30 October 2004 - Vermont I bid farewell to Palestine. I have returned home to Vermont and have gone from 30 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. At least it feels like that.
My last few visits included a Greek Orthodox school in Taybeh, a "quick" good-bye in Bethlehem, and hanging out with some Israeli anarchists. Taybeh. This farming village is entirely Christian which is unusual because most places in Palestine are mostly Muslim. The school has been relatively immune from the problems that other Palestinian schools have seen. Even so, students sometimes are prevented from going to/from school due to checkpoints and they feel the same economic woes that all of Palestine experiences. Teachers sometimes have to go for months without pay. What I will remember most about Taybeh, though, is one particular eighth grade girl who speaks English well and has a fire in her belly. As I was leaving, she approached me with about 20 questions written out: "Why aren't you going to stay in Palestine? How are you supporting the Palestinian people and their fight for freedom? If you are a teacher, why won't you stay in Palestine and work here?" Pointed questions from an eighth grader. She's going to be a journalist when she grows up. My "quick" good-bye in Bethlehem was yet another reminder of the effects of occupation. The day I visited just happened to be a holiday. Jewish people were paying their respects at Rachel's Tomb which is in Bethlehem. The army had the whole area sealed off so that only Israelis could be there. But that's not all. The army set up road blocks and checkpoints throughout Bethlehem and surrounding towns. Moving around in Bethlehem, normally an easy thing to do, became a frustrating labyrinth. My friend that I was going to visit was waiting in her car for over an hour at one of these checkpoints. She decided to get out of her car and walk. The army detained her for an additional 6 hours. When we talked later that night, her response to the whole thing was "I am a survivor." I hung out with some Israeli anarchists on my last day. Anarchy brings a certain, crazed image to mind, but these were just normal, down-to-earth people who are opposed to the illegal occupation and do something about it. They regularly join Palestinians in demonstrations, olive harvests, and other non-violent actions to resist the occupation. Apparently, lots of people in Israel are against the occupation, but choose to just talk about it in bars/cafes. I guess it takes an anarchist to actually do something about it. During my stay in the Holy Land, I've learned some things about Israel. It's a militarized society. Soldiers, police, guards, and undercover agents are everywhere. Bags are constantly searched. There is tension all the time. Talking with people was hard because of the tension and the language barrier. Hebrew is the universal language here, not English. Many of the people I did speak with were transplanted Americans. Their fear/hatred and ignorance of Palestinians was quite evident. Israeli citizens cannot legally enter the West Bank or Gaza. Citizens of the West Bank and Gaza cannot legally enter Israel. This policy is extremely detrimental to peace. The only Israelis that many Palestinians get to see are the army. The only Palestinians that many Israelis get to see are the biased images on TV. This policy fosters ignorance which results in fear and hatred on both sides. I saw Star Trek Insurrection (sub-titled in Arabic) a couple weeks ago. Jean Luc Picard quipped that it's too easy to turn a blind eye to the suffering of a people you don't know. I hope that these reports have enabled everyone to see a little better. Peace, Joe _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar � get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/MknplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VTJP/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
