Archive for January, 2010
Al-Tal’a, Um Zaituna
Jan 31st
A report from David Shulman about the South Hebron Hills:
January 30, 2010 Al-Tal’a, Um Zaituna
“The most desperate fights are often the most hopeful,” Istvan says to me as we stand on the hill looking down at the shepherds and their sheep. You can always rely on Istvan for the surprising Hungarian perspective on things—not usually an optimistic one, but humane and morally acute in a dark, perhaps ironic way. This is his fourth trip with us to South Hebron. He likes the Ta’ayush mode, which he thinks exemplifies the central Gandhian principle: what is inside shapes what is outside; if you can overcome your own weaknesses and fear, you will have an incalculable effect on the most recalcitrant situation. Besides, there’s another consideration of a totally non-instrumental nature. He cites an extreme example. Those Germans and Poles and others who saved the lives of Jews during the Nazi period didn’t do it to defeat Nazism; they did it because it was right, a moral act in need of no justification or corroboration outside itself.
This comes as a timely reminder, because yesterday afternoon I was harangued at some length by a former colleague, a Russian humanist of the old school, by now thoroughly disillusioned: in a struggle, he said, between those with principles, driven by moral concerns, and what he calls the “Hottentot” rule—”If I take your wife, that is good; if you take my wife, that is bad”—in such a struggle, the Hottentots will always win. [I hope my Hottentot readers will forgive him, and me.] Moral scruples, in short, always weaken you; it’s the thugs who come out on top. So here we are in the living laboratory of South Hebron, where we can perform an experiment, in real time, to test these two opposed hypotheses.
We’ve come to accompany the Palestinian shepherds, who have been harassed in recent days even more than usual by Israeli settlers. The settlers, backed up by the army and the police, are constantly driving the shepherds at gunpoint off their historic grazing grounds; sometimes they beat them or throw rocks at them or even shoot at them for good measure. We divide up into three groups, each one responsible for one large herd; I am entrusted with the Al-Tal’a/ Um Zaituna contingent. I find Jamil, together with some 80 or 90 sheep and four of his young sons and other boys, on the rocky slope just under the cow-barn of the Maon settlement. He gives me a radiant welcome, his face alight with pleasure; Jamil is a true bon vivant, odd as the term might sound in the harsh desert setting of South Hebron. (You can see him in the attached picture.) He’s also monolingual in Arabic, a great advantage for me. He tells me that this morning settlers have already pointed their guns at him and his sons and told him to go away—or they would shoot. I think the sheep and the children are still a little too close to the settlement, and together we decide they’ll move some ways down the hill.
So far so good. The sheep are also happy—these slopes, normally inaccessible to Palestinian shepherds, are thick with fresh green undergrowth and the delicious thorny leaves the sheep adore. It’s rained a bit this winter; the soil is reviving under wind and winter cloud, a ravishing pastiche of green and grey. Here the name of the game, as we know well, is somehow to gain time—an hour, two, three, long enough for the herd to graze to its fill before the soldiers and the settlers turn up, as they always do. I have instructions from Amiel to avoid confrontation this time: if we see them approaching, we are to get the shepherds out of danger as quickly as we can. No arrests, if possible, today.
We talk, we laugh, we play. Jamil wants me to mount his donkey, Humara. How is it? he asks after I’ve clambered up on top. Much better than driving a car, I say. The children, as always, want their picture taken; they solemnly introduce themselves and, one by one, come to shake our hands. “Are you afraid of the soldiers?” little Ibrahim asks me, and I say, “No, not afraid, but I don’t want any trouble for you.” An hour goes by, wind whipping at our faces. I dismount from Humara. There is dust in the air, a sign of coming storm.
First we see the police cars driving up to Maon, blue lights flashing. They sit there, waiting. I’m hoping they just came by to have a look and won’t come at us, especially since we’ve now opened up a substantial gap between the herd and the outer perimeter of the settlement. But of course the hope is quickly dashed. A large posse of soldiers and cops is soon marching toward us over the rocks [see attached photo]. They reach Zvi and the other Um Zaituna flock first. Even at a distance, I can see them performing the remorseless stages of their beloved ritual: there is a piece of paper being waved at Zvi and the shepherds, clearly the signed order declaring this little patch of desert a Closed Military Zone; the order is examined, photographed, there are the always Quixotic protests, followed by threats from the soldiers and, after a few minutes, a gradual withdrawal of our people eastwards, deeper into the desert. Maybe, I say to myself, the soldiers won’t bother Jamil and his Ta’ayush protectors. No such luck. Having heroically driven the Um Zaituna flock down toward the wadi, the soldiers and policemen pick their way over the rocks toward us.
Settlers Attack Ta’ayush at Hilltop 18
Jan 24th
“I was shocked that they did it with so much hatred. Thirteen of us arrived there, and we were attacked by four people, who were urged on by others,” -Keren, Ta’ayush Activist.
Yesterday masked settler youth attacked Ta’ayush activists at an illegal outpost called Hilltop 18 near the mega settlement of Kiryat Arba in the South Mount Hebron Hills. This is an outpost that Ta’ayush has been monitoring for over one year and Mairav/I have written about in Haaretz. Below is a video of settler demi-god Baruch Marzel attacking Ta’ayush activists at Hilltop 18 last April.
The settlers reacted with pure violence and hatred towards Ta’ayush activists who came to the outpost in order to monitor its construction which has been deemed illegal by international and Israeli law. The right of center mass daily Yediot Aharont has run a typically skewed account of the day’s events. Please follow the link for video form Ta’ayush. (Hebrew Link). I will be posting video of the event when I have it. Notice that no comment is made about how the army/police handled the settlers obivious attacks.
No settlers were arrested or charged with any crime despite the clear violence of the attacks. This attack has come a day after the Sheikh Jarrah protest which has garned international headlines. Unfortunately, this attack will not penetrate mainstream media outlets in the same way despite its obvious news quality. Even the left leaning daily Haaretz is not covering the crimes. Only Yediot because of the papers obvious right wing leanings.
Sheikh Jarrah Roundup 23/1/2010
Jan 23rd
The Israeli Foreign Service should be thanking each and every protester in Sheikh Jarrah. The international media is now carrying stories about Israelis that want an end to separation and racism. Israelis that will face police brutality and go to jail if necessary. This is a face of Israel that needs to be seen and thanks to the dedication of the direct action peace camp in Israel, the message is getting across. Forget about field hospitals in Haiti, images from Sheikh Jarrah, Bil’in, Nil’in and Nebi Salah of Israeli battling the occupation head on with non violence are the best thing for the state.
A week after the arrest of high profile non violent protesters in the weekly Sheikh Jarrah protest, the remnants of the Israeli left joined the Friday afternoon display of direct action. Amongst the protesters on Friday were leftist leaders such as Hadash chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh, former Meretz chairman Yossi Sarid and former MK Avraham Burg.
Below is a video of the event from Yisrael Putermam, who is doing excellent work documenting the weekly events of direct action protest throughout Israel and the West Bank.
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Never Get Used to the Unspeakable Violence-a Report from Sheikh Jarrah (16/1/2010)
Jan 17th
Below is a report about the events in Sheikh Jarrah last Friday. It is written by an activist and captures some of the intense emotion that binds the Israeli direct action left. In such a long battle, I love the moments when the left energizes and rekindles the passion necessary to keep fighting. Over the past two months, Sheikh Jarrah has provided the backdrop for this spark of renewed passion. While the battle of Sheikh Jarrah might be lost in reality, the spark of passion is important to sustain us for the other battles throughout Israel and Palestine:
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.
- Arundhati Roy
On Friday, January 16, members of Anarchists Against the Wall were part of organizing a vigil at the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah commemorating the continued theft of Palestinian houses by settlers. The gathering was not approved by the Jerusalem police, arguing that they approved already in the same week a live music performance, and that there is no need for a demonstration also.
Understanding the obvious stupidity of that logic, activists gathered outside of the street where settlers stole Palestinian houses with the approval of the Israeli courts. The entrance to the street itself was blocked by the Israeli military and police under the pretext that leftist activists walking into the street will be dangerous for the public safety. Those who met at an earlier point were surrounded by police and soldiers, who demand to see their ID’s and ordering some to appear for an investigation in the following week. They were not allowed to walk in a group, only in pairs, and were followed until the very point of arriving to the neighborhood.
Realizing that they will not be allowed to join their Palestinian friends who have been sleeping in the street since being evicted from their houses, activists gathered at a distant location, holding signs and chanting.
More >
Open Shuhada Street in Hebron
Jan 17th
Open Shuhada Street! February 25, 2010 International Day of Action from Open Shuhada Street on Vimeo.
This is a call to action for everyone who stands in solidarity with Palestinians fighting for their human rights. On February 25, 2010 activitsts around the world will participate in an international day of action to raise awareness about the issue of lack of freedom of movement in the Palestinian city of Hebron. The closure of Shuhada Street to Palestinians is just one prominent example of the policy of separation that affects the lives of Palestinians all across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Join the struggle to end the occupation and organize a demonstration in your city on February 25, 2010!!
For more information:
openshuhadastreet.org
openshuhadastreet@gmail.com
The Protests Are Getting More Violent
Jan 16th
Friday’s in Israel are now a day of protests with demos happening in Bil’in, Nil’in, Ma’asara and Sheikh Jarrah. Yesterday in Sheikh Jarrah, the Israel police arrested the head of ACRI (The Association for Civil Rights in Israel) as well as Didi Remez of Coteret for simply standing on the street and peacefully protesting the actions of the Israeli state in East Jerusalem.
Below is footage from Friday’s protest in Nebi Salah. As you can see, the protest is getting more violent with rock throwing from Palestinians and excessive violence from the IDF.
Finally, below is a report on the weekly protest in Ma’asara written by an activist that was on the ground.
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Bil’in Update from the Popular Resistance Committee
Jan 15th
15.1.10 – Demonstrators Met with Live Ammunition in Bil’in Village
Today in Bil’in village demonstrators against the apartheid wall and illegal Israeli settlements were met with live ammunition, tear gas (in both plastic and aluminum canisters), rubber bullets, and sound bombs from the Israeli army. Rubber bullets and tear gas canisters injured six demonstrators. Many suffered from sever tear gas inhalation including Fatah leader Dr. Nabil Shath. Others injured include Palestinian cameraman Fadi Aljause and reporter Haron Amira, Bassem Ahmad Yassin (leg injury), Ibrahim Burnat (rubber bullet injury), Nayif Ghazi (tear gas canister head injury), and a man from Jericho who was taken to the hospital in Ramallah (we have not received information about his current condition).
Palestinian, Israeli and International demonstrators marched to the wall with a 20 meters long Palestinian flag at which time the military immediately began firing tear gas into the crowd. The army entered the village and attempted to arrest two of the Palestinian activists. Israeli and International activists physically intervened in order to stop the arrests. Soldiers shot live ammunition into the air during the conflict in an attempt to scare and disperse the crowd. The crowd consisting of many Israeli solidarity activists did not disperse and began chanting “shame on you” in Hebrew. Mean while many soldiers were entering from another entrance point in the apartheid fence. They attempted to surround the demonstrators from three directions, but were unsuccessful.
Because of the strength tear gas, a joke was made that the army must have been using the new and improved 2010-edition tear gas. The last two weeks of the new year have been marked by an increase in arrests and harassment of Palestinian popular resistance organizers and activists in the West Bank. Last night the army invaded the village of Al Masara and raided the home of Popular Committee organizers Mahmoud Zawhre and Mohammed Bornat. The previous night, the home of Nil’in Popular Committee member Mohammed Brijya was raided. And one day before that three Popular Committee members were arrested from their homes in Nil’in. On the same night as the Nil’in arrests, a Bil’in activist who had been part of Friday demonstrations was arrested. Israeli authorities have intensified their efforts at suppressing the non-violent activities and organizing of Palestinians involved in grassroots campaigns against the Barrier and settlement expansion. Despite these efforts, many people have been attending the Friday demonstrations from neighboring villages, and new popular demonstrations have begun around the West Bank.
Report on Settler Land Takeover in the West Bank
Jan 14th
Excellent report on how settlers are taking over agricultural land with the help of the IDF in the West Bank. For those that understand Hebrew…
Shocking Video Aired on Israeli Channel 10 now with Subtitles
Jan 14th
A couple of days ago, I posted a video clip from Channel 10 news here in Israel about a recent protest in Nebi Salah, West Bank. I have been trying to hard code the video with English subtitles that Didi Remez graciously provided to no avail. So I am posting Didi’s subtitles below the video. By the way, if you have not been to Didi’s site, you are missing out on one of the best sites on Israel available in English.
Transcript:
Channel 10 news, 10 January 2010 (20:04)
Or Heller: Pictures taken from a new center of violence: the Village of Nabi Salah. Protest of land seizures. Police officers react with full force; a group of settlers hurling rocks; IDF Spokesman reaction
Narrator Yaakov Eilon: Footage taken during a violent clash outside Ramallah last weekend shows settlers hurling rocks at Palestinians and army soldiers standing around, doing nothing. Furthermore, an IDF officer was filmed threatening left-wing activists who were there. Our military affairs correspondent Or Heller has the report.
Heller: A new center of violence was added last week to the regular violent spots in the Palestinian villages of Bil’in and Ni’ilin: the Village of Nabi Salah in the Ramallah area. On Friday afternoon, several dozen Palestinian demonstrators arrived there to protest the fact that lands were seized here by the nearby settlement of Neve Tzuf Halamish.
Unidentified speaker: This is my land! Why? Why can’t I? This is my land!
Heller: IDF and Border Police soldiers are seen trying to disperse this nonviolent demonstration with full force, using tear gas, stun grenade, rubber bullets fired point blank, and sometimes they even use the handle of their gun. Then, a group of settlers from Neve Tzuf Halamish joined in.
Unidentified speaker: You see? Did you see that?
Heller: They climbed on an overlooking hill and started throwing rocks at the Palestinians below. Some of them have their faces veiled for fear of cameras.
Unidentified speaker: Ohad, come here, come to me.
Heller: Rocks kept flying and the soldiers and Border Police officers — that is right — did nothing. So many committees have addressed the discrimination exercised in law enforcement in the territories. Nothing helped. The soldiers did not stop the settlers from throwing rocks and none of them was arrested when the violent events ended.
More >







Let’s Not Forget About the Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah
Jan 29th
Posted by Joseph Dana in Villages
8 comments
Let us not forget what Sheikh Jarrah is all about on this weekly day of protest. Sheikh Jarrah is about the families that live on the streets because of Israeli actions to take over their homes in favor of extremist settlers, backed by American money, that want to derail any possibility for peaceful reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians. Sheikh Jarrah is about Palestinians.
Yet, over the past months, Sheikh Jarrah has become a symbol of the (failing) Israeli democractic system. The growing police repression, the crackdown on leftist views, the double standards that plague Israeli society and the breakdown of communication between Israelis courts and police are all on full display in Sheikh Jarrah. Because of the waves of arrests and clearly misguided treatment of Israeli protesters at the hands of the Israeli police, the objectives of the Sheikh Jarrah protest have changed. The media has entered the picture, deciding to document the treatment of Israelis in Sheikh Jarrah. Last week, high profile public figures like Yossi Sarid joined the protest. Did he meet with the Palestinian families that are homeless? Did they write articles about the situation that these Palestinians are facing? The answer is not that clear. He wrote about Israelis. He wrote about Israeli democracy and about the state conduct regarding Israelis. This is an important issue in Israeli society and I am personally happy that the debate has reached such high levels in the media discourse. But I am scared that we have lost sight of the big picture in Sheikh Jarrah. We need to reformulate our approach in order to place the emphasis on the Palestinian narrative of this story. If in the process, the weakness of Israeli democracy is shown, then that is great. But this cannot be the main focus of the protest.
Every week, when Israeli citizens go out and express non-violent opposition to Israeli policies, whether in Sheikh Jarrah, the South Hebron Hills or Bil’in, the Israeli government should be privately thanking them. This is the only positive PR to come out of Israel from inside Israel. Every week that Israelis give up their weekend to sit in jail cells in order to make a point abouable to expose the double standard regarding how the rule of law is applied and the discriminatory, repressive, aggressive policies.
It is these Israelis who are taking responsibility for their country’s actions; these Israelis who are shaping future relations in the region between Israelis and Palestinians; these Israelis who demonstrate the true meaning of what it means to take active part in their future. Because of this we need to make sure that the Palestinian perspective and narrative is on center stage in Sheikh Jarrah and not necessarily the problematic of (failing) Israeli democracy. It is crucial that we do not get caught up in the media games and lose sight of the big picture in Sheikh Jarrah.