News, articles and documents from
the Holy Land
Issue No. 128 - Saturday, 19 January 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers and
Sisters,
This
week was one of the worst in the history of this conflict and the most
difficult during the last 15 months of Intifada, because the escalation from
both side is very high and we don’t see any light at the end of this long and
dark tunnel… We really don’t know what might happen more than what is happening
now.. especially that we feel abandoned by everybody in the world and we see
them all accusing this poor Mr. Arafat and this victim Palestinian people of
holding the responsibility of everything while the whole world is applauding the
aggressor and thus giving him the right to become more aggressive against the
innocent people.. I would like to ask one question: who is occupying who??!!
Amidst
the darkness of this situation we see some signs of hope coming from the world
of the spirit.. It seems that the religious people are awaking now and seeing
that they have to do something to help not only in the Holy Land but also at an
international level.. because in fact the whole world is living a period of
disorder and even chaos. I will share with you four initiatives underway during
this next week:
1)
The
prayer for the unity of the Christians will begin tomorrow in the whole world
but especially in Jerusalem it will be a prayer for peace and reconciliation as
it was stated in the document I published in the last Olive Branch: “Our prayer
for unity will also be a prayer for peace in our country and in the world”.
2) Tomorrow 20 until Tuesday 22 will be held
in Alexandria a consultation meeting between Christian, Moslem and Jewish
religious leaders upon and initiative of Dr. George Karry Archbishop of Canterbury
who invited Palestinian and Israeli and Egyptian leaders to meet in order to
sign what will be called “Alexandria Declaration for the peace of Jerusalem and
the Holy Land” and consult on a peace initiative by religious leaders to end
the violence and presume the peace process which will be proposed to both
Israeli and Palestinian political leadership. Will represent the Christians of
the Holy Land our Patriarch Michel Sabbah and Anglican Bishop Riyah abu
Al-Asal, The Palestinian Moslem side Sheikh Talal Seder who minister of sport
and youth in the Palestinian Authority, the Israel Jewish side Rabbi Michael
Melchior, from the Egypian side Coptic Pope Shenouda 3rd and Sheikh
Muhammad Mitwalli Al-Tantawi the Mufti of Eygpt. This meeting was previously
prepared by a special envoy of the Archbishop who visited both the Israeli and
Palestinian leadership both political and religious which agreed to attend it.
The delegations are supposed to meet President Hussni Mubarak who encouraged this
meeting and proposed to host it in Egypt. We do hope that this consultation
will give good fruits on the ground.
3) After tomorrow evening, 21st until
24th of will be held in Jerusalem the meeting of the Episcopal Conference
Presidents of America, Canada and Europe with the Assembly of Catholic Bishops
of the Holy Land in Support of the Church in the Holy Land, which will take
place at the Knights Palace Hotel adjacent to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
More than 45 bishops and representatives of the Bishops conferences will
discuss the current situation, the peace process and the future of the
Christians in the Holy Land. They will hear about this subject from the local
churches and specialist in this field and from the Palestinian Dr. Sari
Nusseibah will speak and from the Israeli side Mr. Yossi Beilin will intervene.
The delegations might meet the president of Israel Mr. Moshe Kastav and
president Arafat also. The meeting end in Bethlehem next Thursday by a closing
mass in St Catherine Church in union with the Holy Father who will be in
Assisi. They will visit Bethlehem
University and meet the vice chancellor Brother Vincent Malham and have a
discussion with Christian Brothers and Faculty. This will be a solidarity visit
which will strengthen the relations between the local churches and the other
churches and will help for the coordination of the work of the churches in
Europe, America and Canada. We will provide you will some of the documents
presented and send you the final statement or publish all the materials in our
Homepage.
4) The last important event will be the
meeting of Assisi which will be a meeting of prayer for the peace in the world
between the leaders of world religions. You can see details about this meeting
in the Vatican homepage but I would like to inform you that from the
Palestinian Islamic side will take part Sheikh Tassir Al-Tamimi the supreme judge
who met the Pope in Notre Dame Center during his visit to the Holy Land. Our
Patriarch was invited to attend but he apologized because of the above mentioned
meeting in Jerusalem and he send a letter to the faithful in our diocese in
which he invites them to join in the prayer for peace, that I sent to some of
you in French but you find hereby a summary in English published by MISNA:
The Patriarch of
the Latin of Jerusalem, Monsignor Michel Sabbah, issued his message for the
meeting of Inter Religious prayer for peace and dialogue, invoked by Pope John
Paul II, to be held in Assisi (Italy) January 24. As follows translation into
English. “World peace – stated Monsignor Sabbah – is threatened by injustice,
reactions to such injustice and the exploitation of religion as a cause for
violence. January 1, in his message for World Peace Day, the Pope had declared
that peace is based on justice and forgiveness. Religion in itself must be the
guiding path toward love of God of all his children, without distinction of
race or credo”. The Patriarch therefore invited all to unite spiritually to the
religious leaders gathered in Assisi and to consecrate the day of January 24 to
prayer and penitence. He then underlined how the Holy Land can at the same time
be both place of peace and war. “Let us therefore pray that the Lord remembers
his love for this land, land of redemption for humanity, for it to become
source of redemption in itself and for all its inhabitants, Christians,
Muslims, Jewish and Druse and that just and lasting peace fills the hearts and
spirits of the leaders that have in their hands the keys of peace and war. We
call on all parishes and religious communities – concluded the Patriarch – to
consecrate January 24 to prayer, adoration, penitence and that the day
concludes with a solemn mass. Let us pray and make penitence for the Lord to
help all worshippers and religious leaders and politicians to create peace in
our land and the world”. On January 24 at the St. Catherine Church of Bethlehem,
monsignor Sabbah, chairman of the Assembly of Bishops of the Holy Land, will
preside a solemn Mass concelebrated with the Episcopacy, chairmen and
representatives of the Bishop Conference of the world, together with the Holy
Father and all the religious leaders that responded to his appeal in Assisi.
I
will leave you now with many other interesting articles and documents hoping
that you will find it interesting and useful:
1)
Jerusalem
Journal # 43 of Sister Mary about her visit to Ain Karem, the one-time Arab
village.
2)
Bethlehem
Letter #11 by Susan Atallah in which shares with us about her feelings during
her recent visit to Jerusalem. To visit Jerusalem from Bethlehem is a real
adventure is like to go and visit New York or even more faraway!!!
3)
Maria C.
Khoury, Ed. D. is writing about “Epiphany at the Jordan River” if there is
still something called “River Jordan”!!
4) A short note from THE LAITY
COMMITTEE IN THE HOLY LAND about the Scenes of Rafah Misery with an appeal from
the children of Rafah.
5) Dr
Harry Hagopian, KSL-KOG
is sharing with us his analysis of “The Politics of Violence” in this bloody
region of the world.
6) Finally, if you want to know
about “Palestinian women and
nonviolence” read Lucy Nusseibeh.
Is there still a
possibility for hope?!
Even if everything
around us says the contrary, we will not lose HOPE and we will still HOPE!
Because we live
in the CITY OF HOPE…
With my best
wishes from Jerusalem Fr.
Raed Abusahlia
Jerusalem
Journal # 43
Sister Mary
January 19, 2002
Earlier this month I received an invitation to a dinner from an Arabic woman. The dinner was to be in Ain Karem at the home of an Israeli friend. I already had my own history in that village in 1973 when I was invited there to a coffee house and met an Israeli couple. At that time I knew some of the history of this one-time Arab village. I had already visited the churches there and felt they were structures without a living community because during the Israeli War of Independence the Arab community fled their homes in fear of the advancing Israeli army. The Israeli government then took over the town and sold the magnificent stone structures, repopulating the town with Israelis. By 1973 Ain Karem was an Israeli artist colony and many of the beautiful limestone Arab homes had been turned into art galleries or art studios. I sat on the floor of that coffee house with a cushion under me and spoke with the Israeli woman seated next to me, a nursery school teacher. I remember complimenting her by telling her that she "must be very good at what she did". I will never forget her response: "Of course I am!" Having been the administrator of a large academy for girls, I was accustomed to teachers and could imagine a faculty member responding with something like: "I really try to be," "I just love what I'm doing", I'm working at it" or even, "The children are such a delight to work with". I chalked up that evening to a LESSON IN SELF CONFIDENCE -- that was about the kindest way I could think about it.
So
when I was once again invited to Ain Karem, I wasn't really excited about
spending the evening there. I kept telling myself to be open; yet I truthfully
felt depressed. When we arrived, my Palestinian friend introduced me to the
widow who owned this lovely house and to another Israeli woman who was also
invited to the dinner. My hostess was most gracious as we sat in front of
the old fireplace enjoying some nuts and a glass of wine before the meal.
The conversation flowed easily and I quickly sensed that I was among friends
and watched the interchange among the women, entering into it with ease. I
couldn't help but reflect on the goodness of these women as they listened to
each other. Already I was glad that I came.
As in all conversations in this country, the present "situation"
became a topic. It was brought up by one of the Israeli women who spoke of
how "Sharon doesn't want peace" and how his policies have
deliberately led to the incarceration of Palestinians in their own towns,
helpless as their olive groves, orchards and vineyards are bulldozed, their
crops burnt, homes demolished and towns besieged by tanks and the Israeli army.
It seemed strange to hear these two articulate Israeli women in this Arab stone
house in the village of Ain Karem speak so passionately about the
"situation" to a Palestinian woman and a nun - about how the Israeli
Prime Minister could not abide calm, but had to constantly pressure the
Palestinians with terror and violence. Palestinian suffering was a sorrow to
these women and both of them were protesting in their own way against the
Israeli government policies.
Without realizing it, I spent four hours with these women and we parted with plans to meet next month here in Jerusalem. I don't know what direction this friendship will take, but I do know:
One woman awake
Awakens another,
The second awakens her next-door neighbor
And three awake can rouse the town,
And turn the whole place upside down.
And many awake
Can raise such a fuss
That
it finally awakens the rest of us.
One woman up,
With dawn in her eyes,
Multiplies.
Author unknown
Bethlehem Letter 11
Susan Atallah
17th January,
2002
The highlight of my Christmas vacation
was going to Jerusalem on the 22nd December 2001. I felt like a
little girl going on a field trip for the first time, and people know what
excitement does to children before going anywhere; they can’t sleep the night
before thinking that they might miss waking up the next day and miss all the
fun. Well, unlike little children, I had nightmares the night before going to
Jerusalem. I was thinking of how to pass the checkpoint without a permit. It’s
been more than 18 months since I went to Jerusalem and I missed it. I had
worked as an English teacher for eight years at Saint Joseph School in East
Jerusalem and I used to walk through the alleys of Old Jerusalem every day and
loved every corner of it.
So I made up my mind to go see it again and walk the same route that I used to take going home every day for eight years. My youngest sister and I took a taxi till the checkpoint and started walking towards the soldiers. My heart started beating faster as we came closer to the soldiers and I was trying to come with an excuse to tell the soldiers when they ask me about my permit. Should I tell them the truth and say that I missed Jerusalem and my old friends there and that was why I was going? Would they believe me, or should I come up with a stronger excuse and lie? Some painful scenes flashed in my mind about people being shot at or beaten at checkpoints, and then I thought about the workers who were made to take off their clothes in cold and rainy weather, and put their hands up while approaching the soldiers at the checkpoint. One of my students told me that while she was coming to school in Bethlehem from Battir, a village in the south of Bethlehem, some soldiers made the father and his sons go on four legs and bark to give them permission to pass. So many painful and humiliating stories came to my mind as I was approaching. My sister noticed my silence and asked if I was OK. I nodded but I was trying to imagine what I would do in case I was treated badly and humiliated. We saw a man in front of us and my sister said, “there’s our chance. We’ll sneak behind him and maybe we can go unnoticed.” She was wrong. The second we passed the man who was showing his ID and permit, another soldier noticed us and yelled at us to stop. I wanted to pretend that I didn’t hear, I have only a few meters to cover and maybe he would be engaged with somebody else and forget us. But No! He called again and this time we turned around so that they don’t shoot us in the back or hurt us somehow. So we went back and the young soldier asked for our permits; I couldn’t lie and said that I don’t have a permit and I just wanted to go to visit Jerusalem. Waiting for his response felt like ages, and I expected him to let us go, but then the answer came: “You can’t go to Jerusalem without a permit.” The other soldier told us to pass, but the first one just refused. They started talking to each other in Hebrew which we, unfortunately, don’t understand. We asked again, “ Can we go?” I smiled at my sister and said that I felt like a school student asking the teacher’s permission to go to drink or use the restroom. Then the answer came in the form of a wave from the soldier’s hand letting us pass. I felt like a kid who was given permission to have a treat and I walked with my sister towards the main road. But then my sister told me that we were not supposed to use the main road; we have a by-pass road for Palestinians to use in order to get a taxi that went to Jerusalem. I was furious. “Why can’t I use the regular road? It’s right here! Why should I go under the street on a specially paved sidewalk that was under the road?” My sister said that this sidewalk has been built and used by Palestinians for quite a while now, but I didn’t know about it. Walking through, I felt a pang of the painful discrimination that the African American people were exposed to in the U.S.A. not long ago. I felt like the power of the superior exercised on the weak; those two soldiers were either in their late teens or early twenties, and I had taught students their ages. One of the differences is that they have the power of the guns at their service and I can’t use my special qualities in teaching to talk to them. Well, I was on my way to Jerusalem and that was important to me. Sitting in the van, I was looking at the new buildings that sprung up during the time that I was confined in Bethlehem for a little less than two years, and I felt that I was behind. Where did these tall buildings come from? When were they built and already in use? The world goes on and we are back to square one where the peace negotiations are concerned. Are we going to start all over again? I wonder.
Arriving in Jerusalem was somehow a
disappointment. The walls and the shops were the same, and I could see some
familiar faces that I used to see years ago, but there was something missing. I
couldn’t put my finger on it. It felt like I was in a lifeless city so
different from when I saw it last, and that was before the Second Intifada. I sadly
walked the alleys of Old Jerusalem and felt like crying. What happened to the
Jerusalem that I knew before? Where is the hustle and bustle that made it
unique? I stayed for two hours walking the almost empty streets, and felt
emotionally drained. I went home feeling sad and remembered Jesus when he said,
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are
sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused! Look! Your house will be
deserted, for, I promise, you shall not see me any more until you are saying:
Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23: 37-39)
Epiphany
at the Jordan River
By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D.
The precious
site where 2000 years ago "…the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him…" (Matthew
3:13-17), is currently zoned in an area that is under Israeli military
occupation since l967 and landmines surround it. On the Palestinian side, the
Israelis allow the faithful to enter and pray only once a year and the rest of
the time it is restricted as a military zone. Here at the Jordan River, the
faithful in Palestine pray on the West side of the river and the faithful in
Jordan hold the same Epiphany service on the East side of the river. Of course
we have the problem of following different calendars but that is a story by
itself, at least as Christians we are constantly giving glory to God while we
are on earth!
The Monastery of St. John the Baptist next to the Jordan River is usually
flocked with pilgrims but yesterday it was suffering to even have local
Palestinian Orthodox Christians attend the service with the strict roadblocks
and closures of towns and villages. The Epiphany service takes place outside
the monastery by the Jordan River with people traveling from long distances to
attend. This usually inaccessible monastery is in the worst shape from any of
the Holy sites because it stands in what is considered "no man's
land." The property is really in such terrible and appalling
condition. The Israelis and the Palestinians have shed plenty of blood for
control in this area. But with the support of the American government the
Israelis control everything and the entire Palestinian infrastructure is about
destroyed but what will not be destroyed is the will of the Palestinian people
to have freedom and independence.
Most of the valuable items have been stolen from the monastery years
ago. All of the windows and doors are broken, parts of the ceiling are
caving in, the walls are peeling and the monastery has not been maintained
whatsoever because the Greek patriarch who is technically responsible cannot
have access to it. It's really a disgrace for such a holy site to have
piles and piles of trash and be boarded up from the Christian world. But this
is the obscure result from years of occupation.
The Jordan River flows toward the Dead Sea. Four streams combine to form the
Jordan River that enters the Sea of Galilee at its northeastern tip and leaves
it at its southwestern corner. It is the most important river in the Holy
Land not only because of its spiritual and religious significance but because
it's an excellent source of water. Water is a precious resource in this area.
In many Palestinian villages like mine, most times the water is turned on only
once or twice a week. The rest of the time the water supply is completely
shut off. However, the surrounding illegal Israeli settlements have no
water restrictions whatsoever and are able to have running water twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week. I still wonder sometimes, why God sent me to
the Palestinian side. Especially seeing that the Baptism of our Lord was
celebrated on a beautiful sunny and very dry day, the water situation will not
get any better.
Rafah ....
Scenes of Misery
THE LAITY COMMITTEE IN THE HOLY LAND
400 children spend their nights
homeless in severe winter conditions under rain, shelling and missiles.
When words can't describe, scenes express and
speak up... when justice, mercy and humanity are put aside and
disregarded, nothing can be thought of ... when our childhood's innocence is
hurt, no feelings can be explained and when silence lasts long, oppression and
injustice will prevail ... when we are left homeless under rain and missiles,
where could be the shelter. When we lack security, we dream of a secure world.
When tomorrow becomes dark, we'll hold a candle to light the tunnel. When we
lose our school bags, clothes and toys under rubbles, we will look for ' Hope '
and ' Peace '.
When we lose everything, our hearts will go on and we will look for friends.
Our friends... We need your voice and hearts....
The children of
Rafah ( TELFAX 08-2136875)
The Politics of Violence!
Dr Harry Hagopian, KSL-KOG
No one can remain indifferent to the injustice of which the
Palestinian people have been victims for more than fifty years. No one can
protest the right of the Israeli people to live in security. However, neither can anyone forget the
innocent victims who, on both sides, fall day after day under the blows of
violence.
(HH Pope
John-Paul II - Address to Vatican Diplomatic Corps - 10 January 2002)
One of the biggest
hurdles, and one of the most daunting challenges, for any public speaker is to
get up and talk about 'peace' in the Holy Land at a time when both parties are
waging all-out war! No matter how well intentioned the person, and regardless
of the inexhaustible reservoirs of optimism or commitment, the temptation to
admit defeat and call it a day often becomes alluringly unavoidable!
I am not ashamed to
admit that this temptation has also been my faithful companion over the years -
in fact, ever since I joined the so-called speaking circuit a decade ago! I
have frequently seesawed between optimism and pessimism, vision and nightmare,
reality and illusion! Getting up and standing in front of scores of people who
are willing to give a speaker the benefit of a doubt as much as the opportunity
to articulate a scenario for a peaceful Holy Land is - quite frankly -
tough! Mind you, it can be quite
exhilarating when one can get up and talk about peace-driven successes!
Conversely, it turns depressing when one has to interpret conflict-ridden
failures. And as I look at the Holy Land this week - or to debar euphemisms for
once, at Israel and Palestine - what do I see that instills in me the confidence
of faith or the diffidence of politics?
Let me examine - ever
so perfunctorily - the facts! The three-week 'ceasefire' or 'truce' between
Israelis and Palestinians has been shattered already. Tit for tat killing has
taken hold again, and the culture of violence has reared its ugly head once
more. Palestinians are being murdered by Israel everywhere in the West Bank in
fresh cycles of extra-judicial killings. Consequently, Palestinians are killing
Israelis in retaliation - and both sides are once more upping the ante for
violence.
But why is all this
happening anyway? It is happening largely because Israel has steadfastly
trampled upon the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Israel has
occupied their land, and after long years of protracted negotiations, handed
over to them small, isolated and disjointed parcels of territory to call home!
Israel has built settlements upon their expropriated land so that Israeli Jews
can live there at hugely subsidized rates! Israel has set up military checkpoints
that keep Palestinians hemmed in their little cages and disallow them from
travelling from one pocket to another, one village to another, and one
demographic cage to another! Israel has maintained a policy of inhumane
humiliations by dealing with Palestinian women, men or children as if they are
expendable dross to be bullied and belittled at any moment and for whatever
reason! Israel has controlled the water from their underground aquifers in the
West Bank, or else overpriced it for their consumption. Israel has blocked
their agricultural produce from going out of the territories, and has limited
the number of Palestinians who can come out to seek gainful employment! And not
least, during PM Sharon's term, Israel has imposed collective and large-scale
punishments for the actions of a number of terror-exporting fighters.
It is undeniable that
Israelis - women, men and children - have equally suffered from the Palestinian
Intifada that started almost sixteen months ago. Israelis have been killed in
large numbers too - a most recent incident being the wanton murder of Avi Boaz.
Israelis - women, men and children - have been blown up in suicide attacks.
Israelis have had their economy impacted and their tourism industry shaken by
the daily confrontations. In fact, Israelis have become as much fed up with the
constant violence as they have with Chairman Arafat - who may, or may not be, a
leader who snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. But what have Israelis
done in return to calm or steady the waters? They have tightened the screws
even further, and applied even more stringent (sic, repressive) security
measures against the Palestinian people. So, the vicious cycle continues, the
humiliations and indignities are kept up, cause and effect scenarios clash, and
the situation is far from redeeming itself!
Where do Israelis and
Palestinians go from here? For that matter, where do I - an Armenian Christian
from Jerusalem - go from here?
What have I got to share with you today that might sound a tad more knowledgeable
than the headlines in the press or on your CNN channel? Plainly, precious
little! It is difficult to think of a course of action that nourishes vision
and feeds hope when the region itself has become increasingly more steeped in a
quagmire of violent and vicious standoffs, hatred and reprisals.
However, I suppose
'hope springs eternal' for someone who looks at this conflict as much from a
political slant as he does from a faith-centered perspective. Indeed, in his
homily for New Year 2002, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of
Jerusalem reminded the Christian leaders assembled at the concathedral of the
Patriarchate of the urgency to establish peace in the land of the prophets -
one that is predicated upon justice and forgiveness. Recalling the story about
the sufferings of Pope John-Paul II during both the Nazi and Communist
totalitarian regimes, he drew the conclusion that peace can indeed be attained
through justice and forgiveness. But most importantly, he reminded the
faithful, forgiveness is not a concept that opposes justice. Quite the
contrary! Forgiveness is in opposition to the spirit of vengeance and
vindictiveness. In view of the fact that human beings cannot replicate God's
perfect justice on earth, he added, forgiveness becomes a permanent invitation
toward a deeper and more genuine healing of wounds.
I do not believe that
many people would wish to see violence continue in the Holy Land - or even take
hold for much longer. Nor do I believe that the large majority of Palestinians
or Israelis would wish to mourn further deaths or injuries, or else to witness
more houses demolished and more freedoms crushed. However, Israel must wake up
to the reality that peace requires justice, and that implies withdrawal from
the occupied territories so that Palestinians could have their own credible and
sovereign state next to Israel - equal in peace, equal in security, equal in
dignity, equal in responsibility and equal under international law. This option
is the only lasting formula for peace! And it does not matter whether Israel
believes the Palestinians can pull it off! It is not up to Israel to dictate to the Palestinians their
choice of leadership or governance!
Next week, the
Churches of the Holy Land come together to celebrate the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity. This annual
ecumenical drive has become even more concrete over the past few years when the
Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches have managed to put some of their
differences aside and work in fellowship toward common causes that grant their
people a smidgeon of promise and hope. And let us not choose to forget that the
majority of indigenous Christians also happen to be Palestinians - hence, the
need to realize that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not pit Christian
against Muslim, but rather pits one extremist against another - whether Jewish,
Muslim or Christian. Indeed, the Bethlehem to Jerusalem 'March for Justice'
that took place on the last day of 2001 with the participation of all the
Churches of Jerusalem is just one small illustration of the perfervid desire of
most Christians - leaders and congregations alike - to express their solidarity
for a peace that secures justice, forgiveness and above all freedom.
Will this ever happen?
As a lawyer, I would say that the jury is still out! As a politician, I would also hedge my bets and aver that it
depends on whether the circumstances would be conducive for peace! But as a Christian, hope and compassion
are what sustain me - and therefore I say that it is bound to happen … soon?
Only respect for others and their legitimate aspirations,
the application of international law, the evacuation of the occupied
territories, and an internationally guaranteed special status for the most holy
places in Jerusalem can bring about a beginning of pacification in that part of
the world and break the hellish cycle of hatred and vengeance. One against the
other, neither Israelis nor Palestinians can win the war, but together they can
win peace. (HH Pope John-Paul II - Address to Vatican
Diplomatic Corps- 10 January 2002)
harry-bvH
@ 18 January 2002
Palestinian
women and nonviolence
Lucy Nusseibeh
Haaretz, January 17
The history of the involvement of Palestinian women in nonviolent actions
within the Palestinian national struggle is almost as old as the struggle
itself. As the Middle East and the world as a whole act and react to the
violence created by men, the need for women's voices to be raised and to be
heard is greater than ever.
We are currently witnessing the most extreme violence of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict thus far, with battles raging all over
the West Bank and Gaza that often leave women and children as the victims.
Although often portrayed or perceived as a conflict between equals, the
overwhelming military and political power is with Israel, which - by
controlling the freedom of movement - controls every aspect of Palestinian
life. The result is a deep sense of humiliation felt by Palestinians at the
hands of the Israelis.
The context for Palestinians today is one of total despair. There is a closure
of minds and futures as well as roads, the economy is in almost total
collapse, and there is no sign of a turnaround, only more of the same. Many
children no longer dream of anything other than becoming "martyrs"
and it is all that most women can do just to cope - for themselves and for
their families.
In this situation of siege and bomb attacks, with women and children paying the
heaviest price, such coping is itself an assertion of nonviolence. Nonviolence
in this situation is just coping with the fear, devastation, poverty,
humiliation, and constant, all-pervasive tension to try to remain human.
Nonviolence in its classic sense involves transforming the conscience of one's
opponent through one's own moral agency so that the opponent perceives that his
actions are immoral and will therefore stop them. When this does not work,
outsiders (from another country) can play a role or the "mirror" can
be held at a different angle so that the opponent perceives his actions
differently.
Nonviolence can also be viewed more broadly as an assertion of
humanity and as the development of potential in spite of the odds against
it, since violence essentially cuts off potential. Just as violence breeds
hatred and leads to a vicious and inhuman cycle, nonviolence can be used to
break that cycle. Nonviolence, therefore, is a form of assertiveness and
empowerment that enables people to stand up even in the face of overwhelming
violence and retain their humanity.
Palestinian women have used nonviolent approaches since the very beginning of
the conflict early in the last century. During the British Mandate, for
example, they organized petitions to the British parliament. They also held a
mass demonstration against British and Zionist policy as early as 1920, and in
1929 held the first Palestine Arab Women's Congress in Jerusalem that drew over
200 delegates. That congress issued a revolutionary declaration for women to
leave aside their other duties and "support their men in this [national]
cause."
The tragedy of 1948 was so overwhelming that, like now, women were primarily
engaged in just coping and keeping together what they could of the bits and
pieces of their shattered lives. Simply maintaining
their families and their Palestinian identity was an assertion of active
nonviolence.
The war of 1967, although equally overwhelming, gave new energy to Palestinian
women, who immediately came out in force in demonstrations, sit-ins, and
peaceful marches to protest and raise awareness about the injustice of the
Israeli occupation. Committees were set up to support prisoners and their
families and, by the late 1970s, the four major Palestinian factions were
represented by four different women's committees, in addition to the many charities
set up to empower and educate women to resist the occupation.
The high point of Palestinian women's involvement in nonviolent activities was
during the Intifada of 1987, as women took prominent roles in leading
demonstrations, setting up popular relief committees
as nonviolent alternatives to the constantly encroaching Israeli system, and
running both families and institutions while Palestinian men were arrested in
droves.
The current conflict is typified by men shooting and boys throwing stones at
Israeli tanks, yet the women's movements have been absent and silent for a
long time. At first, this was the case with all
movements, as the sudden and vicious nature of the violence threw everyone into
shock. Now, although there are some nonviolent activities (such as
marches), and some organized protests and petitions from
women's organizations, only international involvement and media coverage seem
to make a difference. Even during the Intifada of 1987, Israel was able to
thwart nonviolent tactics in ways that rendered them futile by turning
nonviolent demonstrations violent, preventing media coverage, confiscating the
property of those who refused to pay taxes, and other means.
In today's environment, there has to be a different way to hold up the mirror
of morality in such a way that it might break the cycle of violence. Women can
be the key to this if they reach out to each other
across international boundaries. If women from outside the Middle East come as
international observers to witness the plight of Palestinian women and talk
about what they see, perhaps their voices can be heard.
They may then be able to serve as the mirror for Israeli women who could help
vote into power a more conciliatory government. Moreover, if the media
were to focus on Palestinian women far more than it does, and if women become
prominent in decision making and in conflict resolution exercises, there is
hope that women working together can bring about the viable Palestinian state
and just solution that has so far eluded men.
The writer is the head of Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy, a
Jerusalem-based non-governmental organization.
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