Day 4—October 16
Bethlehem
We ate our breakfast in the large dining hall of the Bethlehem Hotel, which was entirely deserted except for the eight of us. We had our usual yummy breakfast of pita bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, olives, and yogurt, and then departed for another busy day of meetings and sightseeing. Related photos
We first drove to the Applied Research Institute in Bethlehem. On the way, our driver and guides pointed out a road near the Institute that the Israelis had just been closed that day. The IDF had piled up a large mound of rocks, dirt, and chunks of concrete that blocked the road and made it impassable by vehicle. Nobody knew why this was done (the Israelis apparently never provide explanations, or any advance warning), but the rumor was that the Israelis were trying to confine the Palestinians in anticipation of Rachel’s birthday, an important Jewish holiday, when many people would come from Israel or the settlements to visit Rachel’s Tomb, which is near Bethlehem. Another rumor was that this was a prelude to Israel's annexation of Rachel’s Tomb.
We arrived at the Applied Research Institute, where Dr. Jad Isaac is the director. The Institute conducts environmental research and promotes sustainable development of Palestinian land, as well as greater control over Palestinian natural resources. Dr. Isaac had prepared three presentations for a conference that he was to attend shortly in the US, although he had as yet been unable to obtain the necessary travel permit. He explained that he had time for only one presentation, and asked us to choose the one that interested us most. While many of us were interested in hearing about the current water situation, Dr. Isaac and his staff were eager to show us the presentation on Israeli settlements. In the end, he gave us parts of both presentations.
In the water presentation, Dr Isaac provided a bit of background on water shortages in the Middle East. The Middle East has 5% of the world’s population, but only 1% of its water resources. Water is being used faster than it is being replenished, and the high rate of population growth is making the situation even more critical. There are no legally binding water agreements in the Middle East, though virtually every country in the area is affected by the shortages. Two main areas of water conflicts are the Jordan River, affecting Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon; and the Euphrates, affecting Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
Water flow from the Jordan River to the Dead Sea has decreased from 1300 million cubic meters to 200 mcm, due mainly to Israeli water diversions. Israel takes 1000 mcm of Jordan River water with its diversions in Lebanon, Syria (occupied Golan Heights), and the West Bank. In the West Bank, 400,000 Jewish settlers use 650 mcm of water, compared to 93 mcm used by 2 million Palestinians. In Gaza, the numbers are 135 mcm for 1 million Palestinians, and 1714 mcm for 6000 settlers.
We were provided the following statistics on the Israeli/Palestinian situation (all ratios are Israeli: Palestinian, where “Israeli” includes Israel’s Jewish and Arab populations, and “Palestinian” refers to the Arab populations of the West Bank and Gaza Strip):
Dr. Isaac’s presentation on the settlements included the following data:
After leaving the Applied Research Institute, we visited the Church of the Nativity, where Jesus was said to have been born, and nearby Manger Square. The church is the site of the siege that took place last spring where many armed Palestinian fighters were trapped inside for several weeks along with numerous priests and monks. George told us that when the Israelis compiled their list of “terrorists” they believed to be inside the church, and whose arrest or deportation they demanded, only four people on the list were actually in the church. But the Israelis insisted that a large number of people be deported anyway, so many of the Palestinians inside ended up volunteering for deportation so that the siege could end. George said it was strange to see some of the people who were heavily involved in the armed resistance walk away, while others who had done little fighting were deported. Related photos
Holy Land TrustWe next drove to a meeting at the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem, which was established in 1998 to strengthen and improve the lives of Palestinian children, families, and communities. We had a nice discussion with Sami Awad, the director of HLT. He says there are three main programs developed and promoted by HLT: travel and encounters with the people of Palestine, peace and reconciliation, and children’s welfare.
The Travel and Encounter program encourages tourists to meet the “Living Stones”— the descendents of the original Christians still living in Palestine. The average tourist in Bethlehem stays only one hour—just enough time to visit the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square before returning to Israel, and HLT is hoping to change this.
The Peace and Reconciliation program teaches resistance to the occupation in ways that build and promote a democratic future for Palestinians. Nonviolence methods are used which are based on Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Palestinian nonviolent resistance traditions dating back to 1936, such as strikes, marches, and nonpayment of taxes. Sami says 90% of the actions of the first intifada were essentially nonviolent in nature, but the current intifada has been diverted from nonviolent methods through the sheer brutality of the Israeli response. The use of tanks, helicopters and indiscriminate shelling all serve to provoke violent reactions from the Palestinians, but HLT is trying to steer the Palestinians back to nonviolence through training and education. Their pupils have even included former militia members who had come to believe that violent resistance has failed.
HLT works with organizations such as the Christian Peacemaker Team to develop their training programs. Sami says that some Palestinians in the community initially distrusted the HLT's advocacy of nonviolence, seeing it as nothing more than selling out and surrendering to the occupation, but many have since come to accept it as an effective means of resistance. He said that at one community meeting, after several people criticized HLT, a member of Hamas actually spoke up and praised it, saying that he appreciated what they were trying to do for Palestine, even though he believed that only armed resistance would ultimately succeed in gaining Palestine's freedom. Sami also commented that it is a myth that Muslims are not inclined to get involved in nonviolent resistance efforts—he says many Muslims, as well as Christians, are actively committed to nonviolence.
HLT's Children’s Program is called “Remember the Innocents”, in memory of the slaughter of the innocents 2000 years ago (when Herod ordered the murder of all male children under age 2). It seeks to aid Palestinian children, who suffer a great deal from the violence of the occupation, by providing child education and development programs, recreation and entertainment, and a planned trauma treatment unit.
In a more general discussion, Sami told us that Palestinians are now denied permits to fly out of Ben-Gurion airport, so they must leave through Jordan, which is more costly and takes up to two extra days. The Jordanians have also been restricting entry across their border, as they fear the Israelis will try to permanently “transfer” more Palestinians to Jordan.
Sami was born in the US and is an American citizen, but he says having an American passport provides no protection to Palestinian-Americans in the West Bank. If they show the Israelis their American passports at a checkpoint they will be asked for other identity papers such as for those for residency, and if they show a Palestinian ID they will be treated just as harshly as any other Palestinian. Sami says that during the siege of the Church of the Nativity, when curfews were imposed around the clock and people could not even go out to buy food, Sami and the other American citizens in Bethlehem called the US embassy to ask for help. They were later contacted by embassy officials with the offer to help them leave Bethlehem, but were told nothing would be done to try to improve the conditions there. Sami says this is more than the embassy usually does for Palestinian-Americans, since most of their calls are never returned.
Conditions for Palestinians actually worsened after the Oslo accords were signed, in comparison with the previous total Israeli occupation. With Oslo, travel began to be restricted through road closures and other measures. Currently, all West Bank Palestinians need permits to travel outside their towns (and very few are granted). This latest restriction was imposed in April of 2002.
Sami then mentioned the effects of Israeli policy on the Palestinian economy, saying that Israel refuses to allow Palestinians to trade with any countries other than Israel, citing "security" reasons. Palestinians are not even permitted to trade with Jordan. Under the current travel restriction, farmers are not able to get to their lands to harvest them if the farmland is outside the city, which is almost always the case.
Sami says the Israelis greatly fear nonviolence movements in Palestine and try hard to discourage them. For example, when Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah came to an agreement renouncing violence against civilians in Israel, Israel promptly dropped a 1-ton bomb on a residential area just before the agreement was to be announced, successfully torpedoing both the announcement and the agreement. Israel continues its assassinations of Palestinians—a Bethlehem resident was assassinated by a booby-trapped pay phone just a couple of days before we arrived, even though Bethlehem had been completely peaceful for several months. In the past, Israel has quickly deported or imprisoned Palestinian leaders of nonviolence movements.
In conclusion, Sami stated emphatically that he and many other Palestinians are not interested in an independent Palestinian state if it will be just another “typically oppressive" Arab state. The only Palestine they want is a democracy that respects human rights, and this is what they are working so hard for. This was a sentiment we were to hear many times during our discussions with Palestinians. Related photos
After leaving HLT, we drove to see the Har Homa settlement and bypass road that are the cause of the planned Israeli demolition of the Greek Orthodox housing project in Beit Sahour. The demolition will take place because Palestinians are not allowed within 300 meters of either side of a bypass road. We also saw some of the houses damaged or destroyed by Israeli shelling last spring, many of which remained uninhabitable. Related photos
Palestinian Center for RapprochementWe next visited the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People, where George Rishmawi (cousin of the other George Rishmawi, our trip coordinator) is the coordinator. PCR started out holding regular dialogue sessions between Palestinians and Israelis so that both groups could express their feelings and tell their side of the story. PCR has since moved on to staging “direct actions”, which are nonviolent means of protesting the occupation, and include marches, demonstrations at military bases and checkpoints, and removal of roadblocks. A march to a nearby military base was held recently to protest the shelling of Palestinian homes near the base. The group successfully reached the base, and asked the Israelis to dismantle it. While the request was refused, they felt like they had accomplished a great deal just by making their voices peacefully heard. Every year at Christmas PCR holds a candlelight procession of Palestinians, Israelis, and Internationals to demonstrate their hopes for peace and justice.
The International Solidarity Movement was started by PCR. It is a Palestinian-led organization that brings in International volunteers to help raise awareness of the harsh conditions in Palestine and to challenge the occupation through nonviolent actions. George says that having Internationals participation is essential to reduce the level of violence used against them by the Israelis. When a group of Palestinians tries to march to a checkpoint or military base, the Israelis will confront them with severe brutality, but are forced by the presence of Internationals to moderate their behavior.
George also says the American embassy is the least helpful of the foreign embassies when it comes to protecting its citizens who volunteer for ISM actions. It does little or nothing to aid American volunteers facing arrest or deportation due to their participation in nonviolent actions, while many other foreign embassies are quite helpful to their own citizens by contrast. Related photos
We ended the day with a traditional Palestinian dinner in a
Bedouin-style restaurant under a large tent.
We dined on dozens of wonderful salads, followed by skewers of tasty
chicken and lamb. Many of us also tried
smoking water pipes, which we rented, and which burned a type of fragrant herb.
Related
photos