These are some stories of people I met on my trip to Isarel-Palestine
in April-May 1992. The paragraphs in italics are their own words.
Khalil Mashi, Principal, Friends School, Ramallah, West Bank
As an educator and concerned human being Khalil has struggled a great deal
during the Intifada. I found him to be an inspiring example of a nonviolent
activist. Khalil told wonderful stories of using nonviolence not only with
this Israeli authorities, but also in working with his students. His concern
for the students came through strongly in the way he sought to maintain
a supportive and positive school environment under such repressive conditions.
His humility and hospitality were evident when he brought out a tray of
cold lemonade to our group as we sat meeting outside the school one warm
afternoon.
"The two biggest problems we face as a school now are first that
the school has been closed by the military for 24 months during the last
four and a half years and second that there is great danger for our young
male students. During the past three years we have been merging separate
boys and girls schools into one school, divided into two groups by ages.
Not only have we had to deal with the logistical difficulties this would
entail in any situation, but we have also had to face strong opposition
from the Islamic Fundamentalist movement, Hamas.
There is an army camp next door, with a guard on duty all the time. If you
look out the window you can see a guard up on the rooftop outside the classroom
windows. We recently installed a closing metal gate to prevent the military
from simply bursting into the school. One time three armed men came into
the school and put guns to the heads of a group of boys playing basketball.
They frisked them and took two of the boys. It turned out that they wre
police and they took the boys to the police house for interrogation. We
had no idea who they were, since they didn't identify themselves. This is
only one of many instances of harrassment and violence from the Israeli
authorities.
In 1988 (after 3 or 4 months of closure), we decided to defy the authorities
and hold school. About 20% of the students showed up (with their parents).
The military came and said we must close the school and threatened to teargas
everyone and smash the cars. There was lots of media here. I suggested to
the students and parents that everyone go home rather than risk having many
people injured, since we had already made an important point. After some
discussion, we agreed to disperse.
Another defiant step was taking education to the students--"popular
education." It was illegal to teach in this way, with possible fines
and imprisonment. The school issued work packets for the students to work
on at home. In the process of creating these packets we needed to come up
with resources for home-based, self-paced learning. When our school is able
to stabilize, we hope to change our pedagogy through increased use of this
self-paced learning. As a result of these efforts we initiated the "Educational
Network," an organizing group working against school closures. (They
publish a newsletter in English).
Joel Dorkan, Kibbutz Palmach
Tzova
Joel is a wonderful example of what I imagined of the old time socialist,
idealist Kibbutznik. He was clearly dedicated to the principles of equality
and justice, yet his vision in relation to the Palestinians seemed limited
to me. His kibbutz is part of the more mainstream of the three kibbutz federations.
I came to this kibbutz after being released from the military in 1949,
following the War for Independence. Others had already begun working the
land and establishing the community here. The kibbutz is based on the idea
of voluntary socialism. Our emphasis is on four areas: 1) health (mental
and physical), 2) education, 3) culture and study (all young people are
entitled to at least three years of higher education, even if they leave
the kibbutz, this applies to adults as well), and 4) social security, rather
than retiring people we encourage people to gradually work less. Our educational
model is like an equal sided triangle with the sides representing family,
formal education and the kibbutz.
In the early days we believed we were creating a new type of person here
on the kibbutz. "Homo Kibbutznikus" was the new species we expected
after one or two generations of living such a healthy, egalitarian life.
Yet this has not happened. About 2/3rds of the children leave the kibbutz
and don't return. We have made less progress in breaking down sex role stereotypes
than we had hoped, and we still have not found a truly effective way to
deal with interpersonal conflict on the kibbutz.
Nonetheless, we have a functioning democracy here, with all positions of
leadership being rotated every two years. There is currently no connection
between the "personal income" and amount or type of work one does
on the kibbutz. Though there are some who would like to see this. There
has been a trend toward greater privatization in the kibbutz. Some of this
is good. For example, years ago my son was given a nice wooden rocking horse
by his grandparents in the city. When the people who ran the childrens'
house learned about it they made him bring the rocking horse there so that
all the children could play with it. He was very upset by this, and of course,
the rocking horse didn't last so long with so much use. Now, such personal
gifts are allowed. In addition, the children no longer live in the childrens'
house, but home with their parents. This change was initiated when the first
generation of kibbutz children became parents.
The Zoughbi Family, Bethlehem,
West Bank
Zoughbi Zoughbi works for the Middle East Council of Churches. He is an
important contact person for many delegations coming to Israel and Palestine.
When I met Zoughbi he was anxiously awaiting the return of his wife Elaine
and their daughter Marcelle. Elaine is not a Palestinian and so has been
denied a residency visa by the Israeli authorities. She is currently able
to come only on a three month tourist visa. It appears to be Israeli policy
to prevent Palestinian families from being together in cases such as this.
(The Palestinian Human Rights organization Al Haq has begun a "Family
Re-Unification Campaign", they can be contacted at P.O. Box 1413, Ramallah,
West Bank via Israel.)
When I met Zoughbi I also met his mother, brother, sister and nephew. His
sister Hanna is 22 years old and a student at Bethlehem University.
Have you seen the newspaper, today? There was a killing last night in
Beit Sahour (the neighboring town). He was a classmate of mine at the University.
Anton Shomeli was shot at point blank range by the Israeli soldiers. When
will the killing stop?
Nafez Assaily, Director, Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence,
East Jerusalem
Nafez was a student at Nablus University in 1979 when he decided to write
a term paper about nonviolence after seeing the movie Gandhi. In 1983 he
met Mubarak Awad the founder of the Center and became involved in its work.
When Mubarak was deported by the Israeli authorities in 1986, Nafez became
the acting director. (Mubarak is one of some 1600 Palestinians who have
been deported by the Israeli government from Israel and Palestine since
1967. Short of death, it is the ultimate sanction Israel can use. In Mubarak's
case, even the intervention of the US State Department was insufficient
to stop his deportation.
The Library on Wheels Project is our main project right now and is going
very well. The idea is to take books with a positive message out to children
in rural areas where there is no access to books. As a spin-off the parents
and other family members read as well. International support has made this
effort possible. We need to begin at a basic level with nonviolence. The
history taught to Muslims is full of violence and blood. People need to
learn other ways. I dream about starting an Islamic Center for Nonviolence
and Peace Studies.
People are very frustrated. Palestinians in rural areas and villages don't
seem interested in the political situation but want a peaceful life with
enough water, food, bus transportation, education for their children, ability
to visit cemeteries.... They had earlier been hopeful about the peace process.
I'm always an optimist. Change will take time. Yesterday, I was at Moses'
shrine near Jericho (Moses is also a prophet in Islam). There I found a
Moslem group working with drug addicts. If we deal with our own internal
problems, than the occupation won't be so hard to change. With those problems
the occupation is very difficult to challenge.
Chaya Beckerman, West Jerusalem
Chaya is an Israeli peace activist who emigrated to Israel six years ago
from the United States. She is one of the few women who is active in both
Women in Black and Women at the Wall. Women in Black is an organization
of Israeli women united around their desire to "end the occupation."
Soon after the Intifada started they began gathering on Friday afternoon
at a busy intersection in Jerusalem with signs shaped like hands which said
"end the occupation" in Hebrew and English. Women at the Wall
is a group of religious Jewish women who have asserted their right to read
the Torah at the Western Wall and been arrested for it. (Although most Israelis
are not actively religious, the small right-wing religious movement has
great power and has been able to pass legislation controlling life in many
ways.) Chaya has also been active in a variety of nonviolent initiatives
and in the dialogue group with Beit Sahour.
Khalil and Omkhalil, Beach Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip
They have 4 sons and 3 daughters. Khalil was four years old during the 1948
War when his family fled from their large farm in Ashkelon (now within Israel
proper) and came to the refugee camp. He still feels the pain of losing
his family property. Their 3 older sons have all been imprisoned. The oldest,
Khalil, 22 years old, has been arrested 8 times. The last time he was shot
in the head, and then denied proper medical treatment. As a result he has
continuous health problems.
Under Egyptian occupation Gaza was closed completely. The economic situation
was terrible, but people felt secure. Today it is much worse. Even if you
are asleep in your house you aren't secure. Every night there are soldiers
in the camp. It is natural that we express our frustration about years of
occupation. People maybe miscalculated a little in the beginning and were
overly optimistic about things changing soon. The fall of communism and
the Gulf War have also had a large effect on our situation. UN resolutions
were applied immediately to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, but not at all
to the Israeli occupation.
Just tell the American people the facts. We're not terrorists as they try
to make us out to be. We love life and respect all people in the world,
even the American people, though we hate the American government.
Omkhalil is known in the camp for her bravery in directly confronting the
Israeli soldiers and intervening to try and prevent neighbors from being
arrested or beaten.
We aren't afraid of the soldiers. Their treatment only encourages us
to be stronger in our feelings against the occupation. One time soldiers
came to arrest my son and beat him. I tried to stop the soldier and ended
up fighting with him and was beaten up. I have been beaten many times. We
have to live in dignity. Otherwise why live. The Intifada has alot to do
with dignity.
Majeda, student at Bir Zeit University, Ramallah, West Bank
Majeda is an English studies major. She is one of eleven children in her
family. She has been arrested four times during the Intifada. She was held
for short periods each time, with no charges filed. The military was looking
for her brother who was wanted from the beginning of the Intifada for political
activity. Although she was not beaten, the authorities were able to get
information from a male friend by threatening to beat Majeda. Her brother
was arrested and has been held for 27 months without charges.
The University has been closed for four and a half years by the authorities.
On April 29, they opened up the new campus which serves the engineering
and science departments. My part is still not re-opened. So, our classes
meet at an old hotel. My education has been delayed for over a year and
a half thus far by the closing of the University.
We must have freedom, no prisoners, no detainees, be able to fly our flag,
no checkpoints, to educate our children the way we choose. Israel is now
a fact. No one can deny it. We must differentiate between Judaism and Zionism.
Jews are humans who have suffered too much. We Palestinians need our own
state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, alongside Israel. All Palestinians
want that, but when they're faced with soldiers they want to kill them.
But there are many cases of Palestinians helping injured Israelis. When
we think about Israel we feel two things: the loss of our homeland, and
the behavior of the soldier and government policy.
Rabbi Jeremy Milgrom, Jerusalem
Jeremy was born in the US, but has lived most of his life in Israel. As
a Conservative Rabbi he is shut out of much of institutional Judaism in
Israel because the Orthodox are so dominant (for example, Jeremy can't legally
conduct marriages). He has been active in various Israeli peace groups including
Yesh G'vul, Israelis and Palestinians for Nonviolent Action and recently
initiated the Clergy for Peace group.
As a pacifist I am very isolated in Israel. Nonetheless, I must continue
working for peace and justice. I believe that a single, democratic state
in Israel and Palestine, with equal rights for Jews and Palestinians is
the best solution to the conflict. I don't support a two state solution
on tactical grounds. It doesn't address the fact that the Zionist movement
was a colonialist movement from the beginning. It was, however, the only
colonialist movement without a home to go back to....
The biggest problem we face is ideology. There isn't much on either side
(traditionally) which speaks of peaceful coexistence. Judaism is ethnocentric.
It is not only fearful because of the past actions of others, but also because
of what we believe. Both sides must learn to let go of fear....
Israel is an idol to American Jews because it is an expression of the Jewish
life they don't have.
Fadil and Saleem, Jalazoun
Refugee Camp, Ramallah, West Bank
Fadil and Salim are two of a group of politically active young men who hosted
us at Jalazoun. The camp is a very intense place, with the houses jammed
together. At first glance I was surprised not to see people living in tents.
But as I thought about it I realized that this camp has been here since
1948. Between seven and eight thousand people live here. There are 800 residents
from Jalazoun currently in prison. Tear gas is fired in the camp almost
daily, beatings and arrests are also commonplace. On our tour of the camp
we were shown several houses which had been demolished by the authorities
to punish political activists and their families. Saleem originally came
to help translate for Fadil, but he had so much that he wanted to say that
he kept answering our questions himself rather than translating for Fadil.
I was jailed for four years in several different prisons. For us prison
is university. We study history, economics, politics, and more. Many of
us were imprisoned at a young age, before we had received much education.
While I was in prison we studied for about six hours each day.... Palestinians
want peace, but not any peace. We want a peace based on justice. (Fadil)
In 1990 I spent six months in Ansar 3, a prison in the Negev Desert. At
that time there were 7,000 prisoners there. While there, my friend Assan
Harb had a pain in his ear. He complained and finally was able to see a
doctor. The doctor looked in his ear without even using a magnifying glass
and said there was no problem. He went back about five times as his ear
got worse, but each time was told there was no problem. When he got really
sick they took him to a hospital at another prison, but he died before he
got there.
My uncle was interrogated for 40 days. He went on a hunger strike to protest
his treatment. They forcefed him and injured his stomach badly, causing
internal bleeding. When they realized what they had done they threw him
out of the prison. Luckily he was found by a friend who took him to a hospital
where emergency surgery was needed.
For me there are big points and small points. Of course, there may be individuals
who feel like they want retribution, but that would never be our policy
and we wouldn't want people to act on those feelings. I must think about
more than just myself, and so would not seek revenge. (Saleem)
Dr. Fadil Abu Hein, Director
of Research, Gaza Mental Health Center, Gaza City
Entering the gates of the Mental Health Center, I felt that I had entered
another planet. The barren, desperate feeling of Gaza seemed distant as
I gazed at the colorful, well-kept flower gardens outside the new building.
Without an appointment I was welcomed and given a lengthy interview with
Dr. Abu Hein. At the end of our visit I asked him how he kept going through
all the pain and difficulty, and he seemed almost not to understand my question.
Unlike many of us in the United States, most Palestinians don't see any
choice but to be involved in seeking to create justice and peace for their
people.
I have recently completed a study of trauma and violence in children
ages 8-18. We measured self-esteem, fear and anxiety levels. The strongest
finding was that the biggest division was between children who had been
beaten themselves, and those who only saw beatings, arrests, etc. Those
children who were directly beaten had higher levels of self-esteem and lower
levels of fear and anxiety. Their direct participation served to empower
them to be able to deal with the violence in a healthier manner. The primary
patients of our clinic, which is focussed on children, are children who
have only witnessed the violence.
The children are the first victims in our society, at home, in the streets
and in schools. Adults pass on the violence they experience under the occupation.
Over 30% of the children in the Occupied Territories have been directly
beaten or humiliated by soldiers. We now often see people whose symptoms
match those identified as "Post-Tramautic Stress Syndrome." (a
condition experienced by many Viet Nam veterans).
Three days ago a teacher was shot and killed in a school here in Gaza. Today
our clinic received a call saying that the children weren't coming to school.
So, we sent out five social workers to talk to the children and their families.
The biggest danger is that the children are growing up with so much violence
that it is becoming part of their personalities. This is the future generation
of Palestine. They are learning that violence is the appropriate response
to conflict.
Last year I did a study entitled "Mental Health of ex-Political Prisoners
in Gaza." It focussed on the effects of torture. More than 46% of these
former prisoners suffered from paranoia. The effects on Palestinian society,
to say nothing of the individuals themselves are devastating. The Israeli
authorities also use a type of psychological torture with collaborators
and the threat of collaboration.
As therapists one of our biggest difficulties is that the source of peoples'
psychological problems are frequently associated with all the violence they
experience. We can treat them, but when they go back out to that same situation,
their fears and anxieties come back out, returning them to where they started.
One family we have worked with over a year, and we recently advised them
that the best thing for them to do now is simply keep their children inside
the house. Despite all these difficulties, the Intifada itself is a type
of psychological treatment for the Palestinian people.
Roni Ben Efrat, activist and
publisher, Jerusalem
Roni is an Israeli woman who has been involved in a variety of efforts for
justice for Palestinians and peace. She helped found Hanitzotz/a-Shahara
Publishing House to advance understanding between Jews and Arabs in 1986.
I was startled to hear from Roni that the Israeli Journalists Association
has no formal position on censorship.
By supporting publications which pursue this goal we hope to help break
the wall of ignorance and hatred which separates the two peoples. We have
published numerous publications related to Oriental Jews, freedom of the
press, and democratic and peace forces in Israel. Our main project was the
publication of two biweekly papers, Derech Hanitzotz and Tariq a-Shahara
in Hebrew and Arabic respectively. The outbreak of the Intifada resulted
in the growth of the popularity of these two papers, greatly increasing
their circulation in a short time. The papers and their editors became targets
of attack by the Israeli authorities who were engaged in a crackdown on
Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, Arabs in Israel and Israeli peace
forces who were in solidarity with the Intifada. The two papers were banned
by use of the Mandatory Emergency Regulations (1945) in February 1988. In
April the six editors were arrested. Four of us were charged and sentenced
to prison terms. My nine month sentence was on the short end with others
being jailed up to 30 months under harsh conditions.
The authorities will no longer grant us a license to publish a newspaper,
so we have joined with others to begin publishing Challenge/Etgar a bimonthly
magazine in English and Hebrew. Additionally, we are publishing booklets
in Arabic addressing issues such as the effect of the Intifada on Arabs
in Israel, land confiscation and Arab Women.
By defining Israel as a Jewish state you are accepting a racist standard.
If the Arab population ever increases beyond that of the Jewish population
it will either mean the Jewish state will end, or apartheid will be necessary.
Hatim, Gaza City
On meeting Hatim, I was immediately struck by his inner strength. He is
a man of few words. My discussion was more like an interview than any other
on my trip. He was arrested in 1970 at the age of 15, and sentenced to 30
years for being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
and for participating in a military operation. After 15 years of imprisonment,
he was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange. He has been arrested
twice during the Intifada and served 8 months and 6 months in administrative
detention. When I spoke with him he had been out of jail for 20 days, and
his three children kept coming in to the room to check on him.
During my imprisonment, the political prisoners studied together and
prepared for the continuation of the struggle upon release. I participated
in many actions to create greater rights for prisoners, including five hunger
strikes of more than 12 days. There was tremendous solidarity among the
prisoners.
I believe that the Israelis don't want peace, so the peace process won't
help. An International Peace Conference is needed for a good solution. An
independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is my goal,
with Jerusalem as the capital. But I don't believe this is possible in my
generation. I can forgive the Israelis, for sure. We're not against Jews,
we're against Zionism.
Tell the American people that our people is a nice people, who can forget
the hardness and difficulties with the Israelis. Our people have sacrificed
a great deal. Our struggle is not just for Palestinians, but for all people
to live in peace and freedom. We hope people understand this. We Palestinians
are able to be compassionate and human through all the suffering and humiliation
we have experienced.