As we trudge through the terraced land, ducking under branches of olive trees and trying to avoid prickly bushes, I think about landscape, consciousness, and memory. We are walking through the land because Israeli soldiers are blocking the road ahead. They are blocking the road ahead so as not to allow people to arrive in the Palestinian village of Bil’in. We are going to Bil’in in order to protest the confiscation of the village’s land for settlement and wall construction. At Bil’in’s demonstration a week earlier, 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rahme inhaled a lethal dose of tear gas. Her brother Bassem was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier at a protest in the village just under two years ago.
So we traipse through the olive groves, only slightly out of view of the soldiers on the road, and a line by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish comes to mind: “If the olive trees knew the hands that planted them, their oil would become tears.” Bil’in has become a battleground, the surrounding landscape a stage for a risky game of cat and mouse. What kind of consciousness does the land have? What would it say if it could? The wall is often described as a scar through Palestine, but right now it is more of a fresh wound. When the wall falls, will the scar left be permanent?
Two days before this protest, our group wakes up at the Yafa Cultural Center in Balata refugee camp, Nablus. We eat breakfast, thank our hosts, and get in a bus with the right color license plate, driven by a driver with the right color ID card, and head towards the city of Yafa. The Yafa Cultural Center is thus named because the vast majority of people living in Balata refugee camp come originally from Yafa and the surrounding area. Most of these people have never seen their original villages, or have not been back since their displacement in 1948. I am hesitant to tell our hosts where we are going, knowing that my visit to Yafa – and their inability to join us – is emblematic of the injustice I try so hard to fight.
On the way, we encounter another fresh wound / scar-to-be. We have split into two vehicles, and I am driving a small rental car with two Palestinian women from the West Bank, and two of our whiter and blonder American group members. When we see the checkpoint ahead, we take a deep breath, but we have no reason to believe this will be any different than the many other times I have used my undeserved privilege to “smuggle” Palestinians into parts of their own country that they are not allowed to visit. But this time is different. A soldier or security guard (it’s hard to tell the difference these days) signals for us to stop, and my trick of waving and continuing to drive is thwarted by a new metal bar that the soldiers operate. It looks like a toll booth, only the highway employees are armed and the context much more insidious. When she asks for our passports, we stumble a bit before saying we left them in a hotel in Tel Aviv. We say we are five American tourists. She is skeptical.
We are ordered to pull over and get out of the car. It continues from there: questioning, searching, rapid fire questions to the two Palestinian women about their names, their parents’ names, where they are from, whether they speak any languages other than English. It is maddening and terrifying, and I am standing there wishing we had prepared better, wishing my privilege-driven arrogance – which is often what helps me get through checkpoints – had been mitigated at least enough for us to have had a plan, a story, a mindset that might help us get through this. We tell the guard we had been in the Israeli settlement of Ariel, visiting a friend. I am making it up as I go along. She wants my friend’s name and phone number. I quickly call an old Israeli friend who doesn’t even know I’m in the country. He is surprised and happy to hear from me and asks, “When did you get here?” “There’s a security guard here who wants to talk to you about our visit to your house in Ariel,” I say. “I don’t live in Ariel,” he says, confused. “We’re at the checkpoint on our way from your place to Tel Aviv,” I respond. He catches on.
At this point I’m only trying to get us out of here, not even to get through, but with every question from the guards/soldiers, our story has more and more holes. Finally we talk our way out of the situation and are allowed to “return” to Ariel (where we have not been). Hearts are pounding. I am feeling guilty for my arrogance, and my Palestinian friends are feeling humiliated. They are not entirely surprised by the way they have been treated, but are deeply upset at the degree to which it has affected them.
We drive south, towards another checkpoint that is easier to get through, and I think about how much pain and injustice a people and a place can hold. None of us share exactly what we are feeling – probably none of us are able – but we make a tentative plan for the next checkpoint. We drive through without stopping, and have a small celebration in the car. But we feel uneasy. We are still nervous about being caught. My friend who would at this point usually take off her hat and put back on her head scarf does not do so quite yet. We feel the occupation in our bodies, in our minds. I am not experiencing anything close to what my Palestinian friends are, yet my visceral reaction offers a fragment of understanding of how this system is able to function.
We arrive in Yafa and go first to the sea. One friend has not seen it since she was a child – except as a reminder from the hills of Nablus on a clear day – and her eyes immediately fill with tears. She thanks me. I am speechless. The last thing I want at that moment is to be thanked for bringing a friend to her own land.
As we walk around Yafa and Tel Aviv, I am struck by a sense of permanence. Although I know that the Jewish presence in this city is only a hundred years in the making, while the Palestinian presence is thousands of years deep, it is hard now to imagine the undoing or even the transformation of this place. There are other parts of the country in which it is hard to imagine the continuation of an exclusively Jewish state, but in Tel Aviv, I often feel an overwhelming sense of the opposite.
A couple days ago I was talking with an Israeli friend who works with Zochrot. The organization raises awareness about the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) of 1948. They visit destroyed villages and place signs there with the villages’ original names; organize art exhibits and lectures; facilitate workshops for school children; and engage in other activities to affect the Israeli collective memory. My friend was telling me that he will soon start to focus even more on outreach to the Israeli public. A few minutes later the topic turned to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He excitedly told me that he has hope in this movement, that it’s clear from his perspective that the international movement is growing, and that only pressure from the outside can change the reality on the ground. “Then why do you want to focus more on the Israeli public?” I ask. He thought for a minute, and then responded: “My work is not going to have an immediate effect on the political situation here. What I’m doing is preparing for the day after Zionism.”
May we all be strong enough and imaginative enough to envision justice: to see roads without checkpoints, to remember when Bil’in was a village and not a battleground, and indeed, to work together to bring about the day after Zionism.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, July 01, 2010
BDS, books, videos, etc.
Dear friends,
This is a hodgepodge of an e-mail with a few links of projects/events I'm personally connected to in some way (plus a couple other things...):
1) On June 15 I took part in an event called "Jewish Perspectives on the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) Campaign." Yonatan Shapira and I spoke in favor of BDS, and Kathleen Peratis and JJ Goldberg spoke against. Moderated by Esther Kaplan. You can hear more about each of us in the intros in the video. There were 200+ people there, spilling out into the hallways of a church basement (after every Jewish space the organizers could think of had turned them down). It was a really interesting discussion to have within a room of mostly (but not entirely) Jewish people, and teased out some of the issues of BDS as well as some of the underlying issues behind the BDS movement and behind Jewish participation or reluctance in supporting the movement. There's a lot of discussion about the character of Israel as a Jewish state, for example. I'll say no more, but if you have 2 hours, give it a look (or if you want to see all the speakers' opening statements, they're each about 10 minutes long near the beginning. I'm the first one, and start at around 8 minutes (after the intros): The link: http://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/jewish-perspectives-boycott-divestment-sanctions-bds-campaign
2. I have a chapter in a recently published book called "Shifting Sands: Jewish Women Confront the Israeli Occupation." I'm happy to report that most if not all of the women in the book are not only confronting "the occupation" (of '67, as is usually implied), but going deeper into the core issues of Zionism, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and more. My chapter is about the search for my friend's home in Jerusalem; his family had been kicked out in 1948 and had not been back since. Check it out: http://www.shiftingsands-book.com/
3. Another book recommendation: "Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out about Their Lives, Their Country, and the Power of Nonviolence," edited by Kenneth Ring and Ghassan Abdullah. I am impressed by the variety of people and the fact that the book is in the words of the people it is about. I also know many of the people featured in the book, and several of them are people I put the editors in touch with. Sorry all I have is an Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Palestine-Palestinians-Country-Nonviolence/dp/1604944161/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277998162&sr=8-2
4. Just a little FYI and testament to the growing popularity, success, and visibility of the cultural boycott movement, CNN did a 3 minute piece a few days ago: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/06/28/hancocks.cultural.boycott.cnn?iref=allsearch
5. Another powerful 3 minute video - this Jewish (and now Israeli) man is originally from Hebron (before Israel was a state), and recently met with the Palestinian mayor of Hebron to ask permission to be buried in a Muslim cemetary there and to state that he will reclaim his property in Hebron the day that Palestinians are able to reclaim the properties taken from them in 1948: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=294067 (scroll down for the video).
I'm sure I missed a million other powerful and interesting videos and books, but I just wanted to share a few here. I'm leaving for Palestine soon to work with the Students Boycott Apartheid delegation (students working on inspiring BDS campaigns around the country) and to participate in the Right to Education international student conference. I hope to write to you all from Palestine.
Til then,
Hannah
This is a hodgepodge of an e-mail with a few links of projects/events I'm personally connected to in some way (plus a couple other things...):
1) On June 15 I took part in an event called "Jewish Perspectives on the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) Campaign." Yonatan Shapira and I spoke in favor of BDS, and Kathleen Peratis and JJ Goldberg spoke against. Moderated by Esther Kaplan. You can hear more about each of us in the intros in the video. There were 200+ people there, spilling out into the hallways of a church basement (after every Jewish space the organizers could think of had turned them down). It was a really interesting discussion to have within a room of mostly (but not entirely) Jewish people, and teased out some of the issues of BDS as well as some of the underlying issues behind the BDS movement and behind Jewish participation or reluctance in supporting the movement. There's a lot of discussion about the character of Israel as a Jewish state, for example. I'll say no more, but if you have 2 hours, give it a look (or if you want to see all the speakers' opening statements, they're each about 10 minutes long near the beginning. I'm the first one, and start at around 8 minutes (after the intros): The link: http://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/jewish-perspectives-boycott-divestment-sanctions-bds-campaign
2. I have a chapter in a recently published book called "Shifting Sands: Jewish Women Confront the Israeli Occupation." I'm happy to report that most if not all of the women in the book are not only confronting "the occupation" (of '67, as is usually implied), but going deeper into the core issues of Zionism, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and more. My chapter is about the search for my friend's home in Jerusalem; his family had been kicked out in 1948 and had not been back since. Check it out: http://www.shiftingsands-book.com/
3. Another book recommendation: "Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out about Their Lives, Their Country, and the Power of Nonviolence," edited by Kenneth Ring and Ghassan Abdullah. I am impressed by the variety of people and the fact that the book is in the words of the people it is about. I also know many of the people featured in the book, and several of them are people I put the editors in touch with. Sorry all I have is an Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Palestine-Palestinians-Country-Nonviolence/dp/1604944161/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277998162&sr=8-2
4. Just a little FYI and testament to the growing popularity, success, and visibility of the cultural boycott movement, CNN did a 3 minute piece a few days ago: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/06/28/hancocks.cultural.boycott.cnn?iref=allsearch
5. Another powerful 3 minute video - this Jewish (and now Israeli) man is originally from Hebron (before Israel was a state), and recently met with the Palestinian mayor of Hebron to ask permission to be buried in a Muslim cemetary there and to state that he will reclaim his property in Hebron the day that Palestinians are able to reclaim the properties taken from them in 1948: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=294067 (scroll down for the video).
I'm sure I missed a million other powerful and interesting videos and books, but I just wanted to share a few here. I'm leaving for Palestine soon to work with the Students Boycott Apartheid delegation (students working on inspiring BDS campaigns around the country) and to participate in the Right to Education international student conference. I hope to write to you all from Palestine.
Til then,
Hannah
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Breaking the Law of Return
February 2010
I am excited to share with you a statement that I have worked on with Anna Baltzer, Nava Etshalom, and Amy Kaplan, and to invite you to sign and/or support it. Throughout the years, many people have drawn attention to the injustice of Israel’s denial of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and land, and Israel’s simultaneous implementation of a “law of return” that affords Jews from anywhere automatic Israeli citizenship rights and privileges. In “Breaking the Law of Return,” we are pledging not to take advantage of this law of return (promising that we will not take Israeli citizenship), and we are doing so in the context of the Palestinian-led Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) movement. We are, essentially, boycotting the law of return. The full statement is below.
What you can do:
1. If you are a U.S. Jew who supports this statement, sign on by e-mailing breakingthelawofreturn@gmail.com with your name, city, and institutional/organizational affiliations, if any. (We won't publicize institutional affiliations.) Do it now - it only takes a minute!
2. If you are anybody anywhere in the world who supports this statement, Jewish or not, join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=296967332350 and invite all your friends to join! Do it now - it only takes a minute!
3. Stay tuned for further announcements as we gather more signatures on the statement. It is not simply a statement; we will use it in BDS-related actions in the coming months, and will keep you posted about this.
Looking forward to seeing many of your beautiful faces on our Facebook page, and your names on the statement.
-Hannah
Breaking the Law of Return:
We are Jews from the United States, who, like Jewish people throughout the world, have an automatic right to Israeli citizenship under Israel's "law of return."
Today there are more than seven million Palestinian refugees around the world. Israel denies their right to return to their homes and land—a right recognized and undisputed by UN Resolution 194, the Geneva Convention, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Meanwhile, we are invited to live on that same land simply because we are Jewish.
We renounce this "right" to "return" offered to us by Israeli law. It is not right that we may "return" to a state that is not ours while Palestinians are excluded and continuously dispossessed.
In 1947-49, Zionist militias destroyed more than 500 Palestinian villages and made more than 800,000 Palestinian people refugees in order to create a Jewish state on land where the majority was not Jewish. It is Palestinians who have the right to return to their own land.
Now in Gaza, where more than three quarters of the people are refugees, the State of Israel not only denies the population its right of return, but also incarcerates the entire Gaza Strip under illegal and inhumane siege conditions.
We reject the notion that Israel is a "safe haven" from anti-Semitism for Jews. No one is truly safe when the price of that "security" is oppression, inequality, and occupation of another people.
Today there is a growing transnational movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, called for by Palestinian civil society and supported by activists, artists, and academics around the world, including an increasing number of conscientious Israelis. As part of this campaign, we pledge to boycott the "law of return." As an act of political and ideological divestment, we repudiate the claims the State of Israel makes on us as potential citizens.
We protest Israel’s colonial policies and discriminatory laws toward the Palestinian people, as well as the U.S. government's political and financial support of these policies.
We hereby renounce Israel's "law of return" and refuse to lend the state our support, resources, or passports.
------
TO SIGN THE "BREAKING THE LAW OF RETURN" STATEMENT: email breakingthelawofreturn@gmail.com. Please include your name, city, and institutional/organizational affiliations, if any. (We won't publicize institutional affiliations.)
Note: This statement specifies the United States because of the enormous funding, political support, and international legitimization the U.S. supplies to Israel. Israel's "law of return," however, applies to Jews throughout the world, and we hope organizers in other countries will make use of the statement and adapt it for your own use.
We are inspired by the letter by UK Jews, "We Renounce Israel Rights," published in the Guardian: http://bit.ly/aidlq2
I am excited to share with you a statement that I have worked on with Anna Baltzer, Nava Etshalom, and Amy Kaplan, and to invite you to sign and/or support it. Throughout the years, many people have drawn attention to the injustice of Israel’s denial of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and land, and Israel’s simultaneous implementation of a “law of return” that affords Jews from anywhere automatic Israeli citizenship rights and privileges. In “Breaking the Law of Return,” we are pledging not to take advantage of this law of return (promising that we will not take Israeli citizenship), and we are doing so in the context of the Palestinian-led Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) movement. We are, essentially, boycotting the law of return. The full statement is below.
What you can do:
1. If you are a U.S. Jew who supports this statement, sign on by e-mailing breakingthelawofreturn@gmail.com with your name, city, and institutional/organizational affiliations, if any. (We won't publicize institutional affiliations.) Do it now - it only takes a minute!
2. If you are anybody anywhere in the world who supports this statement, Jewish or not, join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=296967332350 and invite all your friends to join! Do it now - it only takes a minute!
3. Stay tuned for further announcements as we gather more signatures on the statement. It is not simply a statement; we will use it in BDS-related actions in the coming months, and will keep you posted about this.
Looking forward to seeing many of your beautiful faces on our Facebook page, and your names on the statement.
-Hannah
Breaking the Law of Return:
We are Jews from the United States, who, like Jewish people throughout the world, have an automatic right to Israeli citizenship under Israel's "law of return."
Today there are more than seven million Palestinian refugees around the world. Israel denies their right to return to their homes and land—a right recognized and undisputed by UN Resolution 194, the Geneva Convention, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Meanwhile, we are invited to live on that same land simply because we are Jewish.
We renounce this "right" to "return" offered to us by Israeli law. It is not right that we may "return" to a state that is not ours while Palestinians are excluded and continuously dispossessed.
In 1947-49, Zionist militias destroyed more than 500 Palestinian villages and made more than 800,000 Palestinian people refugees in order to create a Jewish state on land where the majority was not Jewish. It is Palestinians who have the right to return to their own land.
Now in Gaza, where more than three quarters of the people are refugees, the State of Israel not only denies the population its right of return, but also incarcerates the entire Gaza Strip under illegal and inhumane siege conditions.
We reject the notion that Israel is a "safe haven" from anti-Semitism for Jews. No one is truly safe when the price of that "security" is oppression, inequality, and occupation of another people.
Today there is a growing transnational movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, called for by Palestinian civil society and supported by activists, artists, and academics around the world, including an increasing number of conscientious Israelis. As part of this campaign, we pledge to boycott the "law of return." As an act of political and ideological divestment, we repudiate the claims the State of Israel makes on us as potential citizens.
We protest Israel’s colonial policies and discriminatory laws toward the Palestinian people, as well as the U.S. government's political and financial support of these policies.
We hereby renounce Israel's "law of return" and refuse to lend the state our support, resources, or passports.
------
TO SIGN THE "BREAKING THE LAW OF RETURN" STATEMENT: email breakingthelawofreturn@gmail.com. Please include your name, city, and institutional/organizational affiliations, if any. (We won't publicize institutional affiliations.)
Note: This statement specifies the United States because of the enormous funding, political support, and international legitimization the U.S. supplies to Israel. Israel's "law of return," however, applies to Jews throughout the world, and we hope organizers in other countries will make use of the statement and adapt it for your own use.
We are inspired by the letter by UK Jews, "We Renounce Israel Rights," published in the Guardian: http://bit.ly/aidlq2
Monday, July 20, 2009
Security
“The war is with the Arabs.”
I saw this sign as I was entering Nablus last week, again on my way to Ramallah, and again near Bethlehem. The phrase is printed in Hebrew, presumably by Israeli settlers, on huge signs throughout the West Bank. Israeli racism rarely shocks me anymore, but its blatant display still makes me stop and catch my breath as I translate it into other contexts. Imagine driving through the middle of a predominantly black neighborhood in a US city or town and seeing a humongous sign that says, “The war is with the Blacks.”
I think about security. Israel’s abuse of the word has rendered the concept almost meaningless in the region, but the importance of security on individual and communal levels cannot be underestimated. However, most discussions I see in the media about security ignore the Palestinian people’s right to security. “The war is with the Arabs” is a new sign, as far as I know, but for years in the West Bank I have seen stars of David scrawled on Palestinian shops and homes, and signs like “Death to Arabs” and “Kahane was right” (Kahane was an extremist political leader who promoted ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people; this sign is essentially equivalent to “Hitler was right” in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood).
But signs are not only created; they are also destroyed. Since 1948, Palestinian people inside Israel have experienced erasure and denial of their identities that is perhaps stronger than that of any other group of Palestinian people. I visited a friend in Lyd last week who lives on Giborai Yisrael (“Heroes of Israel”) Street. Driving around the Palestinian neighborhoods in Lyd, we passed roads bearing the names of Herzl, Jabotinsky, and other Zionist leaders. None of the old Arabic street names remain. Even the large cities with considerable Palestinian populations are now seeing the Arabic names officially erased from the signs. In Arabic script, “Yaffa” will become “Yafo,” “Nasra” will become “Natzeret,” and “Al Quds” will become “Yerushalayim.”
Lack of security goes beyond denial of identity and history as visually expressed through signs. A Palestinian friend with Israeli citizenship told me he has heard a rumor that a huge piece of land in Jordan is being cleared and built up for the eventual arrival of the Palestinian population of Israel after they are transferred from their homes. “It may be conspiracy theory,” he said, “but I don’t know.”
“I’d like to think that Israel couldn’t get away with that,” I responded.
“Of course they can,” another friend from Lyd said, “and if the conditions are right, they will.”
Imagine living day to day thinking you might be expelled from your country in the near future. Or in Gaza, wondering if you will be killed tomorrow, or if you will ever be able to come in and out of your country at will. Or in the West Bank, if your son will be arrested, or if you will be able to get through the checkpoint in the morning to get to work. Or in Jerusalem, if your residency will be stripped or your house destroyed.
Imagine little correlation between choice and consequence, an arbitrary relationship between cause and effect. If you are just as likely to get shot and killed sipping tea in your doorway, or sitting in your fourth grade classroom, or participating in a demonstration, or joining the armed resistance, is it any surprise that some choose each?
A friend of mine from the West Bank once told me that she never feels safe, so safety is not a consideration for her in making decisions. As much as I may try, I cannot truly imagine this lack of control.
I met a woman in Jerusalem who was displaced from her home by settlers, physically removed from her house by dozens of Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night. Twice a refugee (1948 and 2008), Um Kamel currently lives in a tent near her house that has been destroyed and re-pitched six times in the past six months. This is perhaps the height of insecurity, and yet Um Kamel stays strong and determined. Many in Palestine would call it sumoud, or steadfastness.
This kind of strength is seen remarkably often in Palestine, and indicates a deeper security that comes in part from faith. Faith in God, sometimes, but also faith in each other, in the justice of one’s cause, in the tide of history that has shown that no single occupation in Palestine lasts forever. This, of course, is also Israel’s deepest fear. That no matter how many walls they build, how many people they imprison, how many homes they destroy, how many signs they erase, and how many people they expel, true security will remain elusive, and eventually, Zionism will fail. As many older Palestinian people have said to me, with security, “We have lived through many occupations. This too shall pass.”
I saw this sign as I was entering Nablus last week, again on my way to Ramallah, and again near Bethlehem. The phrase is printed in Hebrew, presumably by Israeli settlers, on huge signs throughout the West Bank. Israeli racism rarely shocks me anymore, but its blatant display still makes me stop and catch my breath as I translate it into other contexts. Imagine driving through the middle of a predominantly black neighborhood in a US city or town and seeing a humongous sign that says, “The war is with the Blacks.”
I think about security. Israel’s abuse of the word has rendered the concept almost meaningless in the region, but the importance of security on individual and communal levels cannot be underestimated. However, most discussions I see in the media about security ignore the Palestinian people’s right to security. “The war is with the Arabs” is a new sign, as far as I know, but for years in the West Bank I have seen stars of David scrawled on Palestinian shops and homes, and signs like “Death to Arabs” and “Kahane was right” (Kahane was an extremist political leader who promoted ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people; this sign is essentially equivalent to “Hitler was right” in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood).
But signs are not only created; they are also destroyed. Since 1948, Palestinian people inside Israel have experienced erasure and denial of their identities that is perhaps stronger than that of any other group of Palestinian people. I visited a friend in Lyd last week who lives on Giborai Yisrael (“Heroes of Israel”) Street. Driving around the Palestinian neighborhoods in Lyd, we passed roads bearing the names of Herzl, Jabotinsky, and other Zionist leaders. None of the old Arabic street names remain. Even the large cities with considerable Palestinian populations are now seeing the Arabic names officially erased from the signs. In Arabic script, “Yaffa” will become “Yafo,” “Nasra” will become “Natzeret,” and “Al Quds” will become “Yerushalayim.”
Lack of security goes beyond denial of identity and history as visually expressed through signs. A Palestinian friend with Israeli citizenship told me he has heard a rumor that a huge piece of land in Jordan is being cleared and built up for the eventual arrival of the Palestinian population of Israel after they are transferred from their homes. “It may be conspiracy theory,” he said, “but I don’t know.”
“I’d like to think that Israel couldn’t get away with that,” I responded.
“Of course they can,” another friend from Lyd said, “and if the conditions are right, they will.”
Imagine living day to day thinking you might be expelled from your country in the near future. Or in Gaza, wondering if you will be killed tomorrow, or if you will ever be able to come in and out of your country at will. Or in the West Bank, if your son will be arrested, or if you will be able to get through the checkpoint in the morning to get to work. Or in Jerusalem, if your residency will be stripped or your house destroyed.
Imagine little correlation between choice and consequence, an arbitrary relationship between cause and effect. If you are just as likely to get shot and killed sipping tea in your doorway, or sitting in your fourth grade classroom, or participating in a demonstration, or joining the armed resistance, is it any surprise that some choose each?
A friend of mine from the West Bank once told me that she never feels safe, so safety is not a consideration for her in making decisions. As much as I may try, I cannot truly imagine this lack of control.
I met a woman in Jerusalem who was displaced from her home by settlers, physically removed from her house by dozens of Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night. Twice a refugee (1948 and 2008), Um Kamel currently lives in a tent near her house that has been destroyed and re-pitched six times in the past six months. This is perhaps the height of insecurity, and yet Um Kamel stays strong and determined. Many in Palestine would call it sumoud, or steadfastness.
This kind of strength is seen remarkably often in Palestine, and indicates a deeper security that comes in part from faith. Faith in God, sometimes, but also faith in each other, in the justice of one’s cause, in the tide of history that has shown that no single occupation in Palestine lasts forever. This, of course, is also Israel’s deepest fear. That no matter how many walls they build, how many people they imprison, how many homes they destroy, how many signs they erase, and how many people they expel, true security will remain elusive, and eventually, Zionism will fail. As many older Palestinian people have said to me, with security, “We have lived through many occupations. This too shall pass.”
Friday, May 22, 2009
Leonard Cohen to play in Israel... unless we stop him!
Dear friends,
For those of you who haven't been following the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, I have good news: It is growing! And even meeting many successes! Not too many in the US yet, but I do believe we are well on our way. Just as in the movement against apartheid South Africa, which is in many ways a model for this movement against apartheid Israel, cultural boycott plays a key role. Some of you may remember "Ain't Gonna Play Sun City." Well, we are now encouraging artists to say, "Ain't Gonna Play Israel." Many cultural workers (musicians, writers, directors) have canceled recent trips to Israel; some (like Adrienne Rich) have declared support for the BDS movement, and some have simply cited "logistical concerns" but were actually in private conversation with leaders in the movement.
We often try to put pressure on artists who are otherwise progressive, who otherwise believe in peace and justice. We remind them that performing in Israel right now will only serve to whitewash Israel's apartheid policies, and will be used by the Israeli government to legitimize its actions. We say this now to Leonard Cohen. If you haven't already, please write to Cohen's manager Robert Kory - info@rkmgment.com - and encourage him to cancel the show in Israel. It is scheduled to take place on September 24, but tickets have not yet been put on sale. Some fellow activists of mine met with Kory last week in New York, and it seems that we have a fighting chance, if only because they are desperate to avoid protest. We need to tell them that the way to avoid protest is not to perform in Israel! To take a stand against apartheid, instead of for it.
If you need some inspiration, watch this video of our demonstration in New York last week when Cohen performed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjU_zdfX9Eg It's complete with chants and songs that you are welcome to use. And please forward to anyone you know in eastern Canada, Denver, or the various places in Europe that are on Cohen's tour schedule in the coming weeks and months.
And... for the Facebookers out there, join the group "Leonard Cohen, drop Israel from your world tour!" at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=81564072660&ref=ts.
For more on the NY Leonard Cohen demo and to download the flyer: adalahny.org.
For more info on cultural boycott: pacbi.org.
Hope all is well with all of you. My next e-mail may very well be from Palestine.
Best,
Hannah
For those of you who haven't been following the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, I have good news: It is growing! And even meeting many successes! Not too many in the US yet, but I do believe we are well on our way. Just as in the movement against apartheid South Africa, which is in many ways a model for this movement against apartheid Israel, cultural boycott plays a key role. Some of you may remember "Ain't Gonna Play Sun City." Well, we are now encouraging artists to say, "Ain't Gonna Play Israel." Many cultural workers (musicians, writers, directors) have canceled recent trips to Israel; some (like Adrienne Rich) have declared support for the BDS movement, and some have simply cited "logistical concerns" but were actually in private conversation with leaders in the movement.
We often try to put pressure on artists who are otherwise progressive, who otherwise believe in peace and justice. We remind them that performing in Israel right now will only serve to whitewash Israel's apartheid policies, and will be used by the Israeli government to legitimize its actions. We say this now to Leonard Cohen. If you haven't already, please write to Cohen's manager Robert Kory - info@rkmgment.com - and encourage him to cancel the show in Israel. It is scheduled to take place on September 24, but tickets have not yet been put on sale. Some fellow activists of mine met with Kory last week in New York, and it seems that we have a fighting chance, if only because they are desperate to avoid protest. We need to tell them that the way to avoid protest is not to perform in Israel! To take a stand against apartheid, instead of for it.
If you need some inspiration, watch this video of our demonstration in New York last week when Cohen performed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjU_zdfX9Eg It's complete with chants and songs that you are welcome to use. And please forward to anyone you know in eastern Canada, Denver, or the various places in Europe that are on Cohen's tour schedule in the coming weeks and months.
And... for the Facebookers out there, join the group "Leonard Cohen, drop Israel from your world tour!" at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=81564072660&ref=ts.
For more on the NY Leonard Cohen demo and to download the flyer: adalahny.org.
For more info on cultural boycott: pacbi.org.
Hope all is well with all of you. My next e-mail may very well be from Palestine.
Best,
Hannah
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Hampshire College divests... and needs your support!
Dear friends,
I am so excited to report to you that Hampshire College has become the first US college or university to divest from Israeli occupation, just as they were the first to divest from South African apartheid in 1977! You can read all about it to your heart's content at the Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) website: http://www.hsjp.org/
But Hampshire SJP, and the boycott and divestment movement at large, need your help! The Hampshire administration has distanced itself from the decision, claiming that the board's decision to divest was a broader one, not tied to any particular political cause. The Hampshire community knows better. Alan Dershowitz also knows better, and has threatened Hampshire with his own divestment campaign against the college. It seems the administration is trying, as Alan Dershowitz has said, to play to both sides. Let's help them be clear, by writing to them, congratulating them, and encouraging them to be proud of their groundbreaking decision!
Below is a suggested letter that SJP has drafted. You can feel free to use it or write your own to Hampshire President Ralph Hexter: rhexter@hampshire.edu, 413-559-5521.
And do check out the students' website for more, including:
SJP's press release
SJP's response to the administration's clarification
videos of student and community voices in support
Onward!
-Hannah
From Hampshire SJP:
The following is the script to guide you in e-mailing the president's office [Hampshire President Ralph Hexter: rhexter@hampshire.edu, 413-559-5521]:
Hello, my name is _____. I am calling/e-mailing to express my congratulations to Hampshire College for your historic decision to divest from the Israeli Occupation. This move should be an example to all institutions of higher learning across the world.
However, I am disappointed that the administration has been trying to distance itself from the decision and de-politicize the powerful statement that divestment sends. In your response to the Student's public campaign, you have repeatedly insisted that the divestment decision had a "variety of reasons" for going through, and that it had no regional or political significance. However, the length & intensity of the campaign that the Students for Justice in Palestine have run makes it clear that it was their efforts that brought this divestment to the table. I sincerely hope that you will reconsider your position on divestment and express your support for the students' efforts in an official statement soon.
Lastly, your failure to condemn the threats Alan Dershowitz has made towards SJP's spokespeople is deplorable. Dershowitz has called for a boycott on the College and you have still maintained your "neutral" position, hurting the students, the college, and yourself. I urge you to protect your students and their right to speak out on this monumental occasion.
Thank you.
I am so excited to report to you that Hampshire College has become the first US college or university to divest from Israeli occupation, just as they were the first to divest from South African apartheid in 1977! You can read all about it to your heart's content at the Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) website: http://www.hsjp.org/
But Hampshire SJP, and the boycott and divestment movement at large, need your help! The Hampshire administration has distanced itself from the decision, claiming that the board's decision to divest was a broader one, not tied to any particular political cause. The Hampshire community knows better. Alan Dershowitz also knows better, and has threatened Hampshire with his own divestment campaign against the college. It seems the administration is trying, as Alan Dershowitz has said, to play to both sides. Let's help them be clear, by writing to them, congratulating them, and encouraging them to be proud of their groundbreaking decision!
Below is a suggested letter that SJP has drafted. You can feel free to use it or write your own to Hampshire President Ralph Hexter: rhexter@hampshire.edu, 413-559-5521.
And do check out the students' website for more, including:
SJP's press release
SJP's response to the administration's clarification
videos of student and community voices in support
Onward!
-Hannah
From Hampshire SJP:
The following is the script to guide you in e-mailing the president's office [Hampshire President Ralph Hexter: rhexter@hampshire.edu, 413-559-5521]:
Hello, my name is _____. I am calling/e-mailing to express my congratulations to Hampshire College for your historic decision to divest from the Israeli Occupation. This move should be an example to all institutions of higher learning across the world.
However, I am disappointed that the administration has been trying to distance itself from the decision and de-politicize the powerful statement that divestment sends. In your response to the Student's public campaign, you have repeatedly insisted that the divestment decision had a "variety of reasons" for going through, and that it had no regional or political significance. However, the length & intensity of the campaign that the Students for Justice in Palestine have run makes it clear that it was their efforts that brought this divestment to the table. I sincerely hope that you will reconsider your position on divestment and express your support for the students' efforts in an official statement soon.
Lastly, your failure to condemn the threats Alan Dershowitz has made towards SJP's spokespeople is deplorable. Dershowitz has called for a boycott on the College and you have still maintained your "neutral" position, hurting the students, the college, and yourself. I urge you to protect your students and their right to speak out on this monumental occasion.
Thank you.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
update on Gaza mother's story, and some inspiring activism
Dear friends,
Since my last e-mail, many of you wrote asking for more information about the story I shared of a mother whose five children were murdered. Barbara Lubin, director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, was the person I was quoting, and she has also received many e-mails, prompting her to look more fully into the story. The most recent update follows, and is from an e-mail that Barbara received from her friend Talal, who did further research after Barbara left Gaza. You will see that many of the details are the same and many are quite different. You can also find this family’s story on various new sites online. Below is the e-mail from Talal.
Let us also remember that despite a “cease-fire,” Israel continues to bomb Gaza on a daily basis (albeit less so than during the “war”). People in the hospitals continue to die because of the ongoing siege and lack of treatment. And… the world continues to protest. Congratulations to the South African dockworkers who refused to unload a ship with Israeli goods last week: http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/286, http://www.anarkismo.net/article/11864. And kudos to all the university students who have been occupying campus buildings to demand justice for Gaza and divestment from Israel. Most of those students are British, but a special shout out to the students of Rochester, NY, who have conducted (with success!) the first campus occupation at a US university during this time: http://prometheus.scp.rochester.edu/ursds/node/86, http://www.thesitch.com/occupation/.
Let’s keep on keeping on.
-Hannah
E-mail from Talal to Barbara:
Dear Barbara,
It's the first time i have had internet. I hope you are O.K...you and all of our friends. I heard from Dr. Mona that you are under great pressure because of the story you have published about the crime of that woman. Be sure that it was a fact and we are ready to receive any investigation committee to check out the facts. But as you know during the wars and when death is very close, the popular memory interferes and colors the action with it's special details. We all heard the story on the local radio as I narrated it to you. But when you wrote the story and you faced so much pressure I decided to investigate and caught the real story.
It's not so far from from what you reported because the victims are the same...the story happened in Bourij Camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip. The Israelis called the woman Manal Albatran and told her that they wouldn't kill her or her husband Hussein Albatran, instead they would make them die of sadness because they would kill her children. The next day they shot her house with a rocket killing her and 5 of her children.
The dead:
Manal Albatran 30 years old
Walaa Albatran 12 years old
Islam Albatran 11 years old
Belal Albatran 10 years old
Ezz Albatran 8 years old
Ehsan Albatran 7 years old
The father who is an employee at an UNRWA school and the youngest child were saved.
This is the real story and I hope the amount of victims will convince others to believe the crimes we face. Thanks a lot for your appreciated visit and I hope to see you again soon.
Regards,
Talal
Since my last e-mail, many of you wrote asking for more information about the story I shared of a mother whose five children were murdered. Barbara Lubin, director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, was the person I was quoting, and she has also received many e-mails, prompting her to look more fully into the story. The most recent update follows, and is from an e-mail that Barbara received from her friend Talal, who did further research after Barbara left Gaza. You will see that many of the details are the same and many are quite different. You can also find this family’s story on various new sites online. Below is the e-mail from Talal.
Let us also remember that despite a “cease-fire,” Israel continues to bomb Gaza on a daily basis (albeit less so than during the “war”). People in the hospitals continue to die because of the ongoing siege and lack of treatment. And… the world continues to protest. Congratulations to the South African dockworkers who refused to unload a ship with Israeli goods last week: http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/286, http://www.anarkismo.net/article/11864. And kudos to all the university students who have been occupying campus buildings to demand justice for Gaza and divestment from Israel. Most of those students are British, but a special shout out to the students of Rochester, NY, who have conducted (with success!) the first campus occupation at a US university during this time: http://prometheus.scp.rochester.edu/ursds/node/86, http://www.thesitch.com/occupation/.
Let’s keep on keeping on.
-Hannah
E-mail from Talal to Barbara:
Dear Barbara,
It's the first time i have had internet. I hope you are O.K...you and all of our friends. I heard from Dr. Mona that you are under great pressure because of the story you have published about the crime of that woman. Be sure that it was a fact and we are ready to receive any investigation committee to check out the facts. But as you know during the wars and when death is very close, the popular memory interferes and colors the action with it's special details. We all heard the story on the local radio as I narrated it to you. But when you wrote the story and you faced so much pressure I decided to investigate and caught the real story.
It's not so far from from what you reported because the victims are the same...the story happened in Bourij Camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip. The Israelis called the woman Manal Albatran and told her that they wouldn't kill her or her husband Hussein Albatran, instead they would make them die of sadness because they would kill her children. The next day they shot her house with a rocket killing her and 5 of her children.
The dead:
Manal Albatran 30 years old
Walaa Albatran 12 years old
Islam Albatran 11 years old
Belal Albatran 10 years old
Ezz Albatran 8 years old
Ehsan Albatran 7 years old
The father who is an employee at an UNRWA school and the youngest child were saved.
This is the real story and I hope the amount of victims will convince others to believe the crimes we face. Thanks a lot for your appreciated visit and I hope to see you again soon.
Regards,
Talal
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