my time in Palestine / Israel is now almost over. Before I return, I will bring this newsletter again shortly to update and pull one or the other small conclusion.
first to work and Neve Shalom / Wahat al Salam as a project: After 10 months in school, I work since early July, "the pool", as also in the school, the work is limited largely onto cleaning. After 11 months of cleaning, I can now almost Safe to say that this is not the job I want to take in the future ... I will not do any interesting work, but I was clear beforehand and that was more or less ok Sun I am disappointed, however, from the village in many other points, among others, on how volunteers are often treated and viewed ( only as cheap labor, etc.) and of the many, many conflicts that exist within the village. Above all, there were some problems with the volunteer coordinator and the manager of the village, where we were met with a behavior that I find completely impossible. (I want that now run not on) Anyway, I can Wahat Al Salam / Neve Shalom recommend as a place for volunteers no further.
course, there are many positive things here (you can keep the village as to good, that the disputes never actually do with the conflict between Jews and Arabs have to do and I had Annoyances despite many of the "official" page is a very good time here, because it was never there for me to work in the foreground, but the encounter with people (usually outside of work), both with volunteers from all over the world and with Israelis and Palestinians. I have had the opportunity not only many to get to know interesting people but also two cultures, the Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian, to live closer.
Many of the calls / meetings ... I've had here or revolve around politics or take place in the context of political campaigns.
Some things work from a European perspective (which I also after a long time here still have) very unreal. For example, I was several times at night in Bil'in (a village in the West Bank that, with weekly demonstrations, (successful) lawsuits and other actions against the (in this case, even under Israeli law, international law anyway) illegal wall relative within their village boundaries violent protests ). There, in the past Weeks for 20 young people at night "hijacked" (arrested by the Israeli army, without warrants or similar). To document these "arrests" and if possible to prevent Israelis from International and then have the peace movement together with the Palestinians from Bil'in and the nights spent there the lookout for the soldiers. The approach of the soldiers a little reminiscent of a night-time adventure of YMCAs, but it is deadly serious, the arrested youths spend but 4 months in prison and forced under torture (kicks, punches, etc.) their "deeds" to confess and more young people to betrayed. The charge: Rock-throwing pose demonstrations.
any event be sold, the soldiers in groups of about 20 a few miles outside the village. Full Tarnmontur (including color of the face), the soldiers then sneak into the village. In most cases the soldiers are 3:00 to 5:00 clock in the morning in the village, sneak to the house where they suspect their "target" and then break open the door to arrest those. Then come military jeeps bring to the village and both soldiers and those arrested from the village. The goal of the international and Israeli activists to document mainly things (films and photographs) and by the presence of the soldiers to less violent and to encourage voluntary behavior.
During the nights when I was in Bil'in came (thankfully) not soldiers, two American activists with whom I've spent a lot of time, but were arrested by now and would be deported. One of them, Charlie, was directly in the night after I held with him in "Night Watch" was arrested, (and in such arrested that he is here a rib is broken) because he put himself before the entrance to a Palestinian house added. (These things are not the way rumors I've heard somewhere, but things I have sometimes seen with my own eyes, some first-hand Witnesses told got. Much is also available on YouTube (in the form of videos), or at the following sites: http://palsolidarity.org/ , http://www.bilin-village.org/ )
Another sad fact that I find remarkable is that the "scene" of the Israeli peace activists is very small. I would say that I at least 80% of the activists from the region Tel Aviv - Jerusalem by sight know. Measured against the size of the Israeli activists there are, however, many international. The result is that, from time to randomly meet people that have been taken on any demos before. A very interesting
Personality Marvin and I met during a trip to Egypt in a hostel by chance in Cairo again. It is a 70-80 year old nun, who we had met during a peace conference in Bil'in. A long time in their life (15 years) she has worked in Gaza, where they also wanted the moment to go back. For this purpose they had in the day an episode Temin in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. In your opinion, Hamas is a benign organization that only wants peace and nothing to do with its Charter actually not really much added. Certainly, this image is strongly influenced subjective and not quite the reality accordingly. However, Hamas, Israel has made repeated peace overtures and is ready for talks without precondition. And that they do not thoroughly Islamic-conservative, shows, among other things, that the Hamas foreign minister (2nd Highest Hamas official in Gaza) with Code Pink, a U.S. feminist-pacifist organization has taken. The people of Code Pink, I've just taken it, they described Hamas as very friendly. (Actually, they did not meet with Hamas, but with such an invitation, one can reject bad) Also, a letter from the Hamas to Obama (the code to see Pink) they had in the original and it sounded very reasonable. Of course I do not want to trivialize
Hamas suicide bombings are disgusting and launch rockets against civilian population is morally reprehensible. But in the face of the (much) more numerous indiscriminate and targeted arrests and assassinations, the blockade of Gaza, the occupation of the West Bank and repeated acts of war, in which the collateral damage of civilians were so high that one can confidently speak of massacres, to me is already the question which of the elected governments (and both governments are elected), the larger spread terror.
I do not claim in any way to judge objectively, but I have some aspects of the occupation, to the indiscriminate killing, "bi" and can still only partially understand what it must be to experience it every day. And when I speak of occupation, massacres and apartheid (and I do, even if not the apartheid such as that in South Africa, is if the company in the area that was until 1948 the British Mandate for Palestine, a system of racial segregation not be dismissed out of hand), then I'm not talking just so so, but I am fully engaged in the relatively recent history of the "holy land".
who sees things differently and / or questions / comments can feel free to contact me (preferably directly in person when I'm back again), I am happy to discuss available on policy in the Middle East.
Greetings from Palestine / Israel and God's blessing
Jonathan
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