Hebron Delegation Report

10/16 - Delegates were greeted at the Tel Aviv airport by Christine and Kristin. This is the last day of the festival of Sukkoth and the airport is filled with Orthodox Jews arriving for the occasion, many carrying a long, green reed and a piece of fruit. In Jerusalem we entered the Old City by the New Gate and walked through the Christian Quarter to our lodgings in the Muslim quarter at Golden Gate Hostel. We shared our first supper and group meeting.

10/17 - Morning: The group walked through East Jerusalem to the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. Highlights of the presentation by Mrs. Nora Carmi and staff: The word "Sabeel" has a double meaning. It can be interpreted as "The Way", or as "A spring of water". The Center's work for justice is totally non- violent, and is centered in ecumenism (there are 13 Christian denominations in Jerusalem) and interfaith efforts. Ms. Carmi noted that of the first 700 thousand Palestinian refugees some 35% were Christian. Currently 10% of refugees worldwide are Christian, but only 2% of those remaining in Israel and Palestine. "When the Christian world began saying 'Israel has the Bible on it's side', Palestinian Christians simply could not accept it." The work of the Center is political (because politics dictate the survival of the Palestinian people), but not just political. It is centered on the Biblical concepts of love, justice and hope for all people - Palestinians, Jews and others. The Friends of Sabeel work to let local Palestinian Christians know that others care and to educate the whole church. Programs in Jerusalem include specific emphasis on work with women, youth, and Christian clergy. Topics of concern for youth include such things as empowerment and leadership training, especially for those helping traumatized little children. Ms. Carmi noted that, like all Palestinians, the staff is hampered by Israeli control of check-points and the inability of Palestinians to travel to and from Jerusalem and within the occupied territories. Another continuing frustration is the virtual news blackout on details of the occupation - e.g. this week more than 200 homes were destroyed in Raffa, but this is seldom reported in the local U.S. press - while the death of 3 Americans in Gaza was front page in all U.S. papers.

10/17 - Noon - The delegation traveled with local activist Osama to participate in a demonstration against the apartheid wall at the village of Swahreh. The village is built on three hill tops, and the wall would divide families in Swahreh Al Sharkeyah and Swahreh Al Gharbeyah as well as cutting off all the residents' access to fields, olive trees, schools, health care and the village cemetery inside Jerusalem. The wall itself would involve the confiscation of a great deal of Palestinian land as well as the destruction of trees. The residents view the building of the wall as a form of collective punishment. Residents are already being subjected to night raids by police who come and take them out of their homes and drop them at a check point. Police also harass school children so that they are late for school.

10/17 - Afternoon-evening: Meeting with Naama, a Jewish Israeli citizen who is a member of ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) who took us on a tour of settlements so we could witness the situation "on the ground". One of the Israeli strategies for "Systematic Displacement" of Palestinians is to negotiate while simultaneously demolishing Palestinian homes and building settlements and "by- pass" (Israeli only) highways. At the end of the "negotiations" the system of settlements and highways is already in place and is (thought to be) "irreversible". There are approximately 400,000 Israeli settlers, most of whom are not ideological (religious), but come to the settlements for economic reasons (Low rents, subsidies, etc. make the settlements attractive housing options). The state of Israel would like to retain its "Jewish character". But there are a total of 6 million Israeli citizens of whom 1.2 million are Palestinian. With an addition 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and a relatively higher birth rate, Palestinians are almost a majority. The "Systematic Displacement" is an attempt to divide and conquer the Palestinians so as to retain a Jewish majority. Naama says, "If you maintain a Jewish majority you cannot have democracy. If you have democracy, you can't maintain a Jewish majority." Check points, house demolitions and water control are all means of creating a situation on the ground to control the Palestinians. Once that situation exists we are encouraged to believe that it cannot be reversed. This raises the issue of the character of the Israeli state - i.e. is it racist?

10/18 - Delegation passed through the check point to Bethlehem. Since the occupation, there are no tourists in Bethlehem and the local economy is suffering; we were glad to be able to spend some time shopping. A presentation by Doug Dicks, PCUSA Mission Co-worker in Bethlehem who actually works with Catholic Relief Services. Doug's mission is "to engage visitors and share the truth" (See article in Sept/Oct. issue of "Church and Society"). In Doug's view the disconnect between what is known by people in the U.S. and the actual situation in Israel/Palestine has continued to grow. He recommends that we

1. Pray
2. Educate ourselves and others (e.g. the "conflict" between Israelis and Palestinians is not "a thousand year old situation" as we so often hear.)
3. Advocate - "Find an organization that is active and be active ourselves."

Sunday 10/19 - The delegation worshiped and took communion in the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City. Two thousand years after the fact we shared bread and wine with a Christian congregation somewhere close to the location where Jesus spoke the words of institution. The circumstances (oppression and longing for peace) are surprisingly similar, although the actors are different and some roles are reversed. Delegation members spent the rest of the day exploring some of the holy sites in and around the Old City - Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Western Wall, St. Anne's Church, Via Dolorosa, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane.

10/20 - We traveled with Yossef and Shashowna from ICAHD to tour the Apartheid Wall in the northern part of the West Bank in and around the village of Masha. Our host in Masha was Nizeeh, a Palestinian resident. Nizeeh tells us that Masha was a prosperous market town before the Intifada, its shops and products patronized mainly by Jews (most signs in the village are still in Hebrew). Nizeeh himself is a skilled stone cutter who sold to contractors building houses for Israeli Jews. Now road blocks, private highways to/for the settlements and the separation wall have made Masha almost a ghost town. Initially the wall started out in the far north right on the green line. But recently it has begun to take in more and more land belonging to Palestinians - in part because the Israeli settlers want to be on the Israeli side of the wall. The village of Masha is in the district of Qalquliya, which contains 40,000 Palestinians, now almost entirely surrounded by the wall. At Masha, the wall is 7 and 1/2 kilometers from the Green Line and what was originally Masha property now contains three Israeli settlements. Almost all the village's land is gone. Any building must be 150 meters from the wall and/or the road, and buildings on the Palestinian side may not be higher than 3 stories. Thus living space is permanently restricted for future generations of Palestinians. In addition to taking land, the wall construction has destroyed hundreds of olive trees. In places close to settlements the wall is a 9 meter high, solid concrete wall. (While we are viewing and photographing the wall, armed Israeli settler "guards" attempt to force us back into the village.) In other places it consists of a road (for settlers or military patrols), on either side of which are a 9 foot high electrified fence, a sand track for footprints, a 5 foot deep ditch, coils of razor wire and 150 meters of "dead" space where nothing can be built. At $2.5 million per km. the wall will be about 700 km. long. Of this so-called "silent transfer" of land, Nazeeh says, "They are taking our land, our work, our water and our honor. What choice do we have? The world media does not look at our situation."

10/21 We made the trip to Zababdeh, traveling west into the Dead Sea valley and then north across irrigated plains with groves of palms, bananas and grapes and dry brown hills on one side. Before we get into the hills outside Zababdeh, we are stopped at an army check point. The vans are searched (including back packs, a suitcase and packages). First we are told we can go, then we are informed that the check point is "closed". So we sit for an hour. At one point a soldier asks us "Why are you coming here? Don't you know it's dangerous? They killed three Americans last week." In Zababdeh we are greeted by Marthame Sanders (a PCUSA minister) and Deacon Emad from the Latin Church. Later we are introduced to Fr. Thome the Orthodox priest and Fr. Firas the Melchite priest, and have a chance to visit their churches. All of the Christian groups in Zababdeh work cooperatively and seem grateful for their relationship to the Presbyterians and other Western Christians who support their work in a relatively hostile environment. The local population is 2/3rds Christian, but the presence of a large block of Muslim students at the local Arab American University makes the mix approximately 50/50 when school is in session. After a tour of the University and supper with our host families, we visit Marthame and Elizabeth Sanders and review a film they are in process of editing. Marwan, a member of the family featured in the film, is also present.

10/22 - Most of this day was spent in the town of Jenin and the refugee camp attached to the town. Because the paved roads were closed, we reached Jenin by traveling "made up" roads, one of which took us through an olive grove. The (normally) six minute drive from Zababdeh took us over an hour. In Jenin our hosts were three young men from the Jouther ("Roots") Jenin Youth Center. This is an organization of 180 volunteers, whose motto is "This is our obligation; this is our duty." Jouther, founded in 1995 to serve young men, is a political organization, the only one of its kind in the West Bank. Jouther's projects include a kindergarten because of their conviction that the children who have suffered so much psychological trauma have special needs. The director of the Early Childhood Center noted that in addition to serving the special needs of these children the Center is also concerned with training teachers. Our hosts took us on a tour of the Refugee Camp with particular emphasis on the evidence of violence and destruction from the April, 2002 incursion. One touching incident was our encounter with a man whose son and nephew were killed in the incursion, and who now tends the cemetery where victims are buried. Later in the day we re-visit the campus of Arab American University in Zababdeh and talk with students and faculty. One student shares the following story: "Two days ago the soldiers occupied the road leading to the campus. Some students they beat, some they just turned back, and some were arrested. Sometimes the soldiers shoot from the road toward the campus, warning students they think might be straying outside the campus."

10/23 - We left Zababdeh at 6:30 A.M., made a quick stop in Jerusalem and traveled on to Hebron. In the six hours trip we took six different taxis because of road blocks and check points. In the CPT apartment in Hebron, we hear a presentation by Abdel Hadi Hantash from the Palestinian Land Defense Committee. He gives us some historical perspective on the situation in the Hebron area. After the '67 war, the military "closed" about 50 thousand acres of land in and around Hebron. By the time of the second Intifida, 48% of Palestinian land in the Hebron area had been confiscated. The city is divided into two sections: H-1 is under Palestinian control and H-2 is controlled by the Israeli military. There are now 27 major Jewish settlements with 12 thousand settlers (4 settlements and 521 settlers inside the old city). There are also what Mr. Hantash calls "creeping settlements", a few caravans parked on land the settlers want. The plan is to confiscate another 700+ acres step by step - first a few caravans, then roads, schools, etc. During the second Intifida 268 Palestinian homes in Hebron were destroyed and 61 shops in the old city closed. Many roofs were appropriated by the army for permanent observation posts and/or cameras. The wall in the Hebron districts will be 186 kilometers long and more than 60% of Palestinian agricultural land will be outside it.

10/24 - The delegation accompanied CPT staff, a French delegation (International Protection for the People of Palestine) and members of Rabbis for Human Rights to Palestinian olive groves to help with the harvest. The groves are on land close to the Othi'el settlement. As we are walking along the dirt road, two Israeli army jeeps arrive and tell us to leave the road. Later Rabbi Arik Ascherman meets with the soldiers and negotiates a deal to allow us to pick the trees below a certain point on the hillside. We later learn that only the presence of the internationals persuaded the army to allow harvesting. Without our presence, the Palestinian owners of the groves would not have been allowed to have access to their own land. We also learn that one of the tactics of the settlers is to revive old laws which state that land not tended for 12-24 months becomes the property of the state - then the army and settlers prevent the owners from working the land.

10/25 The Jewish Sabbath - Two teams from the delegation joined CPT staff on "school patrols". The patrols regularly station themselves on the routes used by Palestinian students on their way to school. Because settlers from the large settlement called "Avraham Avinu" walk through the area on their way to worship, there is the potential for clashes between settlers and the Palestinian students. Soldiers are also in check points and in jeeps to "protect the Palestinians". The CPT school patrols observe, and also walk the smaller children past the jeeps. There is only one rock-throwing incident this morning - an adolescent settler throwing at a Palestinian mother and child as they emerge from the door of their house.

Afternoon: The delegation met with Hishem Sharabati, a journalist and human rights worker with LAW (originally "Land and Water", now "The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment") The organization is 17 years old and was originally established to offer legal help to Palestinians whose land was being confiscated. Hisham has broadened his concerns over the years and now monitors human rights, documents violations, writes reports and works with Israeli human rights organizations. The human rights networks are now trying to seek justice in other places (Europe, England). The concern is for building a democratic Palestinian state as well as stopping human rights violations by all parties. Hisham is convinced that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is political, all directed toward pressuring Palestinians to leave their own land or finding ways to confiscate that land (e.g. the Wall). He says, "The surrounded cities are basically detention camps. There is no moral justification for the occupation, and it is demoralizing the Israelis." He also calls our attention to the road repairs we have noted in Hebron, being done with US AID money. "The U.S. pays for tanks. The tanks destroy the streets in Hebron. US AID then pays for the street repairs!"

The delegation spent the night with Palestinian families in the Baqa Valley and Beit Ummar. All the host families have demolition orders on their houses and one family has had two previous houses demolished and the current one occupied by settlers for 3 months.

10/26 - Spent the day traveling - from our host families back to Hebron and from Hebron back to Jerusalem. Enjoyed the evening together over a lovely dinner made by delegation member Don Eitzman.

10/27 - Morning - The delegation met with Yaacov Rosenberg, Assistant Director of Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) (Executive Director is Rabbi Arik Ascherman whom we met when we went to pick olives.) "RHR lives and works out of the moral conviction 'Happy are those who keep justice.'" RHR speaks to the situation in Israel from a faith position (as opposed to a political agenda), working to counter the voice of the religious right by showing other interpretations of the Bible. RHR works in the occupied territories and within the green line. The following is a list of some of their justice oriented work:

• Helping Palestinians during the olive picking season
• Replanting trees uprooted by Israelis because of the Wall or in the name of security.
• Uncovering the roots of the Separation Wall and naming the injustices caused by the wall.
• Helping with health aid - in conjunction with Physicians for Human Rights
• Selling Palestinian olive oil from the West Bank
• Working with Bedouin communities located in southern Israel
• Supporting ICAHD in their work to stop and prevent house demolitions.

Afternoon - The delegation met with Ram Rehat-Goodman from the organization Yesh Gvul ("Yesh Gvul" can be translated "there is a boundary" or "there is a limit", but it can also mean "enough is enough!") Ram was on active duty with the army when Israel invaded Lebanon. He refused to cross the border in the invasion, thus becoming a "refusenik". He stayed in the reserves, serving out his years and ending with the rank of Master Sergeant. He explained that the organization Yesh Gvul has three main objectives:

1. Personal support for people refusing or thinking of refusing to serve in the military. If they refuse and are jailed, Yesh Gvul supports the person and her/his family morally. Reservists are usually jailed for 28 days for refusing, during which time they receive no salary. Yesh Gvul has a fund that gives the jailed reservist 3,000 shekels to replace the missed salary.
2. Outreach - handing out information to soldiers about how the occupation affects the Palestinian and Israeli communities. Yesh Gvul does not recommend or encourage any action; it just explains.
3. Planned political actions against the occupation, encouraging others to pay attention to the cost of the occupation in misunderstanding of one another as human beings. Ram refers to the occupation as "a massive problem of dehumanization".

On our last evening together in Jerusalem, the delegation celebrated an ecumenical communion (one UCC minister and three Presbyterian ministers), in the same space where we'd had our daily meetings, briefings and worship services. We had celebrated our "Agape Feast" earlier at the restaurant. Since we would be taking different flights out of Tel Aviv, this was our last time together as a whole group, including Christine and Kristin. It seemed to this reporter a very holy time and space, but not any more so than the other times and spaces we had shared with the CPT staff and the many Israelis and Palestinians we'd been privileged to meet. The story of Christianity began in this neighborhood, and some of the CPT staff were celebrating Ramadan in solidarity with their Palestinian friends at the same time we were taking communion. A few hours earlier we'd all been in the offices of Rabbis for Human Rights hearing a Jew talk about the biblical demands for justice.

The members of this delegation are nothing if not individuals! But in light of the mission of CPT and the experiences shared by the delegation members, we certainly share the conviction that the Creator we call by many names - El, Allah, Yahweh, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ - is a God of loving justice. We hope to pass it on.