Jason's Journal:
August 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th

Arrival in Palestine
August 10th

Hello!

I arrived yesterday with no trouble, aside from some minor questioning by Israeli immigration.  What's the purpose of my visit, where am I staying, where will I be going.  The usual.  

I am staying in East Jerusalem and I find everything here fascinating and unbelievably beautiful.  But, the beauty camouflages the situation to virgin eyes.  If one were to remain in Tel Aviv, he or she would never know the fear or injustice that our delagation has only just begun to have a taste of.

Upon arriving yesterday, we met with Tamar Almag of Windows.  Windows is a non-sectarian, joint Isaeli/Palestinian organisation that promotes reconciliation and understanding through media projects involving children and youth.  These young minds put together publications for distribution throughout Israel and the Occupied Territories. Youth, from both sides come together to interact and from their interaction, they write articles tackling sensitive, nay, provacative issues that adult journalists would never consider. Not only is their bravery exemplified in print, it's manifest in action as well.  Palestinian youth who contribute to the endeavour usually have to leave the territories and travel to Tel Aviv.  They literally put their lives on the line crossing check points guarded by lethal sniper nests.  

In addition to the nobel work in journalism, Windows is also in the process of setting up Friendship Centres throught the country.  So far, one friendship centre is in operation in Tel Aviv.  The centre exists to serve as a safe place to host speakers and activists who can dialogue effectively and combat misunderstanding on both sides of the conflict and inspire citizens to look beyond the "us or them" mindset and see better solutions to the situation.  

After Tamar set the pace, the delagation set out today for a tour of Settler villages in East Jerusalem with Jeff Halper who is with the Isreali Committee Against Home Demolition.  Jeff's "Matrix of Control" was explained in theory and in practice.  The "Matrix" consists of the annexation of outlying areas of Jerusalem to include remote settler outposts and linking them through expansion of development and their linkage through highway construction.  

Similarly, during our tour of settler villages, we saw the old roads leading from the West Bank to Jerusalem  being blocked by massive mounds of rock and soil preventing Palestinian movement.  In addition, economic warfare is played out by the demolition of homes that have been gerrymandered into "green areas" which are areas set aside for public use, i.e. parks and recreation or agriculture (in rocky, barren soil!).  The checkpoints and roadblocks prevent Palestinians with Jerusalem residency living in annexed land from holding jobs in Jerusalem (where most of the work is) and the destruction of Palestinian homes in the no-man's land has resulted in forced migrations.  Either the Palestinians must move to Jerusalem to maintain a job and possibly not be able to afford housing, or to find a lower paying job (when they're lucky) in Palestine effectively losing their Jerusalem residency and still not being able to afford housing.

Add to this misery, lack of enough water and aerable land and you create a Ghetto. In addition to the Palestinian plight, there exists the forgotten Bedhouins who are no longer allowed to continue the nomadic existence they need.  This has caused the Bedhouin to reduce the number of livestock he owns since he can no longer move during the dry season to the areas with water and feed.  This has created an artificial need, in that the Bedhouin must now "import" supplies for his herd and further impoverish himself at the benefit of Agribusinesses. And, yes, we saw Bedhouins who live in the no-man's land as well and their homes, too, have been placed on the demolition list.  

Tomorrow, the delegation will travel to a work camp where home reconstruction is taking place for a Palestinian family who has had their homes destroyed three times before.  We will help with the construction and spend the night in the camp.  We will sleep under the stars and commune with the ghosts of Israel.  

In unity and strength,
Jason Jones

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August 11, 2003

Today began with a meeting with Ronnee Yaeger of Bat Shalom.  Bat Shalom is a feminist movement confronting the Palestinian issue.  Ms. Yaeger explained the beginning of the movement in the early 1980's for equal rights for both Israeli and Palestinian women.

As a part of their agenda, they have struggled to put forth a new bill that would allow them to achieve NGO status in the U.N.  As yet, they are the only Israel based feminist movement to strive for a fair say in the peace process in the United Nations.  From their organisation sprung the Women in Black group.  

Listening to Ronnie, I could tell her frustration and subdued anger at the current situation here.  She related the story of their struggle.  We spoke in her office located in the industrial area on the outskirts of Jerusalem in a neighborhood that could pass for one on the north side of Indianapolis with McDonald's across the street and next door to a moped rental store.  The reason for the location she explained was that Bat Shalom's original office was firebombed.  The danger of any dissent against the Israeli "war on the Palestinians," as she put it, can be fatal, especially for women.

Returning to Jerusalem proper, we went to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization that works in tandem with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.  B'Tselem obtained NGO status with the U.N. in 1989.  Their mission is to research and document human rights abuses in Israel and the occupied territories. They keep correspondence with the Israeli military and government and pressure them for action when an incident is reported.  They also conduct public education work and removing the benign mask painted on repressive measures.  For instance, their current task at hand is challenging the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law.  This law was put forth and enacted on July 31, 2003 and it prohibits Israeli nationals from marrying Palestinians. The law is also retroactive and will affect thousands of already married couples who have been living in Israel legally and will force them to either separate or leave the country. Children are also affected.  Those born in the Occupied Territories to Israeli permanent residents would have to apply for family re-unification.  In May of 2002, the Ministry of the Interior froze all family re-unification applications. The law only applies to Palestinian and Israeli couples.  Israeli nationals who marry an Italian, for instance, would not have that problem.

Turning to the issue of Settlements, B'Tselem has maintained a constant vigil of their progress. These outposts, or settlements are illegal under international law.  The law states that an occupier cannot transfer its population into occupied areas. Israel gets around this by staking claim to large areas surrounding the settlements' borders, and expanding the undeveloped areas so that ajacent settlements can be connected and claiming that the growth is natural, i.e. human propagation and marriage.  From 1993 to 2000, the total population of the settlements doubled, and this was during the Oslo Peace Agreement banning settlement expansion.

In other human rights campaigns, B'Tselem has worked on stopping torture of prisoners.  It is estimated that 3/4 of all Palestinian prisoners have experienced some torture during interrogation.  Prior to the recent Intifada, the High Court ruled that "Moderate Physical Force" (which is IDF nomenclature) was, indeed, torture and therefore, illegal.  However, B'Tselem has had information provided that since the recent Intifada, the torture has resumed.

After our meetings, we returned to the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition work camp in Netanyu.  Lance Thurner, Djoko Wiroetisno and I helped finish the exterior concrete on Salim's home.  It was a beautiful sight.  Americans, Italians, Brits, Germans, Palestinians and Jews working side by side.

Around 8:30 local time, the camp was threatened with a raid.   The construction site sits near a hill that slopes down to a newly constructed road.  Up the other hill stands another construction site--that of a new interrogation centre.  On the road between the two hills, an Israeli military/police vehicle made its way toward the camp. Frightened, the workers fled, yet Salim and his wife alongside some internationals stayed in the camp.  The situation was tense.  In a matter of only a few minutes, the vehicle turned and drove away.  Devora, the camp co-ordinator, expressed the opinion that time may be closing in.  Perhaps as soon as just before dawn. The three of us have returned to the hostel in East Jerusalem.  All of the delagation is safe.  

In unity and strength,
Jason Jones  

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August 12, 2003

In the early morning hours today, we learned of the suicide bombings near Ben Guiron Airport in Tel Aviv. These were evidently in retaliation for the assault on Nablus last Saturday.  Four Israelis were killed and the Israeli forces are carring out operations, again, in Nablus in retaliation.  

Paralleling this, the group travelled to the Vatican Ecumenical Center in Bethlehem.  We met with Michael McGarry who gave us background on the site.  The Center is located on the Israeli side of the border with Bethlehem on a hill named Tantur.  Tantur is an oasis in a matter of speaking, in that armed Israeli soldiers are not allowed on its grounds as it is Vatican property. The result of its embassy like status provides safe passage for Palestinians wanting to avoid the checkpoint.  In the wall that forms its Bethlehem boundry is a gate though which the people travel.  In clear view of the checkpoint and in sight of Israeli soldiers and snipers, these people pass right through without repercussions.  From time to time, the Israelis block the entrance, but the blockage is quickly removed.  Whether it be barracades of rock or attempts at sabotage with axel grease, the Palestinians overcome it.  

As the afterburners of F-16's raged overhead, Michael showed us Ahu Ghunaim, which was the last wooded hilltop in the Jerusalem.  With 'was' being the key word, it has now become another colony or settlement.

Leaving the Ecumenical Center, we traveled to the office of the Holy Land Trust.  Sami Awad discussed their work and how they are approaching the situation. They have set up an approach with three components. First, Peace and Reconciliation that focuses on non-violence and community building. Second, the Remember the Innocents program that provides trauma healing for children.  The reason for this idea was the UNICEF report that established that one hundred percent of all Palestinian children have experienced trauma on some sort of level due to the fear and violence.  From this, they are teaching children conflict resolution, democracy training, and non-violence.  In addition, the teachers, social workers and parents receive Peace Education that is just as comprehensive.  The Holy Land Trust will soon make a proposal to the Palestinian Authority to implement this format into all public schools. Lastly, the third component is Travel and Encounter. With this, they bring people to Palestine to provide, first-person view of the situation.

While in Bethlehem, we also visited the Applied Research Institute.  The group met with Jad Issac, the general director.  Jad has obtained satellite imaging of the West Bank and Gaza that provides striking proof, in full color of the massive expansion of settlements and the alteration of geographic features as a result of it.  One such example is the "shaving of Gaza."  The "shaving" means the large scale razing of trees in order to construct border defining highways that penetrate "Palestinian" territory and link isolated Israeli colonies to greater Israel. In addition, he is also looking into the affects of pollution from the coast on the West Bank area due to the the westerly winds.

Our last meeting was with Ghassan Andoni, the executive director of the Palestinian Center for Rapproachment Between People and a co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement.  Mr. Andoni is a strong, dignified man. I personally do not believe that I have ever met a man more personally committed to the Palestinian liberation cause.  Similarly, he is unflinching in his honesty as well as his view of how the occupation of Palestine should be solved. "If you see something unjust, dismantle it." These were his words of advice. He also made it clear that Peace is not passive; that one has to wage peace.  To paraphrase Mr. Andoni, the movement seeks to destroy the ability to control by targeting the tools of control. Ghassan is a man who can motivate and inspire.  The American peace movement would do good to
hear from him.

Aside from our day of meetings, we also made time to pass through an Israeli checkpoint, visit the Church of the Nativity, and arrive at Dheisheh Refugee camp where we will spend the night.  We had a brief tour of the camp. Throughout the town, we saw the faces of Martyrs.  I never really knew what martyrs looked like, but it seems that in Palestine, they resemble ten and eleven year-old boys.  

Tomorrow, we go to Ramallah and then to Nablus in the evening.  Depending upon the situation there, e-mailing may not be possible.

In unity and strength,
Jason Jones

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August 13, 2003

I am sitting in the home of a Palestinian family that took us in after we were denied entry at a checkpoint en route to Nablus. We waited at the Hawareh checkpoint for three hours. But that was nothing. We met an American there, who was waiting on his friend, a Palestinian who was to take part in a peace delegation to Spain. The Palestinian was denied passage, apprehended, but later released that evening. Another young man, we'll call him 'Prince', a Palestinian business owner and family man, had been waiting at Huwarra since 09:30 Wednesday morning. We arrived there around 6:30 p.m. I cannot put into words, adequately, the inhumanity of the situation. Israeli soldiers mocked, taunted and humiliated the citizens of Palestine who only wanted to get to their homes in Nablus or surrounding areas such as Beit where we stayed last night.

I tried to understand the rationale behind the methods of the soldiers, but had to give up when I could not find one. They stand around, smoking, talking, laughing and making lewd comments to muslimas while allowing one person to pass and denying another. The decisions on who to allow through are made at random. I can only relate it to a cat toying with mice before they kill them.

The reason for the delegations’ denial of passage, was that we possessed the wrong visa for travel to Nablus. At Ben Guiron, our passports were stamped with B2 visas; the soldiers, with straight faces, told us we required B1 visas. Bret phoned the American consulate in Jerusalem and they revealed to us that a B1 visa is a work visa. Our B2 tourist visas were valid and the soldiers were lying to us. The delegation was not overwhelmed with shock at this fact and Bret confronted the soldiers about it. Of course they weren't lying, they assured us. I felt much better after that.

With a stroke of luck, we encountered a professor from Birzeit University on the taxi ride to the checkpoint. It seems that our foreign status, white skin and American passports can get you to the front of the line here and he joined us and was aided in getting through the checkpoint prior to Huwarra. He told us that if we had not been with him in the taxi, he could have had to wait up to four hours to get through. So, we exchanged phone numbers and when our situation at Huwarra was not going to change, we called him and he sent a taxi for us--at no charge! We spent the night with his family. We ate, we had coffee, we smoked and talked into the late night hours. Amazing. In a way, the soldiers did us a favor. If we had gotten through, we never would have had this opportunity.

To sum up our activities yesterday, the delegation visited Al-Haq, the Palestinian counterpart to B'Tselem. There we discussed the various international laws and Geneva convention protocols that apply to the Palestinian situation. Needless to say, Israel is breaking them all.

Afterward, we journeyed to Birzeit University and spoke with Nader Izzat Said, the director of sociology. He provided the delegation with valuable statistics and results of polls taken among the Palestinians. One of the first and most accurate polls to be administered in the Territory.

Today, we will try again for Nablus and overnighting at the refugee camp adjacent to the town. On Friday, we are going to Hebron and spending time with the Christian Peacemaker Team.

In unity and strength,
Jason Jones

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August 14, 2003

In the early morning hours of Thursday, the 14th, the Israeli Defense Forces destroyed the family home of one of the suicide bombers in the Askar refugee camp.

The delegation maneuvered around the Hawareh checkpoint through another checkpoint reserved for trucks without incident. Before leaving Hawareh checkpoint, however, we witnessed the soldiers single out a Palestinian male, which they forced to squat in the hot, desert sun. Bill attempted to take water to him, but he refused, fearing retribution by IDF. He probably sat out there all day without liquids.

We traveled to Nablus and then onto the Balata Refugee camp. Inside, we found the situation dire. The infrastructure of Nablus and Balata has been left in ruin. The Palestinian Authority Ministry of the Treasury was up to fifty percent obliterated. The main street of Balata was left unmanageable with taxis barely able to navigate. On the rooftop of an ISM house, we conversed with some of the activists. They explained to us how the Israeli forces are behaving in response to their presence. The result of ISM activity is very positive. The forces of the IDF are much less likely to strike or be as aggressive with internationals present. And with the situation on the ground here, it seems the ceasefire is over, for all intents and purposes. ISM has never been more needed than right now.

The delegation also visited the destroyed homes of the two suicide bombers. One house is completely gone. The IDF planted explosive charges inside their home after giving the family of fourteen only ten minutes to clear out. The close proximity of homes in refugee camps is measured in inches and the explosive charges also destroyed the walls of neighbors. Luckily, the IDF did not kill anyone. The other house, that was destroyed this morning, is in a rather new complex. So, the IDF only destroyed part of the front wall. I would guess that they used similar devices as in the first home and by the time we got there this afternoon around 6:00 p.m., the smell of accelerant permeated the air. Both families are in extreme grief. They react only with questions and sadness. The anger that is there is not directed at Jews or Israelis in general, only toward the governments of the U.S. and Israel. They were, however, very reassured by our presence and their faces expressed the feeling of our solidarity.

The delegation is rather drained, both physically and emotionally. A number of us have experienced some flu, but that's probably due to the stress and constant travel and heavy workload. However, I feel that it is worth every discomfort for the work we do here. It is worth it for every Nashta we meet or every Palestinian who does not have to feel alone and isolated. If nothing else, our presence exudes solidarity with them.

In unity and strength,
Jason Jones

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August 15, 2003

Part I:

The delegation woke to the Nablus sunrise. We toured the old city and witnessed the destruction caused by F-16's that launched rockets into crowded city streets. We interviewed a young boy, Ahmed, who lost both eyes to a rocket launched from an Apache helicopter. One building, a soap factory, was destroyed because it was suspected of producing explosives for Hamas.

Afterward, we rented a taxi. In order for us to get to Fara Refugee camp, we had to take back roads over a mountain to avoid the checkpoints. It is 20 kilometers to Fara from Nablus. It took us two and a half hours to reach it. At one point the taxi became stuck when we tried to go over a mound constructed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to block a back road that Palestinians are allowed to travel on. We got it free, and had to fix the radiator and muffler.

That is all for now. I will have to continue later.



Part II:

In attempting to avoid the Israeli checkpoints, our cab driver tried to drive around a blocked road. The Israelis often block roads that Palestinians use with dirt mounds and rock barricades. At the point where we tried to cross to the main road, there was a steep upgrade over a mound of dirt. The cab made it to the top, but became trapped on the top with both rear wheels hanging over the edge unable to get traction. We tried to push it over the edge but without luck. As we began to check the leaking radiator, we saw the Israeli soldiers behind us and knew they were coming after us. The driver, a Palestinian, feared having his identification taken from him, so he gave it to Allison to hold. The truck drove toward us, but when the soldiers saw us, the truck turned around and left.

When we got to Al Fara'a, we met Nedal and he welcomed us into his home and provided us with a feast. He then, showed us around the camp. We saw the newly dedicated Youth Center that was once an Israeli prison. Two former prisoners showed us around and explained the treatment they received at the hands of the soldiers. We also saw the cells they were kept in. They measured about 1.6 meters wide, and about 3 meters long with about six to seven prisoners per cell. USAID and Feed the Children provided funding for the center. The Spanish government provided funding for the gymnasium that was newly constructed, but Israeli tanks have destroyed one of the entrances and flares have punctured holes in the roof.

The delegation is spending the night at Nedal's. We are in good spirits having seen the persistence of the Palestinian people and very progressive actions and services provided at Al Fara'a. It is by far, the nicest in terms of infrastructure of the refugee camps we've visited.


In unity and strength,
Jason Jones

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August 16, 2003


Around eight o'clock the delegation set out from Nadel's home in Al Fara'a camp to the Jenin refugee camp. The Jenin camp is one that has been raided the most by Israeli Defense Forces. In the center of the town there is nothing but demolished ruins of what once stood as 182 housing units. In March of this year the IDF murdered 62 people, half of them fighters, the other half including women, children, and handicapped men. Now, the camp remains defiant, yet sad. Though there were many lost in the fighting, the IDF was forced to pull out. The Al Aqsa Brigade considered it a victory and rallying cry. With such a high death toll, the number of injured was, predictably, even greater, totaling in the hundreds. We talked briefly to a young man of about fifteen who had his right arm and left leg injured. His right arm is useless and hangs limply by his side. He puts it in the pocked of his jeans to give some semblance of normalcy.

The camp director deftly pointed out that children who witnessed the atrocities are filled with even more anger and potential for violence. The story of one man, who lost his legs comes to my mind repeatedly. He and his wife were tied up in their kitchen by IDF and used as human shields in the presence of their children during the aggression. For six days they and their children suffered a hostage situation while IDF battled it out with militants of the camp. When the fighting ceased, the IDF retreated, but not before they planted a bomb at his front door. When he finally freed himself from the restraints, he went to the door and the bomb was triggered. The explosion blew off his legs.

From conversations with the residents of the camp, one cannot come away with any feeling but helplessness and frustration. Yet, the resolve they show is inspiring. Labeled as terrorists, they continue the struggle for freedom and the right to return. We interviewed one man who tried to explain the experience to us. He told us to imagine having our homes and towns demolished and being forced to leave. Then imagine, fifty years later, returning to a refugee camp from which one is not allowed to leave and facing a nation that does not abide by international law as passed by the United Nations. The law (U.N. Resolution 198) requires the occupying nation to allow the refugees to return to their land and receive just compensation for their anguish, yet it refuses to obey the law, instead offers the refugees nothing, and even reneges on its promise to observe the boundaries manifest in, yet, another agreement. Imagine having land taken from you time and again. Imagine having limits enforced on your travel, having your roads destroyed or blockaded, and having the alien nation that occupies your home moving its people to settlements that surround you. Imagine questioning the future of your children and feeling hopeless about the chance that they will have any meaningful success in their lives.

In unity and struggle,
Jason Jones

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August 17, 2003
(Tulkarm and Jayyus)

We left Jenin yesterday and headed for Tulkarm, which is in the northwest, approximately 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the Mediterranean Sea. As the unfamiliar humidity hit us under palm fronds at the local pizza stand, Wassim and Nafat explained the situation in Tulkarm. Tulkarm is near the newly erected wall and the delegation saw for the first time, in person, the massive network of fence and concrete that the Israelis are erecting. Wassim explained to us that not too long ago, the people of Tulkarm, both Israeli and Palestinian, used to bicycle the 17 km to the sea. Now, they are not allowed anywhere near Israel. The sea is but a dream to them these days. The collective memory of her is relegated to the discount bins of antiquity. One could see the longing and sadness on Wassim and Nafat's faces. Nafat hasn't seen the ocean for three years.

During the night, we slept at the Women's Union, a place that Nafat described as a refuge used for handicapped children. Around one or two o'clock, in the very near vicinity, we heard the machinegun bursts. I have no idea who was shooting or at what.

Today, we drove with Wassim and Nafat, our defacto guides, to the village of Jayyous. From the town hall of Jayyous, we had a bird's eye view of the wall. When the local authority learned of our visit, we were invited in for a meeting with the mayor, Fayez Hassan Mohammad Salim. He explained to us that when the Israelis decided to expropriate the land for the construction of the wall, they notified the inhabitants of the town by placing an envelope containing a hand-written letter in an olive tree. By luck, a farmer came across the note informing the citizens of Jayyous that some 9,500 dunnums (2,375 acres) of their land would be taken from them. All seven of Jayyous' water wells, as well as much of the local agriculture, will be on the Israeli side of the wall, once completed. Even now, farmers have lost much of their land and can only access it through one gate that is supposed to be open only 2 hours of the day. Officially, farmers can access their crops from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and then from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily. This is often not the case, however, because IDF can turn them away at will and often opens and closes the gate at erratic times.

The Israeli government did allow the people of Jayyous recourse to their plan by offering them one week to submit objections. But since the letter was delivered to an olive tree the citizens actually only had two days to submit all their paperwork. Undeterred, the hard-working mayor did just that. He compiled all necessary documents within forty-eight hours and had them in the appropriate office before the deadline. This did not stop the Israelis from building the wall as originally planned. The mayor closes his curtains because the sight of the rape of their land makes him sad. (Read more..."Jayyous: a village split in two by a 'security wall' - a question of security or fertile land?")

The result of the wall is that 85 families live without access to their land and 500 families live without a water source. An ISM activist, Ora, explained the plight of one Bedouin family trapped on the other side of the wall. This family has no water source and is not allowed to move. They have, as of today, a 3-5 day supply of water. The wife is afflicted with diabetes and when the school season starts next month, the children will be at the mercy of IDF to allow them through the gate on the way to and from school. When the delegation learned of this, we donated enough money to purchase the family a water storage tank.

The Western world expects the Palestinian Authority to prevent terrorism. The Palestinian government employees cannot get to work due to checkpoints and concrete blocks and rubble piled onto Palestinian roads. When the IDF invades towns and cities it destroys government ministry offices and bombs their homes. The PA is forced to spend and spend again on infrastructure. They are forced to direct already limited manpower on just providing the basic necessary support for the people. Half of the Palestinian economy comes from aid sent from the European Union. The majority of the workforce in most villages and towns are unemployed (in Tulkarm, the unemployment rate is 70%).

From here on the ground, this looks worse than we thought.

We learned today that the ISM office in the Balata Refugee Camp was blasted away not more that twelve hours after our visit. One of the ISM activists asked an IDF soldier what he thought would bring this conflict to a close. The soldier replied that the conflict would end when there were no more Palestinians in Israel.

One Palestinian said to us that if the Israelis were to respect the 1967 borders, there would be no one against whom to fight.

And so it continues day in and day out. Constant fear caused by random stops, random gunshots, random raids, and random killings. Add to this the degradation of the soul, the denial of dignity and disrespect to human lives and human worth.

This tragic conflict is not Muslim against Jew, it is not religion against religion, it is the "haves" versus the "have-nots". Two-hundred-year-old olive trees are being chainsawed and bulldozed in the name of shopping mall convenience.

In solidarity,
Jason Jones

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August 18, 2003

Today we traveled to Hebron with Joanne Lingle. We are spending the night in the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) house here.

During the afternoon, we met with the Association for Human Rights. Heshan Sheriboti gave us some important facts concerning the West Bank and Gaza. The Gaza strip contains most of the Palestinian refugees (70%). Thirty percent are living in the West Bank. He also told us that 480 Palestinian villages were destroyed in the 1948 war. The Israeli government has tried to get the Palestinian Authority to give up the claim for right of return of return for refugees before sitting down at the bargaining table. This is something that cannot be bartered and the PA never agreed to it.

We also discussed some of the issues that some Palestinian members of the Knesset, such as Azmir Beeshara, have tried to bring attention to such as campaign for a democratic Israel that represents everyone in one nation. Since Israel would have to give up its Jewish nature to become a democratic nation with Israeli and Palestinian citizens, Beeshara was regarded as a traitor. In contrast, some radical right-wing members who have campaigned on ideas such as forcefully relocating all Palestinians outside of the country have been allowed to run for Knesset without much controversy.

Heshan recommended some literature put out by PASSIA that has all the pertinent information our delegation would like to obtain as part of its mission. Passia is the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. We will definitely acquire it upon our return to Jerusalem.

When we got back to the CPT camp, we spoke with Jerry Levin, the first hostage taken by Hezbollah during the1983 civil war in Lebanon. He shared his story with us this evening, adding inside details on the political workings of the Reagan administration and CNN during that crucial time.

We also spoke with other CPT members about the situation in Hebron. There are many small enclaves of settlers inside Hebron. We are just a few blocks away from many of them. These are the ideological settlers along the lines of Baruch Goldstein who murdered 29 Palestinians at the tomb of Abraham in 1994. Here in Hebron gunshots are fired at Palestinian children from the settler areas, and settlers engage in other acts of vandalism and intimidation as well.

The army personnel here seems a bit more tame. In fact, one soldier we encountered today was very nice to us. It's all a bit bizarre.

In solidarity,
Jason
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August 20, 2003

The day started off with the delegation returning to Jerusalem from the Hebron area via taxi and bus. For the past two days we were staying with the Christian Peacemaker Team in the old city.

Last night, we broke up into groups of men and women for home stays with families in the area. The men stayed with a local man, named Atta, whose house was demolished twice before. He is now in his third home. He told us of his situation. During the destruction of his first home, he protested the IDF action and was arrested. During the protest, he was beaten severely, as were his 75-year-old father, his wife, and his brother. During the confrontation, his newborn baby accidentally touched one of the commanding officers present, and the IDF charged the baby with assault.

As Atta related this story, he also mentioned the plight of his family's land. In front of his house is a settler highway that bisects the property where grapes are grown in lush, terraced fields. On one side of the road is his father's house and on the other, is his. His neighbor has a 5-year-old son who was hit by a settler. While tending to the family sheep, the boy and his two brothers were herding the flock across the highway, when a settler purposively swerved to hit them. The boy was struck and thrown nine meters into a field. He has since recovered, but now has one leg a few centimeters shorter than the other and had to spend some time in a body cast. The settler was never arrested.

Due to the suicide bombing last night in Jerusalem, Hebron was cordoned off by the military barring all entrance and exit by citizens and internationals. The delegation had to employ a taxi to maneuver around checkpoints and take us to a settler highway where we caught a bus bound for Jerusalem. While waiting for the bus, we spoke to a young woman settler, Aviva, who has been living in the area for about a year. She immigrated to Israel about a year ago from Queens, New York. We conversed with her. During our dialogue she expressed no idea of the plight of the Palestinians who are her neighbors. Not surprisingly, she seemed extremely afraid of all "Arabs." Aviva intimated to us that she feels a strong connection to the land that she feels "God" has promised to her and her people, despite having spent all of her life in the United States.

When we got back to Jerusalem, we had a 2:30 p.m. meeting with a former Knesset member, Moshe Raz. Moshe is a member of the Maaretz Party. Maaretz is a coalition of the Mapan (United Workers Party-Socialist) and CLM (Citizen Rights Movement). Until the last election, they held ten seats in the Knesset, now they number only six. Moshe is now the executive director of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Coalition and a general director of Peace Now. Moshe seemed to indicate that the outlook for a successful peace in Israel is strict adherence to the Roadmap by both sides, a return of the borders of 1967 and reigning in the settlement expansion. He stressed that the major obstacle to peace are the settlers.

In his discussion, he also indicated that the major reason for the continued swing of Israeli voters to the right is lack of education. Newspapers in Israel are similar to those in the U.S., meaning that 90% is fluff and 10% hard news, with the exception of Ha'aretz --- the only hard news publication in the country. Disappointingly, only 7% of Israelis read Ha'aretz. The Peace Coalition is working on starting an alternative radio station based in Ramallah to help counteract the lack of information on both sides.

Around 6:30 p.m., we met with Amit Grossman, a Refusnik from the Israeli reserves. He is a part of Courage to Refuse that started a year and a half ago. Courage to Refuse has a membership of around one thousand reserve soldiers who have signed the pledge of resistance to refuse to serve in the occupied territories. Amit has served two 28-day prison terms for his refusal to serve in the West Bank. These soldiers are not opposed to serving in the army per se; they only disagree with the use of the army in implementing unjust domestic and foreign policy. There are more such groups and we will be meeting with a member of a similar organization tomorrow who is also a Refusnik.

In solidarity,
Jason Jones

PS. Gretchen wishes it to be known that she is fine, but will not be calling home tonight.


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August 21/22, 2003

As I write this final report from East Jerusalem, the night sky canvasses the U.S. and in the mid-morning hours of the Near East the cease-fire has broken. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have officially called off the Hudna (truce) after Israeli troops assassinated Abu Shanab, a Hamas militant in Gaza yesterday. In addition, the Israelis have cut Gaza in two, violating the Roadmap Peace Plan, and in the West Bank they have entered Nablus and sent tanks into Jenin.

During these events, the delegation met with Peretz Kidron of Yesh Gvul, an organization involved in the Refusenik movement. Yesh Gvul began during the Lebanon War with soldiers who selectively refused duties that they found to violate moral values and violate legitimate defense concerns. This movement does not include those who refuse military service altogether, rather, the ingenuity of it lies in the members continuing military service, but questioning military orders involving the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Yesh Gvul provides support and assistance to those soldiers and their families. The group, founded in June of 1982, was a part of the reason Israel withdrew from Lebanon.

The number of Refuseniks now total around 1,100 soldiers, roughly equivalent to 60,000 U.S. soldiers when put into the context of the size of U.S. military numbers. The legal backing of this movement was the incident at Fafr Kassen where IDF soldiers, acting on orders, slaughtered 49 Palestinians during the confrontation with Egypt and the courts held those soldiers had the duty to disobey official orders when the "black flag" of illegality was so evident.

Later on Thursday, the delegation met with Jacob Goldstein, a former advisor to ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Mr. Goldstein offered a uniquely Zionist interpretation of the Oslo Peace Accords, the Wye Agreement, and the Camp David talks. His opinion was instrumental in providing another point of view of this very confusing situation.

Perhaps the most positive and humanistic meeting of the entire delegation’s trip came from Rami Elhannan, a representative of the Parents' Circle. The work of the Parents' Circle involves uniting parents of both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, who have lost sons and daughters to the ongoing violence in this conflict. Rami lost his 14-year-old daughter to a suicide bomber on the 4th of September 1997. He intimated that he chose to try and understand the reasons for that fateful day rather than react with anger and the lust for revenge. Though he has neither forgotten nor forgiven, he has instead, chosen not to dwell on the past, but look forward to the future by building relationships and educating parents and youth alike in the present. The Parents' Circle provided 1400 lectures last year. They also have held summer camps with Israeli and Palestinian children in Neve Shalom, an idyllic town where Palestinians and Israelis peacefully co-exist and a place that Rami described as being "an island of sanity in a sea of madness."

Rami also explained that he lectures high school students of 17 and 18 who are about to enter the Army. He underscores his concern and his pain by explaining to them that there is no difference in his eyes between a checkpoint soldier who detains a pregnant Palestinian woman resulting in the loss of her child and the man who killed his daughter. The message highlights the cause-and-effect of repression and retaliation. Rami also showed us a video of the massive protest held here in Jerusalem and in front of the U.N. building in New York that entailed the draping of 1200 coffins with the Palestinian and Israeli flags--a dramatic and effective statement of individual suffering and loss. He ended the meeting with his perspective on the future of the conflict by saying, "(we will) go on killing until the price of killing exceeds the price of peace". Membership in the Parents' Circle is something no father or mother wants, but their numbers now total 200 Israeli families and 150 Palestinian.

In unity and strength,
Jason Jones