I leave Palestine and Israel very soon, but the situation continues.
Contrary to what some people may
say, this is not a battle over race or religion. Most Palestinians I know do
not hate all Jews or Israelis (there are some, but they are a minority). They
do not want to destroy them or push them into the sea.
They want to live in freedom, and
they want equal rights. They do not want their children to be harassed at
checkpoints. They do not want to have water shortages, while others just a few
kilometres away have swimming pools. They do not want to be second class
citizens in their own homes.
Most Israelis do not want that
either, and both Palestinians and Israelis have an experience of
suffering.
My time in the West Bank has been among Palestinians since unlike Israelis, they have no army to protect them and the occupation hits them. Also the fact that despite what some say this is not an "even conflict"- they are the occupied and Israel's government is the occupier. There is no equivalence in this regard.
However, although most of the deaths in this "conflict" are Palestinian (tens of thousands killed since 1948) one also cannot forget that thousands of Israelis since that time also have been stabbed, shot, blown up in suicide bombings, killed by rockets. Every death is a tragedy and every murder is a crime.
Palestinians today live under
occupation and suffer human rights abuses on a regular basis- abuses that range
from land confiscation to harassment to destruction of homes to to torture to imprisonment to denial of services to
outright murder.
Most Israelis have grandparents who
have lived through all these things- and on a scale that claimed the lives of
millions.
Neither deserve this.
There needs to be peace. But a
peace that is just to both peoples, not only one. A peace where the rights of
all need to be respected and defended. Where there is no oppressor, or oppressed.
I do not know how it will look like
politically, or when it will be achieved. However, it is a necessity.
I fly out soon.
I have been blessed by God beyond
what I could ever hope to deserve or ask for, by being allowed to go to
Palestine during past four summers and being able do my small part on the
ground to stand in solidarity with its people. I have met many amazing people-
Palestinians, Israelis, internationals who personify courage and compassion. I
have also seen people (most of them wearing Army and Border Police uniforms)
whom I wonder how they can sleep at night with the knowledge of the crimes they
committed.
I have seen a lot of
injustice and suffering, and also a lot of kindness and generosity. I have seen
some people show the worst side of humanity, I have seen other people show its
best.
I do not know when (hopefully not
if!) I will be back, but inshAllah (God-willing) one day.
I encourage everyone reading this
to learn more about the situation in the West Bank, and the rest of Palestine.
Do your own research, and read from different sources. Don't let anyone tell
you what to think, do it for yourself. Draw your own conclusions.
I also would encourage people who
want to go and see what the situation is like for themselves, or better yet
would like to do some volunteering on the ground (international activists are
always welcome and needed!) to check out International Solidarity
Movement,
www.palsolidarity.org.
Other international activist groups
that are doing a good job here and also are in need of members, are Christian
Peacemaker Teams (
www.cpt.org), Ecumenical
Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (
https://www.eappi.org/en), International
Women's Peace Service (
http://iwps.info/).
There are in most likelihood also others that are not mentioned.
If you come, be prepared to work hard and be blessed by meeting people who will in most likelihood change your life forever.
You do not have to go to Palestine
to work for a difference. The most important thing that can be done is to raise
awareness back home, whatever for you that may mean, and to encourage your
government to pressure Israel to end the occupation and its oppression of the
Palestinian people.
As Martin Luther King once said,
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".
Resist injustice, whether it is
here in Palestine or elsewhere. Work for justice, for the Palestinian people
and any other people (there are many) who face occupation and oppression and
human rights abuses.
Do not turn away or close your eyes. Allow them to be opened. See the wrongs. And then do something.
The struggle for freedom continues. Join the fight.
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