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| A new settlement begins with a water tower and a few portakabins. |
A
very personable Jewish guide joined us for the next few days and began, as a former journalist, with his own fascinating insights into the political
situation. Our first meeting with
Israeli settlers on the West Bank was an interesting experience. Our hosts were all of American origin: the
folksy Bruce from New York who was desperate to play his banjo and sing for us,
and a family who made us very welcome in their lovely new home. The only thing that appeared unusual about
them is that women wore headscarves and men carried guns, although in my mind
this could have had as much to do with being Americans as Jewish settlers.
Despite
the shared language, there was a fairly fundamental barrier in
understanding between us, in that the settlers honestly believed that everything
that they were doing was supported by UN resolutions and they had a legitimate
right settle the land. There was also an
expression of wanting to have peace with the “Arabs”, and the well-educated and
eloquent children were even considering learning Arabic to facilitate mutual
understanding. However, the sad thing
was that they had never even met a Palestinian and had genuine fear about
crossing into a Palestinian area, which they considered as impossible because
it would be illegal. Quite how this gap
could be bridged was beyond me, when so deeply embedded in their society and
justified for their security.
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| Looking across to Herodian from the Nokdim-Tekoa settlement |
Bruce
told us about David Rosenfeld, the curator of the Herodian fortification who
was savagely murdered in July 1982. The
new settlement of Tekoa had been built/occupied in his memory. I found this
article to give insight to the events at the time. Suspicion of the Arabs is justified by such
events and the reason why settlers carry arms.
However, they also rely on Palestinians to build their homes and expect
them to be grateful for the opportunity for employment when there is so little
opportunity offered elsewhere, e.g. in the PA controlled areas (where building
isn’t allowed!).
 |
| The mosque side of the Tombs of the Patriarchs |
From
there we went Hebron for the afternoon, mainly to see the tombs of the
patriarchs, a site which is holy to all three “peoples of the book”. We all went into the Muslim side, removing
our shoes and watching the ladies don their obligatory grey hoody shawls and
saw the various tombs and Saladin’s minbar (pulpit). A few of us then went to the Jewish side, to
see the tombs from the other side.
Then,
as we gathered afterwards, I wondered across to see what the business cards
were that were lying on a large block of stone, and leaned against it to try
and read one. At this point, the young
lad who was selling the “Free Palestine” rubber bracelets came over and made a
gun with his fingers, said “bang, bang” and pointed at the blood stain by my
feet and the guards at the checkpoint a few yards away. I was immediately shocked and embarrassed that
I unknowingly stepped on this blood and so moved away with the card that I was
holding, obviously proclaiming another Palestinian martyr.
 |
| Wire mesh to prevent injury from H2 area above |
We
went through that checkpoint into the souk.
As we were some of their only tourist visitors that day, they were
desperate but polite in their efforts to sell us something. We observed the wire mesh above our heads and
heard how the city had been divided into areas H1 (Palestinian) & H2 (Israeli),
with the Israelis taking the higher level and being, how shall we say… “careless”
with bricks and other rubbish which might “fall” on the Palestinians below. One of the stall holders pleaded with us to
tell the outside world what
was going on there.
That
evening, at the hotel, I soon discovered a
video of the incident in the Jerusalem Post website in which a 16 yr old was
shot to death, after attacking a guard.
Apparently, he was one of two that day.
So, loads to think about – fear, suspicion, hate, intolerance and how
the cycle may be broken. But, what makes
me most sad about this is that, unlike the famed martyr, David Rosenfeld from 33
years ago, I can’t even find the name of the 16yr old youth whose “blood is crying to me from the
ground”.
Sadly, the situation in the region is now much worse and there is so little hope in such a one-sided power struggle where the humanity of both the oppressor and the oppressed is being lost so quickly. What can we do, but pray...
You may like to join me and others in the Sabeel
Wave of Prayer for this week (5th November):
“Israel's
clamp-down on Hebron, the largest Palestinian city on the West-bank, has
intensified. Despair and frustration on the Palestinian side has also
intensified, and so has violence, with near-daily deadly confrontations
erupting at Israeli army checkpoints and with Jewish settlers who are rarely
questioned or held accountable for their violence, leaving the Palestinian
community of Hebron fragile. Lord, we ask you to wrap your loving tender arms
around the city of Hebron. comfort and strengthen them during this time of
difficulty.” Amen.
