---------- From: Sheila Goldmacher <sheinaleah@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 11:54:26 -0700 Subject: Fwd: reflections from east Jerusalem From my friend and comrade in the struggle who has been witness and participant in Israel/Palestine for the last 2 months. This is her latest communication. I thought you should read it as Americans whose government enables this to continue. Sheila Begin forwarded message: > Date: May 28, 2006 3:09:21 PM PDT > Subject: reflections from east Jerusalem > > "People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own > destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of > innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a > monster." > James Baldwin > > This is the end of my fifth week, only another month before returning > to California. I continue to move to my own rhythms-- coffee, reading > the morning papers and the flood of emails from local peace groups and > the international left, long walks into unfamiliar neighborhoods, > spectacular fresh fruit (apricots right now) and a growing > understanding of daily lives under Occupation just below the surface > of ideology and history. > I am making my way through a stack of Palestine/Israeli Journals, > listening in on the conversations left intellectuals and activists > were having in l999 and 2000. Their concerns and predictions were > prescient and have not changed, merely become more urgent and ominous. > I am also reading about the history(ies) of feminism and lesbian > peace activism here-- marxist, religious, liberal, mizrachi, > palestinian etc etc... glimpsing women's centers and lesbian > organizations taking root, coalescing, then ending, only to begin > again, sparked by other women, other concerns. I am talking with aging > activists, women who do not expect to see an end to occupied Palestine > but who continue their commitment to the liberation of a subjugated > neighboring people. I am meeting women from the next generation of > activists women with different styles, questions, strategies and a > powerful sense of outrage and passion. I see the realities of any > semblance of ordinary life in Palestine deteriorating, punctuated by > hopes which are repeatedly dashed, and most of all the sense of > intensity that is so normative here, and the stunning discrepancy > between the Occupation and daily life in Jerusalem. > Each morning, the daily paper is filled with ironies. Today, Ha'Aretz > featured an article titled "Mixed-Marriages"-- this after the Supreme > Court just denied family re-unification for Israeli/Arabs married to > Palestinians-- which turned out to be an article about a stylish > restaurant in Tel Aviv blending culinary flavors in a unique ways. > Each week brings announcements about an on-going series of > solidarity actions with Palestinians, most of them reactive to the > urgent pressures of the ubiquitous presence of the Israeli army, > settler violence against children requiring accompaniment to help them > get to school, farming gutted land, re-building demolished homes, > monitoring checkpoints, providing concrete services to children and > families suffering the effects of the Occupation. In Israel, there is > the on-going and necessary work of trying to stretch a safety net just > a bit further as most welfare and social service funds are diverted to > the military. And, at least in Jerusalem, there are perhaps a few > hundred people who actively engage in this peace and justice work. > This week I accompanied a group of seasoned European activists here > to work in the OCT's for three months, as they traveled through East > Jerusalem and the West Bank > As we entered East Jerusalem we came upon a massive sign in the midst > of the nearly empty landscape, once Palestinian land, announcing Nof > Jion, a Private Neighborhood in Jerusalem. Jewish Sephardic Federation > House to be built by the Digal Investments and Holding Ltd. There > will be a shopping center, country club, kindergarten, synagogue-- the > text in English and Hebrew . Contact www.nofzion.co.il Behind the > sign, the Dome of the Rock glistened in the sunlight. > There is no garbage pickup in East Jerusalem even though all taxes > are collected. The narrow streets have large green bins in which > residents put garbage and, when it is full, burn their contents. > Part of the expansion of settlements in east Jerusalem centers on the > development of Maale Adumim which is designed to restrict the > development of east Jerusalem and to split the West Bank north and > south. We drove into and around the settlement. In its center is a > large burbling water fountain, (metres away from where Palestinians > have little or no water.) The homes have an architectural sameness, > punctuated by mall like large shops. The streets are wide and > perfectly clean. There are 4 swimming pools, schools, centers, > programs for teens, resources for kids. Everything a family might > want. What's more, it is comparatively inexpensive, providing enormous > incentive for families from working class, immigrants, students and > those on a limited income. And the language is comfortable and benign. > Maale Adumim is not a settlement. It is now merely a neighborhood of > Jerusalem. > Arriving in Anata, we are greeted by Salim Shawamreh, whose home had > been destroyed four times by the Israeli Army. What is different > about his situation, is that the Committee Against Home Demolitions > re-built it five times! This last incarnation turned his home into a > peace center called Beit Arabiya, dedicated to the memories of both > Rachel Corrie and Nuha Sweidan, both killed in Gaza during demolition > operations. Here internationals are educated about the nature of the > demolitions, the confiscation of arable land, the cruel treatment of > Palestinians, the growing and unchecked violence by settlers, the > expanding system of by-pass roads and tunnels and the control of water > and all natural resources. > We were warmly welcomed as we climbed down out of the bus, and > entered the small dwelling where lunch was set out for us by two > family women- spicy chicken, rice, cold salads, watermelon, and liters > of cold drinks. > Salim sat in a white plastic chair as we ate our meal telling us > about his experiences on this piece of land. They were undoubtedly > words he had spoken hundreds, perhaps thousands of times over the > years, words designed to personalize the abstraction of demolitions, > the Israeli laws that requiring permits for building but does not > issue them to Palestinians, the purposeful destruction of cherished > family heirlooms and papers. > He tells his story well, is moving, passionate and fierce in this > choice of language. Everyone in the room is riveted and no one moves > as he speaks. > "The solders began to break the windows when we didn't come out right > away," he says, as the sound of shattering glass fills our > imaginations. "Our furniture was thrown out into the dust," as our > eyes sweep around the room, filled now with stacks of plastic chairs, > one plastic table and long narrow cushions upon which we are seated. > "The Red Cross gave us a tent," he goes on, "and we lived in it while > we re-built, but they came again, destroyed everything, and took the > tent as well. When we said we needed at least a tent to live, the army > said we would need to get a permit for a tent." > "We are refusing to be enemies," he concludes. "It is good to see you > here. On the ground. We hope to see a brave Israeli leader soon. One > who will make peace." > Our time with him and his family is cut short because our group has > been given exactly one hour to meet with four representatives of Hamas > and they are eager get to A-ram for the conversation. The Hamas people > have been very strict about the time they will make themselves > available so we make our somewhat embarrassed apologies and leave. > Salim says of course he understands. He turns and enters the peace > center and I realize he hasn't told us where he lives now. No one > thought to ask him. > > We drive into A-Ram, the site of last week's vigil to meet people > from Hamas who are clearly eager to talk with European peace > activists. We crowd into a small conference room in the Youth > Development Department facing a large table with a Palestinian flag > prominently displayed in its center. Within moments, four middle-aged > men enter, dressed in western clothing. They are warm, charming and > articulate, as each speaks about another facet of the history of Hamas > and the recent election. > "Hamas is not from another planet, one said smilingly. "We've been > elected by the people. We are Palestinians." > They speak for nearly a half hour, eager for Europeans to hear their > position. They repeatedly and in a variety of forms made the following > points. > Israeli should have no legitimacy. Sanctions are a disaster for our > people. Pressure needs to be put on the occupier. We are asked to > acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel yet Israel is not required to > acknowledge us. For 20 years we have been serving the Palestinian > people with schools, hospitals, social services. We are a part of the > struggle, a part of the people. They emphasized the legitimacy of the > elections, the corruption of the PA and the people's need for a clean > sweep. Europe is a real civilization, not like America. America is too > new. The US does not respect humanity as evidenced by their killing of > the Indians, the realities at Guantanamo. > Those were the talking points. Then they opened the floor for > questions. > "What are the programs you want to put into effect now?" an Irish man > asked. . > The speaker smiled ingratiatingly and said, > "Ah. The Irish. Now you understand what we are doing better than > anyone." > He answered by talking vaguely about an expansion of the programs > they had been providing the people for the past decades. > "What about the role of women and the religious aspects of Hamas?" > one Scottish woman asked. > "Islam is about humanity. For 1400 years there have been no problems. > We have all lived in harmony. Three religions in Medina. We are not, > as members of Hamas, planning to impose anything on anyone." > "What about suicide attacks?" > "We are against bloodshed and respect human rights. This question > should be asked of the Israelis." > When pressed for circumstance that might lead to attacks, he replied, > "We hold the Occupation responsible for whatever outcomes result." > He then spoke at length of European martyrs and zealots over the > centuries. > A British academic asked, > "How exactly do you plan to govern?" > "Our priority is to reorganize our internal house. We have spent the > past 20 years fighting the aggressor and now we must clean our own > house. > At precisely the end of one hour, they smiled, thanked us for coming, > and left. We milled around a bit, ate from the lavish trays of food > that had been put out, then walked through the streets of A-Ram back > to our bus. > Reaching for legitimacy among internationals here, the skillful > language used to hold the moral high ground almost, but finally didn't > obscure the reality that there are, at least not yet, any clear > programatic steps Hamas is preparing to take. Right now, the > Fatah/Hamas efforts to calibrate power and authority leave the left > not knowing quite where to enter, how to engage, where to make their > alliances. It seems like a holding pattern. > > We attempted to drive directly back to Jerusalem but the bus was > re-directed because that evening was the start of Jerusalem Day and > security around the city was on high alert. 600,000 people were > preparing to celebrate with marching bands, flags, national songs and > parades, honoring the moment that military commanders Motta Gur's > voice announced, "The Temple Mount is in our hands-" marking the end > of the 6 day War--39 years ago. > Now, nearly 40 years later, there are 41 settlements in the Old City, > nearly one for each year, with plans to develop 33 more housing units > near Herod's Gate in the Moslem quarter with walls higher than the > wall of the Old City in another attempt to "reclaim" all of that land. > Meanwhile, the Israeli Housing Ministry has requested a budget > increase to protect settlers in East Jerusalem where 11 compounds > containing 56 residential buildings that require escorting residents > as they move from place to place, guarding Jewish schools, > kindergartens etc. This at a time when health care is underfunded, the > welfare safety net is in tatters and 1 in 3 Israelis is close to the > poverty line. Nearly everywhere I walk, soldiers are casually leaning > against army vehicles, smoking, chewing sunflower seeds, looking > bored. > I decided not to go to Friday's demonstration in Bi'lin, as the > Israeli soldiers have been racheting up their use of rubber bullets > and tear gas in the last months, particularly, it seems, against > internationals. And indeed, three women, all of them internationals > were, what was described as "mildly" wounded from lobbed tear gas > canisters that hit them on the head. They were hospitalized and > released. I'm glad they were there. I'm relieved I wasn't. Instead I > went to the Friday Women in Black vigil. Most weeks there are 25-30 > women with the same signs and banners they have been using for nearly > two decades. End the Occupation in English, Arabic and Hebrew. And > still they stand, Some, the old ones especially, sit. But they never > miss a week. > These past few days, the papers here have been filled with coverage > of all the political permutations of Olmert's meeting with Bush. > Addressing Congress in Washington, Olmert declared: ³We extend our > hand in peace to the Palestinian People,² as senators and > representatives gave him a standing ovation. At the very same time > that Israel¹s Prime Minister uttered those words, Israeli forces > conducted a mid-day large-scale invasion into the heart of Ramallah. > At Manara Square Ramallah¹s main square, comparable to Tel-Aviv¹s > Dizengoff Square the soldiers opened fire and shot to death four > young Palestinians. > > This email letter is my act of faith for today. > > Salaam/Shalom, > > Sandy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Protect your PC from spy ware with award winning anti spy technology. 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