel (or the U.S.) should get a get out of jail free card when/if they do it. Anyone who proposes such a thing should be charged with incitement of crimes against humanity; it is an act of hate speech. (And lest he or anyone think I have a double standard, I believe the same should hold true for those who believe that Israelis should be "thrown into the sea".)

Time and again, an argument is made that if the Palestinians had accepted the offers that were given to them (Peel Commission, UN Mandate, Oslo, etc.), they would no longer be fighting for their national aspirations. To some degree this is true: if hindsight were foresight, the earlier offers made to Palestinians were certainly better than what they are likely to get from Israel now in negotiations, which has consolidated its power in the international community and secured critical alliances with the U.S. (and to a lesser degree, the EU).

The greater question is: on whose authority can one country or governmental body determine the sovereignty of another people? The idea that the colonial power or an international body should have the privilege of determining for the inhabitants of an area what its boundaries are is a pretty anti-democratic concept. Why should the majority of inhabitants be denied the ability to continue to live on their land and be with their people in one country?

I also chuckle and grimace when I hear someone say that the Philistines/Arabs (they never say Palestinians) can just go to Jordan (or Egypt). A. Jordan and Egypt don't want them. B. They don't want to go to Jordan or Egypt. The Arab people are united in language (with regional dialectical differences) and may have similar cultures, but they are far from homogeneous and have long held unique social identities that vary by region, religion and social class. The Arab League, like the EU, might wish to join together for economic reasons, but they would still wish to retain their own national identity. Certainly if you asked a Saudi if they are the same as Jordanians, they would have a long list of how they differ, and how they have no desire to be a citizen of the other country. Palestinians have considered themselves uniquely Palestinian for quite a long time (since long before the Zionist movement began), and have strong ties to the same piece of land that Israel would like to claim. The million dollar question in my mind is not: how do you get rid of the Palestinians or Israelis, but how do you get these people to decide to build a shared future together?

Some people inevitably will start talking about how they can't live with "them." As someone who has the privilege of being able to travel to both Israeli areas and Palestinian areas, I can see how everyone is so much more alike than they are different. Everyone has the same dreams for their children's safety and well-being. Everyone wants freedom. Everyone wants to have the right to reach their greatest potential.

I believe with humility, honesty and hard work (and apologies for suffering and restitution for losses) there could be forgiveness and reconciliation. It's not a pipe dream of an idealist; it's the recognition of someone who sees the humanity on both sides of the Green Line.

Peace is possible, if you want it.

----------

This weekend while I was at the IPCRI conference, an Israeli woman said that she wants to make peace with Palestinians because she loves Israel. She believes that all people have a right to their own nation, and she wants to make peace with Palestinians so that they can coexist beside each other. The premise of this statement suggests that she believes that the only way that a people can have self-determination is if they have their own country.

I can understand what she is saying, but I don't think it is acceptable for the self-determination of one "people" at the expense of another. This sort of thesis doesn't acknowledge the existence and rights of the people who were living on the same soil when the Zionist movement began. My hope for this young woman is that she--and others, like the man who wrote in the comments--will find other ways of envisioning a future beside Palestinians; it may be too late for the two state partitioning of this tiny bit of land, and all are attached to it.

I also wonder about what it means when someone talks about the rights of a particular "people." Like the Arab "people", there is not one Jewish "people"; there are many Jewish people. Orthodox, Ultra Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, etc. and a large number who identify as agnostic or atheist, but culturally/ethically Jewish, and a wide Jewish Diaspora that includes people of many races and distinct sub-cultures. Is there one country that can embrace all of them as equals? If there is a country for a certain kind of "people", must someone who is part of that group uproot themselves from a successful life elsewhere in order to "return" to a country whose soil they have never touched?

I don't believe that it is necessary for "a people" to have their own country. We are all one people, and paradoxically, all unique individuals. What everyone needs is a home (although some of us may feel that we could be at home in many places). What is important is to live in a country that provides equal rights for all of its citizens, strives to ensure that their basic human needs are met, provides equal opportunity under the law, and adheres to the universal declaration of human rights.

Enough with the nationalism and insistence on privileging a certain kind of person. Equality for all!

IPCRI Peace Education Conference

2008-01-05T21:10:00.000+02:00

I'm back from the peace education conference. I'm a bit wiped out right now from all of the workshops so I'll have to do my main report tomorrow, but my gut reactions:

1. I enjoyed meeting all of the Israeli peace educators. This wasn't really an activist oriented conference, so it got a little frustrating at times for me, but it was nice to get a chance to meet people on the other side of the Green Line who are trying to do work in their communities and with Palestinians to lay the groundwork for peace.

2. I was disappointed to see the lack of Palestinian presenters and participants. There were only a handful of Palestinian presenters, and I would say that the participants were about 40-50% Israeli, 30% international, and the remainder Palestinian. I suspect it was probably due to a combination of anti-normalization/collaborator pressure from their communities and the lack of activism in the orientation of the program.

3. Most of the Israelis seemed reluctant to talk about the occupation, but seemed very determined to express how much they desire peace and how much they would like to know that Palestinians also desire peace. Lots of talk about "getting to know and understand the 'other.'" and many, many dialogue or exchange projects. On the flip side, there were very few Palestinians who participated that expressed frustration (publicly or to me) about the lack of dialogue about the occupation. I don't know it that was just due to the silencing effect that talk about occupation and what peace looks like had on people or what.

4. I had the general sense was that most of the people (and the organizers) are of the two-state solution persuasion.

5. I got a sense of the fear that Israelis have about their security, and even though I think it's largely overblown, it does need to be addressed. However, what troubled me most is that the silence about the occupation and its negative impact on Palestinian society was deafening. Security for one group should not come at the expense of the other's rights. I got a lot of silence when I said that to some people. Others agreed, but it's clear that there is much to be done with the Israeli public, if that's how "peace people" are.

6. There is some really great interfaith peacemaking work going on.

7. There is so much work to be done...

8. There are partners on both sides, but they will have to be brave to work with each other.

Peacebuilding and Normalization

2008-01-03T21:35:00.000+02:00

I am going a conference tomorrow & Saturday that is sponsored by the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. The abstract looks weighty and I'm looking forward to networking with the other participants.

Peace work on the ground here is very tricky. There is a significant contingent on both sides that feels that there can be no dialogue with the other. There are Israelis who don't want to talk about making peace when there are Qassams flying from Gaza. There are Palestinians (and a fair number of international activists) who feel that engagement with Israelis while there is an occupation is tantamount to submission to or collaboration with oppression. The term they use is "normalization" which refers to having normal relations with Israelis, rather than isolating them or penalizing them for their actions.

My personal take on it as an international, (and not just any international, but as a citizen of the USA), is that internationals have an obligation to engage with Israelis, and that engagement is not normalization, it's diplomatic conflict resolution, and it's also recognition that not everyone supports the actions of their elected leaders and wants to see a policy change.

My government (much to my chagrin) gives a lot of money and weapons to Israel every year which allows it to to perpetuate an occupation, and in addition to money and weapons, it also gives an incredible amount of diplomatic support to Israel when others on the world stage criticize Israel for its occupation. I disagree with that sort of support to Israel and lobby my elected officials accordingly, but If I can't change my government's actions in the short-term, then the only remaining choice I have is to engage with the reality on the ground.

In my opinion, engaging with the reality on the ground is two-fold:

1. Dealing with the reality of occupation
2. Trying to end the occupation

To me, dealing with the reality of occupation means doing the best you can to improve the quality of life for people on the ground. The international community pours a lot of aid into Palestine, especially the West Bank, perhaps too much. It's unevenly distributed and seems highly concentrated around Ramallah. It also sometimes seems like the EU and the US give aid to Palestinians so that they can absolve themselves from the guilt that they don't put much pressure on Israel to end the occupation, which is the primary reason the situation is bad enough to warrant it.

Trying to end it means using non-violent resistance and all legal and diplomatic channels at your disposal in order to shake off the occupation. I have friends who think that armed resistance is okay and that a revolution is in order; my take is that even if occupied people have a right to resist occupation, in such an asymmetrical battle, guns are the worst possible means of resistance.

I think it would make far more sense (as has proven to be the case in most of the small victories that have been made, Bil'in for example), for Palestinians to align with Israelis who seek to end the occupation, even if the only thing they agree on is that ending the occupation is desireable. Most Israelis don't want to see a one state solution and many struggle with the question of whether an injustice was done to the Palestinians in 1948 & 1967, so there is a parting of ways after the occupation issue is resolved, but if an alliance with Israelis only accomplished that objective, it seems like it would be worthwhile strategically. Would it not? Sometimes you have to take interim steps towards your goals.

Arabic in Iowa

2008-01-02T19:57:00.000+02:00

The New York Times had an article called Bridging Cultures, and Taking Arabic to Iowa in today's paper. This article was forwarded to me by directly by Susie Swartzendruber, who drove the effort for the Arabic program at Kalona Elementary. Thanks Susie!

First of all, I will say that I think it's great that they're teaching Arabic to the kids in Iowa, and I wish that it had worked out better for me to do some collaborative work between my students at the Friends School and the kids in Kalona. (It's not impossible, but it's looking less likely, now that I'm down to just doing after-school programs, and we have an existing cooperative project to do with a school in California).

Language-learning is a great way to learn more about a culture. I think that the diversity of the Arabic-speaking world and the culture are widely misunderstood across the USA, so on that note, kudos to Mid-Prairie* for opening the door for greater understanding and hiring an Iraqi to teach Arabic, even though (and perhaps I should say ESPECIALLY because) there were xenophobic reservations from some quarters.

(After watching the whole Khalil Gibran International Academy debaucle unfold in New York City, it seems like the concerns mentioned in the article were hardly worth mentioning.)

However, I also felt a bit ill at ease with all of the publicity this program is generating.

At first I thought it was the premise: teaching Arabic in rural Iowa--how novel! I get that teaching Arabic in rural, mostly lily-white Iowa may seem a bit incongruous. But by that logic, most foreign languages are a bit out of place.

Then I thought that I was just being overly protective of my origins. How many examples of small-town Iowa do you need to include in order to pound home that, why yes, this seems like a highly unlikely place to learn Arabic? The Amish and the Mennonites! The Rotary Club! Ice-cream socials! I suppose these sorts of things are particularly colorful to a journalist in New York City, but to me, they are just part of where I grew up. It's nice small-town Americana, but really...is this essential to the article?

But what I think it really is that hit me is that the whole idea of teaching Arabic is a novelty, and there is a clear "other-izing" of Arabs and Muslims.

It may be couched in a polite way "Bridging Cultures", but there is something dark about this piece:

the "language of the enemy" comment,

the fixation on the fact that Ms. Al-Attar is *gasp* Muslim who is *gasp* teaching Christians (totally secular language education) and the fear that "Christians are being taught to be Muslims"

the drama of her experience with the regime of Saddam Hussein,

and fact that people can be "reassured" that the grant is funded by the Bush Administration (a National Security Languages Initiative grant, by the way).

It's a shame to me that in an article that purports to be about bridging cultures, there is so much emphasis on differences and fear.

I suppose "Kids take to learning languages like ducks to water and are, in general, more open to new things" or "people from different cultural backgrounds can coexist quite nicely" wouldn't make for a very interesting article.

*I graduated from Mid-Prairie. Kalona is the town right next door to Riverside, where I grew up. Home sweet home.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T08:18:00.000+02:00

It appears that I need the kick in the pants of something like NaBloPoMo to post on a regular basis, so I have signed up for the Blog365 ultramarathon, which means that I'm supposed to post something on one of my blogs EVERY SINGLE DAY*

*except, if I'm away or if my computer is broken, I'm allowed to write something to post later, and since there are no prizes in Blog365, I can even backdate things that I have to post later to give the illusion of actually putting up new content every day.

I will try not to do that.

My computer is still broken and I still haven't figured out the best way to get it to the Apple Care place in Rosh HaAyan to see if they can fix it on site. I did finally figure out how to get to the Central Bus Terminal in Jerusalem and learn how to use the Israeli Egged buses over Christmas, so perhaps I will manage to get it to them by the time school starts again.

I went to Haifa for Christmas to hang out with a friend of mine, her boyfriend and his family, who stuffed me full of things like lamb and sweets. It was great to be with people on Christmas (even if they didn't speak English very well and my Arabic, well, it sucks!) and the hospitality was wonderful, but it's been hard (especially during the holidays) to be away from family and friends.

I don't think I'm an expat in the making, folks. I see a future for myself of being based in the US and traveling for short-term stints abroad. Maybe it would be easier if I was gallivanting around the world with a husband/boyfriend. Solo, it wears on you, my friends.

After I got back from Haifa I was nailed by a cold virus that I've never had before, and I am just now feeling back to normal. I've spent most of the past few days sleeping, drinking tea with lemon, and prepping myself for 2008. Which, I'm starting to think is going to rock.

More later.

Love you!

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

2007-12-20T14:50:00.000+02:00

I am likely to be MIA for a while; my Macbook needs a new hard drive, which may entail shipping it back to the USA (sob!!) if it can't be repaired at the Apple repair center in Israel (which I am not even sure how to get to, given it's in an industrial park somewhere between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and I have no car).

I do have computer access in my office at the school...but lucky me--I'm off until January 14! I'll be in and out of Ramallah for the next few weeks. When I'm here--or if I can get my laptop fixed locally--I'll post.

It's been pretty quiet lately, aside from my Christmas card/year end fund-appeal marathon (high on stress, but not a worthy tale to report).

Seasons Greetings & Happy Eidchristmahanakwanza.

ICAHD Alternative Tour - Dec. 7, 2007

2007-12-08T21:02:00.000+02:00

Photos from ICAHD tour (if the pictobrowser isn't working)

Yesterday I went on a tour sponsored by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions

The tour was marketed towards average Israelis in order to "learn about the facts on the ground in East Jerusalem. Visit settlements and Palestinian neighborhoods. This tour is intended for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, to go a little beyond the 'Them and Us' discourse, and to learn from a guide who has in-depth knowledge of the issues and an alternative perspective."

I thought it would be interesting to hear what an Israeli peace organization says to a group of average Israelis. The tour guide was Eyal Niv, who was a lieutenant in the IDF for five years, serving in a technological unit. He recently completed a double major BA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies & Communications at Hebrew University. Eyal is certified to teach Hebrew as a foreign language by Hebrew University, and currently teaches at the Holy Land Institute in Sho'afat (East Jerusalem). He is also studying for his MA in sociology and anthropology and speaks Hebrew, Arabic and English.

My personal objective: just listen and learn.

It turned out to be quite the interesting tour, and I may have to go on more of them.

The tour departed from Ra'Anana (near Tel Aviv), but they picked me up at about 9:30 just after the Qalandia checkpoint, and we were on our way.

Our first stop was Nof Zion, a settlement currently under construction in East Jerusalem. It will take over about 500 acres or so of land in East Jerusalem and require the demolition of several Palestinian homes.

Then we went into the Holy Basin, near the City of David, which is where archeologists are digging to establish the historical ties of Jews to Jerusalem. It is funded by El Ad CEO Yitzak Tshuvaand other benefactors, and is selectively focusing only on the Jewish narrative, which is of concern because it disrupts the site for those who might also want to learn about the other historical residents of Jerusalem. The site is guarded by a private militia (similar to Blackwater). In the surrounding area, there are about 50 Palestinian homes that have been officially taken over by settlers, and residents say that there are others that have not "gone public."

Then we stopped in in Ras al Amud to see theMa'ale Zietim settlement (which is sponsored by an American named Irving Moscovitz), which is right beside the Dome of the Rock in the old city. The completion of this settlement will cut off the old city from the West Bank and prevent contiguity so that East Jerusalem can be the capital of the Palestinian state.

Then we went to the neighborhood of Silwan, where almost 90 homes are scheduled for demolition to make way for settlements and learned a bit about the convoluted process that Palestinians have to go through in order to try to prevent house demolitions. Some tidbits: of the 70+ square km in East Jerusalem that were annexed into the municipal borders after 1967, Palestinians can only request permits to build on about 9 square km of the area--most of which was already built up in 1967. The rest is reserved for green space, Jewish settlements and security. This means that if Palestinians build outside of the approved area (remember, the approved area is built up!), they risk demolition. The process of applying for a permit is also prohibitively expensive - approximately 100,000 NIS (a bit over $25,000) - which doesn't include the cost of all of the engineers and other professionals required to create the plans. It is also extremely bureaucratic. I have a barely comprehensible chart of the process that you have to go through in order to get one of the Palestinian permits. I will have to scan that later, since I can't find a link to it on the ICAHD site. Most homes built after 1967 are unpermitted, and there are 20,000+ homes that have received demolition orders (which do not expire).

There are over 100 demolitions each year. When a house receives a demolition order, there must be at least 30 days notice. However, the demolition order just has to be placed on the property--not to the property owner. Sometimes they are hung in an out of the way place, or even just thrown onto the yard, which means that the resident may not even know about it. When they arrive to demolish the house, they usually come after the men have left for work. The family has 30 minutes to get their belongings out of the house, and then foreign workers come and toss other items out the window (so that Israel doesn't have to compensate them for their personal belongings). The demolition can take as little as 20 minutes, up to several hours.

When a demolition begins, men from the surrounding neighborhood end up coming home, out of concern that their own homes could be next. This not only invokes fear into the community, but causes economic hardship in the form of lost income.

Last, we drove along road 443 - an Israeli only road - and stopped near Ma'aele Addumim, which is part of one of the giant settlement blocs that Israel wants to incorporate into the Israeli state if there is a two state solution. Annexing Ma'ale Addumim and the other settlements in the bloc will effectively cut the West Bank into two non-contiguous sections.

That's no problem for Israel, however--Israel has plans to create a transportation corridor to re-route the Palestinians away from settlements and Jerusalem by creating tunnels and other separate transportation infrastructure, which will necessitate the removal of the Jahalin Bedouin, a nomadic tribe who originally lived in the Negev before 1948.

Other tidbits they offered (and observed) during the tour (from my notes):

Palestinians pay taxes at a higher rate than other Jerusalem residents because they have to show proof of residence every 6 months or risk losing their property. The tax receipt is one form of proof.

Palestinian neighborhoods do not receive the same services as the Jewish areas of Jerusalem--they often lack garbage service, adequate water supply, have no public transportation (they must use private bus services), do not have properly maintained roads or sidewalks, and lack educational facilities (there is a shortage of 1,400 classrooms in East Jerusalem).

The comment was made more than once that Palestinians in East Jerusalem are not politically active, and even if they were, many of the policies that affect them are not controlled by the municipality, but by the Israeli government (residents of East Jerusalem are not Israeli citizens although they do pay the same taxes).

The guide also pointed out that most Israelis are apathetic about the situation and would prefer to just live in security and not have to deal with Palestinians, leaving the situation in the hands of those who are active--the ideological types such as the settlers.

Home demolitions are not about security - only 1 in 12 are even marginally related to security issues. Most are due to lack of permits or other eminent domain issues. If it was about security, then they might need to rethink their strategy - studies have shown that 55% of suicide bombers experienced house demolitions.

International law states that it is permissible for israel to build a security barrier if it wishes, but it should be along the Green line. The separation wall is almost entirely inside West Bank territory, and it zigs and zags all over the place in order to annex settlements and other resources, such as water supply and fertile farmland.

The separation wall is often credited for stopping terrorism inside Israel, and it is true that cutting off access makes it somewhat harder. However, people can and do move through the checkpoints, and as one can see in Gaza (where there is also a separation wall), rockets could be fired over it or people could tunnel beneath it. Therefore, the closure of the West Bank is only one factor in reducing terrorism. Other reasons given: the unilateral ceasefire/hudna given by the Palestinians in the West Bank, no more Arafat, and Israeli domination during the 2nd intifada and through the use of checkpoints.

Maele Addumim has lots of non-ideological settlers (people who live in settlements for economic reasons, rather than religious/Zionist ideals), but the settlement is useful for creating facts on the ground that will enable Israel to acquire more resources.

On water issues:
The World Health Organization recommends that people receive 100L/day per capita for their basic needs - drinking, cleaning, work, etc. Palestinians receive on average about 60 L/day per capita. The settlements receive about 600L/day per capita.

---

Later in the tour, the guide asked us to consider the following questions in regard to what we saw: Is it legal? Is it moral? Is it wise?

For me, it was an emphatic no...but I'm not sure what other people on the tour thought. Some of them were certainly troubled, but they kept fixating on security issues, and when I was dropped off at Qalandia, I said to the group that anyone who wanted to come to Ramallah was welcome to be my guest. The final words I heard from one man were: I will come to Ramallah when the Palestinians want peace with Israel. They don't want peace.

I told him that I disagreed with that assessment, but that unfortunately didn't have time to debate the point with him...and off I went. There are a lot of people on both sides that think that there is "no one on the other side to talk to." It isn't true.

One thing that would help immensely is if Israelis could see beyond the typical Zionist narrative to see how negative the impact of the creation of Israel and the subsequent actions it has engaged in during its efforts to root itself in the Middle East have been on the Palestinian people. It was not a "land without a people for a people without a land," any more than North and South America were empty when the colonists arrived. What seems like a heroic narrative to one people is a narrative of conquest and destruction to another. That needs to be acknowledged.

Scary!

2007-12-08T16:03:00.000+02:00

Unborn Baby Ornament

Officially one of the creepiest things I have ever seen. Comes in "brown" skin tone, too.

I know it's supposed to be satire, but seriously...I think I threw up a little bit!

Discovered via Fussy

Rumor: Military Aid to PA

2007-12-08T11:50:00.000+02:00

This is just a rumor that I heard, but I was wondering if anyone could substantiate it:

Russia is giving military aid to the PA to buy tanks.

Now, given the fact that Israel controls all of the borders and I have a hard time imagining that they would allow this as it might impact their own security, I'm guessing that this is not true...but the rumor also speculates that this is going to be done to quash dissent if the upcoming negotiations lead to concessions that the people don't accept. Basically, the PA has to shut down dissent or Israel will do it. Given the disconnect between the PA and the people demonstrating against the Annapolis photo-op, this is a little bit scary.

Anyone know anything?

Diaspora vs. West Bank vs. Gaza vs. East Jerusalem vs. Israeli Arabs

2007-12-08T10:59:00.000+02:00

The report from yesterday's ICAHD tour is forth-coming, but I've been ruminating on a couple things that the tour guide said. It's been stuck in my mind for the last 24 hours.

The first thing that he said that jarred me was that Palestinians in East Jerusalem aren't very political or politically aware, and that it was frustrating (for Israeli peace activists) to try to mobilize them to oppose housing demolitions because they didn't seem to be as interested in working together as they were in looking out for their own families. (Note: I'm recalling from my notes and paraphrasing.)

I don't know a lot of East Jerusalemites, so I don't really feel terribly qualified to dispute that, but based on what I know of Palestinians elsewhere, I can't quite imagine that being a truthful statement. Most of the Palestinians I know are extremely politically aware, but their level of political engagement varies. People who are politically active put themselves at risk here. When non-violent resistance and public demonstrations are responded to with violence, arrests or harassment, it tends to cut down on participation. The silencing of dissent is pretty corrosive if you're trying to have an engaged citizenry and mobilize people politically. It happens when organizing resistance to Israeli occupation, and it also happens within Palestinian society (the anti-Annapolis demonstrations being fresh in my mind).

Second, I don't think it's the role of Israeli peace activists (or internationals) to be mobilizing the Palestinians. Supporting, sure. Idea-sharing? Sure. Partnership? Why not? Organizing? Hmm.

Third, I can imagine how people who have a standing demolition order on their house may be reluctant to speak out against the demolition of someone else's house. It may not be internal rivalry or lack of concern for their neighbors that prevents people from organizing. The sheer terror of possibly losing one's home probably prevents the residents of East Jerusalem (and elsewhere) from organizing to oppose housing demolition orders.

--

The other thing that he said that was interesting to me was that the occupation has succeeded in creating different classes of Palestinians, and how that is being used to maintain hegemony over the Palestinian people.

This thesis is based on the following assumptions/observations:

Palestinians in the diaspora are disconnected and marginalized.

Israeli Arabs (Palestinians who stayed inside Israel) are not interested in being part of a Palestinian state, because their Israeli citizenship gives them a lot of social benefits, in spite of not being fully equal citizens inside Israel.

East Jerusalem Palestinians, like the Israeli Arabs, are also not enthusiastic about being part of the Palestinian state, for the same reasons as the Israeli Arabs. (This seems a little unlikely, given the fact that most residents of East Jerusalem haven't accepted Israeli citizenship.)

West Bank Palestinians accept what is happening in Gaza because they don't want their lives to become like those in Gaza.

Gazans = isolated and imprisoned, no rights.

The resulting observation was that because nobody wants to risk giving up/losing the benefits and privileges they have, there is no Palestinian unity. Without Palestinian unity, Israel and its supporters can do just about anything they want and play each faction off of each other in order to maintain chaos while grabbing more and more land for settlements and other projects.

I'm not sure what to make of this analysis. It may be a bit simplistic, but it also makes some sense, and wouldn't be the first time that the game "divide and rule" was played. I guess the million dollar question is: what can be done about it?

Experimentation/Misc.

2007-12-07T23:05:00.001+02:00

See how I am not a designer, yet I try anyway?

I was getting tired of the generic header that comes with Blogger, and thought I'd try to whip up something a bit more relevant to the blog.

I'll have to add a few more photos to fill it out, but it's a slight improvement, I think.

-----

I see that I have an offer for a free translator. Cool!

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I went on an Alternative Tour of East Jerusalem sponsored by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. I'll write up a report tomorrow w/ photos. Time to get to sleep!

Good night!

P.S. I AM going to get back into the daily post; I've just spent a good chunk of the week trying to get myself organized.

Red, Red Wine

2007-12-04T00:20:00.000+02:00

Alcohol is not a frequently imbibed substance in Palestine, but I decided over the weekend that it was necessary to buy a bottle of wine. It's not cheap to buy imported products here, so I decided to take a risk on a local wine, Cremisan Cellars 2002 Rosso Vecchio, a Carignan/Merlot blend. Cremisan has been open since 1885, and operates out of a monastary near Bethlehem.

Not too shabby! It's on the dry side, and reminds me a little bit of the Rosemount Estates Shiraz/Cabernet blend. Cheap, but drinkable. Gotta love the monks for keeping the wine flowing.

Between the wine and the beer, who says that Palestinians don't know how to have a good time?

I will have to give the edge to the brewmasters though. That Taybeh Golden is pretty decent stuff.

Insha'Allah

2007-12-01T23:29:00.000+02:00

I've noticed over the three and a half months that I've been here that people here are chronically stressed. Even in times of calm, there is always the potential for that to change at any moment, and as people go about their daily life and deal with the realities of living under occupation - depressed economic conditions, checkpoints, long commutes due to various obstacles (checkpoints, Israeli-only roads, the separation wall) - they persevere.

This isn't to say that aren't upset, but rather that somehow they have developed some coping mechanisms in order to get by. The number one method: Insha'Allah.

One of the first phrases I learned in Arabic is Insha'Allah, which can be translated as "God Willing." It is used with such frequency that it is almost a joke, especially used in the following context: Insha'Allah, we will get your space heater tomorrow. (Which can also be interpreted as-you may get a heater sometime in the next week or so.)

However, in other times, Insha'Allah takes on another layer of meaning. Insha'Allah, it will only take about 1 hour or so to get to Bethlehem (about 12 miles/20 km away), Insha'Allah, the wait at the checkpoint will not be too long. Insha'Allah, it will rain and we will have water in our cistern.

It is in this context that the grace of this phrase is revealed. It is a turning over of control to Fate, to God. It isn't a surrender to the occupier, but a willingness to allow things to unfold as they do and to not hold on to the anger and stress that the realities life in an occupied land brings, for by holding on to it you bring upon yourself stress-related illnesses and disease.

I am still learning to say Insha'Allah. It has not been an easy time trying to adjust to this life. I am so used to my freedom. I am so used to people understanding me when I speak and understanding what others say. I am so used to feeling secure. I am so used to just picking up the phone to make a coffee date. There are a hundred things that I used to take for granted that I will never take for granted again.

It is hard for me to say, "Insha'Allah, the wait at the checkpoint will not be too long" when I know only too well what it is like to move without restriction. My instinct and everything I have known in my life up until now resists.

Insha'Allah, it will get easier.

Do they have coyotes in the Middle East?

2007-11-30T23:24:00.000+02:00

Jessica: At age 46 you will take a near lethal dose of mescaline, wander the desert for six months, and eventually be eaten by coyotes.

So sayeth the The Amazing Death Predictor

Nice.

Thanks, Angela!

P.S. Don't forget to leave comments for this post.

Donate Now! I mean, if you want to

2007-11-30T22:26:00.000+02:00

I added a Donate Now (or Buy Now) button using Google check-out.

Why?

Not so much because of my blogging brilliance, although if you do like what you're reading and want to vote with your wallet, please, be my guest!

No, I did this because I would like to be able to spend more of my time here doing Alternatives to Violence Project workshops.

I'd love to do as many as possible, but can't quite afford to foot all of the expenses incurred. Sometimes we can get things donated, but often not. People here are trying to make a living, after all.

Ideally, each participant - or his/her sponsoring organization - would be able to chip in enough to pay for their share of the workshop expenses and all of the costs would be covered. Sometimes, however, this is not possible...and who wants to exclude people from a conflict resolution skills workshop?

Typical expenses for an AVP workshop - (4 day workshop w 14 participants and 2 facilitators):

Transportation: 10-25 shekels for service taxi rides (per person/one-way) = 1220
(14 local participants @ 20 shekels round-trip each day, 2 facilitators @ 50 shekels round trip)

Food: 30 shekels (per person/day - light fare) = 1920

Materials for workshop: 400 shekels (markers, chart paper, handouts, cooperative game equipment)

Space rental: 400 shekels (per day) = 1600

Lodging for facilitators: 180 shekels (per day, double occupancy)= 540

Total: 5680 shekels = about $1,482.

This also assumes that there are enough bilingual participants to translate accurately. Otherwise, add another 400 shekels for translation.

It's approximately $100/participant for each workshop (including meals and transportation reimbursement). Without reimbursement, it would be $50/participant.

The AVP program is a series of three workshops, so to sponsor a participant for the entire series, it would cost about $300.

$300 to create a new-minted AVP facilitator to be a leader his/her community. What do you say?

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Legal mumbo jumbo:

In June, I started organizing for 501(c)(3) status to do this work, under the name of People for Peace and Understanding, Inc. (incorporated in New York State).

PPU is a 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored project of The Field, with a Federal EIN Number of 13-3357408, and contributions are eligible for a tax-deduction as long as you receive no goods or services in exchange for your gift.

If you would prefer to make a donation by check, please make it payable to The Field and write Jessica McCoy/PPU in the memo line.

Mail it to:
Jessica McCoy
People for Peace and Understanding
Ansonia Station
PO BOX 230052
New York, NY 10023

If you make a donation online, it will be credited to your card as PPU Ramallah, and forwarded to The Field, assuming that you would like a tax-deductible donation and provide full contact information.
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Thanks! All donations are greatly appreciated!

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

2007-11-30T19:07:00.000+02:00

I know, cheesy title.

Closing Time got stuck in my head when I started to think about writing this post. Can't help it, I think they embedded the song into my brain the year I graduated from college. :-)

I was thinking about endings because it's the end of November, which means the end of NaBloPoMo, but it is not the end of the regular blog postings. I've enjoyed my month of daily postings, and hope to stick with it. It's the first time in my life that I've ever written daily, and I kinda like it!

Please let me know what you would like to know more about. What do you want to know about life in Ramallah?

Some things that I've been thinking of:

Interviews with local people
Recipes
Daily Photo
Political Analysis (of course)
Non-violent Action Reports (because they happen all the time, and people rarely hear about them)

What do you think?

PeaceMaker

2007-11-29T21:46:00.000+02:00

I discovered a game the other day called PeaceMaker, which is a simulated game in which you get to be either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President, and you have to figure out how to end the conflict.

It is based on real-life events, and you are confronted with various scenarios - settler violence, protests, suicide bombings, and various internal political conflicts, and you have to make choices about security, political maneuvers, diplomacy, aid, etc to respond to the scenarios. The objective is to get to a place where both Israel and Palestine are at 100 percent approval, at which point, you win - a two state solution has been achieved.

It's an interesting game, and I've had fun playing it. I have ended the struggle 5 times now--what's wrong with you, Olmert and Abbas? Want me to show you how it's done? I will say that it's much easier to win when you're playing the role of the Israeli Prime Minister. (hmm...)

What I like about it - in order to win, it requires both parties to consider the needs of the other. It's also an interesting game for learning about the various internal issues that are preventing any real life peacemakers from achieving peace.

What I'm not so crazy about is the fact that the winning state is the two-state solution. Why? For one, when you play the game, you see how inextricably linked the Israelis and Palestinians are. Also, the tricky final status issues - borders, Jerusalem, refugees - really don't seem to play into the calculus to win the game....each time I won, I never had to make choices about those factors. It makes me think that if those were part of the equation - which they are in real life - that achieving a two state solution may not be realistic.

It's also a bit Israelo-centric. In some ways, that's realistic, given the assymetry of the power balance, and expected because it was designed by Israelis. But in others, it's problematic. It's not quite as good at showing the human side of the Palestinians as it is the Israelis. It also doesn't show the struggle of the Palestinians - rarely do you hear about things like water shortages, or protecting people from air strikes, for example, and even in "calm mode" there are a shocking number of suicide attacks, which really aren't that frequent.

My grade: B

I'd like to see a one-state solution option, and I'd also like to have different levels, where various core issues are addressed. Also, get a few Palestinians on the design team, please!

Pushing Through

2007-11-28T20:45:00.000+02:00

I've been in a bit of a funk for the last few weeks. I've been struggling with it, because objectively, I've got it pretty good. Living in an occupied area means living in a state of constant tension--sometimes more tense than others. I'm in the cage willingly, unlike most of the people here. Inside the occupied territories, I've enjoyed a pretty decent standard of living. No worries about food, shelter, heat, and other necessities for me, and I can occasionally splurge on a treat, like the trip to the hot springs. I can also travel more easily than most people here can. I have some guilt about privileges that I have and largely take for granted, but mostly I try to channel that energy into drive my activism and writing.

I think the big issue for me is the "what am I doing here?" question. My official reason for coming here was to be a teacher and fundraiser at a local school, but my larger goal was to develop a youth conflict resolution/community service/organizing program model for the organization that I launched this summer. When I accepted the job, I had persuaded myself that I could do this within the context of my teaching and fundraising gig, but now I am not so sure it will work, because there is not quite as much flexibility in the curriculum and the after-school sessions are quite short--really only about 30 minutes once the kids settle in. I am going to explore doing something with the upper school students, perhaps start an AVP youth community. Maybe I need to investigate funding opportunities for the programs I want to develop. If you know of any funders interested in supporting youth-oriented conflict resolution, service, arts or advocacy programs, let me know. I think I'll probably add a donate button soon. (For the dozen or so regular readers I have!).

The problem for me isn't Palestine. It's not easy here by any means, but there are a lot of great things. The people are very warm and hospitable. I'm getting a little tired of the food (I am really craving sushi!), but love the marketplace and the fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I chafe a little at cultural things. It's considerably more conservative than I am and traditional gender roles (and expectations) annoy me a little bit. It's also hard to live in a place where you don't speak the native language. I look at all of it as a way to increase my tolerance for change and accepting differences. Already, I have a new appreciation for and empathy with people who immigrate to the U.S. and don't speak English, and how hard it is. It would be even harder if you didn't have a good job lined up (as I did) and had more responsibilities, such as a spouse or children.

I'm working on getting it all figured out. Putting out negative energy and focusing on what's not working isn't helping me get to where I want to go. That will send me on a downward spiral that I don't need to slide down, especially considering the realities on the ground. I can't change the occupation, and I'm not being in service to the people here if I'm getting caught in my own stuff. I'm persevering and pushing through!

Rough Day

2007-11-27T21:49:00.000+02:00

Today was a rough day in Ramallah. There have been protests all over the occupied territories against the negotiations in Annapolis; Palestinians are fearful that their rights will be negotiated away, particularly the right of return. Their fears are not without merit--negotiating final status issues while still under occupation is a bit like negotiating with a kidnapper to free you when your hands are tied and a gun is to your temple--you are negotiating from a place of extreme weakness.

The Palestinian Authority has banned protests against the negotiations in Annapolis, so when I heard that there was a demo planned at noon, I was worried that there would be trouble, partially due to the ban, and partially due to the new barricades that have been installed in the square. II considered going during lunch, then decided to continue on with my work. I didn't want to get stuck behind a barricade if things got ugly. They did. PA Police and the Presidential guards ended up using batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Then, later in the afternoon, at around 2:00 or so, I heard gunfire close by. Turns out that it was another group of people at the mosque near the school having a demonstration. According to the news reports, the police broke up that demonstration by shooting live bullets into the air and more tear gas. That went on for about a half hour.

All in all, about 30 people were injured, some badly, and about 200 people were detained. In neither of these cases was there a need for tear gas or other forms of force.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening, there has been more gunfire, but only sporadically and it sounds farther away.

Needless to say, I've been a bit rattled today. Both of these demonstrations were minutes away from the school. The mosque is literally just around the corner, and I walk by it at least once a day when I go to the market for fruit or vegetables, and al Manara Square is about a 5 minute walk from the school. I feel relatively safe on campus--it's separated from the surrounding buildings by walls and there is a guard 24 hours a day--but tonight I wasn't in a "going out" kind of mood.

I am a bit worried to see how things change as the week goes on. It's pretty clear that the PA is trying to assert as much control as possible in order to prove who is in charge, and it's also clear that there is widespread dissent against the conference. I'm having a hard time imagining this ending well. A long, drawn out negotiation process probably will mean continued unrest between the various political factions in Palestine for the duration.

Feeling a little blue just thinking about it.

An aerial photo of downtown Ramallah/Al Bireh from Google Maps. See how close FBS is to the mosque and al Manara?

Non-violence

2007-11-26T22:48:00.000+02:00

When confronted with violence, how does one respond non-violently?

Is responding non-violently an act of acceptance of oppression? Is pacifism passive?

If non-violence is the answer, how can one be persuaded to accept the suffering that it may bring?

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I believe that non-violent resistance and negotiation as equals are the only ways out of the violence surrounding us, but it is very, very difficult to endure and persuade others in the face of the daily realities of scarcity, control, economic depression and hot violence.

Annapolis/Demands of a Thief

2007-11-25T22:37:00.000+02:00

In the lead up to the conference in Annapolis, there is a certain tension in the air here in Ramallah. It's a little bit difficult to describe, but I'll try to illuminate the situation--with the caveat that a Palestinian who has been here for past peace process negotations might have a different take on the vibe.

First of all, the bar for Annapolis is low. Most people seem to think it's either a bad joke or a slap in the face, an insult to the intelligence of the people. You would be hard pressed to find someone who really expects the Annapolis conference to change anything. Israel and the leaders in the PA have not come to an agreement on terms before the conference, and that isn't expected to change in the next few days. I have heard some people suggest that the pattern in the past when negotiations have failed, there have been uprisings in the aftermath. However, in the past, there was hope for change. That isn't the case now. The general consensus is that none of the leaders have any political capital or leverage to create change, and the expectation seems to be another photo op with a lot of lip service.

What has changed is the police presence. There are twice as many PA police everywhere, and twice as many Israeli soldiers at checkpoints. They all seem to be a little edgy--especially the Israelis. Today, Ma'an News reported that thousands of Israeli troops will be dispatched to the urban areas in the West Bank tomorrow and for the duration of the conference. That will surely ratchet the tension up even higher.

Another change is movement control. There are more flying checkpoints, wait time at the regular checkpoints are increasing and closures are more frequent, and a couple weeks ago, barricades were installed to control the movement of people at Manara Square here in Ramallah. The barricades remind me of the temporary barricades that the NYPD uses to prevent large groups of people from gathering. Supposedly these are intended to keep the traffic moving, and I'm sure they will help, but they also will conveniently prevent organized protests at a popular gathering spot in Ramallah.

There seem to be a lot of crackdowns in the West Bank on Hamas in the last few weeks, and it is creating an internal tension to go along with the Israeli-Palestinian tension. It seems like every day, I hear about Hamas members being arrested. This, to an average American, sounds like a good thing--they're the "bad guys." However, here it's a bit more complicated. Hamas has popular support and has been democratically elected, and arresting its members creates divisions between Palestinians that could become explosive.

Then there is the "what happens if/when Annapolis fails" question. I don't really want to speculate, but it really can't result in anything good. An unscientific poll from Ma'an News seems to think that will mean increasing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. I don't want to even imagine that scenario.

It all makes me think that perhaps rather than letting leaders decide their fate, the people need to take matters into their own hands. If only it could be worked out under the olive trees over tea.

I'll leave you with an article by Gideon Levy in today's Haaretz. Powerful stuff, Gideon.

Demands of a thief

By Gideon Levy

The public discourse in Israel has momentarily awoken from its slumber. "To give or not to give," that is the Shakespearean question - "to make concessions" or "not to make concessions." It is good that initial signs of life in the Israeli public have emerged. It was worth going to Annapolis if only for this reason - but this discourse is baseless and distorted. Israel is not being asked "to give" anything to the Palestinians; it is only being asked to return - to return their stolen land and restore their trampled self-respect, along with their fundamental human rights and humanity. This is the primary core issue, the only one worthy of the title, and no one talks about it anymore.

No one is talking about morality anymore. Justice is also an archaic concept, a taboo that has deliberately been erased from all negotiations. Two and a half million people - farmers, merchants, lawyers, drivers, daydreaming teenage girls, love-smitten men, old people, women, children and combatants using violent means for a just cause - have all been living under a brutal boot for 40 years. Meanwhile, in our cafes and living rooms the conversation is over giving or not giving.

Lawyers, philosophers, writers, lecturers, intellectuals and rabbis, who are looked upon for basic knowledge about moral precepts, participate in this distorted discourse. What will they tell their children - after the occupation finally becomes a nightmare of the past - about the period in which they wielded influence? What will they say about their role in this? Israeli students stand at checkpoints as part of their army reserve duty, brutally deciding the fate of people, and then some rush off to lectures on ethics at university, forgetting what they did the previous day and what is being done in their names every single day. Intellectuals publish petitions, "to make concessions" or "not to make concessions," diverting attention from the core issue. There are stormy debates about corruption - whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is corrupt and how the Supreme Court is being undermined. But there is no discussion of the ultimate question: Isn't the occupation the greatest and most terrible corruption to have taken root here, overshadowing everything else?

Security officials are terrified about what would happen if we removed a checkpoint or released prisoners, like the whites in South Africa who whipped up a frenzy of fear about the "great slaughter" that would ensue if blacks were granted their rights. But these are not legitimate questions: The incarceration must be ended and the myriad of political prisoners should be released unconditionally. Just as a thief cannot present demands - neither preconditions nor any other terms - to the owner of the property he has robbed, Israel cannot present demands to the other side as long as the situation remains as it is.

Security? We must defend ourselves by defensive means. Those who do not believe that the only security we will enjoy will come from ending the occupation and from peace can entrench themselves in the army, and behind walls and fences. But we have no right to do what we are doing: Just as no one would conceive of killing the residents of an entire neighborhood, to harass and incarcerate it because of a few criminals living there, there is no justification for abusing an entire people in the name of our security. The question of whether ending the occupation would threaten or strengthen Israel's security is irrelevant. There are not, and cannot be, any preconditions for restoring justice.

No one will discuss this at Annapolis. Even if the real core issues were raised, they would focus on secondary questions - borders, Jerusalem and even refugees. But that would be escaping the main issue. After 40 years, one might have expected that the real core issue would finally be raised for honest and bold discussion: Does Israel have the moral right to continue the occupation? The world should have asked this long ago. The Palestinians should have focused only on this. And above all, we, who bear the guilt, should have been terribly troubled by the answer to this question.

Earthquakes

2007-11-24T11:35:00.000+02:00

Last night I was up late playing Scrabble online and watching Grey's Anatomy via iTunes (typical night owl activities!) when I felt a rumbling sensation. No, not tanks entering Ramallah...earthquakes. It was my second earthquake experience (my first being earlier this year in San Francisco). It wasn't particularly scary, but it's always an odd sensation to feel the earth moving beneath you, knowing that there's nothing you can do about it. My guess is that the stone construction here is not exactly designed for earthquakes, either.

This AM, I googled "earthquakes" "middle east" and found out that it was a 4.1 magnitude quake, and that it was the third to strike the region this week. The Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) reported Saturday that a 4.1 magnitude earthquake was felt throughout the country. No injuries or damage were reported. This one originated in the plains area, the ones earlier this week were in the Dead Sea.

The African-Syrian rift runs along the border with Jordan, and is responsible for the Dead Sea and the lovely hot springs I went to last week. Some people think that when the walls came tumbling down in ancient Jericho, it was the result of an earthquake along this same fault line. Supposedly, the region is due for another big one.

Nice!

Hebron

2007-11-23T22:39:00.000+02:00

When I see clips like these, I wonder if I might be more useful doing conflict resolution skills training in Israel, rather than Palestine.

Realizing God's Dream for the Holy Land

2007-11-22T22:49:00.000+02:00

Today I had round two of Thanksgiving celebrations with a group of Mormons living in Ramallah and Jerusalem.

Stuffed!

I think I'll be fasting for the weekend.

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I think that for Thanksgiving, Desmond Tutu's address to the Sabeel Conference this fall in Boston is appropriate for reflection.

Enjoy!

Realizing God's dream for the Holy Land
By Desmond Tutu | October 26, 2007

WHENEVER I am asked if I am optimistic about an end to the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I say that I am not. Optimism requires
clear signs that things are changing - meaningful words and unambiguous
actions that point to real progress. I do not yet hear enough
meaningful words, nor do I yet see enough unambiguous deeds to justify
optimism.

However, that does not mean I am without hope. I am a Christian. I am
constrained by my faith to hope against hope, placing my trust in
things as yet unseen. Hope persists in the face of evidence to the
contrary, undeterred by setbacks and disappointment. Hoping against
hope, then, I do believe that a resolution will be found. It will not
be perfect, but it can be just; and if it is just, it will usher in a
future of peace.

My hope for peace is not amorphous. It has a shape. It is not the shape
of a particular political solution, although there are some political
solutions that I believe to be more just than others.

Neither does my hope take the shape of a particular people, although I
have pleaded tirelessly for international attention to be paid to the
misery of Palestinians, and I have roundly condemned the injustices of
certain Israeli policies that compound that misery. Thus I am often
accused of siding with Palestinians against Israeli Jews, naively
exonerating the one and unfairly demonizing the other.
Nevertheless, I insist that the hope in which I persist is not
reducible to politics or identified with a people. It has a more
encompassing shape. I like to call it "God's dream."

God has a dream for all his children. It is about a day when all people
enjoy fundamental security and live free of fear. It is about a day
when all people have a hospitable land in which to establish a future.
More than anything else, God's dream is about a day when all people are
accorded equal dignity because they are human beings. In God's
beautiful dream, no other reason is required.

God's dream begins when we begin to know each other differently, as
bearers of a common humanity, not as statistics to be counted, problems
to be solved, enemies to be vanquished or animals to be caged. God's
dream begins the moment one adversary looks another in the eye and sees
himself reflected there.

All things become possible when hearts fixed in mutual contempt begin
to grasp a transforming truth; namely, that this person I fear and
despise is not an alien, something less than human. This person is very
much like me, and enjoys and suffers, loves and fears, wonders,
worries, and hopes. Just as I do, this person longs for well-being in a
world of peace.

God's dream begins with this mutual recognition - we are not strangers,
we are kin. It culminates in the defeat of oppression perpetrated in
the name of security, and of violence inflicted in the name of
liberation. God's dream routs the cynicism and despair that once
cleared the path for hate to have its corrosive way with us, and for
ravenous violence to devour everything in sight.

God's dream comes to flower when everyone who claims to be wholly
innocent relinquishes that illusion, when everyone who places absolute
blame on another renounces that lie, and when differing stories are
told at last as one shared story of human aspiration. God's dream ends
in healing and reconciliation. Its finest fruit is human wholeness
flourishing in a moral universe.

In the meanwhile, between the root of human solidarity and the fruit of
human wholeness, there is the hard work of telling the truth.
From my experience in South Africa I know that truth-telling is hard.
It has grave consequences for one's life and reputation. It stretches
one's faith, tests one's capacity to love, and pushes hope to the
limit. At times, the difficulty of this work can make you wonder if
people are right about you, that you are a fool.

No one takes up this work on a do-gooder's whim. It is not a choice.
One feels compelled into it. Neither is it work for a little while, but
rather for a lifetime - and for more than a lifetime. It is a project
bigger than any one life. This long view is a source of encouragement
and perseverance. The knowledge that the work preceded us and will go
on after us is a fountain of deep gladness that no circumstance can
alter.

Nothing, however, diminishes the fear and trembling that accompany
speaking the truth to power in love. An acute awareness of fallibility
is a constant companion in this task, but because nothing is more
important in the current situation than to speak as truthfully as one
can, there can be no shrinking from testifying to what one sees and
hears.

What do I see and hear in the Holy Land? Some people cannot move freely
from one place to another. A wall separates them from their families
and from their incomes. They cannot tend to their gardens at home or to
their lessons at school. They are arbitrarily demeaned at checkpoints
and unnecessarily beleaguered by capricious applications of
bureaucratic red tape. I grieve for the damage being done daily to
people's souls and bodies. I have to tell the truth: I am reminded of
the yoke of oppression that was once our burden in South Africa.

I see and hear that ancient olive trees are uprooted. Flocks are cut
off from their pastures and shepherds. The homes of some people are
bulldozed even as new homes for others are illegally constructed on
other people's land. I grieve for the land that suffers such violence,
the marring of its beauty, the loss of its comforts, the despoiling of
its yield. I have to tell the truth: I am reminded of the bitter days
of uprooting and despoiling in my own country.

I see and hear that young people believe that it is heroic and pious to
kill others by killing themselves. They strap bombs to their torsos to
achieve liberation. They do not know that liberation achieved by
brutality will defraud in the end. I grieve the waste of their lives
and of the lives they take, the loss of personal and communal security
they cause, and the lust for revenge that follows their crimes,
crowding out all reason and restraint. I have to tell the truth: I am
reminded of the explosive anger that inflamed South Africa, too.

Some people are enraged by comparisons between the Israeli/Palestinian
conflict and what happened in South Africa. There are differences
between the two situations, but a comparison need not be exact in every
feature to yield clarity about what is going on. Moreover, for those of
us who lived through the dehumanizing horrors of the apartheid era, the
comparison seems not only apt, it is also necessary. It is necessary if
we are to persevere in our hope that things can change.

Indeed, because of what I experienced in South Africa, I harbor a vast,
unreasoning hope for Israel and the Palestinian territories. South
Africans, after all, had no reason to suppose that the evil system and
the cycles of violence that were sapping the soul of our nation would
ever change. There was nothing special or different about South
Africans to deserve the appearance of the very thing for which we
prayed and worked and suffered so long.

Most South Africans did not believe they would live to see a day of
liberation. They did not believe that their children's children would
see it. They did not believe that such a day even existed, except in
fantasy. But we have seen it. We are living now in the day we longed
for.

It is not a cloudless day. The divine arc that bends toward a truly
just and whole society has not yet stretched fully across my country's
sky like a rainbow of peace. It is not finished, it does not always
live up to its promise, it is not perfect - but it is new. A brand new
thing, like a dream of God, has come about to replace the old story of
mutual hatred and oppression.

I have seen it and heard it, and so to this truth, too, I am compelled
to testify - if it can happen in South Africa, it can happen with the
Israelis and Palestinians. There is not much reason to be optimistic,
but there is every reason to hope.

Desmond Tutu is the former archbishop of Cape Town, chairman of the
South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and a Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate.

Thanksgiving - Part 1

2007-11-21T23:15:00.000+02:00

We are having two Thanksgiving dinners in Ramallah. Yesterday, I met with F(f)riends at the Friends International Center and had Thanksgiving for about 30 people. Bill and Kathy Christison were visiting from the U.S., and they did a presentation about the role of the U.S. in the Israel-Palestine conflict, then we dove into the food.

Surreal experience: explaining the history of Thanksgiving to Palestinians unfamiliar with the holiday. A story that mirrors their own in many ways. The parallels between the Palestinians and the indigenous people of North America are pretty strong.

A moment of remembrance for the negative consequences of colonialism, and many thanks for good friends, health and food! It is certainly a privilege.

Almost done

2007-11-20T22:21:00.000+02:00

I am not a graphic designer.

The past two days have been a nightmare of trying to crop, retouch and enhance digital photos and piece together an ad for The Friend, a Quaker journal in the UK and finish up the Friends School Christmas card so it can be printed next week and hit the post office by December 1.

Next time I have a project like this, anyone want to volunteer?

Where are the activists?

2007-11-19T21:48:00.000+02:00

I spent a a good portion of the day today thinking about what I wanted to write about for today's post. (The rest of the time, I was stressing about holiday cards for fund appeals and running my writer's workshop.) I have a few drafts waiting to be finished, revised and posted, so I thought about them for a little while, but wasn't feeling up to doing research. Then I got an e-mail from a friend back in the States, and I started to think about activism in U.S. society. I have always thought that activism is one of the greatest things that one can do, and that service to try to create a strong, healthy, vibrant community was the noblest of callings. When I think of the great leaders, they all embodied a desire to give to their communities, rather than to stroke their own egos. The people I love and admire the most find a way to incorporate service into their lives, whether by profession or by passion (or both).

So why aren't there more people doing this hard but necessary work?

Why is activism a 4 letter word, and many people cringe at - or outright revile - the idea of being called an activist? Why is it okay to be an activist for some things but not for others? Why is it that people can spend hours in front of the TV every night, but not give 2 hours to community service or going to an organizing meeting? Everyone has complaints about how things are, but most act as though they are powerless to change it. Where does that sense of powerlessness come from?

I don't have the answers. Do you?

F.I.T. (Facilitator in Training)

2007-11-18T21:27:00.000+02:00

I finished the AVP Training for Facilitators this weekend in Hebron, so now there are 10 new facilitators in Palestine! Most of them are working at community organizations in Hebron or in villages in the Hebron area, although one is working in East Jerusalem. It looks like AVP is going to have a lot of benefits to the community, not just in helping to strengthen Palestinian communities by teaching them the principles of AVP and encouraging them to apply them to their lives/work/resistance to the occupation, but also by bringing together community organizers, activists and leaders and building more team unity among them. i think it could be good for coalition building.

I would like to do another series of workshops in Ramallah, perhaps in January, although I suppose it would be possible to do a basic workshop in December and another in January, and then do the Advanced and Facilitator training. Then perhaps we can get a group up to Jenin and Nablus, since by then we should have all of the materials translated into Arabic AND we will have several trainers who are fluent Arabic speakers (not me!).

It's very exciting!

Hot Springs for Peace

2007-11-17T21:27:00.000+02:00

Lucky me, there is an ethernet connection here at the hotel in Hebron, which means I get to give my review of the Palestine Independence Day trip today!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I read an article once hypothesizing that hummous is the key to Middle East peace, one of the commonalities that could bring people together. Falafel and tabbouleh may also qualify, as might argileh (aka shisha, hubbly bubbly).

Add hot springs to the mix. Everyone likes a good soaking in hot mineral water.

----

We started the day a bit later than planned, thanks in part to the leisurely pace that people seem to prefer here, and partially because we were trying to figure out how to get one of our teachers onto the bus. She is the wife of a diplomat living in East Jerusalem, and the security team was not keen to have her meet the bus at a checkpoint or to drive her to Ramallah on a day that could inspire resistance activity. She eventually got into Ramallah at around 8, and off we went.

It was interesting to spend Palestine Independence Day in Hamat Gader and Akko, in what most Palestinians would call Greater Palestine and what the Israelis certainly consider their turf. It was a peaceful and relaxing day...other than the enthusiastic singing in the back of the bus as we traveled north along the border road, flying past the farms beyond the Dead Sea, along the Jordanian border, and into the mountainous area where the Golan Heights intersects with Syria & Jordan.

We arrived at Hamat Gader at around 11, and spent about 4 hours enjoying the springs, visiting the little zoo, and getting massages. Perfect for the week after parent-teacher conferences!

----

It was interesting for me to observe both Israelis and Palestinians enjoying the baths. Most Israelis and Palestinians have no contact with each other, and their ideas about the other are shaped by their media and limited personal experiences. It was interesting not because anything happened, but because nothing happened. It was peaceful, and everyone just had a good time. For the most part, people stayed with their own friends, and my guess is that most of the Israelis just thought that my colleagues were Israeli Arabs, not Palestinians living in Ramallah, but to me, it was a very simple confirmation of how normal people are when they're not trying to prove their political agenda is right and that the "other" is evil.

It was also interesting for me to be there as an American. Occasionally people spoke to me in Hebrew, and when I said that I didn't speak Hebrew, I'm from the U.S., the follow-up question was: are you a tourist? I felt uncomfortable disclosing that I live in the West Bank, so I just said that I was visiting the country and staying near Jerusalem, and my friends wanted to spend the day at the springs so we took a little day trip. All true, but omitting the fact that I work and live in Ramallah. I'm not sure what they would have said, but I didn't want to get into a political discussion.

----

I know that it is much more complicated than just getting people together to realize that they are all human beings with more in common than differences, and that there are political realities and justice issues to be dealt with, but the separation of the people contributes greatly to sustaining the problem.

Israelis too often forget about Palestinians behind the wall and only think of them when they are fearful from attacks. Palestinians seldom enjoy the privileges that Israelis take for granted.

----

My most memorable moments of the day were simple ones:

Realizing that my co-worker who normally wears a hijab has caramel highlights in her brown hair, and traded the hijab for the day to wear a COCKS baseball cap

Singing on the bus

Watching my co-workers throwing stones into the Sea of Galilee

The lighting up of the faces of my co-workers as they sat down beside the Mediterranean Sea for dinner in Akko, and how everyone wanted to sit right beside the water

----

We rolled into Ramallah at about 9 PM, and although we were tired from the day and ready to be home, crossing the checkpoint at Qalandia and passing through the separation wall was a sad reality check. Back to the movement restrictions, back to checkpoints, back to the daily grind of life under occupation. People will keep on keeping on, but it's a bitter irony to end Palestine Independence Day with the reminder that you live in a cage.

Photos from Hamat Gader, the Sea of Galilee, Akko

2007-11-16T10:20:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we went to the hot springs at Hamat Gader, which is located in the southern part of the Golan Heights near the border with Jordan and Syria, and went to dinner in the old city of Akko (Acre) on the Mediterranean coast.

It was a great day and I have lots to say about it, but you'll have to wait til Sunday to hear the story...I'm heading back to Hebron for the AVP Facilitator training.

Then Again...

2007-11-15T23:07:00.000+02:00

Maybe I should have just been more patient.

At 7:45, I got a phone call saying: "Jessica, where are you? We're waiting for you!"

And off I went.

Apparently, I wasn't on "Palestinian time," as my co-worker put it. Showing up promptly at 6:45 is like showing up right on time for a party.

The day trip was great. More details tomorrow. I'm off to sleep!

Or Maybe Not

2007-11-15T07:14:00.000+02:00

I guess my report on visiting the Golan Heights will have to wait for another day. Some sort of communication snafu seems to have occurred, and I'm still in Ramallah. C'est la vie.

I guess I get to chill out here today. FIne by me...tomorrow I go back to Hebron to do the AVP Training for Facilitators. Woo!

Palestine Independence Day

2007-11-15T06:09:00.000+02:00

Today I am going to the Golan Heights with my fellow teachers to celebrate Palestine Independence Day.

It's a little ironic, to go from one occupied territory to another to celebrate a freedom that doesn't exist!

This will be a relaxing trip (hopefully)...the plan is to leave Ramallah at around 7 AM, spend a few hours in the Golan sightseeing and visiting the hot springs, and then ride the bus back. Looking forward to seeing what the north has to offer! I'll let you know. I'm just glad that my colleagues got permits to go. We weren't sure up until 4 PM yesterday if we were going to have a trip or not.

Space Heaters and Candle Light

2007-11-14T07:07:00.000+02:00

Winter is arriving in Ramallah. It has rained twice so far, gentle, misting rains...probably a quarter inch or so at most, and the rain soaks quickly into the ground. It is nearly pitch black at 5:30 PM now, and the weather is becoming cool. The high temperature during the day is about 65 degrees and breezy, and at night it dips to around 45 or 50. Later in the winter, they say it may snow. Usually it doesn't stick around for long.

Those temperatures don't sound too bad, but buildings here are usually made of stone with high ceilings. They are poorly insulated, and seldom have central heating. The temperature inside often feels about the same as outside, which is quite a bit chillier than the average American is accustomed to keeping their homes and offices.

Last night, I finally broke down to use a couple space heaters to heat the apartment. The power went out twice--once when I turned on the hot plate to make dinner, and again when I turned it on to make Arabic coffee. Too many heat generating appliances, I suppose. I will need to invest in a flashlight soon, although I did manage to find the fusebox via candle light.

The glow of the candles and space heaters creates a soothing ambiance, but will likely lead me to become an early to bed, early to rise person this winter!

Right to Enter

2007-11-13T09:02:00.000+02:00

One of the many challenges of the occupation is the right to enter the West Bank and Gaza. Due to the fact that the PA is not a sovereign entity and the borders of the West Bank and Gaza are controlled by Israel, anyone who wishes to enter the West Bank or Gaza must obtain a visa from Israel.

Long term work visas in the occupied territories are difficult to come by...usually you have to work for a governmental organization like USAID to get one. Getting a Palestinian ID for permanent residence is even harder (if that's what you want). Spouses of Palestinians can usually (but not always) get a visa to stay, but still have to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing whether the visa will be renewed. (Many foreign passport holders don't want to give up their passport, but there are families that have made the commitment to living in Palestine who would like that option.)

Most foreign passport holders come on a tourist visa, which, depending on the point of entry and the mood of the person stamping your passport, can be as long as three months. However, many people are denied entry or are only given shorter visas (anywhere from a week or a month). When this happens, the result is disruption and separation. Often the people who are denied entry are long-term volunteers who are doing work in Palestinian civil society organizations or NGOs, or are Palestinians who hold foreign passports but want to contribute to Palestinian society by establishing businesses. They also often have family members in Palestine, and want to raise their families in Palestine with the support of a strong family community.

Denying these people the right to enter undermines the development of a strong Palestinian society. If a strong Palestinian society is likely to be more stable, secure and peaceful, wouldn't you think that it would be in the best interests of Israel to not only grant visas to the West Bank and Gaza--but to encourage them? It's hardly effective to deny them if your goal is peaceful coexistence alongside a viable Palestinian state...which raise's the question: What is Israel's reason for denying these visas and permits? If the problem is "abuse of tourist visas", then why not make it easier to get a work visa or temporary residence visa?

Recently, two of my friends have had visa problems. One was denied entry entirely at Ben Gurion, in spite of the fact that Israel normally reciprocates with the U.S., the other went to visit relatives after a death in the family and came back to receive only a one month stamp. The first one is now back in the U.S., the latter is now spending her time trying to get as much organized as possible before her visa expires, while also trying to figure out what the possibilities are of getting a visa extension or a long-term visa.

Losing them is/would be a loss for Palestine...and they are just two of many.

To learn more, visit Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

One Thing At A Time

2007-11-12T22:43:00.000+02:00

I've always been guilty of over-committing myself. I take on enough work and extra-curriculars for three people, then drive myself - and others - crazy with my efforts to get it all done to perfection (or at least what I saw as perfection) and/or watching things slip through the cracks.

My role at the Friends School was not particularly defined when I accepted it, I just knew that it was going to be a mix of teaching English, after-school programs, fundraising and curriculum development. Turns out, any of those areas could employ a half-dozen people, and I'm still only one woman. I also want to: learn Arabic, organize AVP workshops, develop an after-school program model/curriculum that uses the arts, education and community service as a medium for resolving conflict, and travel around Palestine and get to know the people, culture and history, so that when I come back to the U.S., I have lots of stories to tell. I would also like to coordinate a group of Palestinian educators and get them to develop a social studies curriculum on Palestine that meets the NCSS standards.

Anyone else developing an ulcer or migraine from reading this list?

-----

This weekend in Hebron we held the Alternatives to Violence Project advanced workshop. Overall, there were ups and downs to the workshop, but for me, the highlight of the weekend was going to the action at Qiryat Arba, a settlement near Hebron. (Settlements are not legal). I'm not sure "action" is the best word, but perhaps it works. I would call it a pragmatic act of peaceful resistance organized by Palestinians with solidarity from international volunteers. That's a wee bit cumbersome to say. There's a reason why I didn't wirte the slogans for demos!

Qiryat Arba is a settlement on the edge of Hebron. At the top of the hill near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, there are several buildings that have been taken over by settlers. In between the settlement and the buildings, there is a Palestinian family home and plot of land. The settlers want to confiscate the land in order to connect the settlement at the bottom of the hill with the buildings at the top of the hill, and are doing whatever they can to push the family out.

I spoke with several of the activists who were in solidarity with the family, and heard from them about the daily harassment of the Palestinian family. They tried to plant some olive trees there, but the settlers came and uprooted the seedlings. The settlers have also erected a structure on the land that they claim is a synagogue. According to some Israeli law, if the structure remains there for 10 years, it is considered a permanent structure.

To be honest, I didn't do much at the action. I took photos to document the events and was an international presence (often the presence of internationals reduces the probability of violence). Others helped with the removal of stones and other debris that the settlers have thrown onto the land, made simple repairs to some of the stone walls and terraces, grazing animals (another way to demonstrate proprietorship), and breaking up the land in preparation for planting.

The result was a clearing of the field, all done peacefully. Apparently before I arrived a crowd of settlers came to try to get the Palestinians to leave, but the Israeli police got them to leave. There were no altercations while I was there.

Lots of good work done.

Busy Weekend in Hebron

2007-11-11T21:37:00.000+02:00

Too tired to post, but if a picture speaks a thousand words, this should count for a novella.

Action at Qiryat Arba, AVP

2007-11-10T09:25:00.000+02:00

I'm just popping in quickly to say that the action at Qiryat Arba was declared a success by the family being affected by the settlement.

We didn't end up planting olive trees because it was too dry, but we did start getting the land prepared (clearing brush, removing rocks, doing some small repairs to the terraces). No conflict with the settlers or the Israeli police.

More details tomorrow evening -- and photos. Right now--off to start the AVP advanced workshop!

Advanced Workshop

2007-11-09T06:19:00.000+02:00

I'm heading off to Hebron/Al Khalil again this weekend for the Advanced AVP workshop. I am hoping to snag some internet access somewhere so that I can stay on track for NaBloPoMo, but no guarantees. I'll be back in Ramallah on Sunday evening, insha'Allah.

I'm leaving a little earlier than I expected to in order to participate in an action; there is an area near Hebron that is being encroached upon by a settlement, and we're going to plant some olive trees in an effort to keep the land under Palestinian control.

I'm hoping that we won't have problems with the settlers or the Israeli army.

Stay tuned.

Wondering About Coffee

2007-11-08T22:38:00.000+02:00

How is it that people who love Arabic (or Turkish) coffee also love Nescafe with Coffeemate and sugar.

Yet if you offer real American drip coffee, they turn up their nose?

Does. Not. Compute.

Dollars and Shekels.

2007-11-08T15:22:00.000+02:00

When I arrived in Ramallah, the dollar was trading at 4.24 NIS (New Israel Shekels) to the dollar. Today, it's 3.87 NIS to the dollar.

This is not fun.

Speak Truth (To Power)

2007-11-07T23:22:00.000+02:00

When I came to Palestine, one of the things that I wanted to do was be a witness to the occupation and to tell stories about my experience and the stories of the people I meet, and hopefully to find a way to create openings for Palestinians to share their own stories directly.

In the U.S., we seldom hear Palestinian voices, and when we do see Palestinians, it seems that they are either at a funeral for a martyr, marching through the town center with guns in hand, or are engaged in some other act of resistance. The image is always the same: Angry Arab. This has got to change in order to move people towards a just peace. Yes, the Palestinians ARE angry--and if you saw the reality on the ground, you would empathize, rather than criticize--but they are also just people trying to make the best of a difficult situation, doing what they can to get by.

I don't think that anyone should need me to speak for them--or wants me to--and speaking FOR people is not my intention. My intention is to share stories in such a way that it changes the context that people consider these issues. It seems that another context needs to be created for Americans in this post 9/11 world, and one of the privileges of being white is having a voice. If you have a voice and do not use it to advocate for others, then I think that you are contributing to the problem. It is like the famous Martin Niemoller quote: First They Came... I am not a Palestinian, but I will speak up for them. I think that successful movements are built on the drive of the oppressed combined with a bit of grease from sympathetic people in positions of privilege. I seldom feel privileged, but am aware enough of how the race card is played to know that I hold some advantages.

The "War on Terror" has demonized Arabs and Muslims, and has created a climate in which criticism of the government's plan of action in response is deemed somewhere between treasonous and unpatriotic. When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, most Americans - not all -- felt that it was necessary to do in order to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. When the drums started beating to start a war in Iraq based on little more than hearsay, the alarms went off, and those of us who sounded them were branded anti-American/terrorist lovers. It silenced many people at a time when they might have been effective at pressuring Congress not to pass the authorization to use military force against Iraq, and consequently, we have witnessed the loss of tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and nearly 4,000 U.S. service-people. Witness may be a slightly inaccurate term, however--the coffins have been hidden from our view of U.S. personnel, and the Iraqis are all but invisible.

Similar to those who spoke out against the war on Iraq, those who speak against the occupation and criticize Israeli policy towards Israel's non-Jewish citizens are branded anti-semite. Charging people with with anti-semitism is a tactic to deflect legitimate criticism of Israeli governmental policy and trivializes the meaning of anti-semitism. It is a charge that exploits anti-semitism and the trauma from the Jewish holocaust in order to silence debate. There are legitimate concerns with Israel's policies - both domestically within Israel and in its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. As an American, I feel entitled to speak against those policies because my tax dollars are going to support them against my will, and I am concerned about humanitarian issues.

Just as the public dialogue has changed about Iraq, it seems that the tide is shifting on the Israel-Palestine front. In both cases, the people move faster than the politicians. The use of the word apartheid to describe Israel and the occupied territories is more frequent, and we seem to hear more about books that are critical of Israeli policy...and sometimes even on late-night TV. I have no great hopes for Annapolis, but welcome the opportunity to take advantage of the media it receives to issue calls for justice. Please join me!

TOEFL and Other Stories

2007-11-06T21:08:00.000+02:00

When I found out that I was moving to Ramallah, I joined the Palestine network on FaceBook. It seemed like the logical pro-active step of someone moving 6,000 miles away from home to a place where I knew nobody: join a social network.

Shortly thereafter, I started getting Friend Requests from random Palestinians, some of which I accepted. I began the process of "getting to know" them via e-mail and the inane little applications that it offers, and sometimes even talking with people via Skype.

One particular Facebook friend was a guy from Gaza. He lives in Deir al Balah (in the central part of the Gaza Strip) in a typical Gazan home--a multi-family house--with his parents, brothers and sisters, and a few uncles and their families, and he attends the Islamic University of Gaza, where he studies computer science and education.

His family has, up until now, been more fortunate than many. They've had food (although meat is less common than it used to be), and between working odd jobs and borrowing money, he has managed to scrape together the money needed to keep him in school so that he can complete his studies in December. He dreams of going to a graduate school in Europe or the U.S. so that he cam get a MS in computer science and find a good job so that he can get married and start a family, and support his extended family.

Over the few months that I've e-mailed and spoken with him, the situation has deteriorated rapidly.

The summertime was difficult because of frequent power outages, which result in food spoilage and high levels of discomfort, plus the possibility for medical catastrophe if someone required electrical equipment for treatment. The plan to cut off the fuel as well means no cooking and no heat in the winter.

The computer store where my friend used to work no longer can get parts to do repairs, and the computer classes that he used to teach at a local community center have stopped--nobody can afford to pay for classes when more important things - food, bottled water, clothes - take precedence. The center can't afford to donate the lessons because they need to pay rent, and my friend can't afford to donate time because he needs to pay his tuition. Of course, there aren't really any jobs in Gaza any more--the economy is at a standstill because of the border closures. No goods come in. No goods go out.

Stress levels are, of course, through the roof, which exacerbates all kinds of health problems - and creates new ones. Several of my friends' family members have been in the hospital with stroke or other heart/blood pressure related problems, and there is little that the hospitals can do. Medical supplies are allowed into Gaza for now, but pills do little to help when there are Air Force jets flying overhead, and people are traumatized by every sonic boom.

My friend went to Amideast to find out about taking the TOEFL and GRE in order to prepare for graduate school applications, and found out that the exams and prep materials would cost around $400, which in Gaza, may as well be $4,000 or $4 Million. It's too much. And in Gaza, the equation might look like the following: no exam = no continuation of studies = no career opportunities abroad = no future = no hope.

So, can someone tell me again how this isolation of Gaza prevents terror? Because it seems like my friend, and the 1.5 million other people living there, are living in a pressure cooker...and the more people suffer, the more they want to resist. I consider it an act of extreme restraint that 1.5 million people haven't started marching towards the checkpoints to knock them down with handtools.

The isolation of Gaza does not compel the people to give up the fight, and when you have nothing to lose, it's easy to imagine doing something radical.

School

2007-11-05T17:08:00.000+02:00

Although one of the things that I want to do while I'm in Palestine is conflict resolution training, my official responsibility here is teaching and fundraising at the Friends Schools of Ramallah/El-Bireh. 75% of my time, I teach English to students in grade 1-6. Currently, my emphasis is on reading and writing, and I am trying to carve out time in my schedule to work with the Ethics/counseling department to develop a written curriculum that will help students develop into socially responsible adults with solid critical thinking and conflict resolution skills and a commitment to community service. The remainder of my time is spent fundraising for the upper and lower schools at. I could easily take any one of these three jobs and make it full-time!

The students at the Friends School can be a bit of a handful for me to deal with at times, but we are managing. They tend to be a chatty bunch, and my teaching style is very different from that of most of the teachers here (who tend to stand at the front of the room and lecture). The volume of 25-30 children is LOUD, and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to keep it at a level that doesn't require me to raise my voice to be heard. Teaching, as in the rest of life, requires a bit of trial and error. Tips, however, would be appreciated!

By far, the greatest challenge is that I don't speak enough Arabic to help them to understand the material if they aren't familiar with the vocabulary. I know from my own firsthand experiences with Arabic, however, that it's difficult to listen to someone speaking in a language that you don't know very well. I try to listen and understand as much as I can, but after a while, my tendency when surrounded by people speaking Arabic is to tune them out and do my own thing, and I suspect that the students do that with me sometimes, too!

The language barrier is particularly challenging with the youngest children. I try to remind myself to use very simple vocabulary and to speak clearly and slowly, but it's difficult to know what reasonable expectations are. I had 25 kids in 4-6 grade ask me what the words "recent" and "consider" mean this afternoon in my after-school reading and writing workshop. I'm pretty sure that I knew these words in 4th grade, but I have to remind myself that in 4th grade, I'd been speaking English for nine years and my whole life was immersed in the English language. Not the case for these kids!

If anyone has any good Arabic-English sites, especially those geared towards kids in Elementary School, please let me know. Also, online ESL materials.

Shukran!

Below are photos that I - and others - have taken since the beginning of the school year at the upper and lower school campuses. Enjoy!

Pop Culture

2007-11-04T16:10:00.000+02:00

A lot of Americans (and probably others, but especially Americans) imagine Palestine as a land of archaic customs and traditional Islamic views (which they see as oppressive).

It is true that - overall - the culture here is a bit more conservative than in many parts of the U.S. of A., but is probably comparable to living in the Bible Belt or Utah. Religion is major part of the culture, and it influences Palestinian society(pre-marital sex is a big taboo, homosexuality is not widely accepted, there are clear gender role expectations, etc.). However, none of it is really markedly different than in a conservative place in the U.S. Parents want their kids to follow God's word, do well in school, stay away from the "bad boys and girls" and to be good citizens. It may be Islam rather than Christianity, so the manner of dress may look different and the sabbath day is different, but really, it's all pretty much the same.

Also similar to the U.S., is the presence of a more secular society. There is a significant part of the population that prefers to keep its religion separate from the state, especially among the younger generations and more affluent social circles.
This is possibly due to the fact that many people, especially in Ramallah/Al Bireh, have lived/studied abroad in Europe, Canada or the U.S., and have adopted some of the aspects of Western influence that they find beneficial.

Western pop culture is alive and well here...which is surely much to the chagrin of many parents who want to keep their kids as innocent as possible and to avoid issues that come up with dating. (Again, see conservative America.) Last night there was a dance at the Friends Boys School (which is a coed upper school, grades 7-12), and the American pop music was blaring into my apartment.

Songs like:

50 CENT feat. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & TIMBALAND
Ayo Technology

MAROON 5
Wake Up Call

GYM CLASS HEROES
Clothes Off!! [Edit]

WILL.I.AM
I Got It From My Mama

LINKIN PARK
Bleed It Out [Radio Edit]

BEYONCE
Green Light

KANYE WEST
Stronger [Edit]

NELLY FURTADO feat. MISSY ELLIOTT
Do It

RIHANNA
Shut Up And Drive

KT TUNSTALL
Hold On

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA
Glorious

JENNIFER LOPEZ
Do It Well

BRITNEY SPEARS
Gimme More

All of these songs are on the top twenty of RAM FM, a popular local radio station in English started by South Africans as a means to facilitate "peace through harmony". People also are exposed to a lot of American and European TV via satellite, and globalization has brought many American products to the Middle East. Coca-Cola, Levi's, Dora the Explorer...American brands are easy to find. In fact, they even have American STORE brands here. The Store brand of choice? Kroger. Who knew?

The nearly universal response I've received when I introduce myself to people in the 2 1/2 months that I've been here: "Welcome! I love America. We love America, but the government..." followed by a clicking tut-tut sound indicating disapproval.

It's a sentiment that I find easy to relate to.

Halloween

2007-11-03T18:22:00.000+02:00

By and large, Halloween is not a holiday that's celebrated here. However due to the influence of Palestinians who have lived abroad, there is a small trend moving towards Trick or Treating.

Here are some cute trick-or-treaters (students at Friends Girls School), for your viewing pleasure.

Photo credit: Ann Ward

The photos of the adult Halloween party? What happens in Ramallah, stays in Ramallah!

Hebron

2007-11-02T13:16:00.001+02:00

Nayef Hahalamoun, prior to being assaulted for taking photos of demonstrations in Hebron. He is recovering from being struck in the hip by the soldier with the butt of his gun. - http://www.palestinetoday.org

Last weekend, I went to Hebron (Al Khalil, as it is called in Arabic). It is the largest city in Palestine, and one of the oldest. Hebron/Al Khalil is where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Leah, and Jacob are buried, aka the "Tomb of the Patriarchs" and as such, is sacred to people of all three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam).

There is a small Israeli settler population in the Old City of Hebron (of about 700 people, compared to some 166,000 Palestinians) that have illegally occupied buildings there. They are aggressive towards the Palestinians, are ususally armed, and frequently behave in a hostile manner. The Israeli Army maintains forces within the city in order to protect the settlers, usually exacerbating the problems more than helping the situation. You can see hundreds of examples of the situation on YouTube by clicking here

Problems with the settlers in the city and the regular curfews and restrictions that occur as a result have made life in Hebron/Al Khalil very difficult for the Palestinians living there, and there are also additional problems that result from the Israeli settlement, Kiryat Arba that is adjacent to the city, near the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

As a result of all of these problems, there has been a long history of non-violent reistance to Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, home demolitions and land confiscation organized by local Palestinians and Palestinian civil society groups. They are supported by Israeli and international peace groups. Christian Peacemakers Teams, for example, has had a full-time presence there since 1995.

FI went to Hebron/Al Khalil to participate in an Alternatives to Violence Program Basic workshop with 16 Palestinians. I've taken the AVP Basic workshop before, so I got to assist the facilitators, Margaret & Ann. Eventually I will gain enough experience to co-facilitate AVP workshops here in Palestine with Palestinian co-facilitators (In Arabic, with translation in English for my benefit), doing all three levels and building the core team of facilitators.

AVP workshops are 15-20 hour experiential workshops devoted to the non-violent resolution of conflict by the transformation of oppressive power relationships. AVP is a deeply personal and experiential program that encourages participants to explore and express how they engage in violence and non-violence, personally and socially. AVP workshops create a learning environment where participants understand and begin to change their relationship to physical and psychological violence.

It seems like it would be a good fit for Palestinians, both in dealing with - and hopefully transforming and ending - the violence that they experience as a result of living under occupation, and also in dealing with the everyday violence that ALL societies deal with - domestic abuse, bullying, interpersonal conflicts, etc. I am working with the AVP team to help establish a strong core of Palestinian AVP trainers, so that they can bring it back to their communities - NGO’s, community groups, women’s organizations, social services agencies, youth rrganisations, prisons, spiritual communities, schools, government entities and all who would like to work non-violently against oppression. The possibilities are endless.

I thought that the workshop we did in Hebron was amazing, and I think that the other participants could see how it could be used in dealing with community problems that are exacerbated by the occupation. The one thing that I am finding challenging is dealing with the intensity of the occupation itself, and how that dynamic affects the workshop. It is such a difficult way to live, that finding a way to end the occupation is the number one thing that anyone who takes the workshop wants to address. They feel that they could manage social issues within their community if only they could end the occupation. Yet it is the most complicated and challenging experience of oppression to overcome. I think that an argument could be made for using these tools to do whatever it takes to make Palestinian society as strong and united as possible, and them using that collective unity to wage a non-violence campaign a la Gandhi and the Satyagraha against the British. That takes time though, and people are understandably impatient.

Is it possible to overcome a military occupation non-violently? I hope so...and I hope that I can help play some small part in it.

Are the Settlements Blocking a Two-State Solution?

2007-11-01T01:23:00.000+02:00

Rather than trick or treating tonight (not really done here, anyway!), I went to a lecture in Jerusalem organized by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. Tonight's speaker was Akiva Eldar, a senior political correspondent and member of the Haaretz editorial board, and author of the new book Lord of the Land.

Tonight's topic was: "Are the Settlements Blocking a Two-State Solution"?

Um...

Is there really enough material for a lecture on that? Of course they are! 500 illegal settlements tend to be an obstacle to creating a viable state for Palestinians. An emphatic yes.

But Eldar managed to pull off an interesting lecture, in spite of the fairly obvious answer to the above question.

The main thesis of the first half of his lecture was that settlements are actually contrary to the Zionist ideals that the founders of Israel had when they declared Israel's independence in 1948, and that they actually threaten to undermine the Jewish state, rather than to strengthen it.

He started the evening by referencing the Israeli Declaration of Independence

In the declaration, it says:
THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles;
it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants;
it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel;
it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex;
it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture;
it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions;
and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

(Now, I'm not going to give a lot of commentary in this post, but let me just say that Israel's sticking to its principles of equality about as well as the U.S.A. did/does.)

Using the above criteria, as well as the bit in the Declaration about good neighbourliness, Eldar determined that the act of settlement building is contrary to the Zionist vision.

Okay. Sounds plausible. I'm pretty sure that Ben Gurion considered Eretz Israel to be everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, so I'm not convinced that Zionists even believe that the West Bank is occupied, but I'm willing to go with this thesis. In his lecture, he also said that he was taught when he was younger that the settlements were supposed to be a way to create leverage for a bargaining chip, a "land for peace" sort of deal, similar to giving the Sinai back to the Egyptians.

Another thing that he said was that the settlements were unjust because the Israeli government spends more on them than they do on comparable sized towns within Israel, and that the cost spent on "Internal Security" within the West Bank should actually be spent on National security and social programs.

After that, things went downhill from there, because he started talking about the settlements from the point of view of someone who advocates for a two state solution, and what that might be like.

Then he went on to say that demographically, within "Israel proper" (inside the Green Line - 1967 borders), there is a clear Jewish majority (74% Jewish, 26% non-Jewish), which would narrow slightly over the next 20 years. However, the settlements and their infrastructure leave the West Bank in such tatters that a Palestinian state is unviable, and therefore unacceptable. Without a separate state, the demographic balance evens out almost immediately (even though he didn't include Gaza OR the refugees--red flag!), and within 20 years, Jews would be a minority.

Obviously, this is unsettling to many people who believe that it is essential to have a Jewish state. Therefore, in order to preserve the Jewish nature of Israel, it is necessary to abandon the settlement project. Unfortunately, the manner in which he defined "settler" was discouraging. He defined settlers as Israelis living in the West Bank, except for the "suburbs" around Jerusalem and East Jerusalem. Now, this is a big red flag, because half of the settlers and settlement activity is in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, and we're talking about 250,000 people. He said that East Jerusalem was off the table (really?), and that these would need to be part of the "swap deal." The other 250,000 people live in areas of the West Bank (10% or so on the outside of the separation wall, and 1-2% on the "Palestinian side" of the wall).

He went on to say that the wall would have to be dismantled and moved to the Green line, and that the 250,000 or so living in the West Bank (again, settlers in East Jerusalem and the surrounding areas are a special case!) would need to be moved. He claimed that half of them would go willingly, if there was economic incentive to do so. The other half are more ideological.

Breaking for commentary: I'm not the world's biggest math whiz, but isn't that about 125,000 people? Doesn't anyone remember the pull out from Gaza, which was only about 9,000 people in a fairly undeveloped settlement? Or for that matter, some of the smaller "outposts" in the West Bank? Violence. Destruction. It would be a civil war just trying to evict them. I'm having a hard time imagining this working.

Which really was his point. His point was that settlements create a serious problem for Israelis who wish to see Israel remain a Jewish state. With the settlements and their infrastructure - and the military protection and other support from the government - there is no viable Palestinian state. In the absence of a viable state, we have two choices: 1. the status quo - occupation, or 2. a single state with a Jewish minority (about 50-50 if you don't count Gaza or the refugees (!!! - he didn't, I do). That is, unless the Lieberman plan to "transfer" Arabs from Israel is implemented.

Other things that he said that would raise eyebrows for activists wanting to use international law and human rights as the framework for a peace agreement:

The consistent separation of East Jerusalem and the settlements surrounding it from inclusion in the category of "SETTLEMENTS". It may well be that there must be some land swapping, but to exclude them from the conversation that settlements are an obstacle to peace is absurd. Jerusalem and the settlements activity in and around East Jerusalem is a huge problem. Maybe it will ultimately be considered a corpus separatum, controlled by some sort of inter-faith coalition, but it's not off the table or separate from this discussion.

Refugees: seemed pretty insistent that they must return to the Palestinian state, not Israel. I always understood that the refugees rights of return were individual rights rooted in humanitarian law, not state rights to be negotiated. Am I correct? If so, then Israel doesn't really get to negotiate where the refugees return to. Ever.

He referred to the talks at Taba, the Geneva Initiative, and Bush's "roadmap" and letter to Sharon as documents to guide the process in Annapolis. He also said that Bush needs to do what Carter did at Camp David: lock them in a room until they agree on a proposal that the U.S. could support.

Commentary: Maybe it's just me, but I'm not sure why the Palestinians might not trust the U.S. to give them a fair deal. Sarcasm, of course. The idea that the U.S. could be a just arbiter of peace in the Middle East is absurd. See U.S. Foreign policy exhibit A: Iraq. Or it's deep and long history of giving Israel the political and military capital to occupy Palestine.

There may be something to the idea of giving Israelis and Palestinians someone to blame for the sacrifices that may be necessary in order to negotiate peace, but to think that the offer that the U.S. would come up with is going to be just is just silly. If the U.S. doesn't acknowledge international law or human rights (pre-emptive invasion and occupation of Iraq, a sovereign nation, under the pretext of preventing terrorism, long-term detention and torture at Guantanamo, etc., why on Earth would anyone think that it would force its friends to?

Eldar continued by saying that:

The Arab League's recognition of Israel within the 1967 borders seemed to also give support to the idea that these should be the final borders, but that any adjustments to the 1949 armistice lines should be mutually agreed upon.

He closed up by saying (I'm paraphrasing here) that in the interests of pragmatism and peace, that Palestinians need to be flexible about international law and the right of return. Israelis need to feel that they got a "good deal" in exchange for peace and security. He also said, quite depressingly, that 95% of Israelis don't have a problem with occupation, and they don't see a connection between occupation and terrorism. They don't want to see Palestinians, and the wall suits them just fine.

And this is someone who considers himself to be part of the Israeli peace camp. A pragmatic member. An ally in the struggle to end the occupation. My impression was that he does want peace, but once again, the terms are set by what Israelis are willing to accept. As one person in the audience mentioned, it sounds like the negotiations are happening between the Israeli left and the Israeli right, rather than between Israelis and Palestinians. It also sounds like Annapolis is being set up to fail, since if these are the terms, neither party will be going back to their people with an offer that they're willing to accept.

NaBloPoMo

2007-10-31T22:32:00.000+02:00

In just a few short hours, it will be November in Palestine. It's been more than a month since I've posted, but a lot has happened.

November is National Blog Posting Month (aka NaBloPoMo), which is a modified (and more sane version) of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the objective of which is to write an entire novel in one month.

So, for the month of November, I will post something EVERY SINGLE DAY. Should be plenty of time to bring you up to speed, as well as to fill you in on any new adventures!

Ma salaama,

Jessica

Jerusalem

2007-09-26T14:40:00.000+02:00

The past month has been a hectic month of getting settled in here in Ramallah, and I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting into a rhythm. Of course, I say that, and something inevitably will change--I meet new people, circumstances shift in the political landscape--and there I am, adjusting to change.

I suppose it's a good practice to keep you young!

During the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to go to Jerusalem three times, which is three times more than many of my students, even though they've lived most of their lives just 15 km away.

Since the Six Day War in 1967 and subsequent Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem (the Old City), access to Jerusalem has been extremely restricted. Palestinians who were not forced out of East Jerusalem were given Jerusalem ID cards, and all people living in the West Bank carry West Bank ID cards. People with West Bank ID cards can't visit their relatives, friends or holy places in East Jerusalem without a difficult-to-obtain permit.

On the first Friday of Ramadan, I had the pleasure of being just outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque (just the outside, as non-Muslims can't tour the mosque or the Dome of the Rock on Fridays, the holiest day of the week). On that holy day, in the holiest month of Islam, hundreds of Palestinians were denied entry into the area around the mosque because it also happened to coincide with Rosh Hashanah, and hundreds of Jews were planning to arrive at the Western Wall at sundown. It's outrageous that peaceful worshippers were denied the opportunity to pray at the third holiest site in Islam. It would be like denying access to the Vatican or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Easter.

One of my colleagues wryly made the point: "It's easier to see my sister in Jordan or to go to New York City than it is to see my sister in Jerusalem."

Point taken.

It is that sort of point that makes it bittersweet that I - with my foreign passport stamped USA - have unfettered access to Jerusalem and points beyond in Israel.

And now, photos of Jerusalem and my very overdue photos from Bethlehem.

Bil'in Celebration

2007-09-10T22:27:00.000+03:00

I've been a bit too busy getting my after-school programs set up and teaching to update the blog -- and I lost my video files of my trip to Bethlehem to some computer issues -- so I apologize for the lack of news.

In the meantime, please check out these photos from the Bil'in Celebration (taken by my friend and colleague, Stephen Lassiter).

Bil'in Celebration photo set

Weyn a Ramallah

2007-08-31T03:11:00.000+03:00

Sometimes in Ramallah it is hard to remember that there is an occupation. It is felt economically, at checkpoints and in travel restriction, but there are not many miltary incursions here or settlers living within the city. Some people describe it as being "in a bubble", particularly compared to some of the other cities in the West Bank, and it is nothing compared to Gaza. Most people, like those elsewhere, are focused on living their lives as best they can, and in Ramallah, "The Bride of Palestine" there is much to enjoy.

Here's my first slideshow on Ramallah, with the traditional song "Weyn a Ramallah" in the background. I couldn't find a full-length version, so please pardon the 30 second snippet!

The photos are from all over town: the marketplace (just a block or so from where I live), Manara Square and the Clocktower (about 2 or 3 blocks away), the surrounding shops, and some views of the rest of the city. These shots were taken by my friend Sa'ed (thanks, Sa'ed!)--he's got a better eye than I do!

The interior/exterior shots at the beginning are home sweet home for me; I have the great privilege of staying there while the director of the school and her family are in the U.S. There is a cute little studio attached to the house, where I will stay when they are back in Ramallah, but right now (for obvious reasons), I am spending most of my time in the main house.

The slideshow of my trip to Bethlehem will be forthcoming. If you prefer to see higher quality still photographs, visit my Weyn A Ramallah-August 2007 gallery at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10390939@N03/sets/72157601785446581/

If you want prints, let me know and I'll send you a higher resolution version.

Otherwise, enjoy the YouTube version!

I'm connected!

2007-08-27T20:18:00.000+03:00

My laptop cord has arrived, and I can finally connect with the world outside of Ramallah without borrowing a computer or spending all of my money on international calls. Momtaz! (Excellent) I have never been more clear that I am totally spoiled by and dependent upon technology. I've been feeling a bit challenged and frustrated over the past few days by the language barrier, and it's rather difficult when you can't even call people to talk about it! Now I can use Skype, e-mail and keep my blog.

Much has happened since I wrote on the 18th.

Some first impressions:

1. The West Bank is very hilly and strangely beautiful. It sort of reminds me of central Virginia, but with a much drier climate, so there is much less vegetation. There are trees, but they are not lush, and I imagine that most of them have been planted and cultivated, rather than being indigenous to the area. When you get to a place that is elevated, you can see for quite a distance, and the desert views are very pretty. The weather has been warm (about 30 degrees celsius) and dry. It seems that there is no air pollution here, and at night it is cool and breezy.

2. The people are incredibly warm and kind. I have had a few instances at the market where I suspect that I've paid more than the customary price (at least in part because I don't speak Arabic well enough to haggle or even express that something seems a bit expensive), but by and large, people have been very gracious, helpful and are willing to go to great lengths to make people feel welcome.

3. Ramallah feels safe. I have heard gunshots a couple of times, but I'm told that sometimes people shoot them at weddings or other celebrations, and I haven't heard anything on the news or from people in town that would suggest that it was something other than that. And it's not like I never heard an occasional gunshot when I lived in New York...or even Charlottesville, for that matter. It is a little bit disconcerting to see PA police officers and soldiers/militia in the streets near major intersections, as they carry large guns, rather than your standard issue NYPD handguns, but I don't bother them and they don't bother me, so it all seems to be fine. In general, it's a quiet place, aside from the hustle and bustle of Manarah Square and the calls to prayer coming from the minarets nearby.

4. Ramallah feels isolated. Ramallah/El Bireh (El Bireh is the neighbor of Ramallah, and the towns have sort of grown into one) is only 15 km from Jerusalem, but it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get there because of the long wait checkpoints--on a good day. Travel in general is difficult between the cities in the West Bank, and consequently, most people don't travel between them frequently--assuming that they are allowed to travel at all. I still have not been to Jerusalem because I haven't had enough free time. I did manage to go to Bethlehem for a few hours, and although it is only about 50 miles away, it was about a two hour journey.

Some of the people I met have relatives who live in Jerusalem, but they can't go to see them because they aren't allowed inside Jerusalem. People who have a West Bank ID aren't allowed to enter Jerusalem (Al Quds, as the Palestinians call it). East Jerusalem was part of the Arab partition that was proposed in 1947, and has been considered disputed territory by the international community since 1967 because Israel claims all of Jerusalem is destined to be part of the Israeli state (and to serve as its capital). As a result, under occupation, it is treated as if it's Israeli, and people with West Bank IDs are not allowed to enter the city unless they get a special permit to visit, and they are only handed out on special occasions. Usually when they want to see relatives, they meet them in Jordan. It's hard to believe that in order to see a family member who lives less than 10 miles away, you might need to travel to another country.

---

I will post more later. There is certainly plenty to talk about -- my trip to Bethlehem, visiting the Jalazon refugee camp, school, the marketplace. I also have pictures to upload to Flickr and post...and I also took some video of the drive from Bethlehem to Ramallah. It's a bit shaky due to the bumpy road and aggressive driving of the taxi, but it's got some pretty scenery, so I may put some clips together into a short film.

I'm in Ramallah!

2007-08-18T20:03:00.000+03:00

Still getting settled in. No problems at the airport...which was a relief. I left my power cord to my laptop in NYC and MacBook cords are not going to be easy to replace here, so I'll be out of communication for the most part until I get it. I'm using Stephen and Brian's computer now (the other Americans here), and once school starts I'll have computer access every day.

Yesterday we had coffee and argila at a cafe with an acquaintance of theirs, Sa'ed, a Palestinian who is getting his Masters in Public Policy at Harvard and is doing an internship with the Palestinian negotiation team at the PA. He graduated from the Friends School and filled us in on how to best approach the students (from a former student perspective) and we spoke for a while about his perspective on the peace process and possibilities for peace. He didn't have the sunniest outlook, and felt that the biggest thing that could be done to promote peace is to put pressure on Congress and the White House. It's a shame to hear an opinion that the problems are so intractable that a solution has to come from an external force, rather than the mutual decision by Israel and the Palestinians to end it, but it did make me feel glad that I've been doing the activism work that I've been doing, and I hope that we can do SOMETHING to push for a more just U.S. foreign policy.

Today I finished unpacking and went downtown to the marketplace to change my money from dollars to shekels and to get food.

Anyway....more later on first impressions--and pictures. I don't want to dominate the computer for too long!

Love,

Jessica

Not Quite in Ramallah yet, but some FAQs answered

2007-08-15T14:12:00.000+03:00

I leave tomorrow morning for Ramallah, and today is destined to be a flurry of activity for me. (This entry is probably my mode of procrastination!)

Many people have asked me variations on "what on Earth possessed you to want to go to the Middle East?"

There are a number of reasons--in no particular order:

1. I'm an advocate for peace and human rights, two things sorely lacking in most of the world from what I can tell, but the spotlight has been shining on that part of the world most of my adult life, so I'm a bit more tuned into it there.

2. I've been involved in peace activism both professionally (as the Development Coordinator at United for Peace and Justice from June 2005-Jan 2007) and at the personal/grassroots level (seems like my whole life in some capacity or another) for some time, and I'm a bit weary of resistance in the form of demonstrations. What I think the world really needs is a shift of conciousness and beingness that leads to peace, and I think that education is one of the necessary paths. If my colleagues and I could shed a little light on the Israel-Palestine conflict--which really is just a mirror for all conflicts in some way--it might be helpful in creating a paradigm shift towards peace. My blog--and some of the extra-curricular things that I do (both within the school community and the larger community) will be part of that process, I hope.

3. I feel a responsibility to see what my tax dollars are doing in the Middle East and what the direct results are of U.S. foreign policy choices and to report back on what I see. And yes, I could say this for many other places in the world--but as I mentioned above, the spotlight is on the Middle East, so that's my first stop.

4. I've been wanting for a very long time to find a way to merge my interests in peacemaking, the arts and education into a program, and my appointment with the Ramallah Friends School will be a great place to develop such a program.

5. It seemed like a great opportunity to work with kids, do something of service, and to experience living in a different part of the world, and the Friends school seemed like an ideal place to do this.

---

The other questions that comes up over and over again are: "are you scared?" and "will you have to cover your head/are you nervous about how women are treated?"

Mostly no. I'm a little bit scared of being on the wrong side of the Green Line hanging out with a lot of people that frequently find themselves with big guns pointed at them, and about the danger that could put me in. I'm nervous about that because the technology of warmaking doesn't allow much room for dialogue, and seldom do people with guns see the people on the other side as human. My passport may buy me some privileges, but in some ways, since working and living with Palestinians is viewed as an act of solidarity, it could also put me at risk because it's a powerful political statement, which could be threatening in certain circles. As individuals, I'm not too concerned about Israelis (as long as they're unarmed)--I have quite a few Israeli friends and am planning to spend time in Israel when I can to get to know people better--but I am a bit scared of the Israeli government.

That response always seems to surprise people.

Lest some people think I'm targeting Israel alone, I am not...I am also a bit scared of my own government, too, as I watch the "leaders" of the U.S. government tear the Constitution to shred while the general public watches--and seldom speaks out against it. I'm a little bit wary of any government that puts military might and economics ahead of people and human rights. However, in this particular location, the government of primarly concern is Israel, although it's only with the support of the U.S. and others in the international community that Israel can do what it does.

What I'm not afraid of is what most of the questioners are really asking when they ask if I'm scared...the subtext being "are you afraid of the Islamic militant-types we see on the news?" No, I'm not afraid of the tiny fraction of people that might wish to do harm to someone carrying a U.S. passport. I trust that most people are smart enough to distinguish between an individual from the U.S. and the policies of the U.S. government. I trust that anyone who spends two minutes talking with me will know that I'm not there to do any harm. I trust that if, God forbid, something did happen, that there are a lot of people--inside and outside Palestine--who would advocate for my safety. Some people may think this is a naive perspective, but I have faith in the goodness of people and their innate desire for justice, and I have hope that people can set aside their prejudices or dislike for U.S. foreign/military policy and be fair with me.

As far as the head-covering/oppression of women comments go, I'm not really sure what to say. Ramallah is fairly progressive and I don't anticipate needing to cover my head. There may be some circumstances that I would--out of respect for someone's personal beliefs, perhaps. It's not my personal practice of part of my cultural belief system to cover my head, and I don't want to feel obligated to do so, but I also recognize that there are times that we dress in a way that is outside our typical manner in order to fit in socially and demonstrate respect for other people's customs--wearing a suit at an interview or black at a funeral, for example, or taking off your shoes when you enter someone's home.

Stilleto heels are more oppressive to women than a hijab any day of the week, and I don't see a mass revolution against high heels in the making. It's really all a question of scale. I personally think that people should be free to walk around naked and that there's nothing at all wrong with women's exposed breasts (whether they're being used for nourishment or just part of the beauty of the human form), but I suspect that quite a few people would balk at that idea. Yet I don't think that tank tops are oppressive.

Sometimes when I see women in hijab on the subway in New York, I think to myself: "how nice it must be to not be a slave to fashion trends or to have people hit on you because they're checking out your body?" It sounds more liberating than oppressive in some ways. People tend to stick with what is within their social customs, and it's always hard to change the status quo. There was a time when women were expected to wear corsets, too. Also, as writer Karen Armstrong noted in her book Battle for God, “The veiled woman has, over the years, become a symbol of Islamic self-assertion and a rejection of Western cultural hegemony.”

It makes sense to me, given the long history of colonialism in the region, that there might be some socially-driven reasons that people would choose to emphasize customs associated with their culture. I have American Muslim friends who have started wearing hijab since 9/11, for similar symbolic reasons. It's also not dissimilar to the choice of Amish to reject modern fashions and maintain their traditional dress, yet in all of the years I lived in an Amish area, I never heard people wonder if the women were oppressed by their bonnets and long dresses.

As far as oppression of women is concerned, 1 out of 4 women in the U.S. experience sexual abuse at some point of her life, domestic violence is common, and we are still a long way from gender equity, so it's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black to point out oppression of women in the Middle East. I'd be interested to see a comparative analysis of how many women die from domestic violence in the U.S. and how that compares to women killed in domestic violence in the Middle East. Domestic violence may be higher there than here (I don't know the stats--someone please enlighten me), but I imagine that if rates are higher, it probably has more to do with the stress of living in a climate of a long-term, frequently violent political conflict, poverty, and limited economic opportunity, rather than something wrong with Arab culture. My somewhat limited personal experience of men from Middle Eastern countries is that there machismo and some well-defined idea of proper gender roles (not so different from other men from other cultures), but also a great deal of respect, warmth and kindness towards women.

So, in essence...very few worries at this point.

Stay tuned!

Ahlan wa sahlan!

2007-07-29T20:41:00.000+03:00

Ahlan wa sahlan! For those of you who do not speak Arabic, "ahlan wa sahlan" means "welcome."

On August 17, I will arrive in the Palestinian city of Ramallah to begin my new job teaching English, ethics and developing and coordinating an arts, literacy and community service based after-school program at the Ramallah Friends School. I will primarily be working with students at the lower school (grades K-6), although I certainly hope to get some upper school students involved with the after-school programs!

This blog will document my experiences living and working in the West Bank. I hope that you willl join me on this journey!

Best,

Jessica