tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85160144786515534472024-03-13T22:14:02.593-04:00Scott's Holy Land Peace Mission 2009Photos, observations, and interviews related to my experience in Israel and Palestine as a member of the international ecumenical accompaniment team sponsored by the World Council of ChurchesScott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-68556402308381589362009-04-29T13:48:00.001-04:002009-04-29T15:04:24.733-04:00Summary and Closing Thoughts<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been back in the USA for about a week now and am getting settled back into my comfortable American life. As expected many of my friends and associates have asked me about how I felt about my time there and more specifically the solutions for peace. Frankly the solutions are less difficult to articulate than the path to them. While three months of relationship building with Palestinians and Israelis clearly does not make me an expert on the situation I, like millions of others, have an informed opinion. I want to close out my posts to this blog with a summary of my experience as an Ecumenical Accompanier in Palestine and Israel, and my observations on the potential for peace between Palestinians and Israelis.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiNqHJQeZI/AAAAAAAAA_E/9jAjkEmLaDg/s1600-h/DSCN0833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiNqHJQeZI/AAAAAAAAA_E/9jAjkEmLaDg/s320/DSCN0833.JPG" yi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My three month adventure was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I am incredibly thankful to my family and my business partners who took on added responsibility to allow me to take a mid-life pause. It was not easy on them and I feel blessed to have their support. As I reflect on my experience I find that I most value the opportunity to have made so many new friends and meet so many interesting people. I met people from all walks of life, including doctors, lawyers and other professional people, religious leaders, shopkeepers, laborers, goat herders, politicians, peace activists and just plain good people. It is these people that will be etched in my memory long after the images of the places and events I witnessed fad away. I would love to introduce you to all of them but there are so many that I would need to write a book to tell all their stories. While Israel/Palestine can be a depressing place that is filled with anger and tension rooted in the oppression of occupation, it is held together by people with the optimism that a better day is possible. Many have dedicated their lives to that effort. They are the ones who give me hope for a just peace.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found the Palestinians, almost to a person, to be genuinely warm, congenial people. They have a pervasive culture of hospitality that is disarming and humbling. They will readily share whatever they have and accept you as a friend until proven otherwise. While I found Israelis to be much more guarded and wary as a rule, I found many among them who are as warm and inviting as the Palestinians. I made many Israeli friends and find that they have more in common with their Palestinian neighbors than they realize. I was saddened by the fact that the crafters of the occupation have created a culture of demonization between these two wonderful groups of people that have so much shared history. Suspicion and fear is perpetuated by the very limited contact that takes place between Israelis and Palestinians. The social and physical barriers that have been erected over the last decade have only served to fuel the view of the other as demons who are some how less than human. I firmly believe that this, more than anything else is the barrier to peace. Peace must be rooted in one-to-one relationships that are built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust. I have seen these relationships develop and the power that they have. Goodwill is contagious and can overcome the fear that drives decision making on both sides today.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiOiAztiMI/AAAAAAAAA_M/FK6CSDfJJQQ/s1600-h/DSCN1764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiOiAztiMI/AAAAAAAAA_M/FK6CSDfJJQQ/s320/DSCN1764.JPG" yi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I have worked very hard to understand both sides of this conflict I have found that at the end of the day it is an occupation not a bilateral conflict. It is easy to look back into history, point fingers and find rationales for actions both parties have taken that have escalated hostilities. Peace will not be formed or shared by those in the past. It will only benefit those in the present and future. It is with those people in mind, and with the current realities, that peace must be viewed. As long as people continue to justify their actions based on what happened in the past, the spiral of hatred will continue to escalate until we have the end of mankind in the form of nuclear war. A frightening graffiti on a wall in West Jerusalem that says, “War is forever” puts voice to the escalation. If war is forever, ultimately, mankind is not and that must give us pause</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some would argue that the conflict is a religious struggle. For the same reason I do not believe war is forever, I do not believe that Gods vision for his people includes escalating hatred and ongoing war. While I am a person of faith I also believe that God’s will is not ours to steer and that our call to be peacemakers and share the world God created for us trumps any efforts to see prophesy fulfilled. Those of any faith background who call on men to make decisions in the name of the fulfillment of the will of God, or call for “holy war” are acting out of human frailty and fear. As people of faith we are called to first love our neighbor as ourselves. This simple theme is common among all faith communities in the world. That fact alone should give us the clue that it is God’s highest expectation of all people on earth.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is going on today is an oppressive and brutal occupation of the Palestinian people by the country of Israel. It is an ethnic cleansing initiative that is engineered to disposes the Palestinian people of their land and their dignity, in an effort to force them off of land that a Jewish religious minority believes to be the exclusive God given territory of the Jewish people. The fact that Palestinians have lived there as long, or longer than the Jews means nothing to these zealots. The harsh reality of today is that while it is clearly a one sided fight militarily, the Palestinian people have persevered. They are not, and will not leave. It is only because of the world’s indifference and the protection of the United States that the occupation has been allowed to plod on in a man made effort to fulfill prophesies. The increasingly brutal efforts of the Israelis to force the Palestinians out by demolishing their homes, restricting their movement with walls and checkpoints, bombing them, and generally making their live as miserable as possible, is not having the desired affect. The Palestinian population is growing. Perhaps that should be a sign that ethnic cleansing is not sanctioned by God as the perpetrators of these crimes have convinced themselves.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiOt5m4f5I/AAAAAAAAA_U/HXVv_g8Vfqk/s1600-h/Ishot2kills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiOt5m4f5I/AAAAAAAAA_U/HXVv_g8Vfqk/s200/Ishot2kills.jpg" yi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A significant driver of the Occupation is the historical oppression of the Jewish people. Like a battered child who grows up to become a child abuser, Israel is repeating history. They are doing to the Palestinians, what was done to their ancestors. I consider myself a Zionist. I believe in the need for a homeland for Jews to offer them a sanctuary of religious freedom. I believe in the right for Israel to be a religious state. I do not believe that right extends to the oppression of other indigenous people. While the occupation is an unjust dominance of the Palestinian people and should be ended based on that alone, it is also tearing at the fabric of Israeli society and the Jewish soul. For their own sake the people of Israel need to end the Occupation. It has spawned militarism within Jewish society leading to an acceptance of violence that is impacting family life and personal well being on a mass scale. The actions taken by young Israelis as a part of their required military service have called them to question the morality of their government and forced them to examine their own morality. This breakdown in the moral fabric of the society has lead to an escalation of the conflict and lead to an increasingly negative view of Israelis, isolating them as a member of the world community. I have personally witnessed the increasing impact of the occupation on both Israelis and Palestinians. For the sake of all of the people of the region and the world the Occupation must end.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiO_qLayLI/AAAAAAAAA_c/KlVj0MYQ1NU/s1600-h/DSCN0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiO_qLayLI/AAAAAAAAA_c/KlVj0MYQ1NU/s200/DSCN0094.JPG" yi="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what does a peace settlement look like? In one of my very first posts here I introduced you to Gila Svirski, The Israeli peace activist who founded Women in Black over 20 years ago. I told you about her view of a just peace. Over these past three months I have talked with people of diverse views of the occupations, both the occupiers and the occupied. I have asked them what peace looks like to them and have found that Gila’s summary of the issues is representative of broadly held mainstream views on both side as to what a just peace looks like. The issues can be summarized into a few succinct areas.</span></div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiPzH0gcZI/AAAAAAAAA_k/5J8lh_OKv7w/s1600-h/DSCN0479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiPzH0gcZI/AAAAAAAAA_k/5J8lh_OKv7w/s200/DSCN0479.JPG" yi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Settlements -</strong> There are today 400,000 Jews living in illegal settlements in the West Bank, east of the green line. Of those 200,000 are in greater Jerusalem, including 30,000 in Ariel and another 30,000 in Mali Adumin. Clearly not all of these Jews can be relocated to Israel so there will need to be a land swap whereby Palestine would receive land that is currently part of Israel. This would require the relocation of about 200,000 settlers. Gila has a great idea for how to get them to move. Over a five year transition period you pay the settlers to relocate to Israel on a decreasing basis, i.e. full payment in year one decreasing to zero in year five. If after year five they choose to stay they are no longer Israeli citizens and they can become citizens of Palestine.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQPc-cRNI/AAAAAAAAA_0/eb72lyHtsOU/s1600-h/DSCN1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQPc-cRNI/AAAAAAAAA_0/eb72lyHtsOU/s200/DSCN1204.JPG" yi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jerusalem -</strong> The city of Jerusalem which is cherished by three religions needs to be shared, as it has for century's, and be the capital of both Israel (West Jerusalem) and Palestine (East Jerusalem). The best solution I have heard for this sharing is to make Jerusalem an “international city” similar to the Vatican. It would not be controlled by either Israel or Palestine but would be controlled by a unique international body formed to govern it under international law. The focus of governance would be religious freedom and equal rights for all inhabitants.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Refugees -</strong> In 1948 the Jews forced 700 thousand Palestinians into refugee camps in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordon and the West Bank. Since that time the Palestinians have continuously demanded a right to return to their homes under international law. Gila says this issue appears more difficult than it is. This issue has more to do with the acknowledgement of the injustice that was done to the Palestinians than their actual relocation after all these years. There are two components to the solution that she says is consistent with Middle Eastern culture where it is OK to say one thing and do another. The first step is the key which is to acknowledge the injustice and the right of return provided for under international law. A small number of Palestinians would become citizens of Israel based on family reunification needs. The remaining refugees would be made citizens of their host countries and paid reparations by Israel.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQC39AG0I/AAAAAAAAA_s/5wK-d5jmcVQ/s1600-h/DSCN0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQC39AG0I/AAAAAAAAA_s/5wK-d5jmcVQ/s200/DSCN0497.JPG" yi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Water -</strong> Existing water resources need to be shared ratably by both countries and a major international investment in desalination plants needs to be made to assure water resources for both countries. Today Israel has gerrymandered the border in order to control both the water and tillable land. Palestine needs to get back the tillable land east of the green line and the water to produce crops on it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said in my introduction, the solutions are less complex than the path to them. It has become clear to me that the two state solution whereby Israelis and Palestinians each have their own sovereign state on land they alone control is the only logical answer. The borders must be negotiated by the parties and agreed to by both sides and the peace agreement must be viewed by the Palestinians as just. There can be no peace without justice. Gaza has proven that “unilateral withdrawal” will not work. Israel can not define peace alone and the concept of ‘economic peace’ without justice simply will not work. Israel is in control of peace. Either they will formalize their occupation by making all of the West Bank and Gaza part of Israel and in keeping with the principals of democracy, give all the inhabitants equal rights and a vote, or they must negotiate with the elected leaders of the Palestinian people (including Hamas) to form an independent Palestinian state. The choice of a single state with equal rights for all would mean that it would have to be a secular state that respects religious freedom of all people because the Palestinian population is growing at a much faster rate than the Jews. Israel was founded on the principals of a religious Jewish homeland so this path would rock the very foundation of the State of Israel. It is for this reason that the two state solution is the only choice. Time, however, is running out. The increasing number of Israelis that would need to be relocated back into Israel from the Occupied Palestinian Territories makes the two state solution increasingly complicated to execute. This is exactly what these settlers who are the most fervent of the religious zealot minority that have driven the occupation to its current level, have been trying to accomplish.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQlpe_s5I/AAAAAAAAA_8/xzAlQxs0SrA/s1600-h/DSCN1762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQlpe_s5I/AAAAAAAAA_8/xzAlQxs0SrA/s200/DSCN1762.JPG" yi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The government of Israel does not have the will to make these decisions which is a major reason the Occupation has persisted. Israel’s international protector, the United States through President Obama must force Israel to make the hard decisions it must make to ensure its long term viability. Israel must have peace to survive. To get peace it must negotiate a just settlement with the Palestinians. A window of opportunity is now open. If those in the United States who have been looking to fulfill biblical prophesy through US foreign policy can be marginalized, peace is possible. President Obama must demand it as a condition of continued US support. I believe he has the understanding of the issues to execute a strategy that will lead to peace if Israel wants peace. If they make the decision that they do not want peace, our country must discontinue its tacit support of the Occupation and join the rest of the world in its condemnation of Israel for continuing it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is in the genuine interest of the United States and the world to see a just peace in the very near future. Ongoing conflict between the Arab and Western worlds will continue to escalate in the absence of peace between the Israeli’s and Palestinians. All of the terror groups that have threatened world peace have their founding in fundamentalists movements that point to Israeli and US support for the ongoing Occupation. It is time we worked to take the fuel out of this fire by solving the root issue.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQyV0taxI/AAAAAAAABAE/KkHItDFsOIw/s1600-h/Easter+sunrise+on+Mt+of+Olives.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SfiQyV0taxI/AAAAAAAABAE/KkHItDFsOIw/s320/Easter+sunrise+on+Mt+of+Olives.JPG" yi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In closing, I have been asked several times about the most memorable experience during my three months. I would have to say that waiting quietly in the olive grove on the top of the Mt. of Olives for the sun to come up on Easter morning would have to be it. Easter means new life for Christians and the rising sun demonstrates God’s ongoing commitment to that new life. A new day is possible for the people of Palestine and Israel if our government will commit to demanding it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to thank those of you who have followed along with this amazing journey. I hope that I have been able to provide you with some small insight into the lives of some wonderful and interesting people, who like everyone else in the world want nothing more than a better life for their children. They deserve peace and I will continue to work and pray that they get it.</span></div><br />
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</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-67460823662733723272009-04-13T10:09:00.000-04:002009-04-13T10:09:38.650-04:00Easter Hope<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNCmPAPVwI/AAAAAAAAA70/Upi2RfRrqZg/s1600-h/DSCN1633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNCmPAPVwI/AAAAAAAAA70/Upi2RfRrqZg/s320/DSCN1633.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I wrap up my time here in the Holy Land and we pass the baton on to the next team of Ecumenical Accompaniers, I have been looking to find the hope in what seems to be a hopeless situation. I have found that hope embedded in many amazing people I have meet here. I have introduced many of them to you over the course of the last three months. I have met many wonderful people here and made many new friends that will live in my heart for the rest of my life. I have also had the opportunity to experiences things that I never dreamed I would do. This past week’s celebrations of both the Christian Holy Week and the Jewish Passover with some of those new friends are among the highlights of my time here.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A week ago Sunday I joined many thousands of people from around the world in a procession down the Mt of Olives with palms waving to commemorate the triumphant arrival of Jesus in this city. The mood would soon change from joyous to somber as this outsider was challenged by Jerusalem’s establishment but like the first Palm Sunday this day was festive and joyous. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNDuXjtSlI/AAAAAAAAA78/Y5TzOG2RRB4/s1600-h/DSCN1605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNDuXjtSlI/AAAAAAAAA78/Y5TzOG2RRB4/s320/DSCN1605.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year in a very unusual occurrence the Jewish Passover landed on the Thursday of the Holy Week, the day Christian tradition marks as the day of the last supper which was believed to be in celebration of the Passover. Our team was invited to join our friends Gila and Judy at their beach home in Nahariya on the Mediterranean coast near the border with Lebanon for two days to celebrate the beginning of the Passover which starts with the Seder meal. I introduced you to Gila in the Article titled Woman in Black. Over twenty years ago she and some of her friends began standing on a street corner dressed in black holding protest signs opposing the occupation of the Palestinian people. They are still there every Friday. We learned a great deal about this Jewish tradition which commemorates the freedom of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Most importantly we deepened our friendship with some really great people.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNElW9kyMI/AAAAAAAAA8E/888KumzKW1Q/s1600-h/DSCN1621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNElW9kyMI/AAAAAAAAA8E/888KumzKW1Q/s200/DSCN1621.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived back in Jerusalem on Thursday to resume the Christian Holy Week activities with the a somber evening service in the heart of the Old City followed by a procession to the Garden of Gethsemane and a candle light vigil at the Russian Orthodox Monastery there. At 6 am Friday morning we, and about a hundred other friends, met at the beginning of the Via Dolarosa near the Lion Gate into the Old City, which is the gate closest to the Garden of Gethsemane. From there we processed through the Stations of the Cross with readings from the bible at each station and prayers for God’s intercession into our lives and specifically the conflict in the Holy Land. Like those who witnessed the death of Jesus in this place all those years ago, we could not help but end our time of sharing Friday morning with little hope. I can only guess that the Jews who were enslaved in Egypt for generations were also hopeless prior to the return of Moses and the events that led to their freedom.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNFx8R4Q_I/AAAAAAAAA8M/2W0iJYzbDMs/s1600-h/DSCN1628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNFx8R4Q_I/AAAAAAAAA8M/2W0iJYzbDMs/s200/DSCN1628.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, many express hopelessness related to the conflict between Israeli’s and Palestinians. It does seem bleak. I have felt the bleakness building during my time here but as I stated in my first letter in this Finding Hope series I have chosen to be in the camp that is looking for a solution and celebrate other who are doing the same. Like the first Easter, and the first Passover, it is darkest before the dawn. While it is dark right now I see glimmers of hope in many places and in many people who are committed to a just solution to the conflict. Both the Easter and Passover celebrations are rooted in hope. In the case of the Jewish people that hope is for a better life in the Promised Land. In the Christian tradition our hope is for our ultimate salvation in the risen Lord. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNGgelSmQI/AAAAAAAAA8U/5waK09MtOIU/s1600-h/DSCN1733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeNGgelSmQI/AAAAAAAAA8U/5waK09MtOIU/s320/DSCN1733.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Early Sunday morning we were gathered again in the dark with our many new friends just a few steps from our temporary home here on the Mount of Olives to greet the new day and celebrate the risen Lord. Like the women on the lonely walk to the tomb before dawn we arrive discouraged. As I watched the sun rise over the Jordan Valley as it has done every day since that fateful day when the tomb was found to be empty and the scripture fulfilled, I could not help have my hope renewed. The God of the three Abrahamic faiths calls us, not only to be hopeful, but to work toward reconciliation and build respect for the other. One of the greatest parts of this Easter season for me was to join those of other faiths in sharing their faith traditions and learning about them. We are much stronger as a society by having the diversity that these traditions embody. The world would be entirely too boring if we were all the same. I am thankful for the diversity of the friends I have met here who have come together to work toward a just peace. In all of them, and the risen Lord I find Hope.</span> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-19736232461653984982009-04-07T04:05:00.008-04:002009-04-11T14:12:27.379-04:00Finding Hope 3<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsHCPyzwmI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/Oei8iIftNIM/s1600-h/DSCN1428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsHCPyzwmI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/Oei8iIftNIM/s200/DSCN1428.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past Saturday our team decided to visit a remote place we had heard of from our Arabic teacher, Mary. Mary is a successful Palestinian Christian woman who measures her success by that of the children she has raised. She is a very happy grandmother. While she would love to have all of her grandchildren nearby she understands why some of her children have chosen to seek a new life outside of Palestine. One of her daughters lives in West Bloomfield Michigan very near my office. We have already decided to get together the next time she comes to Michigan. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsHgOrwi-I/AAAAAAAAA5g/o7NpKpjDDGI/s1600-h/DSCN1381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsHgOrwi-I/AAAAAAAAA5g/o7NpKpjDDGI/s200/DSCN1381.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary’s story is an interesting one. She grew up in a cave, living like Palestinians have for centuries. She grew up south of Bethlehem on 100 acres of land that her family bought during the period of the Ottoman rule of Palestine. Unlike most Palestinians, her father had the foresight to carefully document their ownership of the land and as the rule of the country changed, they re-documented their ownership. Mary’s brothers, Daoud and Daher, now own the property and they are thankful to have documents proving their ownership from the Ottoman Period, the British Mandate period, and the time of Jordanian Rule. While you would think that with all of this documentation they could live quietly on their land and raise their olives and grow wine grapes as their family has for centuries, perhaps somewhere else, but not here. The state of Israel and the seven illegal settler communities that completely surround them have been trying for decades to take the land by any means possible. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsH_3HnNQI/AAAAAAAAA5o/dVAhnUkwIYQ/s1600-h/DSCN1403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsH_3HnNQI/AAAAAAAAA5o/dVAhnUkwIYQ/s200/DSCN1403.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daoud has spent over $100,000 on lawyers to defend various legal actions, some from the settlers and some from the government of Israel. They are still going on. He is restricted from improving the land or the buildings in any way. He has no water or electricity in spite of the fact that power for the settlements is all around them. The Israeli army has bulldozed his road and put huge rocks in the road to prevent him from getting to his property, all in an effort to make it so miserable for him that he will agree to sell the land or abandon it even for a day. If he does they will take it under one of many pretenses that have been used to expropriate the land of all of the families around him. Because of this they have homes in nearby Bethlehem, but one of them, and their international friends, must stay on the property at all times. The latest effort has been to offer to buy the property. They brought him a blank check and told him to fill in any amount he wanted. They would quietly pay any amount he named for the land. He refused.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsIa5zWCkI/AAAAAAAAA5w/PeN28ucKmL4/s1600-h/DSCN1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdsIa5zWCkI/AAAAAAAAA5w/PeN28ucKmL4/s200/DSCN1367.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You might think that the family would be bitter and angry about their situation but these are amazing people. Daoud and his family truly live their Christian values. Daoud’s motto is, “we refuse to be enemies”. A sign at the gate says exactly that to all visitors. He went to a university in Germany and returned to Palestine to take up the cause of saving the family land. He is a very creative and resourceful guy. He is protecting his property by developing it into an international retreat center called the Tent of Nations (www.tentofnations.org). He has converted the caves into classrooms for summer schools for Palestinian children. He has converted one of the old buildings into a group kitchen for international guests who stay in tents on the property as well as the caves throughout the year. Last year 3,500 people came to Tent of Nations to help plant olive trees, dig more caves, tend the grapes and learn about life under occupation. He is trying to, “keep it simple and focus on the land”. They have built underground cisterns to collect rain water and they have a diesel generator to provide electricity. He has even figured out how to install wireless internet in the caves. They have built several outdoor worship spaces that look out across the beautiful landscape. One of them features a large platform that has their logo in a stone mosaic so the army will know who they are when they take their pictures from the air.</span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeDcmIDJuJI/AAAAAAAAA6c/YAlTYt0T2ow/s1600-h/DSCN1400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeDcmIDJuJI/AAAAAAAAA6c/YAlTYt0T2ow/s200/DSCN1400.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daoud speaks many languages which allow him to tell his story to many people. He is very articulate; one of those people who you could listen to for hours. His goal is to build bridges between people and land, and people and people. He said, “We do not give up hope because the problem is complicated. The sun of justice will rise again. For our part, we are creating our own ‘facts on the ground’ by planting trees. We want to create a new prospective for people. Peace will never come from the top down. A state will never come as a gift from God. We need to build it together.”</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeDdLYJxs6I/AAAAAAAAA6k/qFbAb0Kn7jc/s1600-h/DSCN1421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SeDdLYJxs6I/AAAAAAAAA6k/qFbAb0Kn7jc/s200/DSCN1421.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Daoud has invited all of his settler neighbors to come to the Tent of Nations to discuss reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. Some have come. He is thankful for them. Some have said that the never realized they had neighbors and were very upset that Israel has refused them electricity and water. They said, “We have swimming pools and you have no water at all!” In his calm peaceful way he is convincing Israelis, one at a time, that Palestinians are not terrorists and that there is a possibility for co-existence if they (Israeli's) will choose that path. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I</span><span style="font-family: arial;">n Daoud I find hope.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-47635255566145426102009-04-03T03:51:00.000-04:002009-04-03T03:51:37.341-04:00Finding Hope 2<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW8mQeBaiI/AAAAAAAAA4g/wO0N8qwhQLg/s1600-h/DSCN1297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW8mQeBaiI/AAAAAAAAA4g/wO0N8qwhQLg/s320/DSCN1297.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday our team visited the Israeli town of Sderot. Sderot is the place that has been the target of missiles, rockets and every manner of improvised projectile launched by terrorists in the Gaza Strip just three short kilometers away. The town has been terrorized for over eight years. In that time thousands of Qassam missiles have landed in and around Sderot. Six people have been killed in the town and many more injured. The story here does not lie in these numbers but in the impact on every member of this community. Many times per day, for weeks on end, the warning sirens have gone off and every citizen of the town has just 15 seconds to get into a bomb shelter. These shelters are everywhere. Most homes have an ugly concrete bunker that has been added on to it, schools and public buildings have had concrete shields added above their roofs, bus stops are bomb shields, and a children’s playground has a bomb shelter in the form of a painted concrete caterpillar. We saw homes and other buildings that were destroyed by direct hits. The fear that this community feels, individually and collectively is significant, palpable, and very real. The fear builds over time. It has clearly impacted people deeply, and in many ways for the rest of their lives. We met two people here, Noam who represents the Sderot Media Center (www.sderotmedia.com ) and Nomika who is involved with a group called Other Voice (www.othervoice.org.il ). </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW87UPwZgI/AAAAAAAAA4o/tB-NIJf93mA/s1600-h/DSCN1293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW87UPwZgI/AAAAAAAAA4o/tB-NIJf93mA/s200/DSCN1293.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The goal of the Sderot Media Center is to explain to the world the trauma this town has experienced and to build support for defending them, both within Israel and the world. While he agreed that people in Sderot do not feel any safer than they did before the war, Noam is very supportive of the Gaza War, feeling it was about time his government did something to protect them. The missiles are still coming however; 190 since the war ended in January. Two landed just two days ago. The terror and trauma on this community has not been stopped by the war. Standing on a hill looking at Gaza City a short distance away, Noam is not hopeful. He believes they will simply have to live with war for the foreseeable future. He said that he felt the reason the missiles were still coming was that, “the army did not finish the job”. I immediately though back to the statement from another Israeli woman I introduced you to in an article here titled The Different Faces of Zionism. I recalled the Welsh woman, Lydia, who quit her job in London and moved to Israel to escape Jewish discrimination. The specific event that caused her to start a new life in Israel was when her boss said, “Hitler did not finish the job”.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW93mqPo-I/AAAAAAAAA44/TZtbgGt_GAA/s1600-h/DSCN1328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW93mqPo-I/AAAAAAAAA44/TZtbgGt_GAA/s200/DSCN1328.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nomika and her fellow members of Other Voice have a different view. While they are equally traumatized by the bombing and have bomb shelters in their homes, she believes that the answer does not lie in increasing the violence with war. This, in spite of the fact that the home directly across the street from her sustained a direct hit. She and her partners have been engaged in relationship building at the grass roots level with Gaza Palestinians for many years. Prior to the border closures they were able to meet in person and have become friends. She is as traumatized by the bombing of her friends in Gaza as she is by the missiles landing in Sderot. They have been in contact weekly by phone and Internet. She is also very concerned about the breakdown of democracy in Israel. When the war broke out the founder of Other Voice, Eric, who we also met, was interviewed in an impromptu live TV interview. The media was trying to gather all perspectives on the war from citizens in Sderot. As he was being interviewed an angry mob attacked him and the interviewer. She said that other voices like theirs are increasing being silenced in the public forum and that concerns her. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW9QvQOqgI/AAAAAAAAA4w/YU64jN-rIgM/s1600-h/DSCN1286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdW9QvQOqgI/AAAAAAAAA4w/YU64jN-rIgM/s200/DSCN1286.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other Voice calls for creative and different actions that can lead to a true, long-term solution to the violence that will bring about an end to the intractable conflict in which residents of the area find themselves. They believe in the principles of dialogue, reciprocity, empathy, mutual respect, non-violence, and non-partisan local activism. Their brochure says “Members of the group are united in our hope that our area can become a peaceful area that offers quality of life, good education and a flourishing economy. We believe that this hope can only become a reality, however, if we end the violence by creating public and concrete partnerships that involve Palestinian and Israeli residents living in the south.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Nomika, Eric and the other members of Other Voice I find hope.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-20064381891343844542009-03-31T05:28:00.000-04:002009-03-31T05:28:22.499-04:00Finding Hope<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHgOn8Dw5I/AAAAAAAAA3Q/_OAhm6znw70/s1600-h/Qalandiya+turnstiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHgOn8Dw5I/AAAAAAAAA3Q/_OAhm6znw70/s320/Qalandiya+turnstiles.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the last several weeks I have found myself getting increasingly angry about the occupation. As I have thought through it, my anger is seated in an increasing sense of hopelessness. As I stand at the checkpoint early in the morning with 800 sad faces looking to me for some kind of solution to their daily misery, I cannot help but get very frustrated by the fact that there is little I can do but feel their pain. It is easy for me to see how they have slipped in and out of hopelessness over the last 40 years of the occupation. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I now have only three weeks left here. It is amazing to me how fast my time here has gone. The next team will arrive this week and we will begin the long handover process, so that they can carry on the work that was handed to us eight weeks ago. We are the 30th EAPPI team. With our team, there have been over 500 people from around the world who have participated here to try to make life better for those caught in this struggle, but more importantly, to share what we learn here with our friends, neighbors, associates, church members, political leaders, and the wider public upon our return to our home countries. In many ways the work we have begun here is just getting started. With that in mind, I have made the choice to focus my remaining time here on finding the little pockets of hope for a solution to this deep and abiding crisis. I have found many points of light that give rise to the potential of a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians. Over the next three weeks I will focus on the people and organizations that embody hope.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHg2HhmZMI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/hMRmhfUEfBk/s1600-h/Team+at+Anatta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHg2HhmZMI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/hMRmhfUEfBk/s320/Team+at+Anatta.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week our team went to visit Beit Arabeia (Arabeia’s house), in Anatta, another nearby village that has been cut of by the wall. We meet Salim, the owner of the house. Salim grew up in the nearby Shofat refugee camp that is literally the slum of Jerusalem. He learned the building trades and worked 10 years in Saudi Arabia. He supported the rest of his family back in the refugee camp during this time, but also was able to save enough money to buy a nice piece of land in Anatta to build his own house. He returned to Palestine to get married and raise a family. He had by this time saved enough money to build a home for his new family. He applied for a permit to build a house and paid the $5,000 application fee. After a year, he was turned down. He was told to try again, but he needed to pay another $5,000 fee. He applied again. After another year he was denied again. He was prepared now to build the house without a permit because he now had three children and needed a home for them. When he talked to the local building supervisor he was told that he would receive support for his permit if he tried again. This time he would get the permit for sure…but…he need to pay the $5,000 application fee one more time. He applied again. A year later he was turned down because he was missing two signatures of some people in Anatta but he was not told who they were. He literally got the signatures of every person in Anatta and took them to the housing authority and asked them to pick out the ones they needed. All he got was silence. He proceeded to build a home for his family on the land he had now owned for a decade. </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1994 after living in his home for 4 ½ years, now with 6 children, the army came one day waving a demolition order, forced him out of his home and demolished it. For the next four years he lived in a tent next to his demolished home. Over that time he developed a relationship with Jeff Halper, the founder of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions ( www.icahd.org ). Together Israelis and the Palestinians rebuilt Salim’s home. They started it on July 9th 1998. On August 2nd the family moved into the unfinished house. At 4 am on August 3rd the army came again to demolish it. When he refused to leave, he was dragged from the house and beaten by the IDF soldiers. His wife Arabeia, locked the door. The army shot tear gas through the windows of the house. Arabeia and the children were forced out of the house. The army promptly demolished the house for a second time.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The home was rebuilt a third time…..this time with the help of over 600 Israeli, Palestinian, and international volunteers. It was finished on April 3rd 2001. On April 4th with many of the volunteers who had built it watching the IDF came and destroyed it for a third time. They thought they had squashed this fledgling partnership. Not the case. The group can together again and rebuilt the house for a fourth time. This time the family was able live in it for a while, but in 2003 the army came in the night once again and destroyed the house for the fourth time.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHhVO6pGVI/AAAAAAAAA3g/JwY52Vmbr60/s1600-h/DSCN1121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHhVO6pGVI/AAAAAAAAA3g/JwY52Vmbr60/s200/DSCN1121.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salim and his Israeli friends were committed. This time they decided to rebuild the house as a peace center where Palestinians and Israelis could come together to fight the demolition of homes and to provide a place to stay for volunteers who want to come to help rebuild demolished homes. They rebuilt Beit Arabeia, over a two week period in 2003 with a huge international volunteer group, in the memory of Rechel Korry, the American woman who was run over by a bulldozer by the IDF while defending a home they were demolishing, and a Palestinian woman who also lost her life in this cause.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The house has been the temporary home to hundreds of volunteers who have come from around the world to work together with Israelis and Palestinians to rebuild destroyed lives. Each year they host a two week summer camp from the 15th to the 29th of July. During the two weeks they have built two homes each year since. This year they will host two camps because of the popularity and demand. The government of Spain will build a home for one displaced family. A few years ago they received a donation from a wealth Jewish American family that has allowed them to rebuild 120 homes. To date they have rebuilt 162 homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 13 of those in Salim’s little village of Anatta. His building trade experience has now been put to use rebuilding lives as he now leads the rebuilding effort as an employee of ICAHD. His kids are now in college.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHh0sDCKGI/AAAAAAAAA3o/SGBl0crYxss/s1600-h/DSCN1113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ki="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SdHh0sDCKGI/AAAAAAAAA3o/SGBl0crYxss/s200/DSCN1113.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beit Arabeia still has a demolition order hanging over it. It has been standing now since 2003 as a monument to peaceful resistance to the occupation. They and I hope the wall that is being completed just below the house will stop and the occupation will end. Salim, Jeff and their thousands of friends around the world are working every day to that see that day and they will keep rebuilding this house until it does.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-8860012480837626302009-03-23T15:37:00.003-04:002009-03-25T05:30:57.925-04:00Israel - have you become the evil you deplored?<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScfjcitEl_I/AAAAAAAAA1g/vEIdTVZheQA/s1600-h/DSCN0701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScfjcitEl_I/AAAAAAAAA1g/vEIdTVZheQA/s320/DSCN0701.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is one of many things that have been written on the wall. Some are humorous, others are angry, some like this one you just cannot get out of your head. I have given this image a great deal of though since I took this picture several weeks ago. As I have talked to people, read the newspaper, and seen for myself how Palestinians are treated by the State of Israel, this question has popped back into my mind time and again. It happened again last Friday while I was reading Haaretz, the most read newspaper in Israel which is published in both Hebrew and English.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing you have to say about Israel is that they have never suppressed freedom of speech. Everyday in Haaretz there are articles and editorials that express both right and left wing views on everything that happens here. Articles questioning the actions of the state hit the front page of this newspaper that would never even get a mention in newspapers, much less television news, in the United States because of the censorship of any news that might put Israel in any kind of bad light. In last Fridays edition, the front page headline article was titled, <strong>“IDF killed civilians in Gaza under loose rules of engagement”</strong>. The article reveals testimonies provided by IDF soldiers who were engaged in direct action in Gaza. Here are a couple of the quotes from those soldiers:</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>"There was a house with a family inside .... We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family. They had set up positions upstairs. There was a sniper position on the roof," the soldier said. </strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>"The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left, but they forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof they had let them go and it was okay, and he should hold his fire and he ... he did what he was supposed to, like he was following his orders." </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>According to the squad leader: "The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away. In any case, what happened is that in the end he killed them. </strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>"I don't think he felt too bad about it, because after all, as far as he was concerned, he did his job according to the orders he was given. And the atmosphere in general, from what I understood from most of my men who I talked to ... I don't know how to describe it .... The lives of Palestinians, let's say, is something very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers. So as far as they are concerned they can justify it that way," he said.</strong></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Another squad leader from the same brigade told of an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman be shot and killed; she was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered. </strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>The squad leader said he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand. After the orders were changed, the squad leader's soldiers complained that "we should kill everyone there [in the center of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist."</strong></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the full text of this article you can follow this link: <a href="http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072475.html">http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072475.html</a>. In another article in the same edition of Harretz there was an article about the various t-shirts that Israeli Army units have printed to celebrate the completion of their training. Here is some of that article:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScfimLQf3cI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/5L9uTHxfRLY/s1600-h/Ishot2kills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScfimLQf3cI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/5L9uTHxfRLY/s320/Ishot2kills.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Dead babies, mothers weeping on their children's graves, a gun aimed at a child and bombed-out mosques - these are a few examples of the images Israel Defense Forces soldiers design these days to print on shirts they order to mark the end of training, or of field duty. The slogans accompanying the drawings are not exactly anemic either: A T-shirt for infantry snipers bears the inscription "Better use Durex," next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him. A sharpshooter's T-shirt from the Givati Brigade's Shaked battalion shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull's-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, "1 shot, 2 kills." A "graduation" shirt for those who have completed another snipers course depicts a Palestinian baby, who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult, with the inscription, "No matter how it begins, we'll put an end to it." </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>There are also plenty of shirts with blatant sexual messages. For example, the Lavi battalion produced a shirt featuring a drawing of a soldier next to a young woman with bruises, and the slogan, "Bet you got raped!" A few of the images underscore actions whose existence the army officially denies - such as "confirming the kill" (shooting a bullet into an enemy victim's head from close range, to ensure he is dead), or harming religious sites, or female or child non-combatants.”</strong></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the full text of this article you can follow this link: <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072466.html">http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072466.html</a>. These reports speak for themselves. One cannot help but question the morality of a society that produces the kind of hate evidenced here. Amazingly, I searched several of the major US print media website to see if these widely reported stories in Israel, Europe and the rest of the world got picked up. Sadly, I did not find it anywhere. If any of you heard about this in the states I would love to here from you.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/Scn5qrJVVuI/AAAAAAAAA1o/frjKgwoptUY/s1600-h/Warsaw+Ghetto+Wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/Scn5qrJVVuI/AAAAAAAAA1o/frjKgwoptUY/s200/Warsaw+Ghetto+Wall.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of our Israel exposure week we visited Yad Vashem, the very impressive Holocaust memorial park and museum (<a href="http://www.yadvashem.org/">http://www.yadvashem.org/</a>). There were many young Israeli army trainees there when we were there as well as current soldiers. They visit Yad Vashem several times during their training and after. The exhibits are very impressive, moving and powerful. As you walk through the museum you trace the history of oppression of the Jewish people culminating with The Holocaust. As I walked through the exhibits related to the Nazi occupation of Poland and specifically the walling up of the Jewish neighborhoods I was completely struck by the parallels to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians. History is clearly repeating itself. One is forced to ask where it will end and who will end it. For the sake of the world, I sincerely hope it ends differently than it did the last time.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></div></div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-59104395882084200312009-03-20T04:09:00.002-04:002009-03-21T12:15:55.456-04:00A Village Divided<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNNMMUW5uI/AAAAAAAAA0I/2BF8UKWSLLU/s1600-h/Sofie+1+035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNNMMUW5uI/AAAAAAAAA0I/2BF8UKWSLLU/s320/Sofie+1+035.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past week I meet Abdallah Zahayka. We were waiting along side the road in a remote part of the West Bank south and east of Bethlehem where there is a checkpoint that we monitor for the UN. This particular checkpoint serves no security purpose. It is nowhere near Israel or any of the settlements in the West Bank for that matter. Its sole purpose is to disrupt commerce between the north and south within the West Bank. We gather statistics regarding delays and inspections. Abdallah noticed our vests, stopped his car, hopped out and introduced himself in perfect English.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a difficult place for us to get to because of where it is. As the crow flies it is not far at all from Jerusalem, and the nearby village of Sawahra is a historical part of Jerusalem, but it takes us over an hour to go the 40 or so miles from the approved checkpoint to here. Abdallah lives in what is now called East Sawahra. His English is so good because until recently he worked for the US Consulate in the commercial branch helping develop business relatioships between US and West Bank companies. His uncle who also lived in Sawahra worked for the US State Department for 39 years.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sawahra is just west of Al Quds University and like the university, and the town of Abu Dis, on the other side of the university, it lies just outside the wall that was built to keep them out of Jerusalem. In the case of Sawahra……only half of them out, which has presented an unimaginable hardship on the people of this village. The wall, which is actually an electrified fence in this hilly region, divides Sawahra almost in half. Today 5,000 residents of Sawahra live on the Jerusalem side of the fence, now known as West Sawahra and 7,000 people live on the West Bank side in East Sawahra. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The village of Sawahra was built by the 11 families of the Sawahra Bedouin tribe over 100 years ago when they abandoned their nomadic life in favor of the community they now live in near Jerusalem. The original 11 families are still here on both sides of a small valley with homes and businesses occupying hilltops and flat areas along the hillsides. Every family has literally been divided by the wall. Abdallah lives on the West Bank side but his two brothers and a sister live on the Jerusalem side. He is not allowed on the Jerusalem side unless he applies for a special permit. He needs such a permit to visit his family.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNNufrjcyI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/3XCnj-xa7QY/s1600-h/Sofie+1+065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNNufrjcyI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/3XCnj-xa7QY/s320/Sofie+1+065.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem were redrawn by the Israelis in 1967 they were casually drawn through the middle of this community because of the valley they share but the fence does not even follow this municipal boundary. As I have explained before, Palestinians have one of two different ID’s that define their ability to move freely. Those who live inside the municipal border and pay taxes to the city have “Jerusalem ID’s” which allows them to travel to and from Jerusalem. The rest have "West Bank ID’s" which restrict their movement to the West Bank, and now only outside of the wall which takes much of the West Bank for Israel. Like other areas near Jerusalem, many of the families in East Sawahra have Jerusalem ID’s and their cars have yellow Israeli plates allowing them to drive in Israel, but they live on the West Bank side of the wall. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Israel’s clear policy is to force as many Palestinians as possible to the West Bank side of the wall in many creative ways such as canceling the Jerusalem ID of anyone who marries someone with a West Bank ID forcing them to live in the West Bank. One of the most blatant of these measures is simply walling them out. Tens of thousands of Palestinians with Jerusalem ID’s having jobs, schools, family, churches, etc. in Jerusalem, now find themselves having to spend hours each day at checkpoints to have their ID’s checked, their pockets emptied, articles x-rayed, and their fingerprints analyzed, just to go to work in the morning. Nowhere is that anymore obvious than here in Sawahra. They have their own private checkpoint that school children and workers pass through daily on foot as they have now been restricted from driving through even if they have Israeli plates. Those that want to drive need to take the forty mile drive trip we take through Abu Dis and Bethany to a different checkpoint. They are not even allowed to pass through the driving checkpoint we monitor in their town (on land owned by Abdallah) because that checkpoint is only for cars with green Palestinian plates.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNOLFW1hpI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/4_Z1TIrtIZ8/s1600-h/DSCN0960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNOLFW1hpI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/4_Z1TIrtIZ8/s320/DSCN0960.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only those people with their names on a list are allowed to even walk through the Sawahra checkpoint. A large and successful dairy products company is located in East Sawahra. Most of their employees, and the owners, live on the Jerusalem side of the fence which causes them many problems. The employees must find transportation to this remote gate and then get picked up on the West Bank side and transported to the factory every day. In other places where towns have been divided like this, Israel has without any advance notice just closed the gate permanently. This happened since I have been here in the community of Ram north of Jerusalem. One Wednesday morning the gate used by the residents of Ram, most of whom have Jerusalem ID’s and work in Jerusalem, found the gate converted to a “ Closed Military Area” which is IDF code for “because we can”. All of those people must now travel to Ramallah and cross at the Qalandiya checkpoint which we also monitor, making the lines even longer then the typical 1 to 1 ½ hours in the mornings. They still however must pay their taxes to the municipality of Jerusalem. The residents of Sawahra are convinced this is their fate as well.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNOoaiaCeI/AAAAAAAAA0g/cY-1munOk-o/s1600-h/DSCN1035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ii="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/ScNOoaiaCeI/AAAAAAAAA0g/cY-1munOk-o/s200/DSCN1035.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While this movement restriction is obviously demeaning and onerous there is one particular aspect that is particularly upsetting to the families here. It involves funerals. The cemetery where all of the villagers have been laid to rest since the founding of the village is on the Jerusalem side of the fence. When someone dies the Israeli army limits funeral attendees passing through the checkpoint to 50 people over the age of 45. Arab culture is very family oriented and their large extended families are very close. In almost every case, grieving family members are stopped at the gate and prevented from attending even their closest family member’s funeral. Abdallah’s uncle, who worked for the US State Department, died late last year of a massive heart attack literally as he was stepping through the gate at the checkpoint one morning. Abdallah was not allowed to attend his funeral. He was forced to stand and contemplate his uncle’s life at the place where he died…….the checkpoint.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-11571444334193783482009-03-13T08:37:00.001-04:002009-03-23T16:08:25.863-04:00Update - Um Kamel and Home Wrecking<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Um Kamel</strong></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpRylSeInI/AAAAAAAAAyE/NRSfTwx9Prg/s1600-h/DSCN0936.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpRylSeInI/AAAAAAAAAyE/NRSfTwx9Prg/s320/DSCN0936.JPG" border="0" ii="true" /></a></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As promised I want to update you on the case of the woman who was evicted from her home that she has lived in for over 50 years, a couple of months ago, after she won a law suit to remove the settlers that were living in half of her home for three years. For those who did not read the original story you can find it in the archive on the panel to the right. A few weeks ago Um Kamel had her date in court that I told you about. The court room only holds eight people, four on each side. There were lots of internationals and press on hand for the trial. They had to stand outside. Um Kamel picked my teammate Alice from Sweden out of the crowd to sit next to her in the court room. Alice did not understand a thing but was glad to be able to comfort Um Kamel during the proceeding.</span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The foundation of the settler’s case is that the UN and the Jordanian government had no right to the land that the 22 refugee homes were built on in 1956. They claim that the land was leased to a Jewish family under a 100 year lease in the late 1800’s and that this Jewish claim precedes the claim by the Jordanians. The document they have presented as evidence has been shown to be a forgery but that has not seemed to put this issue to rest. Um Kamel’s lawyers traveled to Turkey prior to this court session and located a legitimate Turkish document that proves that the land was Arab land. The judge’s comment was, “Why didn’t you present this before as it changes things”. </span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Noting that the case is slipping away from them, the settlers attorneys are now demanding that the judge step down from the case and give it to a more senior judge on the basis that the other judge has been on the bench longer and can render a better opinion because he knows the area better than the current judge. The other judge is known to be sympathetic to the settlers. This is where it was left. Um Kamel has no idea when a decision will be made as to weather the judge will continue and make a decision in the case or if he will step down and it will effectively start over. It goes without saying that the judge is now under tremendous political pressure to step down. This case is clearly not about law or what is right. Courts here are completely political. </span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the mean time, the housing authority is busy trying to create additional “facts on the ground” before the Um Kamel trial is completed and precedent is set. Two additional families living in two of the other 22 homes included in the area the settlers are laying claim to have received eviction notices that are set to be executed this Sunday. They were evicted once before a few years ago and won the right to move back into their homes. Even though they won at that time, one of the family members was put in jail for moving back into the house because he did not have the written proof of the decision in hand when the army came to his home after they moved back in. He got out of jail after three months only after the proof was presented by his attorney. </span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These evictions affect 52 people including two people in their 80’s. Members of International Solidarity Movement are staying with these families and will resist the evictions. Many other support groups, including us, will be standing by to document the evictions and report it to the world. If this sounds too bizarre to believe, I assure you this is the way justice happens in this “democratic” country.</span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Home Wrecking</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpSeGSr7DI/AAAAAAAAAyM/erHdax5Ybnk/s1600-h/DSCN0926.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpSeGSr7DI/AAAAAAAAAyM/erHdax5Ybnk/s200/DSCN0926.JPG" border="0" ii="true" /></a><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpS6O2kfGI/AAAAAAAAAyU/DFK4h3Sxl4M/s1600-h/DSCN0924.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpS6O2kfGI/AAAAAAAAAyU/DFK4h3Sxl4M/s200/DSCN0924.JPG" border="0" ii="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home demolitions have not only continued but have accelerated. I visited the home of one family in East Jerusalem that had their home demolished last week. Like all of these cases the family built their home on land they owned after they were unable to get a permit. The army arrived unannounced last Wednesday morning while the father was at work. The family was not allowed to remove their possessions from the home. The army spent a few minutes removing a few things which they video taped so they could say they removed the personal items. As soon as the video camera was turned off they stopped removing items from the home and demolished it. All of the family’s clothes are on the bottom of the pile. I took these pictures of one of the children standing on the rubble of what was their home. The bulldozer driver made a point of driving over this boys bicycle as it approached to home. This family of 8 including 6 children is now living in a tent next to the pile that was their home.</span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am reading a book called Separate and Unequal that was written by Amir Cheshin who was the Jerusalem mayor’s advisor on Arab affairs from 1984 to 1993 and two other local government insiders. The book was written in 1999. The authors were directly involved in the development and implementation of specific policies that were, and still are, designed to force Palestinians to move out of the Jerusalem area. During their tenure the authors were a weak voice within the government for cohabitation with the Palestinians. Their voices were squashed. In the book they outline the secret meetings and unstated policies that were focused on increasing the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem by taking land for Jewish only settlements and strictly limiting the increase in the number of Palestinians. Unfortunately since this book was written 10 years ago, the policies they talk about have continued unabated while new and more evil strategies have been developed like home demolition.</span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In another recent development a long running case involving 88 homes, 140 families and 1500 people has reemerged. These 88 homes have demolition orders on them because the municipality wants to build a park on the site. The site is immediately adjacent to a </span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">settlement that is in the middle of a Palestinian neighborhood. It too was taken to be an archeological park but the park soon became Jewish only houses. </span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpTPXwyZhI/AAAAAAAAAyc/KCCxpw4nLZs/s1600-h/SELWAN+MAP.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbpTPXwyZhI/AAAAAAAAAyc/KCCxpw4nLZs/s400/SELWAN+MAP.jpg" border="0" ii="true" /></a></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In that same area a demolition order has been issued for an apartment building that houses 150 people. That order is supposed to be executed this Sunday as well. Close by there is another apartment building that was also built illegally and also has a demolition order on it. That building was built by Jewish settlers. That demolition order was issued 18 months ago but it will not be demolished. There is lots of precedent for those buildings getting permits through political and administrative channels after they are built. This happened with a whole neighborhood that was built illegally by settlers in another part of East Jerusalem. In that case the judge decided that it was too much of a hardship to remove the whole neighborhood. After a long court battle with neighboring Palestinians to have the settlement demolished, the settlers were issued building permits for the buildings they had built illegally. They are still living there today. It is apparently not a hardship to displace Palestinians only Israeli’s.</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People in the West often wonder how a person could be so desperate that they strap a bomb to their body and try to kill others along with themselves. Most, of the suicide bombers come from families whose homes were demolished and their lives destroyed as a direct result. They literally had nothing left to live for. The truth is that Israel has created these threats with their insidious and ongoing ethnic cleansing policies in and around Jerusalem.</span></div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-9570231601166242962009-03-07T04:52:00.001-05:002009-03-07T04:54:32.103-05:00Different Faces of Zionism<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbI-6aFbWnI/AAAAAAAAAws/76DU3sX8duc/s1600-h/Holy+Land+05+1005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbI-6aFbWnI/AAAAAAAAAws/76DU3sX8duc/s320/Holy+Land+05+1005.jpg" vi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past week I met two very different faces of Zionism. Bob, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank and Lydia who lives on a Kibbutz in Israel proper, both fervently believe in the fundamental Zionist principal of a homeland for Jews. They do however differ radically in how they execute their Zionist beliefs in everyday life.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wikopedia defines Zionism as, “the international Jewish political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine, after two millennia of exile”. The constitutionally protected rights to religious freedom we cherish in the United States tend to lead the uninitiated to think that Zionism was a religious freedom movement. The founders of Zionism were not religious and the focus of the movement was not religious freedom but a way to escape persecution based on ethnicity. While the fundamental principal of a homeland for Jews remains central to Zionist belief, the movement evolved and fractured into four different views of what it means to be Zionist and how those views should influence Israeli governance and policy, particularly as it relates to the Palestinian Israeli conflict. These different views of Zionism can be related to different political parties in Israel today and to the wide variety of historical backgrounds that immigrant Jews bring with them to Israel.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wikopedia goes on to define the different strands of Zionism and how they relate to current politics in Israel as follows:</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Labor Zionism:</strong> Labor Zionism originated in Russia. Socialist Zionists believed that centuries of being oppressed in anti-Semitic societies had reduced Jews to a meek, vulnerable, despairing existence which invited further anti-Semitism. They argued that Jews could escape their situation by becoming farmers, workers, and soldiers in a country of their own. Most socialist Zionists rejected religion as perpetuating a "Diaspora mentality" among the Jewish people, and established rural communes in Israel called "kibbutzim". Socialist and labor Zionists are usually atheists or oppose religion. Consequently, the movement has often had an antagonistic relationship with Orthodox Judaism.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Labor Zionism became the dominant force in the political and economic life of the Yishuv during the British Mandate of Palestine and was the dominant ideology of the political establishment in Israel until the 1977 election when the Labor Party was defeated. The Labor Party continues the tradition (although it has weakened) and has in recent years taken to advocating creation of a Palestinian State in the West-Bank and Gaza.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Liberal Zionism:</strong> Liberal Zionism was initially the dominant trend within the Zionist movement from the First Zionist Congress in 1897 until after the First World War. General Zionists identified with the liberal European middle class (or bourgeois) to which many Zionist leaders such as Herzl and Chaim Weizmann aspired. Liberal Zionism, although not associated with any single party in modern Israel, remains a strong trend in Israeli politics advocating free market principles, democracy and adherence to human rights.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Nationalist Zionism:</strong> Nationalist Zionism originated from the Revisionist Zionists led by Jabotinsky. The Revisionists left the World Zionist Organization in 1935 because it refused to state that the creation of a Jewish state was an objective of Zionism. The revisionists advocated the formation of a Jewish Army in Palestine to force the Arab population to accept mass Jewish migration and promote British interests in the region. Revisionist Zionism evolved into the Likud Party in Israel, which has dominated most governments since 1977. It advocates Israel maintaining control of the West-Bank and East Jerusalem and takes a hard-line approach in the Israeli-Arab conflict. In 2005 the Likud split over the issue of creation of a Palestinian state on the occupied territories and party members advocating peace talks helped form the Kadima party.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Religious Zionism:</strong> In the 1920s and 1930s Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine) and his son Rabbi Zevi Judah Kook saw great religious and traditional value in many of Zionism's ideals, while rejecting its anti-religious undertones. They sought to forge a branch of Orthodox Judaism which would properly embrace Zionism's positive ideals and serve as a bridge between Orthodox and secular Jews.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While other Zionist groups have tended to moderate their nationalism over time, the gains from the Six Day War have led religious Zionism to play a significant role in Israeli political life. Now associated with the National Religious Party and Gush Emunim, religious Zionists have been at the forefront of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and efforts to assert Jewish control over the Old City of Jerusalem.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Religious Zionism is largely Modern Orthodox but increasingly includes (more traditional) Ultra-Orthodox Jews. Although the Sephardi party Shas is not directly associated with the Zionist movement, the party generally pursues an Ultra-Orthodox Zionist agenda</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bob is a Nationalist Zionist who lives in one of the large well established Jewish settlements or “neighborhoods” in the West Bank near Bethlehem. He was born in New York in an Orthodox family and immigrated to Israel after college 20+ years ago. Bob is a PR guy who was at one time the PR director for the settlers association. He has been the mayor and city manager of different settlements and had a lead role in founding some of them. For him Israel is all of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and he does not want to give up control of one inch of it. He believes in a one state solution with the Palestinians coming under the rule of Israel. Bob says that while he believes in democracy and that their settlement has a good relationship with a neighboring Palestinian village, “Arabs” simply do not like the Jews and that they must aggressively defend themselves from suicide bombers and missile attacks. He does not believe in the wall however. He does not think walls make for good neighbors and their settlement is fighting the wall between them and the nearby Arab village. Others in his community believe in the wall. While he did not come out and say it, I got the impression that the reason he did not like the wall is because it is a psychological barrier to the continuing expansion of settlements throughout the West Bank and could demand the removal of some of them if a Gaza style unilateral withdrawal were to take place to territory on the Israel side of the wall. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When asked about the impact of demographics on the balance of power in a democratic, single state solution, Israel, Bob indicated that he did not see it as a problem because he felt sure that a Jewish majority would be maintained to assure that Israel retains it Jewish character. My take on Bob is that he believes in the old south concept of ‘separate but equal’ that perpetuated human rights violations of southern blacks for decades; equality as defined by the Jewish majority. Based on the recent election, the Bob’s of Israel and those to the right of him are in the majority today.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbJBqQHGH3I/AAAAAAAAAw0/6r1FkydY-m4/s1600-h/DSCN0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SbJBqQHGH3I/AAAAAAAAAw0/6r1FkydY-m4/s320/DSCN0871.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia is dieing bred in Israel. She is a Welsh born, atheist Jew who came to Israel 30 years ago to escape racism against Jews in Wales and England. Growing up she experienced Judaism as more of an ethnicity than as a religion. After completing school she moved to London and had difficulty getting a job simply because of her family name which is Greenberg. She changed her name to Green and all bias toward her disappeared. She still witnessed deeply held bias against Jews in London. After an incident at here work where her supervisor indicated that, “Hitler should have finished the job” she changed her name back to Greenberg, quit her job and went on an exploratory trip to Israel. She lived and worked in a Kibbutz. She met and married her husband and has never looked back.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia, like Bob, is a very committed Zionist who believes deeply in the founding principals of the State of Israel and the need for a homeland for Jews. That is where the similarities between her views and Bob’s end. Lydia is a Labor Zionist. She lives in one of the last of the real Kibbutzim communities in Israel. It is a completely Socialist community where everyone contributes their work and any outside income to the common community funds. Everyone in the community gets an equal share of the profits of their work in the form of housing, food, clothing etc. Over the last two decades this model has died out and most of the Kibbutzim today are educational or vacation based centers where people go to experience what it was like for their forbearers. Interestingly her Kibbutz has been able to retain their way of life because of Capitalism. They hold the patent for the plastic covering used on large hay bales world wide and today they have factories around the world making that product. She said, “I started out a hippy with nothing but a dream and ended up a shareholder in a multi-national conglomerate!” She indicated that they too are on the verge of a vote to change to a system whereby everyone has their own money and pays for services they buy from the Kibbutz such as housing. Young people simply do not want to lose control of the wealth generated from their efforts as most now work in jobs outside the Kibbutz. They are simply not in a position to fight that any longer.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lydia is a firm believer in the two state solution. She believes that like Israel, Palestinians have the right to autonomy over their own territory. She is active in organizations that are trying to build bridges between Israeli and Palestinians and does not believe that war is the answer. She is the mother of four sons who have all served in elite military units in the army and she is very torn between supporting her sons and her pacifist beliefs. She is also very worried about the shift right in Israeli politics. She does not see it as a good sign for the future, but she remains optimistic that peace can be achieved. She is clear that it needs to happen by becoming closer to the Palestinians not farther away or by building walls to divide them.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are a wide range of views as to how to solve the differences between the Palestinians and Israelis on both sides. As long as there is a healthy dialog, which frankly seems to be slipping away on both sides, there is a chance for peace. It is clear that time is not the friend of peace and that the parties need help to move toward resolution. While the visit of Hillary Clinton this week was encouraging, more needs to be done by our government to bring the parties together and it needs to be done very soon.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-71496204324110667492009-03-03T02:01:00.002-05:002009-03-03T13:44:02.634-05:00Sights, Sounds and Smells<div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; cssfloat: right" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazXSmHA0qI/AAAAAAAAAkU/MfkkJ7hd2WM/s1600-h/DSCN0336.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazXSmHA0qI/AAAAAAAAAkU/MfkkJ7hd2WM/s320/DSCN0336.JPG" border="0" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past week my daughter Lauren was here in the Holy Land as part of a group from the University of Michigan. It was great to spend time with her and share the richness of this place with her once again. We were here together in 2005 so it was great to visit our local friends together and to meet new ones. As I traveled around with the group I had the pleasure of seeing this place through the eyes of people who were seeing it for the first time, and to rekindle the sense of awe that is invariably invoked here. While they spent much of their time seeing the impact of the occupation, as that was their primary goal, they also visited the holy sites and did much of what the other thousands of tourists that are here in any given week do, like shopping in the souks of the Old City.</span></div><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazX7uY8oDI/AAAAAAAAAkc/YKH9fUScMSA/s1600-h/DSCN0370.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazX7uY8oDI/AAAAAAAAAkc/YKH9fUScMSA/s200/DSCN0370.JPG" border="0" vi="true" /></a><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazYjhSjqII/AAAAAAAAAkk/lvxXhu5-WlY/s1600-h/DSCN0365.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazYjhSjqII/AAAAAAAAAkk/lvxXhu5-WlY/s200/DSCN0365.JPG" border="0" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is without question a magical place that for any religious person instills a feeling of coming home. All of the places you have heard and read about since you were a child are here in front of you and you realize, perhaps for the first time, how tangible they are. From the vantage point of the guest house I live in here on the top of the Mount of Olives I am surrounded by olive trees that look the same as they did 2000 years ago. I can look down to the west to see the Old City, the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the spot where Jesus was crucified and the Western Wall that is holy to Jews. It is a short walk down the hill to the Garden of Gethsemane. In a few hours I will walk down the Mt of Olives to the Old City as I do many days. Today I will reflect on Jesus’ walk down this hill. I will be thankful for Laurens visit and the renewed lens to look at this place through that the U of M group gave me with their visit. </span></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have said in the past that you use all of your emotions when you come here. You also use all of your senses. Jerusalem is visually dynamic with a new and exciting thing to see around every corner. While I have walked through the narrow lanes of the Old City many times I see new things each and every time. In addition to being visually rich, you are reminded of the religious significance with the mixture of sounds that are unique to this place. As I am sitting here writing this, the second morning call to prayer has just ended. The first still wakes me up each morning at about 4:30. Like most people, I simply go back to sleep. The melodic call is sometimes done by men and sometimes by young boys and is quite beautiful to hear. The various mosques sometimes overlap but for the most part they take turns out of respect. This mealody mixes with the church bells that ring in different churches at various times throughout the day and the din of the vendors in the souks pitching their wares. </span></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazaNp4zwjI/AAAAAAAAAk8/T0pREo2-ki8/s1600-h/DSCN0625.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazaNp4zwjI/AAAAAAAAAk8/T0pREo2-ki8/s200/DSCN0625.JPG" border="0" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you walk though the maze that is the Old City, you smell the fresh herbs that the ladies sitting on the ground are selling out of large bags that they have hauled here early in the morning, to get the very best spots to sit for the day. The spice sellers compete for your nose with the fresh fruit vendors and the sweet smell of honey drenched treats. Of course the ever present Arabic coffee vendors are not to be outdone as they constantly grind fresh coffee to mix into the pallet of smells. This truly is a magical place. </span></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazZ1ZxbIpI/AAAAAAAAAk0/M_D0D2wxbok/s1600-h/DSCN0614.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SazZ1ZxbIpI/AAAAAAAAAk0/M_D0D2wxbok/s200/DSCN0614.JPG" border="0" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have updated the slide show that is running below to show from this past week to give you a sense for that side of the Holy Land. At the end of the day, it is a place that you have to see for yourself and I encourage you to do that sometime. In the mean time over the coming weeks of Lent, if you would like to you can take a virtual tour of the Holy Land that has been put together by Christian Aid UK based world-wide aid organization. Each day they will visit a new place and allow you to experience both the grandeur and the challenge of this place. </span></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a link to the tour: <a href="http://lentpilgrimage.christianaid.org.uk/">http://lentpilgrimage.christianaid.org.uk/</a> </span></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would like to thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts as a reach the halfway point in this journey. I am particularly thankful to my wife Julie and the rest of my family for looking after all the aspects of daily life in my absence. I miss you all very much and look forward to seeing you. If the second half goes as fast as the first I will be with you in the blink of an eye.</span></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-78520751784223604202009-02-28T04:05:00.000-05:002009-02-28T04:05:45.916-05:00A Meeting of the Facebook Generation<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/Saj83a-ItpI/AAAAAAAAAj0/x7rOWabzDls/s1600-h/DSCN0362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/Saj83a-ItpI/AAAAAAAAAj0/x7rOWabzDls/s320/DSCN0362.JPG" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Daughter Lauren has been visiting this past week with a group from the University of Michigan. It has been great to see her and spend some time with the group as they explored both the historical and holy side of this land, while making plenty of time to see the “facts on the ground”. You use all of your emotions when you come here and this group is no different. There should be a warning on the airline ticket that says something like, “warning: you will see the world differently after this trip”. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Among many wonderful experiences, the group had the opportunity to meet informally with a group of their piers during a tour of Al Quds University in Abu Dis. I asked them if they all had a Facebook page and they laughed and said, “of course!” College students are the same the world over at the end of the day.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may recall from my previous posts that Abu Dis, while very close to Jerusalem is outside of the wall. Al Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem so this is “Jerusalem University” or the “University of Jerusalem”. The school has a very good reputation and a very broad offering, including a medical school. One of the professors in the medical school lives here in our guest house. He is a pathologist from San Francisco who happens to be Jewish. He is in his second year teaching at Al Quds. He taught in different medical schools in California before he retired and decided to teach here for a while to give back. He told me last night that his students are the best and brightest he has ever had the pleasure of working with in his entire career.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In additional to the academic challenges of a very competitive learning environment, the students at Al Quds face daily challenges students in any other part of the world have no idea about. The students shared some the challenges they face in trying to get an education with the group from U of M. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with the rest of the Palestinian population, transportation is a daily misery. The students come from all around Jerusalem, including West Bank towns like Ramallah to the north, and Bethlehem which is to the south. Many come from the area immediately surrounding Jerusalem, on the Israeli side of the wall but in the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods. While the university is actually very close to Jerusalem, because it is on the West Bank side of the wall, they must travel a very long way to get to school each day. Because of its location, there is a mix of students with West bank ID’s, who cannot go to Jerusalem and those with Jerusalem ID’s who can. There are no dorms on the campus so many students opt to share flats or apartments in Abu Dis or live as borders with local families and they go home on the weekends to minimize the transit problems.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is interesting to note that international studies have found that the Palestinian people worldwide are the most highly educated population in the world on a per capita basis. This is likely due to the occupation. A good education is something no one can take away from you and a ticket out. The Palestinians know that, and education is very highly valued within the society. The Israeli government does not like the fact that the Palestinians are so high educated and they do whatever they can to disrupt education particularly at the university level. Some of these measures are very systematic. For example, degrees from Al Quds are not formally recognized in Israel even though the university has all the necessary international accreditations. The battle stems from the name of the university. Israel says that there is only one “Jerusalem University” and that is Hebrew University on Mt Scopus adjacent to the property I am staying on. They have said that until the university changes its name Israel will not recognize it, or it graduates. It frankly matters little because employers in Israel do not hire graduates of any of the prestigious Palestinian universities like Bethlehem University or Ber Zeit University north of Ramallah anyway.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/Saj9a4RoZTI/AAAAAAAAAj8/ltPVVIAvZ9M/s1600-h/DSCN0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/Saj9a4RoZTI/AAAAAAAAAj8/ltPVVIAvZ9M/s320/DSCN0353.JPG" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other measures are more confrontational and designed to disrupt and maintain a sense of fear and uncertainty among the students. The students told us that at the beginning of each semester a very large number of armed Israeli Defense Force soldiers enter the campus and go room to room checking ID’s and disrupting classes as much as possible. They do this on the pretext of security and to search for law breakers. Each time they do this they round up several students seemingly at random and take them for very high pressure questioning. The idea is to instill fear and develop a network of informers who they can come back to from time to time to get information on other people in order to build the security files they have on every Palestinian. The idea is that these students, who have a future, likely outside the country, have the most to lose and they are a good source of information on others who have less opportunity. Another measure is to increase delays at the checkpoints during the final exam days. One of the students told us that while she had never been detained before, she was delayed at the checkpoint for four hours on her exam day a few semesters ago. While many professors understand and will allow students to take their exam late, her professor told her he was tired of hearing about the checkpoints. He said that the students needed to “plan for the occupation”. She was not allowed to take the final and got an E.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The IDF also has a higher presence in the community of Abu Dis because of the student population and they regularly create what they call “flying checkpoints” in the streets to target students for ID checks. I passed through one in Abu Dis earlier this week and saw that they had four students with their faces to a wall undergoing a search. This is in addition to the daily checks they must endure to get to the university each day at the fixed checkpoints that are impossible to avoid. They also go house to house in the evenings to “look for subversives and instigators”. One of the girls we met with shared a story that stunned us all. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the evening of September 20th 2008, this young woman was home with her parents. Her father is very old and mentally incapacitated. Her brother, his wife and their two small children live on the second floor of the home which is what all families do here. Her brother and sister-in-law were not home and they were watching the two small children. The IDF came to the door and asked if any students lived in the home. They told them that they did not board any students. The soldiers demanded to search the house and told the family to go outside while they did that. The family insisted that they needed to get the children who were upstairs sleeping so that they were not frightened by the soldiers. They were told they could not, were forced outside, and told to sit on a wall at gun point. Shortly afterward gunfire began in the home. The young women’s mother got up and started to run toward the house to check on the children. She was abruptly pushed to the ground and hit her head on a rock. She was unconscious and bleeding from a head wound. The student who was telling us this story, while trying to remain composed demanded that the army call an ambulance. They refused. She ran away, expecting to be shot in the back but she felt she needed to find help for her mother. She ran to a nearby house and called an ambulance. The ambulance was refused entry to the area “until the military operation was completed”. During this precious time the girl’s mother, who had never said one bad thing about Israel, died of her wounds on her front step. The army wrapped up their “military operation” and determined that there were no subversives in the home and they simply left, leaving the dead woman with her family. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cursory army investigation that was demanded by the community did not find fault with the soldiers because they thought they saw something in a dark hallway and reacted by firing their weapons. The incident was determined to be an unfortunate accident….case closed!</span></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-30238713963639232232009-02-19T08:47:00.000-05:002009-02-19T08:47:56.481-05:00Government of the People?<div align="justify"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZ1i3xsqCxI/AAAAAAAAAhs/hWH6dPEYNJU/s1600-h/livni.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZ1i3xsqCxI/AAAAAAAAAhs/hWH6dPEYNJU/s320/livni.bmp" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Coming from the prospective of a citizen of United States, with our two party system of government, the system here in Israel, where there are 36 different parties, representing every conceivable special interest group, seems very hard to understand. While our system is not perfect, once the votes are counted, we at least know who won, and who will lead. Israeli citizens also vote for their government but there vote seems to be more of a recommendation than a real vote. In the recent national election Tzipi Livni and her centrist Kadima party edged out Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party that is right of center by one vote. Avigdor Lieberman and his radical Yisrael Beiteinu party, who openly hates Palestinians, came in third. Even though she won the most votes, Livni did not win anything, and the people of Israel have no idea who will end up governing them. In order to govern, the leading party must have a majority of the seats in the Knesset (Israel’s senate) and must build a coalition of parties to get that majority. While she won the most votes she did not win a majority of the seats. She did not even necessarily win the right to try to build a coalition among the 36 parties.<br />
<br />
As it turns out, the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, who is the Head of State, a figure head role elected by the members of the Knesset, is the one and only person who has the power to decide who will get the chance to form the new government. It is likely that he will not choose Tzipi Livni even though she got the most votes. He has the autonomy to select anyone who he thinks has the highest probability to build a majority coalition. At the end of the day the decision as to who runs the country is based on negotiation among the parties and each one of them has their price. Before the election last week the negotiations between all the different parties began with the minority parties outlining their demands in order to join a coalition. Those negotiations are going on now at a furious rate and will continue over the next two months before the Israeli people will have any idea who will lead their country. Netanyahu has cozied up to Lieberman and other right wing parties like the ultra-orthodox Shaas party, giving him the upper hand in the coalition building negotiations. These radical elements that support settlement building and sustained oppression of Palestinians will surely get whatever they want out of the deal no matter who ends up being Prime Minister of Israel.<br />
<br />
It is this distorted system of government that allows a minority in Israel that is in favor of sustaining the occupation over the Palestinians and continuing to steal their land, to control public policy, and money. In an editorial in today’s Haaretz, Israel’s leading newspaper, titled Looser Takes All, Nehemia Shtrasler provides a good prospective on how this system of electing a government prevents peace:<br />
<br />
</span><em>“David Ben-Gurion copied our system of government from the Zionist Congress. The problem is that the Zionist Congress was a body whose goal was talking, and a government is a body whose goal is implementing. By the time Ben-Gurion realized this in the early 1950’s and sought to change the system, he couldn’t muster a majority. The small parties who were members of the coalition, refused. They understood that in Israel there is a special system in which the loser takes all. It’s a system in which the small parties get everything they want because the party in power has to pay the small parties anything they ask for, otherwise there is no coalition and no government.’<br />
<br />
“That’s how every Israeli government becomes a government of paralysis, with the minority ruling the majority – the opposite of representative democracy. For many years the extreme-right parties dictated policy on the settlements. They always managed to get budgets passed for the settlements by threatening to break up the coalition”<br />
<br />
“This is a major distortion of the will of the majority because many surveys in recent years show that the public is ready for a significant territorial compromise in exchange for peace with the Palestinians, but the minority controls the majority.”<br />
<br />
“Therefore, if we want the majority to rule and establish a stable government that lasts……we must change the system of government.”<br />
</em><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">The next time someone tells you that we (the taxpayers of the United States) need to support Israel because it is the only democracy in the Middle East, consider the fact that a principal tenet of democracy is the concept of majority rule which is clearly not the case in Israel.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
</span></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-37035944160861505332009-02-16T23:53:00.001-05:002009-02-16T23:58:15.405-05:00Home Wrecking<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week as we were making dinner in our guest house on the Mt of Olives when we had an unexpected visit from a neighbor, Ibrahim Ahmad Abu El-Hawa. Ibrahim and most of his family have lived here on the Mt of Olives for many generations. He is an affable and kind man who is a member of an organization dedicated to inter-religious cooperation and peace with Israel. It is called Jerusalem Peacemakers (http://jerusalempeacemakers2008.jerusalempeacemakers.org/)</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnHNRax8GI/AAAAAAAAAgo/vR8QKo-9hfE/s1600-h/ib-naima_3x2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnHNRax8GI/AAAAAAAAAgo/vR8QKo-9hfE/s320/ib-naima_3x2.jpg" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He has spoken all over the world on his heartfelt desire for peace and harmony between the Palestinians and Jews. He was quick to point out that he has spoken to groups in 46 states and been invited to the White House. I was completely struck by his warmth even as he told us why he had come to visit. He told us that the home of his niece, her husband, and their family, who live just down the hill from us, was to be demolished by the Israeli Army the next morning. They had built a very nice house just a few years ago on land they own, to house their growing family. They spent years trying to get a building permit to build their home, but like most Palestinians they were unable to secure the permits and in the end, were forced to build anyway in order to put a roof over their families head.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnH8Gr3VHI/AAAAAAAAAgw/qCGqxnS9pcc/s1600-h/DSCF1008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnH8Gr3VHI/AAAAAAAAAgw/qCGqxnS9pcc/s200/DSCF1008.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnRx-g2ZjI/AAAAAAAAAhA/XQYXbuhxrL8/s1600-h/DSCF1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnRx-g2ZjI/AAAAAAAAAhA/XQYXbuhxrL8/s200/DSCF1033.JPG" vi="true" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnQvSijbdI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ZaPeGqh_bxA/s1600-h/DSCF1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZnQvSijbdI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ZaPeGqh_bxA/s200/DSCF1046.JPG" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most horrific forms of the occupation is going on every day in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Authorities use bureaucratic process to try to force Palestinians out of their homeland and away from their friends and families. They do this with a systematic process that prevents Palestinians from getting a required building permit to expand, improve, or build a home. Jewish citizens of Israel have no problem getting a building permit. For Palestinians, it is nearly impossible and if they are allowed a permit it is very expensive. Ibrahim was lucky enough to get a permit for his home. He told me, in his excellent English that the permit alone cost 550 Sheckels per square meter or over $100 Thousand dollars! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When they build without a permit out of sheer need, a demolition order is placed on their house and the Army can show up at anytime without any notice, reduce the home to rubble and give the family a huge bill for the demolition. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (http://icahd.org/eng/) calculates that 28 structures (including garages, storage areas and Bedouin tents) have been demolished in the past two weeks, and 78 in all so far this year, in East Jerusalem alone. Hundreds of homes have active demolition orders on them that can be acted on at the whim of the municipal authorities.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this family’s case, they were told last year that if they took down part of the house they would be able to keep the rest. They did that. A few months later they were told they needed to take down another part of the house. They paid for that demolition too. Last week they received yet another demolition order; the one Ibrahim came to tell us about. The order was to be executed the following morning at 7 AM. He asked our team to be present to witness this heinous act. His lawyers were fighting to save the house and continued in their efforts right up to the end. They lost the fight and while our team watched from the neighbor’s rooftop what looked like the whole Israeli Army descended on the house, and in a matter of a few hours reduced it to a pile of broken concrete. We got the whole process on video which is no consolation to the family that is now homeless. The pictures tell the story much better than I can.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This process has been going on for years and it is well know to be a significant part of the Israeli governments attempt to take over as much Palestinian land as possible and make life for those who remain as miserable as they possibly can to encourage them to leave the country. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZpAddvNcrI/AAAAAAAAAhI/dwxvbCYsl8g/s1600-h/jayyous5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZpAddvNcrI/AAAAAAAAAhI/dwxvbCYsl8g/s320/jayyous5.jpg" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The building restrictions for Palestinians are on top of other very restrictive land laws that the government uses to take control of Palestinian land. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of those laws provides that any agricultural land that has not been tended for three years becomes government property. This law has been used extensively to take land with the wall. The wall has been built between the homes of Palestinians and their farm land. The Army puts an ‘agricultural gate’ in the wall and the farmers need to wait at the gate for access to their farm land. There is no real schedule for access so they sit there for hours waiting for a passing jeep to get to their own land. They must repeat the process to get their crops to their village. I may cases only the old people are given permits to tend the land to ensure that it does not pass to a younger generation. When people tire of this process or become too old to endure it, the Israeli government takes the land because it is not being cared for.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was in the village of Yanoun last week I was told by the mayor of Yanoun that the Army had come to the village a few years before and taken detailed pictures of every house in the village. They were told that if they made any improvement or changes to their homes they would be subject to a demolition order for the entire home, and they would be arrested. The village is the middle of nowhere. The only other people in the area are the armed settlers above and around them who want to steal their farm land which is very good land. The mayor wanted to improve the well on his property that provides water for the village. He was told that if he did, his home would be leveled. This is all because the village is within a protection zone of the illegal settlement and the settlers, who all have M16’s and are well versed in their use, need to be protected from the farmers and their goats in this tiny village.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the cities like East Jerusalem there is a long list of methods employed including taking land for ‘public use’, for dubious historical significance, or simply to build the wall. In many of these cases the ‘public use’ is never known. We did identify the use for one plot of land that was taken to build a new park to honor Jewish Tolerance. They call it Tolerance Park. The Israeli government has demonstrated their tolerance of others by building Tolerance Park on an Arab cemetery.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-76455557563480456252009-02-14T02:21:00.000-05:002009-02-14T02:21:20.329-05:00Update - Im Kamel and Running the Gauntlet<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZZsQT_YscI/AAAAAAAAAew/F-jSdUYAV-I/s1600-h/DSCN0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZZsQT_YscI/AAAAAAAAAew/F-jSdUYAV-I/s320/DSCN0118.JPG" vi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An interesting turn of events has taken place in the case of Im Kamel, the elderly woman who was forced out of her home in East Jerusalem. By way of quick review, settlers moved into a part of her and her husbands home three years ago. They were fighting in the courts to have them removed for three years because the police refused to do it. They won the case and the settlers were to be removed. The housing authority refused to execute the court order and on the day after the settlers were supposed to be removed, she, and her husband who was in a wheelchair and died from the trama, were removed from their own home, She has been living in a tent nearby with the daily support of many internationals. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week, just ahead of another court date for other settler related issues in the neighborhood, the settlers in Im Kamel’s home were removed. The house is now empty. The settlers were however allowed to return for the Sabbath to celebrate Shabbat in the house and then left again. She has still not been allowed to move back into her house. The case that was to be heard last week was postponed until the 19th at which time the judge will deal with many pending cases in the neighborhood related to the same settler group together, including the case of Im Kamel. Our team and many other international observers will be in the courtroom to see how this turns out. I will let you know.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZZtqyfkhHI/AAAAAAAAAe4/rS3iay6CWsk/s1600-h/DSCN0452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZZtqyfkhHI/AAAAAAAAAe4/rS3iay6CWsk/s320/DSCN0452.JPG" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I traveled with the hospital medical team again this past Wednesday, one day after the Israeli national election. This time on the way to the village clinic in the morning we were refused passage at the first of the three checkpoints they must pass. The young soldier was quick to point out that he voted for Lieberman, the Russian ultra conservative right wing fanatic who wants to significantly increase the dominance over Palestinians, and demand that all Palestinians sign an oaf of allegiance to Israel. He is in favor of forced expulsion of anyone who does not sign the oaf. He got the third largest number of votes behind Livni and Netanyahu who are both very right wing themselves. It is clear that Lieberman will have a significant role in a new collation government in Israel. I will write more about this later.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZZulCERypI/AAAAAAAAAfA/Yb-wBZLA2LE/s1600-h/DSCN0457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZZulCERypI/AAAAAAAAAfA/Yb-wBZLA2LE/s320/DSCN0457.JPG" vi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The politically motivated soldier was not happy that his guy came in third and decided to express his unhappiness by not letting the team pass. The team indicated they had never been stopped at this particular checkpoint. We tried to argue and once again started to work various help networks. The hospital administration decided that in the interest of time (there were patients waiting at the clinic) we should turn around and go a different way. We drove back to Jerusalem and crossed the checkpoint in Ramallah. We drove to the village over roads that were like wagon trails. We arrived at the clinic at 10 AM, two hours late. On the return trip we sailed right through the checkpoint we spent an hour at the week before with the same staff that was refused then. It is clear that there is no real process to these checkpoints. The Palestinians refer to the soldiers as the kings of the checkpoint. It appears they are.</span></div><br />
</div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-88017897624500728402009-02-09T04:51:00.059-05:002009-02-13T14:44:38.723-05:00The Politics of Maps<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jerusalem is obviously a very old place and the roads have been here a very long time. These ancient and historic roads are named for where they have lead to, and from, for thousands of years. Jafa Road takes you west to the sea coast and the ancient port city of Jafa. Nablus Road took you north through Ramallah to Nablus. Hebron Road took you south through Bethlehem to Hebron. And Jericho Road took you east through Abu Dis (Bethany) and on to Jericho and the Jordon River. Today you cannot get to any of these places by following the road of the same name. These roads have had their names for centuries but there are new “facts on the ground” that may or may not show up on your map depending on who you got your map from. This became abundantly clear to me this last Friday. I was back in Abu Dis where the Jericho Road stops abruptly at the wall in the middle of Abu Dis. </span></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SY_-oG9ZQjI/AAAAAAAAAb4/_ZZcCqx6GJ0/s1600-h/DSCN0428.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img style="WIDTH: 312px; HEIGHT: 227px" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SY_-oG9ZQjI/AAAAAAAAAb4/_ZZcCqx6GJ0/s200/DSCN0428.JPG" width="348" border="0" xi="true" /></a></div><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAAa7rIFeI/AAAAAAAAAcA/YzRRl53Rq0o/s1600-h/DSCN0439.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img style="WIDTH: 306px; HEIGHT: 227px" height="141" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAAa7rIFeI/AAAAAAAAAcA/YzRRl53Rq0o/s200/DSCN0439.JPG" width="182" border="0" xi="true" /></a><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hile we were there on the Jerusalem side from where I took the picture in my previous post, discussing the wall with a representative from the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (www.icad.org) a tourist from Finland came up to us with his tourist map in his hands and asked us how to get to Jericho. We all laughed and pointed at the wall and said, “that way”. We looked at his map and noticed that the wall and all of the checkpoints were not on the map so he would have no idea that the Jericho road no longer goes to Jericho. Clearly the producer of his tourist map did not want to scare the tourists with little details like walls and checkpoints with kids carrying M16’s. We showed him our map produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which shows the wall and all of the checkpoints and he was stunned. Our driver knew the way through the back roads to get to the Zaytoun checkpoint through which he needed to travel to get to Jericho. He followed us because he would have never found his way. While there are wonderful signs in West Jerusalem and signs throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories to show you how to get to the many settlements, there are no signs telling you how to get to any of the hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages like Jericho, even on the Jericho road.</span></div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZADMZkrIxI/AAAAAAAAAcI/vilJGK5LjU0/s1600-h/DSCN0445.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img style="WIDTH: 285px; HEIGHT: 212px" height="134" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZADMZkrIxI/AAAAAAAAAcI/vilJGK5LjU0/s200/DSCN0445.JPG" width="177" border="0" xi="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAFI4hDHlI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/uV40PhOV51g/s1600-h/DSCN0440.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img style="WIDTH: 286px; HEIGHT: 213px" height="137" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAFI4hDHlI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/uV40PhOV51g/s200/DSCN0440.JPG" width="170" border="0" xi="true" /></a><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAFI4hDHlI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/uV40PhOV51g/s1600-h/DSCN0440.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I looked into this further I found that there are many different maps of this area. The UN produces detailed maps of the Occupied Palestinian Territories that shows the path of the wall relative to the recognized international border and locations of both the settlements and the Palestinian villages. It shows the checkpoints and who can use them as well as the roads that Palestinians have no access to. Another “Road Map of Israel” makes no distinction between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It indicates that everything from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea is Israel. It shows the Palestinian towns and villages but the names have been changed. For example Nablus is called Shechem. No checkpoints are shown nor is the wall. Interestingly, on this map the Palestinian village I am sitting here writing this from is called Khirbet Yanun which in Hebrew means that this is an ancient ruin where no one lives. Well I can assure you that I am staying in a very real house with real neighbors including the mayor who I visited earlier this afternoon. This is apparently the only ancient ruin with wireless internet! </span><br /></div><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><a style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAG75k42vI/AAAAAAAAAcY/TifXxyEnMgk/s1600-h/DSCN0378.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SZAG75k42vI/AAAAAAAAAcY/TifXxyEnMgk/s320/DSCN0378.JPG" border="0" xi="true" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The village is completely surrounded by armed settlers on the hills above us. I guess the map is wishful thinking on the part of the settlers who have been trying to scare the villagers away from the land their families have lived on for generations. There are bright spotlights shining in our windows from the settlement outposts above as I am sitting here writing this at 11 PM.</span></div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet another map produced by a settlers group does not even show the Palestinian towns and villages. It is like they do not exist. I honestly believe that in the minds of some Israelis the millions of Palestinians who have lived here for all of recorded time do not exist. They are doing everything they can to make them invisible. It is quite a trick to make millions of people disappear. The truth is that they are still there. They are just behind the 25 foot high wall.</span></div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-51986866127653228902009-02-08T11:45:00.019-05:002009-02-09T05:48:59.617-05:00Running the Gauntlet<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SY8M9wAJ7WI/AAAAAAAAAbg/x1FksuV6yRc/s1600-h/DSCN0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SY8M9wAJ7WI/AAAAAAAAAbg/x1FksuV6yRc/s200/DSCN0331.JPG" xi="true" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I was asked to escort a medical team from The Augusta Victoria Hospital on their daily visit to one of the three clinics they serve in small villages in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The need for these clinics surfaced six years ago as a result of the increasing movement restrictions placed on Palestinians, making health care inaccessible for these people. Augusta Victoria is the only specialty hospital serving Palestinians in all of the West Bank and Gaza. It is located on the Mt of Olives in East Jerusalem. Every day for the past six years this team, in a specially marked van and with all the proper permits travels through three checkpoints to reach the clinics. For the most part they have not has any difficulty but beginning about two weeks ago they have had tremendous problems at the checkpoints. I went along as an international observer and to see if my presence, and US passport, would help them get through.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had no trouble getting through the checkpoints on the way into the West Bank from Jerusalem. The clinic we visited was funded by the German government and it was very nice. It had clean and professional exam room, a small lab and a pharmacy. On the day I was there they had a special day for the local diabetes patients. On the team there is a doctor, nurses, a medical assistant and a dietitian. About 25 patients were seen and each was saw the doctor and a nurse for a preliminary exam. They received training in how to manage their disease with food choices from the dietitian and had the opportunity to ask questions both in a group setting and privately.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SY8Ob1Pzx8I/AAAAAAAAAbw/VPwliIPjZUc/s1600-h/DSCN0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SY8Ob1Pzx8I/AAAAAAAAAbw/VPwliIPjZUc/s200/DSCN0329.JPG" xi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a very good day until we tried to get back to the hospital in Jerusalem late in the afternoon. We went back the same way we came, through the checkpoint that this team passes through six days a week. We pulled up to the booth and were pulled over which almost always happens to Palestinians. I knew we were in trouble when we got a cute, 18 year old girl soldier, carrying an M16 that was as big as she was. I had heard that the girls are the toughest and the cuter they are the worse they are. They act as tough as possible to show off for the boys. It is a way they flirt. When the girls get push back the boys jump in to defend them. That is exactly what happened to us. She immediately told us we could not pass because some of the team did not have the proper permits and that we had to go to a different checkpoint over an hour away. When our driver protested the boys, with their M16’s converged on us. Our driver, Haitham, who is well used to this daily dance, and speak fluent Hebrew, argued vehemently that the permits were in order and that we had the approval to pass. He worked his way up the chain of command at the checkpoint including talking to the senior army officer, and a senior military police officer, who personally checked our permits on the way in that same morning. Nobody was interested. They all defended the decision of the girl. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hospital has special access to top Israeli officials within the authority that issues permits. After a 20 minute stand off, the team called the hospital administration, who in turn called the top person within the Israeli government for humanitarian affairs. After another 40 minutes of waiting for this process to work. The Israeli official called the checkpoint and told them to let us pass. Even this did not work. Haitham translated for me. They told the official we are the army and you are only the civil administration. We are the kings of the checkpoint and we do not care about your permits. We will decide who passes and who does not. We will not let them pass. While we waited, dozens of Israeli cars coming from the various settlements in that part of the West Bank sailed through without even stopping.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end we were forced to turn around. We dropped of the team at a remote crossing where they started walking toward Ramallah with the hope of getting ride. Haitham and I had to go back to the checkpoint because we had dropped off another nursing team at one of the other clinics on the other side of the checkpoint. We had to pick them up and the only way to get to them was through the checkpoint. Haitham has a Jerusalem ID and my US passport allows me to go anywhere so an hour and a half after we approached the checkpoint we were able to pass and get back to the hospital so they could get ready to do it all over again the next day.</span> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-36038939857714421732009-02-05T14:22:00.015-05:002009-02-09T05:49:59.592-05:00Walling out Abu Dis<div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SYs9nms6dnI/AAAAAAAAAZw/0c4c5aqedBA/s1600-h/DSCN0255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SYs9nms6dnI/AAAAAAAAAZw/0c4c5aqedBA/s320/DSCN0255.jpg" xi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within a mile and a half of the Old City of Jerusalem along what was historically the main road to Jerusalem from the east is the community of Abu Dis. In biblical times Abu Dis and the nearby town of Al Eizariya were know as Bethany. It is noted as the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. You can still visit what is supposed to be the tomb of Lazarus. As is the case with every other religiously significant site in the area there is a church there. Tourists do visit as evidenced by the four large tour buses that were there when I walked by. As you walk down the main street heading toward Jerusalem, a short stroll down the hill, you come to what seems surreal. As you come around a bend you see an imposing 25 foot high wall closing off the road right in front of you and going off into the distance for as far as you can see in both directions. The community of Abu Dis is east of Jerusalem well into the West Bank, and several miles from Israel. The wall in front of us is one part of a vast land grab that the State of Israel has undertaken in recent years in the name of security. The real reason is immediately clear as you walk along the length of the wall. It is clearly designed to grab as much land as possible, establishing a new border between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It snakes around to make sure the most land with the least amount of Palestinians living on it is on the Israeli side. In every case the wall is built immediately adjacent to people’s houses and their yards, olive groves, and open land have been included on the Israeli side of the wall.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of our guides Abed has lived in Abu Dis his whole life. Almost everyone in Abu Dis works in Jerusalem, or did, before the wall and the need for a special permit to go to Jerusalem for any purpose. When he was a boy they simply walked the mile and a half to the markets in the Old City or to visit family and friends. Now they need a special permit that is rarely received, and even if they get one, they need to reapply every 6 months. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SYs-JHnkbxI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/59HdLQF4EC0/s1600-h/DSCN0322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SYs-JHnkbxI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/59HdLQF4EC0/s400/DSCN0322.JPG" xi="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On another tour from the other side with B’SELEM, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (www.btselem.org), a short distance from where the road is closed, we were showed one story of a family who ended up on different sides of the wall while their houses are next to each other. Even though part of the family, and about eight other houses ended up on the Jerusalem side of the wall they are not allowed to go to Jerusalem. They must go through a special gate manned by the Israeli Army, go East to Abu Dis and then like, everyone else in Abu Dis travel further East on the 417 to highway 1 and then to the North of Jerusalem near Hebrew University and then back South to within 2 miles of their home. This is a trip of about 20 miles which you can only make if you have the proper permit to show to the Army at the Zaytem checkpoint. They are not even allowed to go to a grocery store across the street from their homes. Just last week one of the family members needed some bread and did not want to walk all the way to Abu Dis going through their special checkpoint. He was stopped in the shop by the Army, given a large fine and told that if was caught again he would be put in jail. They are only allowed to walk on a dirt path immediately adjacent to the wall to the checkpoint and nowhere else.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
The tour busses must also make this trip which is why fewer and fewer bother to do it. They do not want to expose the tourists to the unpleasantness of the military checkpoints where everyone has an M16 and looks ready to use it. The same is true of Bethlehem. In spite of this obvious oppression it is clear that the Palestinians are not leaving. Even this wall, much to the dismay of the Israeli government, will not force the Palestinians out of their homeland. Abed says that this is his home and he has no intention to leave. He will continue his non-violent pursuit of justice even if it takes a lifetime.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-6206824786075974002009-01-30T08:14:00.044-05:002009-02-09T05:51:06.977-05:00The Fine Art of Mapping<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">oda</span>y I meet a very nice young Jewish man named Michael. Like all Jewish Israeli citizens he served in the army from the age of 18 to 22. Non-Jewish citizens which make up over 20% of the population of Israel are not required to serve, with a few minor exceptions, but Jewish boys and girls are required to. Boys serve for three years and girls for two. It is such a traumatic experience for them that most leave Israel for some period of time after their service to put it behind them for a while and regroup mentally. Drug and alcohol abuse are real problems during both their service and after. On the flight over I sat next to another very nice young Jewish man who was just then returning to Israel after three years in San Francisco. He said, “I just needed to get away”. He met an Israeli girl there who was getting away too and they are getting married in a few months. They will return to live in Israel. MIchael had to leave for a while too. He came back to get married and is now happily married and living in his home town of Jerusalem.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SYMBRckVJDI/AAAAAAAAAXA/mUPBUoh9SW4/s1600-h/DSCF0480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SYMBRckVJDI/AAAAAAAAAXA/mUPBUoh9SW4/s320/DSCF0480.JPG" xi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is it so traumatic for these young people that they need to leave? Michael is one of an increasing number of young Israelis who are breaking the silence to help their families and friends understand but also to help them to heal. They have formed a group called Breaking The Silence (<a href="http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/">http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) and are publishing word for word interviews with young Israelis who have completed their service and need to talk about it. Michael told us that army service is a significant cultural element of Jewish Israeli society because everyone has been through it. Many people define themselves for the rest of their lives by their army experience. Males must continue to be in the reserves, on paper at least, and many serve in that capacity for a month at a time until they are 35. </span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michael was deeply impacted by what he saw and he said he is ashamed of what he did during that time. He is afraid of the impact on his generation. He told us about many different structured (orders) and unstructured (random) abuses that he witnessed against Palestinians. It has become something of a sport in the army to invent new ways to make the lives of innocent Palestinians as difficult as possible. Verbal abuse is expected and it is common for solders to beat people up including children for no reason or any reason at all. Young Israeli women are particularly harsh so they can prove their toughness to their male platoon mates. He talked about many incidents of random violence against Palestinian by him and his fellow solders, “just to pass the time”. He said, “It becomes a game”. One thing he told us is that they are not required to account for anything other than live ammunition so they can use as many sound bombs, smoke bombs and “rubber bullets” as they want to. They use a lot because it is “fun”. Rubber bullets are not actually rubber. They are lead covered with rubber, and he told us there are many solders that sharpen the rubber ends to make them more lethal of modify them so they fragment. Many people have been killed by 'rubber bullets'</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many abuses that are built into the systems of the occupation such as the checkpoints and limiting access to roads among hundreds of others. He highlighted one that I had not heard of. It is the practice of ‘mapping’. This is done throughout what Israelis call ‘the territories’; what the world calls the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Mapping is a process whereby a heavily armed platoon goes from house to house to document each of the residents and literally make a detailed drawing of the inside of the house. It takes about an hour per house. The platoon storms the house without any warning forcing the family out of their home. The home is completely searched and a detailed drawing made of the layout. When this is done solders are told to leave as much mess and damage as possible. They them move on to the next house and repeat the process. The plan is to map every house in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Literally every soldier has had this experience as it is a very common practice. One thing I did not tell you is that this is almost always done in the middle of the night for maximum mental impact on the household. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago the EAPPI team in Jayous a rural farming village in the West Bank experienced a different spin on this type of invasion. A helicopter appeared over the village in the middle of the night and a paratrooper team rapelled from the Helicopter and surrounded a house in the village. They broke into the house forced the family into the street and ‘mapped’ the house. When the EAPPI team asked what they were doing and why, they were told that it was just a training exercise. When asked how they happened to choose the house they choose for the “exercise”, they were told. “It was as good as any other!” They left as fast as they arrived in the helicopter leaving a devastated family in tears.</span></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-61485963744251693112009-01-27T16:25:00.077-05:002009-02-09T05:52:36.985-05:00Im Kamel's Tent<div align="right" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX-A-H7E1YI/AAAAAAAAANQ/RpzsDKgZI2w/s1600-h/DSCN0123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX-A-H7E1YI/AAAAAAAAANQ/RpzsDKgZI2w/s200/DSCN0123.JPG" xi="true" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX9-3rb4F7I/AAAAAAAAANI/1Oc7cFvZGeA/s1600-h/DSCN0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX9-3rb4F7I/AAAAAAAAANI/1Oc7cFvZGeA/s200/DSCN0125.JPG" xi="true" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX9-H0gRFzI/AAAAAAAAANA/1sSy1g81xLQ/s1600-h/DSCN0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX9-H0gRFzI/AAAAAAAAANA/1sSy1g81xLQ/s200/DSCN0118.JPG" xi="true" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went to visit a women living in an area close to Jerusalem. The story I heard there blew my mind. She is living in a tent because she has been forced out of her home. She is a refugee from 1948 when her family was forced out of what is now Israel. In 1956 an international agency built several homes in this neighborhood which at that time was part of Jordon. She and her husband were given clear title to one of these houses. It is a duplex type house and her brother was living in the other half of the house. When her brother was away in 2001 Israeli settlers occupied half of her house and set up an armed camp there. She and her husband continued to live in the house while they tried to pursue legal action to have the armed settlers removed from the other half of their house. The government keep dragging their feet and in the mean time the settlers got more violent and made life miserable for the family. With the help of international lawyers they finally won a court case to have the settlers evicted. Even though she won the case and the judge ordered the housing authority to remove the settlers, the housing authority simply refused to acknowledge the court order. On the day after the settlers were to be removed the army came and actually removed her and her husband from there own house. He was ill and in a wheelchair when they removed him from the home he clearly owns. Since last December she has been living in a make shift tent nearby. The incident was so traumatic for her husband that in the second week after they were forced out, he had a heart attack and died. She is now on her own and still fighting, with lots of international help, to get her house back. The army has demolished her tent four times and has fined her tens of thousands of dollars for the demolition costs. The tent is on private land owned by a friend of hers and he has given her permission to live there. They have fined him too. The next court battle is on February 8th but the experts are saying that even if they win again in court. the verdict will likely be ignored because the government only accepts the finding of their own courts if they want to. The next time you hear someone say that we need to support Israel because it is the only democracy in the Middle East. Think of this story.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX9-3rb4F7I/AAAAAAAAANI/1Oc7cFvZGeA/s1600-h/DSCN0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-15416252261780500692009-01-23T15:41:00.004-05:002009-02-09T05:54:02.077-05:00The Women in Black<div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SXors8zEYpI/AAAAAAAAALI/Ux7OxN-nknM/s1600-h/DSCN0094.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SXors8zEYpI/AAAAAAAAALI/Ux7OxN-nknM/s320/DSCN0094.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most people do not realize that there are many Jewish Israeli peace organizations actively working to find peace with the Palestinians. It is a difficult road for them in Israel but they are very committed to peace with justice. I met an amazing women today, Gila Svirski. Every Friday for 21 years and two week Gila and her band of Jewish women have been standing in Paris Square dressed in black to protest their governments occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. They choose to wear black as a sign of mourning. I would like to share with you her story because I think it gives some incite into the fact that there is wide diversity of opinion within Israel as to how to find peace once and for all. Gila. I think represents the voice of reason.<br />
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Gila was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family. Her mother was an early Zionist who moved with her parents from Europe to what was, at the time, Palestine in 1935. Her mother emigrated to the United States and Gila was born and raised in New Jersey. The family continued their orthodox practice of the Jewish faith. In 1966, when she was 19, they moved to what was by then Israel and settled in Jerusalem where she started a family. Her view of Israel was the idyllic one of the shining city on the hill. She was a believer in the commonly held view of the time, that Israel was pursuing "an enlightened occupation" in which the goal was to bring civilization to the Arabs.<br />
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When the settlement movement began in the 1970's she visited a settlement to see if would be a good place to live. It was then that she personally witnessed the brutality with which Palestinians were treated and started to question the sensibility of building east of the green line which in 1967 had been established as the border. She says the 1987 intifada was like a lightning bolt to her consciousness and in 1988 she founded Women in Black in an effort to convince her government to pull back to the green line and affirm a Palestinian state.<br />
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She is very clear on the stumbling blocks to peace and their solutions which I found to be quite sensible. The foundation is that there must be an end to the occupation and a two state solution based on the green line. Jews need to control a state of their own and a one state solution where the Jews and Palestinians live together in one unified country would mean that the Palestinians would outnumber the Jews. Israel would have to become a secular state and that is untenable for Jews because of the Holocaust. The issues and solutions in her view are:<br />
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<strong>Settlements</strong> - Their are today 400,000 Jews living in illegal settlements in the West Bank, east of the green line. Of those 200,000 are in greater Jerusalem, including 30,000 in Ariel and another 30,000 in Mali Adumin. Clearly not all of these Jews can be relocated to Israel so there will need to be a land swap whereby Palestine would receive land that is currently part of Israel. This would require the relocation of about 200,000 settlers and she has a great idea for how to get them to move. Over five a year transition period you pay the settlers to relocate to Israel on a decreasing basis, i.e. full payment in year one decreasing to zero in year five. If after year five they choose to stay they are no longer Israeli citizens and they can become citizens of Palestine.<br />
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<strong>Jerusalem</strong> - The city of Jerusalem which is cherished by three religions needs to be shared, as it has for century's, and be the capital of both Israel (West Jerusalem) and Palestine (East Jerusalem).<br />
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<strong>Refugees</strong> - In 1948 the Jews forced 700 thousand Palestinians into refugee camps in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordon and the West Bank. Since that time the Palestinians have continuously demanded a right to return to their homes under international law. Gila says this issue appears more difficult than it is. This issue has more to do with the acknowledgement of the injustice that was done to the Palestinians than their actual relocation after all these years. There are two components to the solution that she says is consistent with Arab culture where it is OK to say one thing and do another. The first step is the key which is to acknowledge (say) the injustice and the right of return provided for under international law. A small number of Palestinians would become citizens of Israel based on family reunification needs. The remaining refugees would be made citizens of their host countries and paid reparations (do) by Israel.<br />
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<strong>Water</strong> - Existing water resources need to be shared ratibly to both countries and a major international investment in desalination plants needs to be made to assure water resources for both countries. Today Israel has gerrymandered the border in order to control both the water and tillable land. Palestine needs to get back the tillable land east of the green line and the water to produce crops on it.<br />
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For 21 years Gila has studied the issues involved in a lasting peace from deep within the Israeli culture. She is convinced that peace is possible. If she did not she would not stand on this corner every Friday. It can be done with American help and encouragement. Our new President is obviously committed to it with the appointment of George Mitchell as special envoy for peace on only his second day as President. Lets all hope she and President Obama are right.</span> </span></div><div align="justify" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-23131069671197861342009-01-19T15:17:00.011-05:002009-02-09T05:54:52.303-05:00Washington DC<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX919rKWFHI/AAAAAAAAAM4/VkRdBQhvZRU/s1600/DSCN0029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SX919rKWFHI/AAAAAAAAAM4/VkRdBQhvZRU/s320/DSCN0029.JPG" xi="true" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">It has been a very interesting couple of days in Washington DC. I have been here for the last few days doing training along with the other American member of the team, Pat Ochodnicky. Pat’s blog can be found at </span><a href="http://pochod.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">http://pochod.wordpress.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: small;">.<br />
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We have been meeting in the Capital Hill neighborhood and there is electricity in the air that you cannot help but feel. We are leaving tonight for Jerusalem and another week of training there but, I am very glad that I had the opportunity to be in DC for these past few days and experience the excitement. The bitter cold has not stopping any of the one million plus people who have come here to witness history. Everyone you see has a big smile on their face.<br />
</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SXThnfuLvXI/AAAAAAAAAIc/GllOJv1YR1c/s1600-h/DSCN0029.JPG"></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In addition to our training in International Humanitarian Law, and Middle East culture, we had the opportunity to meet with the legislative staffs of both Michigan Senators. They have expressed great interest in our mission and want to keep in touch with us along the way, and meet with us when we return to Washington on our way home in April. We truly are representing our country in many ways in the effort and are happy to have the support.<br />
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It is funny how fate works. While we were out to lunch one of the days, we stopped to buy an Obama t-shirt at one of the many t-shirt stands. Also buying a t-shirt at the same stand was Congresswomen Lois Capps from California. She happens to be one of only a very few members of congress who have visited the West Bank, met with Palestinians and has seen first hand the impact of the occupation from their prospective. She meet met with some of the Ecumenical Accompaniers when she visited in 2004 and has traveled to some of the most troubled areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She was happy to hear that Pat and I were on the next team representing all Americans. </span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SXThnfuLvXI/AAAAAAAAAIc/GllOJv1YR1c/s1600-h/DSCN0029.JPG"></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">While most of our elected Members of Congress and Senators have visited Israel at the invitation of Israel Lobby groups, almost none of them visit with Palestinians while they are there, or visit the West Bank. Until this changes and our elected officials can get exposed to both sides of this conflict US legislation will continue to support an unending cycle of violence. Please join me in supporting those elected officials who have the courage to try to see both sides like Congresswomen Capps.</span></span> </div></div>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8516014478651553447.post-15952750938749272832008-12-28T08:48:00.019-05:002009-01-21T11:49:30.389-05:00Anticipation<p align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">This is my first post. As I sit here enjoying the holidays with family and friends, I am anticipating what my three month mission as an Ecumenical <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Accompanier (EA)</span> with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (</span><a href="http://www.eappi.org/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.eappi.org</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">) <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SVrHlSLkuZI/AAAAAAAAAHM/KPpQX-Mj00A/s1600-h/83.1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285756556022167954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 203px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iSIgTw1sWcM/SVrHlSLkuZI/AAAAAAAAAHM/KPpQX-Mj00A/s320/83.1.JPG" border="0" /></a>will be like. With the recent news regarding ongoing bombing in Gaza some have questioned my sanity, but I remain called to this work. I have traveled to Israel three times over the last few years, some for business, and lead a three week youth exchange trip to Palestine in 2005, so I am familiar with the territory. I have included a selection of picture from that trip in the slide show to the right. I feel I must share what I have seen. With my ongoing business relationships in Israel I hope to bring a somewhat unique prospective to my reporting of the conflict.</span></span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">My hope is to provide you a window into the daily lives of the people of the Holy Land by sharing their hopes and dreams. This is the common thread we all share as human beings and a place we can always start to build relationships. I firmly believe that the solution to this mindless conflict is to be found in building person-to-person relationship, one at a time. As I have traveled the world I have found that I always have more in common with those I meet than differences. The same holds true in the Middle East.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I am honored to have been selected to participate in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program. Many people have asked me what specific tasks I will be engaged in while I am there. While the programme's mission is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation, some of its detailed objectives are to:<br /></p></span></span><br /><ol><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><strong>Participate in the daily life and work of Palestinian and Israeli civil society, Churches and Christian communities.</strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><strong>Be visibly present in vulnerable communities, locations or events, near Israeli settlements and the wall/fence, schools and homes, fields & orchards.</strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">Actively listen to local people's experiences and give voice to peoples' daily suffering under occupation and write or speak about </span></strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">these experiences in their reports and public speaking engagements<br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">Monitor the conduct of Israeli soldiers (e.g. at checkpoints and other barriers and during demonstrations and other military actions) and contact relevant organizations and authorities to request intervention. </span></strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">Engage in non-violent ways with perpetrators of human rights abuses. </span></strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><strong>P</strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">roduce</span> high quality, first-hand written materials, testimonies and analysis. </span></strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><strong>Report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that EA,s witness and </strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">document and use these reports to inform governments and intergovernmental bodies and press them to take action. </span></strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><strong>E</strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ngage</span> with the media locally, nationally and internationally. </span></strong></span></div></li><li><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>B</strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>e part of international advocacy and networking activities that highlight the human rights situation in Palestine.</strong></span></span></div></li></ol><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Please plan to check back frequently as my intention is to post photos and comments from my daily experiences. This will be a first hand contemporaneous report on the daily lives of Palestinians and Israelis as they struggle to find peace.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">In Closing I would like to profusely thank those who have allowed me to pursue this adventure, first and foremost my wife Julie who along with daughter Carrie will be holding down the home front while I am gone. With her job and other commitments, this will as challenging for her as for me. I greatly appreciate her sacrifice. I am also greatly appreciative for the financial support of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Southeast MI Synod. Thanks also go out to friends who have supported this effort financially and in prayer. Lastly I would like to thank my business partners who have allowed me to take a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">leave</span> of absence. Thank you all !</span></p>Scott Thamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06812967955643129115noreply@blogger.com