Kairos Crowthorne goes live

The Kairos Group has decided to create a Kairos Crowthorne blog. This will be open to other people to write about Israel/Palestine and so I will now focus my efforts on that blog - kairoscrowthorne.blogspot.com . 

Arrived safely

I am delighted to have arrived home safe and sound. The journey to the airport was straightforward and the security light.; The flight was very comfortable and I met a Russian Jew who told me her story, so another article coming soon on that. Looking forward now to catching up with Tracy and all my friends and family. Thank you again to all those who prayed for a safe journey.

Meeting a Russian Jew

On my way home from Israel, I sat next to a young lady who told me that she is Russian. Her family lived close the the border with China and life was very hard - her mother did not get any wages for a year. Being Jewish, her family was offered the chance to come to live in Israel and they now live in Tel Aviv, where she is very happy. She was on her way to America for a holiday.

She has a job, and is learning to cope with four languages - Jewish, Arabic, English and Russian. Life is much better for her and her family. I mentioned that I had been living in Bethlehem. and she made a face. The problems there were not of her making and she told me that she does not wish to become involved. I understand that for many Jewish immigrants there is no connection to what the Israeli Government is doing - they are just pleased to be treated well.

Then she surprised me by telling me that she served in the israeli army. I was even more surprised when she told me that she was in a tank regiment! I asked if she drove, but she said the boys liked to drive the tank. I did not see any tanks while I was in Israel or the West Bank. When I think of soldiers in Israel, I will think of her and remember that they are just ordinary people asked to do difficult things.  

I realise that there are many in Israel who live well but at the cost of pain and suffering for others. It will be difficult for these people to give equally to others if it means limitations on their own lifestyle. 

On my way

I am on the way home and writing this at the departure lounge of Tel Aviv airport. I left Bethlehem at 8am and travelled from by Palestinian bus to Jerusalem, then Israeli tram to Jerusalem bus station, then israeli coach to tel Aviv and finally an airport bus to get to the airport. The security at the airport was thorough, but I had no problems answering the questions, so am very pleased to be waiting for my flight to board. We expect to land at 8:25 this evening at Heathrow. Thank you so much for all the prayers - they have been answered and I will soon be back home.

Saying goodbye at the Church

This is Damascus Gate, part of the wall around the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City is about 1 square kilometre. The wall was built around 1535 and is about 12 metres high, 4 km long, and 2.5 metres thick. You can walk around the top of it and get a wonderful view. It was built around 1535 under the Ottoman Empire under orders from Suleiman I.

I am in Jerusalem for the last time today before I start my journey home tomorrow. The East Jerusalem Baptist Church is in an area with a complicated status. The population of East Jerusalem comprises mainly Christian and Muslim Palestinians. Israel has "annexed" this part of Jerusalem into the rest of Jerusalem, but this is not internationally accepted and still challenged as being part of the occupation. However, life on the surface appears "normal" with Jews and Palestinians co-existing with the many tourists. I regularly go to this coffee bar which is Palestinian and has been here since 1960.

The Church was packed this morning with people from all over the world- Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Malaysia, America, and UK. It was a joyful occasion as Christians from all these countries worshipped and praised God together. I said my farewells - I shall miss this lovely congregation. I was invited to stay for lunch, but have been invited to lunch with Odette, so had to decline.

Bethlehem viewed from Jerusalem

On the way home I am reminded of my privileged status here as I travel back to Bethlehem from Jerusalem. This is the walled city which is Bethlehem from the Jerusalem side. This view is of the camp where I live. The fields in the foreground are in the West Bank, so are Palestinian, but have been annexed by Israel - the wall runs right next to the houses, so the people have no open space in which to breathe and play. 

On the way into Jerusalem, the bus stops and all permits are checked. Some Palestinians have to dismount for permit inspection, others stay on the bus - I have not worked out why. My passport is checked but I have no problems as Internationals are allowed anywhere. On the way back we drive straight through as the Israelis don't check people entering the West Bank - obviously not a security risk that way round. 

Back home I am invited to have lunch and refuse the second time! I am hoping that I do get lunch at Odette's!

Land Day tomorrow

Tomorrow is "Land Day". I am going into Jerusalem for Church, but will need to be aware that this is a sensitive day.

What is it that Palestinians commemorate on Land Day?

Copy of an article by Arjan El Fassed 

The Electronic Intifada 

30 March 2001

"On 30 March 1976, thousands of people belonging to the Palestinian minority in Israel gathered to protest Israeli government plans to expropriate 60,000 dunams of Arab-owned land in the Galilee. In the resulting confrontations with Israeli police, six Palestinians were killed, hundreds wounded, and hundreds jailed. In the intervening years, those events have become consecrated in the Palestinian memory as Land Day.

After years of military rule and political docility, Land Day 1976 was the first act of mass resistance by the Palestinians inside Israel against the Zionist policy of internal colonialisation, a systematic process of expropriation that had reduced Palestinian land ownership from around 94 per cent of all territory in pre-1948 Palestine to less than three per cent in what is now considered to be Israel.

After years of quiet ostracism by the PLO and the Arab states, Land Day reaffirmed the Palestinian minority in Israel as an inseparable part of the Palestinian and Arab nation.

The Palestinian minority in Israel

Today, Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel comprise approximately 19 percent of the total population of the country, numbering close to 900,000. They live predominantly in villages, towns, and mixed cities in the Galilee region in the north, the Triangle area in central Israel, and the Negev desert in the south. They belong to three religious communities: Muslim (76%), Christian (15%), and Druze (9%).

In 1947, the Palestinian Arabs comprised some 67 percent of the population of Palestine. During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, approximately 780,000 of the pre-1948 Palestinian population fled or were expelled to the fate of becoming refugees in the Arab states and in the West. Of the 150,000 Palestinians who remained in the new Israeli state, approximately 25 percent were displaced from their homes and villages, and became internal refugees. As a result, the Palestinian Arab population in Israel found itself disoriented and severely weakened.

From 1948-1966, the Palestinians in Israel lived under a military administration, applied only to them, despite the fact that they were declared citizens of the state in 1948. Military rule severely restricted their fundamental civil liberties, including freedom of movement, speech, and association. Up until 1965, attempts to organize the Arab community in Israel in pan-Arab movements were forcibly stopped and these associations outlawed.

The Israeli authorities also massively confiscated Palestinian-owned lands. By 1993, over 80 percent of the lands owned by Palestinian Arabs living in Israel had been confiscated and placed at the exclusive disposal of Jewish citizens.

Israel never sought to assimilate or integrate its Palestinian citizens, excluding them from public life while practicing systematic discrimination in all fields. Successive Israeli governments maintained tight control over the community, attempting to suppress Palestinian/Arab identity and to divide the community within itself. To that end, Arabs are not defined by the state as a national minority: rather they are referred to as “Israeli Arabs” or by religious affiliation."

Last day at the Holy Land Trust

Today is my last day at the Holy Land Trust. I shall miss the walk each day through this beautiful city, where every person greets me as I pass. And I will miss all the wonderful people that I have met. 

I learn new things every day. Today I switched on my laptop and it told me the time had changed by one hour. Daylight Saving Time has started! I didn't know. I race to HLT and find it deserted. Elias arrives and tells me that Israel changes the clocks today, the West Bank changes the clocks tomorrow, and of course the UK changes on Sunday. I'm glad that is sorted!! 

Daily hits on the blog

This blog is private in the sense that it cannot be seen by search engines - I have switched that option off. It can only be accessed by someone knowing the url (kenperrett.blogspot.co.uk). I am therefore very pleased with number of  daily "hits" and am grateful to all the people who have followed my story. When I get home I shall make it searchable so that others may have the opportunity to read the stories. 

While I have been here writing the stories, Tracy has been at home reading, checking and commenting on the stories, providing support, printing of the newsletter and keeping people informed, as well as coping with all the many things I normally do at home(!?!), including the Church website. I am deeply indebted to her for supporting my trip here in every way possible.

I look forward to coming home on Monday, even more grateful for my peaceful, happy, comfortable life at home. But I will not forget this friendly, gracious and hospitable place, or its pain. 

Meeting a Settler

Today I went to Kfar Etzion to meet Myron Joshua, a Settler. If you have been following the blog, you will know that I met him in the street in Bethlehem. My readers may not realise the significance of this statement, but every Palestinian does - it is extremely unusual to meet a Settler in Bethlehem - they are told it is illegal for them to enter. The Palestinians all ask me "what was he doing?" Some say "maybe he is spy". All suspect his motives. So now I can answer their questions. 

Regional Administration Centre

I travelled in a "Service" (shared taxi) with another international. We were dropped off on the main road south of Bethlehem and I called Myron. He kindly came with a vehicle from the Kibbutz to pick us up. While we were waiting, he suggested that we have a look around the supermarket at the junction with the main road. This was quite contentious at the time of building as it would be used by Jews and Palestinians. The Rabbis feared "integration" and other Jews were worried about suicide bombers. It seems to be working, but the only Palestinian we saw there was peddling goods outside the store. Myron told us that there were some Palestinians employed as check-out staff, but there were some tensions about how many Jews and Palestinians were employed. We guess that the store owner is Jewish. 

We had only gone a few yards when Myron stopped to pick up a Palestinian. He was going to the regional administration centre and so Myron drove him there, and told us about the process.

Waiting for permits

 Palestinians have to come here to get a permit. They queue in this empty room until called to go through the turnstile. Myron spoke to the Palestinians to ask them about their experience. The Palestinian in the photo told us that last time he waited from 8am until 1pm and then was told to go away and come back in 3 weeks! The others had been waiting hours. There is no human face they can react with. The Palestinian asked Myron to help, but Myron told us he had no influence on the process. 

Hirbeit Zakariyah

 We looked out over the land. Myron told us that some of the fields were Jewish and some Palestinian - he could not tell. We asked about the provision of water, as our experience is that you can tell - Jews get water and Palestinians don't. He told us he didn't know, but that was one of the issues he felt he should know more about. 

Mohammad Saad

In this surprising itinery, we then drove to a Palestinian village - Hirbeit Zarariyah. Here Myron met and introduced the mayor - Mohammad Saad. 

Myron told us about the efforts of some of the people from the Settlement to get building permits for this village - in particular for the school here. The village is, of course, a startling comparison with the Settlement we were to visit, but Myron puts this down to long-term lack of investment in infrastructure by the administrations - Jordanian and Palestinian. Of course, this is now Area C land, which means that no building by Palestinians is allowed by Israel, even though this is in the West Bank. 

This fascinating, yet unexpected, itinery continues when Myron tells us that he has had a call and needs to go to Nahalin. This is the Palestinian village nestling in the valley surrounded by Settlements on all the hills. We take the bumpy track to the village and encounter a road closure - due to the installation of a major water drainage pipe by the US. Myron negotiates with the Palestinian guarding the barrier and we are allowed to enter. The excavators give way and we squeeze through and on into Nahalin. We pick up Mahmoud, who turns out to be Myron's barber! He needs to get to the kibbutz at Kfar Etzion, so Myron finally takes us there. 

We walk into the Settlement. There was no security on the gate. We notice the green grass (with built in watering system). All is calm and pleasant - the soldiers sit having a smoke under the tree.

Myron did not tell us, but I researched Kfar Etzion - I did not know the story. Kfar Etzion was a (Jewish) kibbutz established in 1943. It was at the heart of the tensions between the Jews and the Arabs and was attacked on the day before the State of Israel was declared on May 13th 1948. Most of the people in the kibbutz were killed by the Arab legion. Israel retaliated and killed all the Arabs in a neighbouring village. There is always a dispute about who started the war. The date of the "massacre" is remembered as Israel's Day of Remembrance. The orphans of the kibbutz pressed to return and were allowed (by Israel) to came back to resettle in 1967. This was the first Settlement in the West Bank. Myron came here in 1971 (from America I think). There are now around 150 families, about half of which are in the Kibbutz and half not. 

While we are here, Myron tells us two more stories. A Palestinian who worked in the Kibbutz was injured in a fire and needed hospital treatment. They called for the Settlement ambulance to take him to Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem. However, the Palestinian would not be allowed through the checkpoint as he had no permit for the hospital! In the end they decided to take him in a military ambulance that is not checked. An act of kindness amidst discrimination. 

Myron also told us about the play area nearby. This has been established for Jewish and Palestinian children to meet and play together with their families. 

We heard about some violence by the Settlers. I read later of Settlers who had burned a Mosque. The Rabbi and several others from the Settlement went to apologise and to take gifts of copies of the Quaran.

Our time had come to an end and we took our leave. Myron told us that he had struggled to tell us his story, and we felt a similar confusion. Myron is a kind, peaceful, man and I enjoyed meeting him. I discovered that he attended several sessions at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference, and that he participated in Sami's workshop. There was a simple explanation for his presence in Bethlehem.

As we travel back to Bethlehem, we pass this outpost. Temporary (white) buildings are replaced by new houses (with red roofs). Another sign of the inequality as Israel builds another new illegal settlement.

This visit gave rise to considerable discussion back home in Aida Camp. Can Settlers be kind and peaceful, while living in an illegal Settlement, while Israel discriminates by refusing Palestinians permission to build on their own land, by requiring permits to travel and work, by allocating four times as much water to Jews as Palestinians? 

I believe that all are equal in God's sight. People here are not treated equally. The occupation is wrong and Israel will destroy its own soul if it continues. Good people like Myron live in physical comfort, yet moral discomfort with the injustice. Other Settlers just live in comfort and ignore the "arabs" as they call them. Should good people move out of Settlements as they are illegal, or should they live there and do what they can to make other Settlers uncomfortable and try to make life better for Palestinians. A complicated question!

Getting involved in the disturbances

The Israeli Defence Force replaced a section of the wall on Sunday. Today the young people pooled their cash and bought some tyres - made quite a show this afternoon. The unrest continues. Photo courtesy of Facebook (not mine). 

The family asked me last night why I did not get involved in the disturbances here. When there are noises, the children rush to the window (or as yesterday go up on the roof) to see what is happening. Several of the internationals in the house get fully involved, filming and talking to the soldiers and the young people. Around 8 Palestinians and two soldiers have been injured in the clashes. The family are, of course, concerned for others here - they are mostly related, and seem disappointed that I do not want to demonstrate solidarity with them by going out on the street.

I told the family that I see my role as telling people at home what is happening, reporting the injustice and working for peace. I do not agree with violent means, either by the soldiers, or by the Palestinians, though I can feel the frustration of people who have been imprisoned and face oppression every day. I am in full support of removing the oppression which makes their lives almost unbearable. For young people, it is all they have left to show that they resist this occupation - to throw stones at  soldiers with guns. I will use the pen and the word to do this.

I am hopeful that the nations of the world will right this injustice. Sadly the people here have seen many, many international visitors, and still nothing changes. They do not expect me to make any difference. I aim to prove them wrong.