Newland Smith, EPF Israel/Palestine Action Group Co-convener:
Sabeel Witness Visit – October 29-November 5, 2009
There were forty-four participants in this fall Sabeel Witness visit titled, “the Ongoing Nakba.” It had been three years since my last trip to Israel/Palestine. I was struck by the growing settlements, not only around Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but throughout the West Bank, not to mention the growing number of settlers occupying apartments in the Old City. Naim Ateek was able to greet us, give a talk, and then we joined him in a celebration of the Eucharist in St. George’s Cathedral. Half of the participants joined in a walking political tour of the Old City. Itinerary included several hours at the Aida Rfugee Camp and the Lajee Center, tour of the Bethlehem District, led by George Rishmawi, Sunday worship in churches in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala; session with Mazin Qumsiyeh; visits to Beit Omar and Tuwani and Hebron; session with Christian and Muslim political leaders at the Wi’am Center in Bethlehem; presentations by Mustafa Barghouti, Diana Buttu, and Jean Zaru in Ramalleh; lunch with the family of Abuna Yusef Saadeh and political leaders in Nablus; presentation by Knesset member, Haneen Zoabi, in Nazareth; visit to UNOCHA with a presentation by Allegra Pacheco and brief talk by Jeff Halper. Archbishop Elias Chacour spoke at the final worship service.
On the first evening before the visit began I went down to Bethlehem to meet the Executive Deputy of the Holy Land Trust for supper but had great difficulty in getting through the check point because of a major event at Rachel’s Tomb. The check point into Bethlehem was closed except for the buses taking Israeli Jews, many of whom were settlers, to Rachel’s Tomb. Fortunately I was able to join one of the buses and got through to Rachel’s Tomb; then took a bus going out and walked through the checkpoint.
Bob Tobin told the participants that three weeks earlier he had watched a parade of 10,000 Christian Zionists from sixty countries led by Israeli military with muzzled attack dogs in the streets of Jerusalem. These Christian Zionists were carrying signs saying, “we love Israel.”
We visited Sheikh Jarrah twice to meet with the family that was evicted from their home in order for Jewish settlers to move in. The second time we also met with another family who were in the process of being evicted. We also met with a family in Beit Hanaya whose home had been demolished three weeks ago. The Red Cross had provided them with a tent; electricity came from a neighbor. The home had been built five years ago but without a permit.
Diana Buttu and Haneen Zoabi gave especially probing talks. Diana Buttu, a Palestinian lawyer in Ramallah, grew up in Canada. Her parents were refugees. Her grandmother who had died a week ago at the age of ninety-eight told her that she and her grandfather had fled to Syria in 1948 and lived there for two years. Her grandmother was waiting for the Iraqi army to liberate Palestine. Today, Diana said, Fatah and Hamas are waiting for the Americans to liberate Palestine. But United States policy will not change overnight and refugees will not come back. This is all a pipe dream. Neither Fatah or Hamas has set forth the process for liberation. The peace talks are only about dates and have failed. Israel does not want to see a Palestinian democracy for then they would have to negotiate with the Palestinians. Israel and the U. S. are working together to keep the Palestinians divided. Such division breeds apathy so we are duped into believing all we need are better roads and a better economy.
Haneen Zoabi, a Palestinian Israeli member of the Knesset from Nazareth and cofounder of the Progressive Women’s Union, a women’s grassroots organization dealing with the political empowerment of Arab women inside of Israel, described ways Palestinian Israeli are second class citizens. “I pay taxes to a state whose education system does not recognize my Palestinian identity. Citizenship must respect my identity.” She mentioned that the Knesset had recently made it illegal to mention the Nakba. The Zionist project is to have as much land with as few Arabs as possible. “The Palestinian project is about true equality – a state for all of its citizens. This is to be anti-Zionist. Not a Zionist definition of citizenship but a democratic definition of citizenship.” Haneen was very clear that the Arab members of the Knesset would never be able to change the laws. At the same time there is value to use Palestinian discourse identity. Haneen also stated that “my people cannot continue to live under occupation. My people are dying every day.” If we were to advocate for the one-state solution, the occupation would be placed on the back burner. On the U. S. administration, “Obama does not reflect any real difference. We are not under any illusions.”
Allegra Pacheco of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory gave a piercing presentation with maps of the situation including the Gaza Strip. The 2009 OCHA special focus reports, “the Planning Crisis in East Jerusalem: understanding the phenomenon of ‘illegal’ construction”; “Shrinking space: urban contraction and rural fragmentation in the Bethlehem governorate”; and “Locked In: the humanitarian impact of two years of blockade on the Gaza Strip” are excellent.
Finally Jeff Halper spoke briefly on the final day back in Jerusalem. He was hopeful only because he thought the Zionist undertaking of the State of Israel like the Soviet Union would eventually collapse. But he told us that he had recently been in Washington and had met with some American elected officials. One told him that although he understood the Israeli/Palestinian situation, until five thousand of his constituents spoke out for a just peace, he could do nothing. Halper reflected that even leaders in a democracy will respond to a grassroots movement.
From what I heard and saw during this eight-day visit was that the Zionist project is continuing to dispossess the Palestinian people of their homes and their land and to separate them from the Israeli Jews, both in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A number of people with whom we met asked us to be involved in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
Newland Smith
