Exploring Tel Rumeida and Jerusalem's ramparts

This morning at 6:30 I went again to watch the Palestinian children head down to school past the Israeli checkpoint. Unlike yesterday, when I saw 260 kids, I didn't see a single student in half an hour. I asked a man in Arabic, "Where are all the children?" He replied that there is no school today because of the school calendar. [I'm not sure why, because Fridays and Saturdays are normally their weekend.]

So I took an early morning stroll around the hilltop neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, above the ancient Jewish cemetery, overlooking downtown Hebron. Here are some pictures of what I found:

One of the two mosques I passed

Palestinian homes

A front yard flock on a back street

I ended my walk when a couple of men indicated that I should not go any further, suspecting that I was Jewish. Many of the men on the street had exchanged friendly greetings with me, however.

Separation wall en route to Jerusalem

Ending my International Solidarity Movement assignment, I had an hour and a half wait until enough passengers appeared for the collective taxi to Jerusalem, where this odyssey began on October 23. The Israeli checkpoint was a breeze. I just showed my passport, didn't have to open it. I was surprised that the taxi dropped off its passengers right in front of my hostel, not a few blocks away as I had expected. On the way, I was reminded of the apartheid policy here as we passed under a huge overhanging security barrier.

Ramparts of the old city

In Jerusalem I decided to do something different to relax. For a small fee, I hiked the ramparts halfway around the old city from the Jaffa Gate to the Lion's Gate, the only part that was open.

This is what the straight sections of the path look like. There were also many stone stairways, with sturdy iron railings. At times it was a game to find where the path continued. The grandchildren would love it.



The trail is so high that it gives a look at life inside the old city--kids playing soccer, people drying clothes, soldiers on guard. It also gives a great view of all that is outside the wall, as in the photo below that shows the famous Dome of the Rock as well as the Mount of Olives. (I took dozens of pictures.)

Mount of Olives (left), Dome of the Rock (right)

Turnstile to exit ramparts walk

After the beautiful scenery I was jolted back to reality by the old turnstile I had to use to exit the path. It reminded me of the turnstiles that many Palestinians still must endure every day when they are herded through the Israeli checkpoints, although I was pleased to see that some of them are no longer used on a regular basis, such as the big one near Nablus we had to walk through in 2008.













This morning on the street in Tel Rumeida I saw this beautiful snail, which reminded me that I must develop the virtue of patience. God's timetable may be slower than mine for ending Israel's violation of Palestinians' human rights.

This is my final blog of the current series. Thanks for following it.  I'll be home Sunday evening, God willing.

A closer look at Hebron

Clock tower in Bab As-Zawiya, near entrance to the souk (market)

I'm back in Hebron, which I described in my blog of Wednesday, October 31. This morning I monitored Gilberto Checkpoint (just a telephone-booth size cubicle with one soldier who had no interaction with the passersby). I was pleasantly surprised to see 260 Palestinian children walk down the hill to go to school, not harassed at all by the Jewish settler children.  Some of the Jewish children had a school bus. I didn't see any violence on the kids' return from school, either.

Palestinian children unmolested on the way to school

Israeli children board their school bus

Checkpoint 56

At the bottom of the hill stood this larger checkpoint through which the Palestinian students had to walk. On the other side (the H-2 area under Israeli military control) there were half a dozen soldiers and a couple of observers from the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), which despite its name has been in place for over 15 years.

Shuttered stores on Shuhada Street

As a foreigner, I was able to stroll down Shuhada Street, past the museum where we were briefed by the spokesman for the Jewish community on October 31. Israel closed all the stores after the first Intifada for security reasons, and prohibits Palestinians from the street, even those whose houses used to have doors on it. It was eerily quiet, with no people except for a few soldiers. A sign posted to justify the closures said "Large, thriving commercial and shopping centers, off-limits to Jews, are open in the Arab part of the city."

Closed door with concertina wire on Shuhada  Street

Jewish mural on Shahada Street

The Jewish community placed four large murals along Shuhada Street to remember periods of their history in Hebron. The one on the left refers to a period when, according to the Jewish narrative, the community was characterized by "Torah, charity, and kindness." Too bad that does not carry over to the 21st century, when they dump garbage on the Palestinians below to make their life miserable.

I visited an organization that is working to make their life better: the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC), funded by the Palestinian Authority and European governments and NGOs. It seeks to preserve the city's cultural heritage, to encircle Jewish settlements to stop their expansion, to revive the old city by rehabilitating the infrastructure, and  to help residents with health, education, entertainment, and social and financial aid. The Committee says that Israel's army prevented reconstruction in certain areas of the old city and buildings near settlements. Palestinian families who sought to live in those houses were arrested.

Building being rehabilitated as a community center 

Nevertheless, the HRC has been able to restore more than 900 buildings in the old city, according to spokesman Anas Maraqa. He is proud of the year-round program of classes in the academy funded  by Spain. They offer training in home improvement, carpentry, masonry, computers, and other subjects. He says the HRC also has a legal program that encompasses disputes between Palestinians and Israelis.  "Our dream is to reopen Shuhada Street," says Anas, but he doesn't seem to expect that to happen any time soon.

Here are two photos that illustrate the contrasts I found in Hebron: a horse-drawn fruit cart not far from an upscale five-story atrium mall with escalators and glass elevators that would put many U,S, malls to shame.

Saying "no" to Israeli soldiers

Khalid''s 650-year-old house

Frankly, I was scared this morning when I had my first confrontation with Israeli soldiers. My Italian colleague Giovanni and I were completing a 48-hour assignment providing a protective presence against settler violence at a 14th century stone structure in Khan Al-Luban, south of Nablus. A police station during the Ottoman Empire. it is owned by Khalid Daraghmah.

At 9:30 this morning, three armed soldiers approached the house. As Khalid had told us, we bolted the massive bronzed doors that had been donated by a European Union agency and NGO after settlers had battered down the old ones.

I resisted the temptation to photograph the soldiers through the 10 x 10 inch peephole with a grille, and didn't ask them if they had a search warrant, because in the unlikely event that they did, it would have  been in Hebrew, which I can't read.  I just said, "hello." A soldier asked "who are you?" Then the dialogue went like this:
"An American."
"Show me your passport."
"No. We are only required to show it to police." [That's what ISM taught us.]
"We are police."
"No you're not. You have green army uniforms."
"Open the door. We want to look around."
"No. The owner told us not to let anybody in."
"Call the owner. Tell him to come right away."
[I did. He said he was in Ramallah, 40 minutes away, and to keep the doors locked. Giovanni alerted ISM to the soldiers' presence.]
"Let us in."
"No."
"If the owner does not come in one minute, we will bomb the door open!"
[I called Khalid back, told him of the threat, and put the phone by the peephole so he could talk to the soldier directly. The soldier said he could not speak Arabic, so they communicated with difficulty.]
"If you don't open this door in one minute and come out, we will blow it up."

Bedroom where I sought refuge

I could not be sure that was an idle threat, so I took it seriously. I took refuge in the inner room, used as a dorm for volunteers, waiting for a possible blast, wondering if they would use tear gas as well. Giovanni,  braver than I, remained by the peephole and told me the soldiers were talking by phone to their superior. I breathed a sigh of relief when he said they had left. The confrontation had lasted only 15 minutes, but it was so tense it seemed much longer. A few minutes later our replacement volunteers arrived, and I returned to Nablus. Giovanni decided to stay for a few more hours.

One of the five vehicles that brought soldiers to the property Monday

We suspected that the unwelcome attempted military intrusion was a followup of a visit by 15 soldiers who had come on Monday to hold a 25-minute briefing on the roof of the building, which is accessible from the road. They did not approach the door or ask our permission to come on the property. We remained locked inside.

Khalid shows us destruction of the water system

Two other soldiers had come to the property on Sunday to meet with Khalid after he reported that seven settlers had destroyed the connection for his water line at the spring at a nearby structure. I asked the soldiers if they spoke English, but they said "no," probably not wanting to talk to me even if they did. I would have liked to ask them why they don't protect Khalid.

We did not see the vandals. In fact, we didn't see any Israeli settlers while we were there, except for those tooling up the road in cars or buses to the Ma'ale Levona settlement on top of the mountain. But we learned that they have attacked his house three times since August, stealing or breaking everything in sight, and severely beating one of his sons. Another son spent time in jail for swinging a hoe at a settler who was attacking Khalid's wife. Khalid had to cap off the two adjacent wells  because settlers were swimming naked in them. The settlers would apparently like to drive him off the property, because it is right on the paved road to the settlement and has a spring.

Aside from the incidents, we had a quiet and peaceful stay, with lots of time to chat, read, meditate, and wonder what fascinating stories the 650-year-old walls could tell. There was electricity (two lights), but no running water, and a Turkish toilet (which fortunately I did not have to use). Khalid hopes to finish the place to house two of his sons when they marry. We were in a sense camping out, just eating vegetables, fruit, bread, hummus, and cheese that we brought from Nablus.

Khalid removing teakettle from his smoky stove

Sunday afternoon Khalid invited us to a 10 x 10 foot outbuilding for cantaloupe,  walnuts, and tea with a lemon we saw him pick from a nearby tree. The experience reminded us of the tear gas of last Friday, because we were nearly overcome by smoke from the poorly vented fire in an oil drum. Fortunately an electric fan cleared the air fairly well in a few minutes. With my limited Arabic and his limited English it was a challenge to converse, but it was perfectly clear that he feels strongly that settlers should not steal his property and that he has no love lost for Bush, Obama, and U.S. support for Israel. Khalid gave us a thermos of tea for the evening.

We were able to reciprocate his hospitality Monday evening when he came by with his wife. We  served them tea that we had just made in a small can stove.  He then  built a fire in a larger can just outside the door, which threatened to overcome us with smoke again. He moved it further away, and when it stopped smoking he brought the bed of embers inside the house to leave us with a warm space for dinner.

What an unforgettable two days in Khan Al-Luban! This afternoon I traveled by collective taxi to the ISM dorm in Al-Khalil (Hebron in Hebrew and English), where I will spend the next two days.

Relaxing in Nablus

My friend Afaf in her home

I am having a relaxing day in Nablus. Since it rained, we were not needed to help pick olives. Some of my ISM colleagues went this afternoon to help protect a farmer from settler harassment, but they had enough without me.  I took a cab to visit Afaf, a local Christian whom Jean and I met here in 2008, and who stayed at hour home for a week the next year. She came with the Nablus group to Trinity Presbyterian Church and gave the church one of her needlepoints. (She also gave one to us.)

Afaf told me that the Israeli Defense Forces continue to enter Nablus, and she heard shooting only this week. The ISM coordinator told me they regularly enter the nearby Balata Refugee Camp.

I strolled this afternoon through the labyrinth of little stalls in the covered market in the old city of Nablus, which seemed even larger than the one in Jerusalem. There appeared to be thousands  of shops, selling everything you think of--clothing, toys, appliances, hardware, and food. There was even two mosques. [I was going to add pictures from the market but the next image didn't finish loading in an hour so I decided not to bother.]

Tear gassed in Bil'in

Bil'in mosque

Today I had first-hand experience with the way  Israel reacts to protest demonstrations. The Palestinian village of Bil'in in the West Bank, a half-hour drive from Ramallah, has been protesting for eight years against the separation wall, which took about half the town's land. First the demonstrations were daily, then weekly.

The demonstrations, plus litigation, convinced Israel to move the wall, but it still takes 250 acres of the town's land.

The picture below shows where the wall used to be, and now is nowhere in sight.

Site of removed wall

As we gathered for the demonstration, we saw a poster of two local martyrs, a man killed by a high velocity tear gas canister fired at his chest at close range while he had his hands in the air, and his sister who died from inhalation of a heavy barrage of tear gas.


By my estimate, today's demonstration was led by about 30 local residents, accompanied by a similar number of internationals, primarily from Europe, and Israelis.

Peaceful march along the wall

For the first 10 minutes, the demonstrators proceeded without incident, waving Palestinian flags and chanting phrases like "occupation no more," "Israel, Fascist state," and "free, free Palestine."

Sound bomb from previous demonstration along the route

Israeli soldiers atop wall

A few yards in front of the wall was concertina wire and a trilingual warning of  mortal danger. I heeded it (so did the other internationals), but the youth of Bil'in did not, and they started to throw stones at the wall. 

Stone throwing youth; note soldiers behind shields

The soldiers retaliated  by intermittently firing tear gas and sound bombs .

Tear gassing the demonstrators

Some of the demonstrators picked up the canisters and threw them back over the wall. And they continued to throw stones.

Young Israeli settlers watched the confrontation from the other side of the wall.

At one point the demonstrators retreated, to regroup and run back shouting.

The soldiers were ready for them.

The tear gas and sound bombs continued. Although I was 50 yards away, I really felt the gas. (The only time I had experienced tear gas before was more than half a century ago in army training, and then I had a gas mask that I only had to remove for a few seconds.) Today I felt blinded, disoriented, and suffocated for a few minutes, and I still feel angry at this repression of a peaceful demonstration. In my view, chanting and stone throwing do not justify tear gas and sound bombs. [I later learned that in a demonstration in another village today the troops used rubber bullets and live ammunition as well.] 

One of my three colleagues from the International Solidarity Movement who were with me at Bil'in received a scratch on his leg from a tear gas canister. Another canister struck my shoe, but did no damage to my foot, just left a mark on the shoe.

 

Basel Mansour

After the one-hour demonstration, we relaxed in the Bil'in Community Center.  One of the leaders, Basel Mansour, told me their goal is to end the occupation, and the wall is just one problem. He said soldiers have been acquitted of killing residents. I asked him where the young men get their courage to defy the soldiers at the wall. He said, "It's their land, their trees, their homes That's why they're brave." I like to believe that international solidarity strengthens their resolve. 

Ready for anything

Israeli tear gas canisters,  rubber bullets, and  sound bomb

I truly feel ready for anything after completing my International Solidarity Movement training today. We handled (with tissues, so as not to pick up any powder residue) the various weapons that Israeli Defense Forces use to quell non-violent protests: tear gas canisters, rubber bullets, and sound bombs. We also learned about pepper spray and skunk water. For all the weapons, we were taught how to cope with them and minimize their effects. One trainer told us he was hit in the stomach by a rubber bullet fired from 40 yards and only received a bruise. Another reported he was dizzy after a barrage of 30 or 40 sound bombs.

We then had hands-on training in resisting arrest or rescuing someone who was being arrested. We took turns being soldiers or police and international demonstrators, really getting into the acting, and learned the best protective holds and  body language.

The training was completed with instructions for preparing articles and reports for the ISM website http://www.palsolidarity.org/ and tips for watching out for each other and avoiding PTSD.

ISM martyr Rachel Corrie

I will spend the night at the ISM's Ramallah dorm with some other volunteers before heading to a demonstration tomorrow.  Among the posters on the wall was a picture of Rachel Corrie, the ISM volunteer who was killed by a bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. Her parents, Cindy and Craig, were with me on the recent IFPB Olive Harvest Delegation. They lost their lawsuit to make Israel accept responsibility for their daughter's death.





Her are some of the house rules for this drop-in dorm:

Al-Amari Refugee Camp

This afternoon I took a walk in Ramallah and peeked in the Al-Amari refugee camp, which I understand  houses some 6,000 Palestinian refugees. This reminded me of the plight of the internally displaced persons, who are deprived of their internationally mandated right of return.

Poster of Arafat at refugee camp

International Solidarity Movement training

I joined two other Americans, one Canadian, and one Italian for the first day of training with the International Solidarity Movement in Ramallah. The movement is Palestinian-led, non-violent, and decides on action by consensus. The five of us, who will serve for varying time periods, are charged with  being good ambassadors, to tell the truth about what we witness. There is no guarantee that we won't  be hurt, but I took some comfort from the trainer's assurance that "the soldiers will think a million times before shooting you." If internationals are detained by authorities, they must not be detained for more than 24 hours (36 hours on a weekend), and the worst that is likely to happen is a judge's order not to come back to the town for two weeks.  By contrast, Palestinians can be held for eight days before  they see a judge, and can be sentenced to years in prison.(One of our trainers was incarcerated for six years!)

Less sobering elements of today's training were the exercises on making decisions by consensus and the cultural orientation. I already knew not to shake hands with Muslim women unless they initiate it, but today I learned why: they would then have to purify themselves before prayers.  I  learned never to cross my legs showing the soles of my feet, because that is a sign of disrespect. In addition, I learned the useful phrase "Ana nabati," "I am a vegetarian."

We were briefed on the ISM's current activities and options for service throughout the West Bank.

For security reasons, I'm not including any pictures of the training.

Al-Haq: Human rights monitor and advocate

Today Giovanni, an Italian who has also come to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, joined me on a hike to the Ramallah headquarters of Al-Haq ("the right" in Arabic), which prides itself in being the oldest human rights group in the region. It has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Al-Haq carefully documents human rights violations by both sides, does legal research, offers training through its Center for International Law, and engages in advocacy at the national, international, and UN levels.

Majed Abbadi

Al-Haq program officer Majed Abbadi told us the most flagrant human rights violations the group has encountered are Israel's attempt to annex new land to Jerusalem, continuing home demolitions in Area C (the Israeli-controlled area of the West Bank), and attacks on Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers while the Israeli Defense Forces stand idly by. You can see some of the problems with your own eyes on Al-Haq's virtual field visits at http://alhaq.mits.ps/index.php/virtual-field-visits (My Internet was too slow to see them smoothly, but they might work on your computer.) Majed personally lost some property when Israel built the wall.

Understandably, Al-Haq is not too popular with the Government of Israel. In 2002, during the second Intifada, Israeli Defense Forces attacked the NGO, took the hard disks from the computers, and destroyed everything. (But Majed says they didn't get any data, which was safely encrypted.) Majed has not  been arrested at Al-Haq, but he was arrested three times as a student activist. He says Israel has been trying unsuccessfully to discourage donors from supporting Al-Haq.

"We can't keep fighting each other forever," says Majed. He's not optimistic about a resolution of the conflict in the next 5 to 7 years, but he is optimistic for the long term. He says that the world's view of Palestine is changing, and it's up to the world "to make Israel honor the conventions it has signed."

Giovanni and I saw the contrast between new Ramallah and old Ramallah today.

Stair we climbed on a shortcut back to our hotel

Downtown Catholic church reminded us Ramallah was settled by Christians

Scene of old Ramallah in the city's mini-museum

Tomorrow we start the International Solidarity Movement non-violence training.If you would like to see what it involves, here is the syllabus:

Hopes and Fears

We will discuss what are our hopes and fears of coming to Palestine are and with working with ISM. Throughout the training we will try to make sure that everyone’s fears are addressed.

Culture

Palestinian culture is very different from western cultures that many of the internationals come from. In this section we will talk about how internationals can respect the culture. We will discuss cultural considerations to keep in mind while living and working in Palestinian villages and cities.

Non-violent Spectrum

We will use a spectrum to talk about what people believe are violent or non-violent actions and if these actions are effective or ineffective in context of the Palestinian resistance. We will discuss what the long-term effects of our actions are on Palestinians living in the regions we work in.

ISM Principles and Structure

We ask everyone who works with ISM to commit to our three principles: Palestinian led, non-violence, and working in groups. We will talk about what these three principles mean and also the structure of ISM in the core group, the ISM regions, the ISM working committees (legal, media, training, financial, problem solving, and campaign coordination), and with international volunteers.

Consensus Decision Making

ISM is committed to working with the consensus decision-making process. We will explain what consensus is and how to use it effectively, provide some facilitation techniques, talk about how people can self-facilitate in meetings, and we will role-play quick decision making at demonstrations.

Sexual Harassment and Assault

Sexual harassment and assault happens all over the world and can happen to anyone. Unfortunately we have heard about a lot of sexual harassment and assault specifically towards women in the West Bank recently. We have included this section to address how women can hopefully avoid sexual assault and harassment, what to do in case it happens, and how we can all help to stop this and support people that it has happened to.

Regional Updates

We will provide updates on all the regions that ISM works in, so people can decide which region they would like to stay in while they work with ISM.

Responding to Violence

If you go to demonstrations you will most likely encounter weapons from the Israeli military such as tear gas, sound grenades, rubber bullets and much less frequently live ammunition. We will discuss how we can non-violently protect ourselves from these weapons, and also from violence we may encounter from settlers.

Media

This section contains two parts. The first part will discuss writing press releases, eyewitness reports, journals, and letters-to-the-editors and how to use our language and words effectively. In the second part we will speak about giving interviews with friendly and unfriendly media, talking with sound bites, and we will role-play being interviewed by the media.

Legal

This section will cover the different types of Israeli law enforcing officials (military, police, border police, secret service) you may encounter and their authority, what you should do if you are arrested or detained, what legal options you have if you arrested, and about returning to Palestine in the future. There will be a role-play to learn what our rights are and how to use them effectively.

Looking after ourselves and each other

Coming to Palestine can be a traumatic experience for many people and can be very emotional for most. However, with the right kind of care for ourselves, we can aim to come out of this experience without trauma and with new inspiration. This section will include ways we can emotionally prepare ourselves before we come to Palestine, what we can do while we are here and when we go back home to take care of ourselves and others working in ISM. Self-care is an area many people in the activist community all over the world have begun to explore more in depth, aiming for many joyful and effective years ahead of us.