I hope at least a few of you  tried to make your way through the posts on this Blog.  I wanted these entries to be intentionally dense, filled with as many nuances and details as I could capture.  My rationale?  My hope is for you to find something in all these stories to surprise, inspire, motivate or astonish you, and to find at least one thing that you can support wholeheartedly as a peace activist with special interest in  peaceful coexistence in the Middle East and new possibilities for successful resolution of what continues to be “described” as the intractable conflict in Israel / Palestine.   If you didn’t, then either I did not do my job adequately, OR you’ve already made up your mind where your loyalties lie and I’m sorry to confuse you with details that ask you to “reconsider.”

In either case, there are even more initiatives that I did not have time to explore in detail while I was in that region of the world.  Nevertheless, I’d like to offer a few highlights on several of these in case something I missed  holds more interest for you personally than the programs I tried to describe.

Perhaps, the one fundamental “takeaway” I have to offer is my conviction that anyone can FIND whatever she or he goes looking for….    I went to Israel / Palestine looking for  a few fragile sprouts of promising projects and instead I found dozens of sturdy “new growth” fields, being cultivated by every generation living in the Holy Land today.  It’s all there, waiting for you to nurture the programs and tend to the needs of those who never cease to hope and believe peace is possible.  In fact, it is inevitable!

Pushing to demilitarize the holy land…

Among the “movements” that most pleasantly surprised me were the number and scope of organizations dedicated to the demilitarization of the holy land on both sides of the Green Line.   Earlier, I spoke at length about Combatants for Peace (and in particular  Wael’s  story on the Palestinian side).  So now I’d like to turn to  the Israeli side, and tell about at least three vigorous and growing organizations.  I did get the opportunity to speak briefly with individuals involved in a few of these, but ran out of time for longer visits.  Perhaps when I return there will no longer be a need to visit these folks.  Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she.

New Profile

New Profile is a group I’ve been following with a great deal of interest for some time.  I’m very  drawn to their overall message of demilitarization and their analysis of  how  a constant and heightened state of war readiness is negatively impacting Israeli society.   I had hoped to connect with someone in this group during my stay in Israel, but since the Gaza bombing,  New Profile has had their computers confiscated and several members have been arrested.  According to a June 6, 2009 news report, the group is currently under criminal investigation for “inciting desertion at war…” ostensibly a charge linked to  their support of and aid to young conscientious objectors refusing military service.  Again, I encourage you to  join me in taking a deeper look into this organization, whose charter begins with the following paragraph:

“We, a group of feminist women and men, are convinced that we need not live in a soldiers’ state. Today, Israel is capable of a determined peace politics. It need not be a militarized society. We are convinced that we ourselves, our children, our partners, need not go on being endlessly mobilized, need not go on living as warriors. We understand that the state of war in Israel is maintained by decisions made by our politicians – not by external forces to which we are passively subject. While taught to believe that the country is faced by threats beyond its control, we now realize that the words “national security” have often masked calculated decisions to choose military action for the achievement of political goals.”

Breaking the Silence

A different but related group that captured my attention is a group of veteran Israeli soldiers who have served in the occupied territories since the outbreak of the Second Intifadah.  Their main objective is to collect testimonies from military personnel who participated in or have been witness to military actions  they can no longer tolerate nor justify.  They have committed the resources of their organization to alerting Israeli society to the spread of military corruption carried out in their name.  According to their website, the group claims that “In order to become a civilian again, soldiers are forced to ignore their past experiences. Breaking the Silence voices the experiences of those soldiers, in order to force Israeli society to address the reality which it created.”

Again, I spoke by phone with one of the members of this group, who helps  organize weekly visits to Hebron for civilians, accompanied by members of the organizations.  Esther and I were scheduled to take the trip, but it was canceled by Israeli security forces.    When I asked why, the organizer I was speaking with shrugged and replied, “Who knows,  go ask the IDF.”  When I asked if I might interview him later in the week when I returned from my other travels,  he mentioned he was a religious  Jew and that the Friday and Saturday I had available wouldn’t work for him.  There we are again, another stereotype shattered.

Shministim

Shministim is a growing organization of 18 and 19 year old Israeli conscientious objectors refusing to serve in the Israeli Army based on their opposition to the Occupation.  These young people are facing or currently serving jail sentences for their beliefs.  I think it best for you to hear them speak for themselves rather than attempting to paraphrase their powerful message.  Please visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjraWVhXIOc&NR=1 This is their YouTube video called, Israel’s Young Conscientious Objectors, Shministim imprisoned.

Refuseniks:  http://www.seruv.org.il/defaultEng.asp

And lest we forget, here’s a chance to re-read the 2002 letter of the group of Israeli Reservists who went public with their refusal to serve in Gaza and the West Bank.

A Declaration of Israeli Reservists – A Refusal to Serve in the West Bank and Gaza

We, reserve combat officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who were raised upon the principles of Zionism, sacrifice and giving to the people of Israel and to the State of Israel, who have always served in the front lines, and who were the first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, in order to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it.  We, combat officers and soldiers who have served the State of Israel for long weeks every year, in spite of the dear cost to our personal lives, have been on reserve duty all over the Occupied Territories, and were issued commands and directives that had nothing to do with the security of our country, and that had the sole purpose of perpetuating our control over the Palestinian people. We, whose eyes have seen the bloody toll this Occupation exacts from both sides.  We, who sensed how the commands issued to us in the Territories, destroy all the values we had absorbed while growing up in this country.  We, who understand now that the price of Occupation is the loss of IDF’s human character and the corruption of the entire Israeli society.  We, who know that the Territories are not Israel, and that all settlements are bound to be evacuated in the end.  We hereby declare that we shall not continue to fight this War of the Settlements. We shall not continue to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people. We hereby declare that we shall continue serving in the Israel Defense Forces in any mission that serves Israel’s defense. The missions of occupation and oppression do not serve this purpose– and we shall take no part in them.

Safe spaces for Israeli and Palestinian Young People:

In addition to Hand in Hand, the bi-lingual, bi-cultural school I described earlier in this blog, and the community Neve Shalom – Wahat al-Salam – Oasis of Peace – there are  a number of other groups and organizations trying to carry out programs to give the young people being hammered by the messages of war and tales of their enemies, opportunities to have completely different experiences.  Some of these include:

Open House, in Ramle

OPEN HOUSE Center at 1 Klausner Street in Ramle was founded in 1991 to further peace and coexistence among Israeli Arabs and Jews in this mixed city of 65,000 residents. The ratio of 53,000 Jews to 12,000 Arabs parallels the Jewish-Arab ratio in the State of Israel generally, making Ramle a microcosm of the country. The house on Klausner Street is an even smaller microcosm, for the two families who have lived there before and after 1948 represent the two nations laying claim to the land of Israel/Palestine.  OPEN HOUSE has two inter-related goals: to provide educational and social opportunities to Arab children and their families through our Center for the Development of the Arab Child; and to be a place of encounter and cooperation between Jews and Arabs in the Ramle-Lod area through our Center for Jewish-Arab Coexistence.  Programs include our annual Summer Peace Camp, a Jewish-Arab Parents’ Network, Coexistence Training Programs for teachers and other social service professionals, an Environmental Arts Program for Jewish and Arab youth, facilitated encounters between 7th and 8th grade students, sports tournaments, and holiday celebrations for Jewish and Arab families.

PeaceInsight  – Website: http://www.peaceinsight.org/

PeaceInsight is a new, exciting, peace education organisation for teenagers from Palestine and Israel. The young people come to a two-week residential summer camp in Britain and learn how to deal with conflict, fear, prejudice and hatred.

Seeds of Peace – Website:  www.seedsofpeace.org/about

Founded in 1993 by journalist John Wallach, Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence.  Seeds of Peace’s mission is to help young people from regions of conflict develop the leadership skills necessary to advance reconciliation and coexistence.   There  are now nearly 4,000 young Seeds of Peace leaders making a positive difference in the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States.

Creativity for Peace – Website: www.creativityforpeace.com/

Creativity for Peace is a year-round program that brings adolescent girls from Palestine and Israel out of the violence and conflict of their communities into the safe New Mexico countryside for a three-week summer program that teaches leadership and communication skills and promotes understanding, trust and reconciliation.

Seeking Common Ground and Building Bridges for Peace – Website: www.peaceinsight.org/

Colorado’s “homegrown” program:

Building Bridges for Peace is the flagship program for Seeking Common Ground.  BBFP brings together young women and men (16-19) from Israel, Palestine and the United States to participate in an intensive summer program.  During their time together participants learn new communication techniques, develop leadership skills and engage in activities that promote peace and the status and empowerment of youth.  After the summer program participants return to their respective communities to continue in a year long follow-up program.  Our inaugural program took place during the summer of 1994.  These young women and men are able to meet and learn from participants from diverse ethnic, racial and religious communities.

(FRIENDS – ARE YOU STARTING TO GET THE IDEA HERE??????)

Ongoing Peace Policy Conversations:

IPCRI Israel Palestince Center for Research and Information – Website: www.ipcri.org/

(Currently my personal favorite!) Co-directed by Israeli Gershon Baskin and Palestinian Hanna Siniora, IPCRI is not only the sponsor of this recent Walk the Green Line experience, but they host regular Israeli / Palestinian panel discussions and in-depth conversations at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem, providing in-depth analysis of all aspects of   the most current thinking and proposals for negotiating peace in the Holy Land.   And among many other programs, they regularly host ongoing teacher training workshops on peace education for educators from both sides of the Green Line (see their website for opportunities to sponsor a teacher to attend these workshops).

Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME) – Website: www.vispo.com/PRIME/

Did you ever feel the need to read the Historical Narrative of both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides of this conflict?  Well, guess what, you CAN.  PRIME has created the Dual-Narrative HIstory project called: “Learning Each Other’s Historical Narrative” in Israeli and Palestinian Schools.”  And the best part, you can down load the First and the Second Test booklets directly from their website.  DO IT.  I am.

Talitha Kumi, P.O.Box 7, Beit Jalah, Palestinian National Authority US Contact: Robert Loeb Tel & Fax: 973-748-6113 Email: RLoeb@AOL.com

MEPeace – Website: www.mepeace.org/

Here’s one of my FAVORITE finds.  Visit this website to seek and FIND a whole range of Peace initiatives and organizations, emerging and thriving in the Holy Land.  Find the old timers, still actively and creatively working, like Gush Shalom and some of the new ones I am reporting here.  Heck, if I can find all these, I’m convinced you will have NO PROBLEM.

JUST VISION -  Website:  www.justvision.org/en/about

And don’t even get me started on the number of films and videos available to document the kinds of programs I’ve been talking about.  But, no need to take my word for this.  There is an entire catalog you can order from if you visit the Just Vision website.  The other thing I love about this organization is that they have a link to what they call  “portraits” which highlight the wonderful work of many of the good people you have just been reading about. “Just Vision is a nonprofit organization that informs local and international audiences about under-documented Palestinian and Israeli joint civilian efforts to resolve the conflict nonviolently. Using media and educational tools, we raise awareness in order to encourage civic participation in grassroots peace building. At Just Vision, we believe in the value of cooperative Palestinian and Israeli efforts to build a sustainable, free and safe future for all, and the importance of media coverage to raise awareness of these courageous endeavors.   We also believe that there is no silver bullet to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; a lasting solution will require participation from everyone in every sector. Civil society therefore has a significant role to play in catalyzing a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.    Just Vision researches and documents the range of Palestinian-Israeli non-violent initiatives to end the conflict.  We create multimedia – including documentary film and the Online Network for Peace at www.justvision.org – to highlight Palestinians and Israelis who are adopting strategic methods to end the bloodshed and set the stage for a diplomatic resolution.  We seek to empower peace builders to become more visible, valued and effective in their work; to challenge stereotypes; to encourage participation among Arab, American, Palestinian and Israeli audiences in peace building; and to resource community leaders and organizations so that they can amplify the message of non-violence and civic participation in conflict resolution efforts.  Our goal is to expose Israelis, Palestinians, broader Arab and American audiences to non-violent civic peace builders from both sides of the conflict who are working together to foster understanding and trust.  Through education, we seek to inspire those who are not yet involved to explore and take part in the range of sectors in which conflict resolution work is happening.

FINALLY, REALLY, I MEAN IT THIS TIME:

The growing Green Party in Israel / Palestine

Gershon Baskin of IPRCRI has recently become active in the Green Party run for the Knesset and reported that after  a campaign cut short by the Gaza war, they still managed a very respectable showing .  They are quite optimistic about the next election and report that the Green Party holds very promising potential for bringing together peace, justice and environment advocates on both sides of the Green line.  Read more about prospects for this  unity message in Israel Green Party’s Unofficial Blog at:  http://greenerisrael.wordpress.com/

Actually, I could go on…

but realistically I have to  stop sometime.  It has been both a challenge and a privilege for me to post everything I could, and I’m certain I’ve forgotten more than I’ve included.  But thank you all for indulging me; and standby for WTGL, the PowerPoint, coming to a venue near you some time this summer.

in love and peace,

Elissa Tivona

Despite our abiding friendship,  I felt apprehensive about sharing the details of my Walk the Green Line experience with her. I assumed I knew her “position” (without ever really asking), and was nervous that our different perspectives might jeopardize our close friendship.  After chiding myself for  cowardice, I decided I needed to let her speak for herself.  I took out my trusty recorder and asked her to tell me what she thought were the best prospects for peace.  Was I in for a surprise?

Eventually, in my powerpoint, I will have her “speak for herself” by using excerpts of our recorded conversation, but for now I’d like to paraphrase a few of her comments.  First of all she was unequivocal in her belief that there needed to be a firm boundary established between a sovereign and secure state of Israel and a sovereign and secure state of Palestine (sounds a lot like a two state solution to me….).  She felt a complete separation was necessary to give both sides ample time (maybe even as long as a generation???) to heal.

Being somewhat encouraged by hearing this perspective, I gently snuck up on the issue of  settlements, thinking this would be the major point of departure in our viewpoints.  This was even a greater surprise!   She told me in no uncertain terms that if there were people who felt for one reason or another they needed to remain on the “Palestinian” side, say by virtue of the fact that they paid for the land, bought their homes, etc. that they should not be prevented from staying, but that they would have to remain there as citizens of the state of Palestine.  (Wait a minute?  What did she say?)  Yes, they should have Palestinian citizenship just as Arabs on the Israeli side have Israeli citizenship.  Okay, now I’m thinking there is really something wrong with my hearing.   But, my religious, orthodox Jewish friend went even further.  She explained to me that many of the ultra orthodox did not have the best interests of Israel or the Jewish people at heart, that they were serving their own agendas and egos.   I don’t know that I can paraphrase her rationale with the degree of accuracy that she offered, but I’ll try.

Apparently, according to Jewish law (Halachah),  a Jew must not relinquish (give back) land originally ordained by Torah for the Jewish people.  HOWEVER (and this is a biggie!!), she went on to explain that thousands of years ago Jewish sages emphatically established that ANY Jewish law can and MUST be broken in order to observe the highest of all laws, which is to PRESERVE LIFE, any life!  What really riled up my Orthodox Jewish friend was that the fanatical settlers, in preaching their own “entitlement” to land, were oblivious to this critical legal precedent to which religious Jews are obligated.  She thought this indicated a woeful ignorance of the Jewish religion and centuries of tradition.

Finally, completely unsolicited, she noted that as far as she could tell a large majority of the “fanatics” immigrated from the US within the last few decades, and were retaining US citizenship as a “fail safe.”  I think she based this idea on the fact that the vast majority spoke Hebrew with an American accent (…something  I could neither  prove nor deny…)  In a joking fashion, she quipped that if Obama was really serious about stopping development expansion, he could simply threaten to revoke their US passports.  (Hey this was her idea, not mine; but it gave me pause….)

Consider this a “preview of coming attractions”  because for the past two weeks  at every turn in the road I encountered the unexpected.  And my goal is for you to be as surprised and, perhaps, as chastened as I am.

Our visit concluded much too quickly, but before we left, we spent a short time driving around several side streets, peering into gardens of brilliant flowers or  between the homes out to pastoral vistas of gently rolling farmlands.  As we started back toward the highway,  Esther  explained to our driver that this was a community where Arabs and Jews lived together.   At one point Esther translated  his Hebrew response.  Apparently he said, “No, that’s not possible – Arabs and Jews cannot live together.”   Although I didn’t even try to understand their rapid exchange, I could tell by Esther’s tone she was encouraging him to look around and judge for himself.   The driver was a personable young Syrian man, relaxed and  forthcoming about his personal life .  He mentioned  he was recently divorced, and although he drove taxi to make money, his  passion was drumming for a MiddleEast band.  I asked if he had any CD’s or tapes, but they were back at his apartment in Jerusalem. Instead, he gave us a live demonstration, drumming enthusiastically on the steering column as he drove.  Unable to pass up the opportunity, I dug out  my digital recorder and managed to capture a few minutes of his “performance.”    I’m really glad I did because as he listened to the playback over the headphones, we were rewarded with a glowing smile and he requested that I try again because he was sure he could perform even better the second time.

Updates on Eliyahu Mclean, Jerusalem Peacemakers, and Bustan, Sustainable Community Action for Land and People

If you would indulge me for a few more posts, I want to share a couple of significant visits that I had after the walk was completed.  When Esther and I got back to her apartment, in the midst of laundry and packing to depart, we arranged for two more visits in the Holy Land.  First,  we set up a meeting with my old friend Eliyahu Mclean, one of the founders and tireless activists involved in Jerusalem Peacemakers.  Turns out his apartment is literally down the street from where Esther was staying.  So on my last evening in Jerusalem we sat in his apartment for an “update.”   Our conversation included another of Eliyahu’s guests, Bette Hoover, who just returned from assisting Bustan, a Bedouin advocacy organization, founded by our old friend and Perspective on Peacemaking Speaker, Devorah Brous.  How’s that for serendipity?   Eliyahu took a break from his computer, where he and an assistant were  quite busy arranging permits for Palestinians to participate the upcoming “Big Hug” in Jerusalem on June 21, 2009.  The Big Hug and the Sulha, two of the “action” centerpieces of Jerusalem peacemakers is actually taking place this coming weekend.  And I for one will be following along on their website.  Take a peek at http://www.loversofjerusalem.org/activities.html.
The goal of the Big Hug and indeed of all Eliyahu’s work is to “Shift Human Consciousness from Separation to Unity.  We can only do it together…”  Although struggling to make ends meet by marketing “green” products, Eliyahu (and friends) continue to build a reputation (sometimes simply by word of mouth) for being at the center of true spiritual enlightenment in Jerusalem, as he welcomes people of EVERY persuasion (from non-believers to ultra orthodox in every faith) into his home for chanting, prayer, dance and conversation.  And it seems to be working because as yet those who refuse to sit together in any other circle make their way to his home and to these events on a regular basis.  One especially delightful development is that he told us about a couple places (one on some privately owned land near the Dead Sea) where walls and barriers are non-existent.  This spot has become a frequent peaceful gathering place for Palestinians and Israelis, often attracting large numbers of young people.  Well would you expect anything else for a young orthodox Jewish man originally raised in the meditation practices of his parents home in Hawaii, and combining these traditions with a fresh embrace of his Jewish roots.   It’s just impossible not to love this guy, but beyond that, I have deep admiration for his hard work which manifests as regular, all-inclusive, carefully planned and beautifully orchestrated celebrations!
Although Eliyahu had to leave for another meeting, Esther, Bette and I continued our conversations over a bottle of wine at a corner bistro.  This gave us a wonderful chance to listen to Bette’s stories of the Bedouin communities where she lived and worked.  Bustan is currently reorganizing under new leadership, as an NGO that continues to work in the Bedouin and Jewish communities of the Negev with the goal of  “Sustainable Community Action for Land and People through analysis, education, and action, we work for fair resource allocation and environmental and social justice for all peoples in the region.”   Devorah has returned to the US (…I’m hoping to find her e-mail…) and will be getting married this summer in California.   Mazel Tov Devorah!    One bit of sad news for those of us who know Devorah, apparently the straw bale clinic she helped to build for Bedouin communities has burned down due to a freak accident.  I was heartsick about this.  But, Bette reassured us that Bustan is re-organizing and charting this new more expansive course (which I certainly hope includes rebuilding the clinic….  I encourage you to learn more on their website www.bustan.org)  In addition to getting caught up on Bustan, another especially lovely of this conversation, was the opportunity to talk about feminist perspectives, which can be precious difficult to come by in the Holy Land.  Although I wouldn’t have traded even one experience that we had during our Walk the Green Line, one bit of feedback I offered Gershon for next year is that I would love to meet and hear more from the women of the regions, on both sides!

Our last stop before heading back to Tantur for  debriefing and last good-byes to  friends and fellow “walkers” was at the Beit Jala Checkpoint. From time to time during our last day, the bus passed back and forth across the Green Line and, frankly, I couldn’t determine a rhyme or reason to when we were required to stop for Israeli guards to check the bus and our passports and when we did not.  It was always a bit stressful for me to have armed guides filing up and back down the bus aisle; and one time I was personally ordered not to take pictures out the window and was closely supervised while I erased one of my photos.  Also, at one point the security guards detained a gentleman from our bus who did not have his passport with him.  This caused quite a stir as the Hebrew speakers from our group began to wrangle with the guards.  Not always the best approach….    One quick thinking young man from our group got on the phone with Gershon who quickly got us sorted out and back underway.

But our current  objective was for the bus to take us to a place to unload where Ronnie Hammerman, a volunteer with the organization Machsom Watch, would meet with us,  answer questions and accompany us through the checkpoint on foot.  Machsom Watch is a long-standing NGO (since 2001) comprised of  Israeli women who volunteer to regularly  monitor individual checkpoints, document and record their observations and intervene when it will serve a constructive purpose.

I thought back to earlier  conversations with our Ein Kerem friend, Salach, who acknowledged that  his experience at the checkpoint definitely improved when Machsom Watch volunteers began attending.  Today, Ronnie is a familiar face to both Israeli security forces and the many thousands of Palestinians attempting to move back and forth through the checkpoint.

Although on a busy street corner and even after we moved under the large warehouse style shelter, it was difficult to hear Ronnie.  But she made an effort to explain the role  Machsom Watch is trying to play, although later, Yael an IPCRI staffer and another long time volunteer with Machsom Watch, confided that there is a long running debate on whether or not Machsom Watch  is aiding the Occupation by making their job easier.   Interesting….

A very long line of cars waited on the street side of the checkpoint, but the wait on the pedestrian side was relatively short at the time  we arrived.   Even so, the approach to the check point, through a narrow caged corridor ending at a turnstile regulated by security forces, had a distinctively prison-like feel.  Each person had to wait for a green light indicating that he or she could pass through the turnstile.  At that point the procedure was  much like most airports where all “carry through” items had to be placed on a conveyor belt and run through an xray machine.  Each individual also walked through an xray and then had to show permits (for internationals that meant passports) to guards seated behind bullet proof glass.   Once again, guards insisted on restricting picture taking, and a young woman in our group was detained while guards came out from behind the glass and supervised as she erased several photos.  I’m not quite sure I understand this precaution because at this point in timem the checkpoint experience has been very well documented, but then the lesson for me was how erratic and arbitrary this process feels at any given time.  Basically security forces can ask anything at any time and there are very few alternatives.  And when the checkpoint is closed, well, that’s it! No one gets through!   Aside from the photo incident most of us got through.  However, one of our ranks, an Egyptian diplomat serving at the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv, who passed through the official checkpoint, was accosted by three armed guards as he emerged on the other side.   And again, there was quite a fracas as they insisted on re-examining his papers, questioned him extensively and were considering detaining him.  (A bit of racial profiling, perhaps?) Fortunately,  Ronnie got us straightened out, and from that point on we proceeded without further incident.  But the whole checkpoint experience left two distinct and oddly contrasting impressions. The first was the highly charged atmosphere of fear among the  young Israeli soldiers, although they were all obviously heavily armed and  never engaged any individual in less than groups of two or three.  I can only imagine the weight  responsibility they would feel if even one assailant got through on their watch – a bit much for 18 and 19 year old kids.

The second impression was the mix of resignation and frustration on the other side – folks with very limited  options, who face this tedious and intimidating operation day in and day out, wasting hours and hours going out and then coming back in.  It struck me as extremely unwise to criminalize an entire population in an attempt to weed out  aberrant and twisted individuals.  And in fact, this point has not been lost on the Israeli military, and several alternate procedures are under consideration. But Ronnie expressed some serious reservations.  One option is to “privatize” security operations.  Machsom Watch is strongly opposed  as privatization would mean  much of the “operation” could take place out of public view; consequently, it would become much more difficult to hold the government accountable, which, at least at this point, is still possible.  Another strategy on the surface seemed to be moving in a much better direction, which is to hire Arabic speaking civilians to run the checkpoints and to humanize the process to a much greater degree.   Over course there is also  the whole issue of removing many of the checkpoints altogether and restoring greater freedom of movement within the West Bank, which of course would also imply limiting expansion of the settlements. So on and on we go….
As we rode back to Tantur, the final leg of our three days on the bus, Gershon asked us for our reactions to going through the checkpoint.   Although we were all clearly uncomfortable with the experience, he asked us to consider a government’s obligation to protect its citizens, and, if one agrees with this point-of-view, how might this obligation be achieved in an effective and reasonable manner.   This comment triggered quite a “heated” conversation (… if we were anywhere else other than Israel one might call it an argument …) between Yael  and Gershon.   After 3 days in their company, I have no doubt that both are strongly committed to ending the Occupation and equal advocates of  creating of two sovereign states, the question remains, what do we each do when we get up in the morning to manifest this reality?  This is not always as clearcut as we would like, and the “take away” for me is to get busy engaging the questions, rather than clinging to hard and fast notions of right and wrong.   I simply have to believe that justice, human rights and peace are achievable, and we must be  willing to examine the difficult questions with an eye for the humanity on both sides of a conflict.  Afterall, this was why I decided to make this trip in the first place.

Wael was  first approached by friend and fellow freedom fighter on the Palestinian side, Basam Aramin.  At that time, having served close to 5 years in an Israeli prison, Wael refused to attend early CfP organizational meetings, expressing disbelief and a profound mistrust for anyone who served in the Israeli military.  He guessed that the whole thing was a ploy to get Palestinians together and ambush them.   Eventually, Wael began thinking back on several surprisingly candid conversations he had in prison with one of his Israeli guards.  AND,  Basam kept asking.    At a certain point, Wael relented,  although he stayed silent  during his entire first meeting, withholding his own stories.  Being fluent in both Arabic and Hebrew, Wael  intentionally eavesdropped on casual Israeli conversations listening intently for signs of “betrayal.”    He sat in genuine disbelief as both comrades and enemies in arms disclosed stories of violence and talked of subsequent transformation.   As members of the organization, Combatants  declare together, “After brandishing weapons for so many years, and having seen one another only through weapon sights, we have decided to put down our guns, and to fight for peace. ”

Clearly, it is a difficult journey for men (and women) on both sides to come to terms with and be accountable for perpetuation of violence.   But Wael was personally drawn to  the  levels of honesty, regret and transformation he experienced at the meeting  and  decided on the spot to  join colleagues on both sides to break the cycle of violence and bloodshed.

Wael related a bit about the growth of Combatants for Peace since it began in 2005.  Originally the criteria to join CfP was  some level of participation in  violent aspects of the conflict; Israelis as soldiers in the Israeli army (IDF) and Palestinians as part of the violent struggle for Palestinian self-determination.  However, the organization has been inundated by citizens on both sides who want to learn about and participate in non-violent action and are in the process of expanding to include and accommodate a wider range of participants, while still holding space for  combatants to let go of their conditioned responses and seek reconciliation.

Abir’s Garden

As I struggled to hear above the noise and confusion of the restaurant, Wael spoke somberly of Basam Aramin’s daughter Abir.  This was to be a story he shared with the whole group on the bus on the way to Anata.   As fate would have it, the Palestinian man responsible for the founding and growth of this most improbable  organization, experienced personal tragedy at the hands of the Israeli military.   Last January, Abir Aramin, Basam’s 10 year old daughter, was hit in the head by a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli soldier as she crossed the street in front of her school; she succumbed three days later in the hospital’s ICU .  Both Palestinians and Israeli Combatants for Peace kept a round the clock vigil in support of Basam’s  family during  Abir’s hospitalization and throughout the  mourning period after her death.   One result of this heartbreaking tragedy is that Combatants launched a proactive campaign to build a memorial to this youngster called “Abir Aramin’s Garden- A safe place to grow” in order to provide the children of Anata with an opportunity to play safely in an organized playground.

We could only  peer out the bus windows as we cruised by the location of Abir’s Garden, glancing briefly at the memorial plaque erected to Abir where the shooting took place.  We had run out of time for even a brief stop.  Just prior to driving by the Garden, Wael walked us through a back alley up to a spot as close as we would come to the Wall, currently under construction all  along the perimeter of Anata.  There was something inexplicably heartbreaking to be present at the sites of two of the most vicious symbols of aggressive mayhem — a looming cement prison enclosure and a memorial to a child –  along side a man who has forsaken a life once consigned to armed struggle.  How many Abir’s on one side and Hadassah’s on the other will be sacrifices to our inability to recognize the futility of warfare, and by virute of its imprecision, war istelf radicalizes the innocents.   How many youngsters will have to look up from both sides into the dark face of cement barriers,  obscuring the faces of one to the other?  We stood  mutely, most of us lost in self-reflection, wondering about the true nature of courage – the courage needed  to look directly in the eyes of our  “enemies” with   honesty  and regret – the way Wael now looked fearlessly out at the world.

Wadi Fuqin

After checking out of the hotel, our bus driver took us to Wadi Fuqin for our last section of the walk, an easy stroll on level ground.  We began at the heel of  yet another Israeli settlement,  pushing up in a mushroom ring of construction around East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, making it virtually impossible to distinguish the original location of the green line.  Instead we could see long stretches of concrete wall gerrymandering through the West Bank in an attempt to protect residents of the settlements.  I had an appalling flash as I looked out at stacks  of identical concrete apartment buildings spreading out on hilltops in the MiddleEast version of urban sprawl.  I was haunted by an image of industrious Israeli’s hard at work  constructing modern and comfortably provisioned ghettoes for Jews.  I shuttered at the thought that to “my tribe,” freedom meant living inside walled enclosures, cut off from easy access to the natural landscapes that resonate so deeply in my own Jewish soul.  In our attempts to secure Jewish lives, are we ultimately constructing our own prisons?

I shook off these unsettling thoughts as we began our stroll through what can only be defined as a  solid waste dump, burgeoning illegally  below the outskirts of the settlement.  At this point, I must note  that  both sides of this conflict, the very Israelis and Arabs who claim such abiding love for the land  have remarkably similar inclinations to trash it, with both sides showing blatant disregard for the vast piles of solid waste and garbage accumulating at the perimeters of settlements and villages alike.  Does this spark ideas for cooperative possibilities….?

Eventually we left the dump site behind and began a leisurely walk through a beautiful and fertile valley  being carefully cultivated by nearby West Bank residents. We passed a farmer harvesting grape leaves to allow more sun to shine on  ripening clusters underneath.  I imagined he carried these home to the women in the household to be cooked into delicacies, but I don’t know for sure.   And we passed an occasional donkey tethered in an olive grove, drowsing lazily before being pressed into service, aged stone pools still used to accumulate spring water for irrigation purposes, patches of small but flourishing commercial gardens sustained by irrigation,  and from time to time clusters of beehives in white boxes dotting the hillside.

The destination for this hike was the family agricultural lands of Attef, a local Wadi Fuqin resident and, by profession, a school teacher.  Attef is an active member of  the area’s land use preservation project initiated by Friends of the Earth ME.  According to their website, “The village of Wadi Fuqin is an outstanding, well preserved model of a traditional agricultural way of life, developed over 10,000 years ago. The community has harnessed the water flowing from the valley’s eleven springs to nourish their fields. Kilometers of aqueducts direct the spring water to storage pools and onwards to agricultural plots. Currently, the agricultural way of life and natural landscape is endangered by massive urban development surrounding the village.”

The rapid growth of  settlements in the Judean HIlls above the Wadi has interfered with the reliably flowing natural springs and put the local aquifer at risk.  In recent years,  worries about the water supply have grown more common among farmers and environmentalists, and , and  in order to survive, farmers are finding it necessary to supplement traditional methods of sustainable agriculture with more high tech irrigation methods.

I was trailing behind a bit, and by the time I caught up, the  group was seated in a semi-circle along a low rock wall in  the shade of a huge mulberry (?) tree.  From this vantage point we looked back over the family’s beautifully manicured fields.  The conversation with Attef touched on the challenges facing farmers intent on preserving their living heritage.   They get some support and assistance from their neighbors in the Israeli community of Tzur Hadassah (Uri’s home), which is connected to Wadi Fuqin by a foot path, one of the few places where the barrier has yet to be constructed.  Contact between these communities provide farmers with additional markets for their produce which is considered (but not yet certified) organic.  Naturally, questions came up about building relationships with the nearby religious settlements expanding around them.  Here again, the existence of the wall has made this nearly impossible, although Attef mentioned that before the wall was completed, kids from the settlement made their way down into the valley from time to time.  Also, there was some conversation about an informal summer program that brought Israeli and Arab kids together although attitudes change very slowly in this part of the world.  In response to the direct question given the absence of contact,  how do young people in each community view the “other?”  Sadly Attef  responded simply, “They believe whatever their parents believe.”

Before we hiked back to the bus, we each plucked a handful of delicious berries for the return trip.  Apparently it is customary in traditional communities to plant edible trees and shrubs by the roadside so that passersby might stop and refresh themselves along their journey.  (A lovely tradition in my view….)

Muslim Community of Batir

Another stop before our lunch was the community of Batir, another Muslim village situated along the green line.  Along the way Gershon tried to orient us to the multiple road systems that cripple freedom of movement in the West Bank.  At this point, a frequently documented reality is that modern Israeli bypass roads are intended to get settlers in and out of their communities efficiently.  However, secondary roads in Palestinian neighborhoods often dead-end at the bypass roads forcing Palestinian drivers and pedestrians on to roads funneling into checkpoints where access into Israel as well as into parts of the “seam zone” is limited on to those with the proper permits, and occasionally are arbitrarily closed (more on the checkpoints, later…)

Arriving in Battir, we were welcomed by a line of community leaders serving in various positions on the council governing the local community development center.  We were ushered into a conference room, comfortably seated and served another round of strong coffee.  By this time, I was growing familiar with this ritual and coming to appreciate the break it provided for all of us to gather our thoughts, listen with respect and compose our questions.  At least two of the gentlemen who spoke with us were lifelong residents of Batir, with memories reaching back to childhoods during the partition of Israel in 1948.   Realizing the historical account was becoming a bit too abstract, they decided to walk us, first, to an aerial photo map of their village and then to an overlook to give us a more experiential perspective.  We strolled through the village to a sign that read the Hassan Mustafa Cultural Center, a complex of historical homesites known as the “seven widows quarters” under restoration, which were perched on the side of a steep hillside overlooking the wadi and the railroad tracks that snaked in a wide loop through the valley.   The historic site had been razed in a maneuver by Israeli  forces to eliminate a potential strategic threat to trains traveling through the valley.   We looked out over an expansive vista, offering a breathtaking view of the pastoral lifestyle that sustained this  area for centuries.   Several mountain springs  fed aqueducts dating back to roman turkish times that routed irrigation waters by virtue of gravity down a system of terraces, at higher levels planted with more water intensive vegetable crops and continuing down into more drought resistant groves of olives.  Our walk through town included a visit to one of these springs as it poured into stone cisterns and from there to feed family farms on a complicated rotational basis.  Daily the cisterns were emptied,  refilled and emptied again as they had for generations.

Here, we listened to another variation on what was becoming an all too familiar story, repeated in West Bank villages we visited.  The separation barrier was being constructed along a wide corridor cutting into the Palestinian side of the railroad, destroying agricultural land to make way for construction and access roads and cutting farmers off from sections of their cultivated land.   Residents were unanimously opposed, expressing outrage that if a separation barrier was so critical to Israeli security why not construct it on the Israeli side of the railroad tracks?  The rationale repetitiously offered is to guarantee security, this time in the form of safe passage of trains through the region.  We were later told that this particular section of tracks was rarely used any more.  From the outlook we could see surveillance cameras mounted on radio towers strung across the opposite hillside, built to scan the tracks and the separation barrier continuously.

From there we returned to the bus for an unexpected detour.  Our driver Hauni was asked to negotiate  a hair-raising drive down a twisting and much too narrow dirt road to a garden oasis tucked away along another hillside.   Without hesitation, he safely delivered us to an exquisitely manicured garden, playground and sport field, still under construction by and for families in the village (with assistance from the United Nations Development Program of Assistance for the Palestinian People, the Italian government and matched with funds from residents who worked in Israel for years during less volatile times).   This stop also included a respite stop to the Batir Resort, an unlikely and secluded complex of gardens, swimming pools (one for boys and men, another indoor pool for women and girls) and refreshment stand with a generously stocked ice cream cooler, an amenity we enjoyed with great delight.   As we gathered one last time with our hosts under the awning of the refreshment stand, for a final round of sweet tea before they sent us off, I was thinking about how eager our hosts were for us to appreciate this diversionary jewel.  I realized that often,  throughout this journey, I  was unexpectedly touched by evidence of a deep longing for “normalcy.”    Regardless of which side of the conflict we were considering, I never failed to note indications (whether on a grand or small scale) that reflect our abiding need to escape the relentless stresses of continuous peril.

I really regret feeling so drained because these three speakers had some of the most significant information to share.   As we  went around the dinner table introducing ourselves, I realized  at least two of these three speakers were quite familiar to me.  Seven years ago, while helping  coordinate the Perspectives on Peacemaking Conference in Boulder in 2002l, I  first encountered these individuals (or their organizations) and have been helping to introduce their efforts to Americans ever since.  Our honored guests for the evening included Sami Awad of the Holy Land Trust, Zoughbi Zoughbi of Wi’am Palestinian Center for Conflict Resolution and George Rishmawi of Siraj, Center for Holy Land Studies.  All three of these gentlemen have dedicated their lives and  careers to nonviolent and self-sustaining initiatives on behalf of the preservation and rehabilitation of  Palestinian people.

(Time out for a brief editorial comment.  You might want to ask yourselves these critically important questions.  Why don’t these names appear  in the headlines?  Why are their organizational initiatives, which have touched and transformed the lives of thousands,  eclipsed by  periodic and utterly senseless acts of  violence committed by desperate and hopeless individuals?    Whose interests are served by continuing to characterize Palestinians as terrorists, rendering Palestinian peace activists as  exceptions, and extremists as the rule?   I wonder….)

Picking up the thread of this story, Zoughbi Zoughbi began the evening with  an overview of the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center , which remains for me a model of  community building using a legacy drawn from indigenous cultural heritage.

Wi’am literally translates  “cordial relationships” in Arabic.  According to Zoughbi, the goal of the center is “to help resolve disputes within the Palestinian community by complementing the traditional Arab form of mediation and reconciliation, called Sulha, with Western models of conflict resolution.”  Zoughbi reports that frequently mediators are called upon to respond to disputes arising as a  consequence of  worsening conditions imposed by the broader impasse with Israel.    Growing economic deprivation, severe restrictions to movement, arbitrary border closures, etc. all contribute to heightened feelings of frustration and despair. Wi’am mediators spend whatever time is required to bring conflicting parties together and to facilitate a process that enables  participants to address wrong-doing and “save face.” In this way, Wi’am is making an important contribution to strengthening  individual’s faith in nonviolence as a means  to achieve “a simple portion of integrity”  and “to lessening susceptibility to the appeals of extremists.”

Zoughbi tells us that, today, Wi’am activities have been expanded to include  violence prevention measures, such as leadership development opportunities for youth, conflict resolution training, trauma recovery and counseling programs, and creative offerings to help “normalize” the lives of children and mitigate the negative pressures of living under occupation.

Our next presenter, Sami Awad, is a regular visitor to Colorado  and his life and work may already be familiar to many regional readers.  Mr. Awad began by recounting the story behind the Holy Land Trust and spoke with deep  tenderness and reverence for the  influential people who  shaped his commitment to Palestinian non-violent resistance.  Among the most inspirational was his friend and elder, Dr. Mubarak Awad, who established The Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence (PCSN) in East Jerusalem in 1984.  Under Awad’s stewardship, PCSN led the campaign to educate communities in nonviolent solutions to conflict and to engage in acts of civil disobedience against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, for example planting olive  trees on disputed West Bank lands under threat of confiscation.  According to the background provided on the Holy Land Trust website, “PCSN also published and translated many writings on nonviolence into Arabic, notably those of the Muslim Pathan colleague of Gandhi’s, Abdul Ghaffar Khan.”  With minimal bitterness, Sami Awad related  how Mubarak Awad was arrested and deported by the Israeli government following  the outbreak of the first Intifadah in 1988, despite opposition from US authorities.  In 1998, though Mubarak was still barred from returning to Israel , the PCSN Board and  Sami Awad, a recent graduate of American University in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, agreed to move the PCSN office from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  There, he combined PCSN  initiatives with the “Journey of the Magi” agenda to trace the path of the “Wise Men”  marking he two-thousandth anniversary of Christ’s birth and to build friendships among the peoples of the Middle East, both Christians and Muslims.  (For more information on the JOM experience and stories of the trip see  http://www.magijourney.com) From then on, the Holy Land Trust has played an instrumental role in a myriad of programs detailed in the HLT brochure, which he distributed to all of us, and on  the website – www.holylandtrust.org.

I was deeply touched by Sami Awad’s eloquence and his vision of a Holy Land governed by principles of non-violence, and functioning as an international center for peace and justice for all citizens.  Somehow, through the haze of my fatigue, I sensed his unwavering  commitment to this vision, without projecting an air of false optimism or naive idealism.  Fully appreciating the difficulty of this undertaking, Awad has helped  formulate non-violence training programs, Holy Land travel and encounter programs, something called MIPC (Making the Impossible Possible Campaign) which begins with a series of Nonlinear Leadership Development programs, and the PNN, a Palestinian News Network.

Our last speaker of the evening was George Rishmawi, a Palestinian entrepreneur and director of the NGO, Siraj, Center for Holy Land Studies.  His refreshing vision to regional peacemaking was sketched out in terms of  celebration and strength.  Siraj promotes opportunities for linking internationals and the Palestinian people together through multi-dimensional programs, including  travel and encounter programs, family home stays, interfaith and ecumenical dialogue, and culture and youth exchange programs.  Although by this point I was fading fast, drifting in and out of the conversation and sweetly anticipating sleep, Rishmawi’s enthusiasm kindled my nearly extinguished imagination.  He spoke about the NGO’s development of creative ideas with   “fee-for-service” potential, allowing Siraj to become more and more self-sustaining over time. Even as  weariness from today’s  vigorous exercise threatened to overtake me and I  had to struggle to keep my face from dropping into my humus, I was briefly revived by  the evocative images of  experiential pilot projects, including the Peace Cycle (a regional bicycle tour)  and Abraham’s Walk, and plans to eventually expand these kinds of initiatives.

Such programmatic responses, even in the face of   worsening global economic conditions confronting all NGO’s the world over, spoke volumes to me about  the  remarkable capacity for innovation and resilience of our species.  Following  these overviews,  speakers invited us to raise questions and to join them in dialogue and conversation. I wish I could say I remained fully engaged in the great questions raised by my colleagues and responses offered ….

First, we were invited to the secular settlement of Beit Arieh (Aryeh), where Uri’s co-worker Doni Binyamini and his wife, Leah, agreed to talk with us.  We were cautioned not to engage these folks in a confrontational manner, but rather to listen respectfully, to what they had to say.  Originally, we had been slated to visit an ultra-orthodox settlement, however it was the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and so we were not permitted to drive into the religious settlement.  Frankly, I’m just as glad.  I had little interest in meeting “extremists” on either side of the conflict.  Rather, I was curious about the perspectives and feelings of the so-called “secular” settlers.  I felt very conflicted as we met this very gracious couple, who took us to several locations on the settlement including several anthropological ruins from temple times, including  a “mikveh,” and two “production” areas where ancient residents processed wine and olive oil.   Quite proud of these antiquities, residents argued that these were compelling evidence that the land “belonged” to the Jews (although currently the settlement is placed well within the Green Line).

Following this visit, we traveled south to Bil’in and were welcomed into the home of one of the Palestinian members of the Popular Committee Against the Separation Barrier.    Bil’in is a small Palestinian community located 12 kilometers (7 mi) west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank.   Bil’in is adjacent to the separation barrier and in the shadow of the Israeli religious settlement of Modi’in Illit.  After a brief introduction, the young activist and his colleagues gave us a preview of  a video they produced, documenting the  demonstrations  taking place every Friday at the separation barrier which cuts off the village from the majority of its farming lands.    Bil’in residents are adamantly opposed to the location of the barrier inside the Green Line and committed to moving it back to be contiguous with the 1967 border.   As we were seated in the living room of this young man’s home and served small cups of strong Arabic coffee, our host narrated portions of the video we were watching and explained the goals of the Popular Committee.  The organization has been active for several years, and has retained a  commitment to non-violence, although serious clashes between protesters and Israeli forces erupt from time time often at the provocation of groups such as  Anarchists Against the Wall and hot tempered reactions of young Israeli soldiers.   Clearly, the Israeli soldiers have the advantage and  use tear gas  and rubber bullets to “push” back demonstrators  attempting to dismantle parts of the existing barrier or obstruct construction of new sections.  Palestinian demonstrators are regularly joined by Israeli peace activists and internationals in solidarity with the notion that, if a Wall exists at all, it MUST be re-located to the actual Green Line.

Noteworthy in this situation are two rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court.  First, in September 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the government to redraw the path of the wall because the current route was deemed “highly prejudicial” to the villagers of Bil’in.  “We were not convinced that it is necessary for security-military reasons to retain the current route that passes on Bilin’s lands,” an opinion written by Chief Justice Dorit Beinish.  Subsequently, the Israeli Supreme Court voted to legalize the Israeli settlement of Mattiyahu East which is part of the Modi’in Illit’s expansion.   These strangely conflicting rulings, still unresolved after nearly two years, reflect a deeply schizophrenic Israeli psyche which only serves to intensify frustration and hopelessness.

All this notwithstanding, among my favorite parts of the afternoon was a brief introduction to  one of the women of Bil’in, who was active in the village’s embroidery cooperative.  The co-op was set up as a way for women to help contribute to the economic development of this region of the West Bank, currently suffering extremely high rates of unemployment.   The women sew and embroider items like coin purses and shoulder bags, often re-purposing traditional  dresses, and applying embroidery designs typical of traditional Palestinian clothing.    We   only had a few moments to “shop” and I found myself frustrated by rushing through these beautiful handicrafts.  In retrospect, I wish we could have learned more about this enterprise, perhaps seeing some of the artists at work, getting some background on the decorative designs and their significance and visiting with the women of Bil’in.

Constructed Wetlands of Um al Rehan

Our very first meeting was among my favorite of the trip.  On the way to the starting  point for our rigorous hike, we stopped  in the rural West Bank village of  Um al Rehan, the site of a  constructed wetlands project undertaken with IPCRI’s assistance.   A number of  Palestinian project coordinators along with Israeli water engineer, Arnon Goren, were on hand to talk with us about the specifics of the project.  According to the entry on IPCRI web-site
“Um al-Rehan is similar to other villages in the West Bank in that it lacks adequate sewage treatment.  The wastewater from the homes in this village flows, untreated, to a cesspit where it percolates into the ground contaminating the underlying Mountain Aquifer.  For this village, and for many others, sewage treatment would best be achieved by a low-cost, simple, natural solution.  This pilot project is a septic tank/constructed wetland system to treat wastewater from five homes in the village to achieve this goal.  Funds for the pilot project were made by the Government of New Zealand and by private donation.”

What was most exciting for me about this project was that it took advantage of  “a natural – green – alternative to conventional sewage treatment.”  The passive system relies on gravity instead of electric pumps, with treatment being performed by biological (not chemical) means.  The treated water is then  made available  for irrigation in lieu of  potable water. Initially community members expressed some concern to the use of treated sewage water, however, the septic tank/wetland system represented a significant improvement to the cesspit  formerly used in Um al-Rehan that was contaminating the existing water supply.

Five homes were selected for the pilot, and beginning in January 2008 their septic tanks were constructed with the help of Um al-Rehan residents.  Currently, wastewater is collected in the plumbing system of each home, conveyed by gravity to a septic tank and the routed to a shared wetland for additional treatment before it is discharged as irrigation water.

“The Ecological Wastewater Treatment for Rural Communities in the West Bank Project is a true example of Palestinian/Israeli cooperation for the common goals of environmental protection, public health and peace between peoples.”   Photographs can be viewed at http://wetland.maabarot.org.il/Um-A-Reichan/album/index.html .

Like the Jenin Enterprise zone, the constructed wetlands exemplified another Israeli/Palestinian collaborative effort, although on a much smaller scale.  And much to the unexpected delight of project participants, the newly available  water for agricultural use  inspired a young entrepreneur from the village to start a small nursery business.  All of this was taking place in the face of official disputes over construction permits and the legality of the constructed wetlands.  However, because the need is so great for treated water, Israeli authorities in the area have thus far been wiling to “look the other way” as the project unfolds.

Rehan Nature Reserve

Shortly, we were back on the bus and moving on to the  starting point of  our 10 kilometer hike along the steep and narrow paths along a canyon forming a deep “wadi” (or valley) in Rehan Nature Reserve.   Slowly, we navigated through thorny thickets winding eastward toward the West Bank village of Barta-a.  For this part of the hike, guide Uri Ramon was joined by Mohammad Rabah Aghbaria, a tourism promoter  in the West Bank Wadi Ara region.   Along the way, both  guides pointed out all manner of flora, sprouting seriously spiky leaves on rugged stems,  (a defensive survival strategy to protect against grazing animals).  They explained the  natural and delicate relationship  between this flora and the grazing habits of local wild and domestic species in predominantly undeveloped regions of the West Bank.  Disruption of this balance has created a threat to a variety of native species in this area.

As we carefully  made are way through the brambles flourishing along the hillsides and canyon walls, Mohammad pointed out  remnants of sabra fence lines and rock terraces, indicative of former settlements by community members  who brought herds to graze in outlying olive and almond groves.  Near the final descent into Barta-a, we picked our way carefully down patches of steep chalky rock, drawn forth by enchanting calls to prayer echoing off  canyon walls as we approached the Muslim village.

Tired and hungry, I was eagerly anticipating lunch.  But first we made a fascinating detour to the home of  a  local resident, who gave us an impromptu orientation to  traditional methods for  transforming stacks of  collected wood   into charcoal for local cooking ovens.  Before I traipsed into the  nearby restaurant where our lunch was being prepared over an open barbecue grill, I even got a quick peek into an outdoor oven, where a local woman was baking pita bread, using the traditional method of burying the loaves in a mound of charcoal inside the closed oven.

The Mayors of Barta’a

As we were enjoying up meal Mohammad introduced us to the two mayors of the divided community of Barta’a.  Unfortunately my recorder was not operating properly so I had to rely on my memory and borrowed notes to relate this story which was translated to us from the Arabic.  Not totally trusting my memory, I have borrowed some of the explanation from the website http://www.un.org/unrwa/.  Even with the help of the web explanation I find this a difficult “story” to follow.

The small community of Barta-a is located in what has come to be known as the “seam zone,” which refers to a kind of “no man’s land” languishing  between the actual green line, the original boundary established by the 1949  armistice agreement separating  the partition of Israel and neighboring  Jordan, and the rapidly expanding separation barrier which currently encroaches into the West Bank beyond the green line. Individuals living in these zones are not Israeli citizens and are literally trapped, unable to pass the green line into Israel (without difficult to obtain work permits) and physically constrained by the fence from getting to other West Bank villages.

Originally  the green line split Barta’a in two. Since 1948, Barta’a Sharqiya (allocated to Jordan) was  divided from Barta’a Gharbiya on the Israeli side although there remained strong social, economic and familial ties. In 1967  when Israel gained control of  the West bank, the town was briefly reunited.  However with the construction and threatened expansion of the Separation Barrier the imposed and arbitrary division of this town persists.

During lunch, the two mayors, one governing  Palestinian Barta’a Sharqiya and the other governing  Israeli  Barta’a Gharbiya, related their personal stories.  Although cousins, they grew up divided by harsh political reality – Riad Kabha was raised as an Israeli citizen; his cousinas a Jordanian,  currently designated as a “longterm resident” in the Palestinian Territories.

Due to recorder malfunction, I have asked permission from fellow “walker”  Michael Ramberg, a Reconstructionist Rabbinic student studying in Jerusalem,  to lift his written account of one anecdote that Riad Kabha related to us.  Thank you Michael.  “Riad Kabha grew up on the Israeli side and recalled that one day a Jordanian soldier called him over and asked Riad and his brother if they had raised the Israeli flag at their school’s celebration of Israel’s independence day.  Riad for some reason thought the soldier wanted him to say yes, so even though he hadn’t raised the flag, he said he had and the soldier promptly gave him a beating and told him never to do it again.  A little later an Israeli soldier caught Riad and gave him another beating and told him to forget whatever the Jordanian soldier had told him.”

I can’t think of a better anecdote to illustrate the  chaotic impact of arbitrarily imposed political boundarie on the lives of ordinary people, creating rifts in families bound  together over generations by  kinship and marriage.     Yet despite potentially dangerous consequences for violations to enforced separation,  both mayors confessed that villagers often arranged  clandestine reunions with families and friends, carried out under cover of darkness.