The European Parliament voiced deep concern on Friday about the eviction of a Palestinian family from their East Jerusalem home. In the resolution, the EU said the eviction of the Al-Kurd family, and similar actions on the part of Israel, could have consequences for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "These operations, which seriously affect the lives of the residents of these areas, contravene international law," the resolution states. The Al-Kurd family was forcibly removed from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem by members of the Israeli police and armed forces on the night of Sunday 9 November 2008. Immediately after their eviction, settlers were allowed to enter the house where the family had lived for more than 50 years. According to the European resolution, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority, the eviction of the Al-Kurd family and the recent destruction of houses belonging to Palestinian families by the Israeli authorities in several areas of East Jerusalem may have serious ramifications. "Under international law East Jerusalem is not subject to the jurisdiction of Israeli courts," the Parliament pointed out. Parliament also calls on the Council, the Commission and the international community, including the Quartet, to "make all possible efforts to protect Palestinian residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and other areas of East Jerusalem" and urges the Quartet to play a more active role. A majority of the members present at the parliamentary session amended the resolution to remove language calling "for the al-Kurd family's property to be returned to it immediately."
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Bouncing off a letter from Jerusalem, from a guy who blogs on Poland (
http://beatroot.blogspot.com/2008/11/beatroot-in-jerusalem.html):Another, more important, change, is the growth of religiosity in Israel. It was very noticeable to me how many more of the ultra-orthodox there are, but also how the Muslim community has become more religious, too. ...
Our driver was a Palestinian who lived in the Old Town in Jerusalem. And whose home Israel is, of course, is at the root of all the problems there.
“They talk about something that happened 60 years ago. But what are they doing now? Here. Today!”
I asked him why I could see more signs of religion among the Palestinian population.
“It‘s simple - we don’t like seeing the western way of life.” I asked him, however, if he didn’t think that the problem was more about politics than religion - the old pan-Arab, secular nationalism has failed, leaving the door open for more religious groups like Hamas to take over.
“No, I hate politics,” he said, and then proceeded to give me a lecture about Palestinian politics.
“If they have another election then Hamas will win it, not Fatah. Fatah came from Tunisia, not from here. They have no roots. And they were only in it for themselves. But Hamas have roots in Palestine, and they do good for the Palestinian.”
“But you know,” he said, waving his hand out the window at the Israelis of Jerusalem, who were hurriedly going about their business on Jaffa Street: “We have fought wars with the British, and they went. We have fought wars against the [Crusaders], and they left. These will have to leave too, one day.”
Whether the growth of religion in Israel is a numbers game, or childbearing patterns, or because of western decadence is open for debate. But I still maintain that it is actually the failure of the old leftwing-rightwing politics in Israel and elsewhere that is leaving the way open for ultra-conservatives, both Israeli and Palestinian - and that means the end of this long conflict is getting further away, not nearer.
Elite Veteran Mother tongues: Arabic, Swedish Posts: 922 Joined: September 23, 2004 Location: France
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Jacek,
So many points in that blogger's description of what the driver said, make me feel he (the driver) still has much to learn, like all of us, right?
Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on November 25, 2008 2:38 PM
Another, more important, change, is the growth of religiosity in Israel. It was very noticeable to me how many more of the ultra-orthodox there are, but also how the Muslim community has become more religious, too. ...
How about the Christian one? I know they are less than 1% now, but I've never seen as many crosses on people's chests as last summer. When everyone else closes the door to you, there is only God left, to hear your complaints and to help you vent. It doesn't only apply to Israel / Palestine, or am I wrong?
Our driver was a Palestinian who lived in the Old Town in Jerusalem. And whose home Israel is, of course, is at the root of all the problems there.
How on earth can his home be Israel, if he is Palestinian from Old Jerusalem. Old Jerusalem is where the churches and mosques are, i.e. Palestinian.
I asked him why I could see more signs of religion among the Palestinian population.
“It‘s simple - we don’t like seeing the western way of life.”
Might be. But so many things, in the daily life of that "kiddo", come from the Western life-style. The question is if he is aware of it. It could be the gel he has in his hair, his way of dressing, the movies he watches, the food he eats, etc....
I asked him, however, if he didn’t think that the problem was more about politics than religion - the old pan-Arab, secular nationalism has failed, leaving the door open for more religious groups like Hamas to take over.
Of course it is. No need to ask. It's obvious!
“If they have another election then Hamas will win it, not Fatah. Fatah came from Tunisia, not from here. They have no roots. And they were only in it for themselves. But Hamas have roots in Palestine, and they do good for the Palestinian.”
If I was on the Scandinavian forum, I would have said: "Åh, Herre Gud i himmelen!" [Oh, Mighty God in Heaven!]
What kind of nonsense is that???? No matter where Fateh comes from. They have been representing the Palestinian resistance for decades. They have been its symbol and its voice. People didn't know the word Palestinian as well as they knew the word Fateh. No party can be more deeply rooted in the Palestinian society than Fateh. [I am not talking about myself or my political views]
Hamas, is just barely as old as that kiddo is. So I don't blame him, I just advise him to watch less video clips, and to read more about the history of the Palestinian resistance.
“But you know,” he said, waving his hand out the window at the Israelis of Jerusalem, who were hurriedly going about their business on Jaffa Street: “We have fought wars with the British, and they went. We have fought wars against the [Crusaders], and they left. These will have to leave too, one day.”
I don't think they are leaving. I firmly believe they are here to stay. But what they will have to do, on the other hand, is realise that the Palestinians aren't leaving either. Take it or leave it, they will have to give us our share of the country, and live with it.
Whether the growth of religion in Israel is a numbers game, or childbearing patterns, or because of western decadence is open for debate. But I still maintain that it is actually the failure of the old leftwing-rightwing politics in Israel and elsewhere that is leaving the way open for ultra-conservatives, both Israeli and Palestinian - and that means the end of this long conflict is getting further away, not nearer.
The blogger seems much more intelligent to me, than the taxi diver.
Ann-Christine
[Edited by Ann-Christine Nassar-Pateffoz on November 26, 2008 6:32 AM]
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Originally written by Ann-Christine Nassar-Pateffoz on November 26, 2008 11:49 AM
Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on November 25, 2008 2:38 PM
Another, more important, change, is the growth of religiosity in Israel. It was very noticeable to me how many more of the ultra-orthodox there are, but also how the Muslim community has become more religious, too. ...
How about the Christian one? I know they are less than 1% now, but I've never seen as many crosses on people's chests as last summer. When everyone else closes the door to you, there is only God left, to hear your complaints and to help you vent. It doesn't only apply to Israel / Palestine, or am I wrong?
Here is a piece that seems à propos:
International politics professor Vali Nasr pointed out on NPR’s Speaking of Faith that religion is resurgent in Iraq, Israel, India, and the United States. People throughout the world are turning to religion and challenging the separation between church and state. Nasr asks, “Why is secularism sick?”
Part of the problem may lie in the style of democracy that the U.S. tries to export in places like Iraq. “We have a very good system of government,” said Nasr, “but whenever we go abroad we promote and implement a French one.” In U.S. history, there were strong bridges between religion and commerce in organizations like the YMCA or the Rotary Club. The style of democracy the U.S. has tried to export is more centralized and secularized, according to Nasr, more French than American. Ideally, the government would promote a more federalist system, less centralized, encouraging commerce and religion to work together for stability in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.utne.com/2008-11-24/Spirituality/Is-Secularism-Failing.aspx?blogid=28
Elite Veteran Mother tongues: Arabic, Swedish Posts: 922 Joined: September 23, 2004 Location: France
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Let's go and visit Hebron, a city where the inhabitants are struggling to stay in their homes each day. The city is literally besieged by the settlers. As far as your eye can see, there are settlers. What is special with Hebron is that for each settler, there are four soldiers to protect him/her. When Palestinian children go to school, they have to find a way in order not to get harassed by the settlers. I don't need to tell you what happens to the adults. Most of the shops is down town Hebron are closed. People don't dare encounter the settlers, all armed, or the soldiers, who have to abide to the settlers' one-sided, self-made rules to buy themselves peace. Oops! I've just used the word `peace´, wishful thinking, I guess.
Some 40 Israeli settler teenagers rampaged through the West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday, slashing car tires and smashing windows. Israeli sources said the youths slashed the tires of Palestinian cars and Israeli border police jeeps near a settler-occupied building called the “House of Contention.” The settlers hurled rocks at Palestinian houses and sprayed a Star of David on a wall. Israeli police reportedly launched an investigation into the violence, but none of the rioters has been arrested. Last week the Israeli High Court ordered settlers to leave the occupied building. Settlers have vowed to resist the evacuation, and the Israeli military has yet to implement the order. Settlers also rioted near the occupied house last week, wounding a soldier, vandalizing a mosque and desecrating Palestinian graves in the area. Following Wednesday’s riot, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the government is determined to implement the High Court ruling on the disputed building. Israeli Chief of Command Gadi Shamni said he would meet with settler groups again on Wednesday in hopes of persuading them to leave the "House of Contention" without further violence. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, hinted on Tuesday that his government will not force the settlers from the "House of Contention," but will instead settle for preventing settler attacks on their Palestinian neighbors. Speaking with reporters during his trip to Washington, Olmert said: "I read the High Court of Justice's decision closely. It ordered the house's occupants to vacate within three days, and if they do not, [it said], the government will have to do so. But it did not explicitly order the government to do so. There is something less than completely unequivocal in the wording the court chose." Separately, the Israeli Jerusalem District Court ruled that settler activist Noam Federman can remain in a settlement near Hebron known Federman Farm, overturning an injunction to evacuate him.
The whittling away and destruction of Muslim memory and history has been a key aim in Jerusalem's development (as in the rest of Israel). This is especially so with the recent acceleration of the Judaising of illegally-annexed East Jerusalem, by infiltrating it with more Jewish settlements built on expropriated land and homes in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods. In Silwan, below the Old City wall, fundamentalist settlers, wishing to establish "the City David" in the Arab neighbourhood, are illegally digging under people's houses, and ancient burial remains are being bundled away into boxes, preventing documentation of important evidence of the Islamic era of Jerusalem.
TheMuslim cemeteryin Mamilla, West Jerusalem, is suffering a similar fate in one section, where hundreds of skeletons are being unearthed and boxed, to make way for the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's euphemistically-named "Museum of Tolerance". The recent judgment by Israel's Supreme Court to allow the construction of the museum complex to proceed on top of this cemetery of religious and historical importance defies all satire and irony, making it a flashpoint for more conflict and hatred, and still engenderingstrong protests.
This project, started in 2004, was frozen due to public outcry, most especially from Muslim religious authorities and the Israeli Islamic movement, as well as Orthodox Jews, about disturbing family graves, and the graves of venerated figures from Arab history and religion going back to Saladin and Muhammad. The site, near Independence Park in the centre of Jerusalem, is on disputed land, taken over by Israel's Land Administration in 1948 as absentee property, whose ownership is claimed by the Islamic authorities aswaqf land, with their very present dead. It has been described as "disused", but local Muslims disagree and point out that it is still visited by relatives of the dead.
It is disingenuous and misleading for the Weisenthal representatives to claim this was declared a "deconsecrated" cemetery by an Islamic trust in 1964, and that there were no protests when a car park was built over part of it in 1960. Jonathan Cook pointed out in arecent article: "The Islamic trusts have no legitimacy among Palestinian Muslims in Israel, nearly one-fifth of the country's total population, let alone among Palestinians in the occupied territories. The Islamic officials on the trusts are widely seen as corrupt, appointed by the state because of their willingness to do the government's bidding rather than because of their public standing or Islamic credentials."
In any case the avenues for protests by Palestinians are extremely limited, as they impotently view the expropriation of their land and property and the breaches of thehuman rightsusing the might and force of the Israeli state and army. In the 1960s much of Israel's Arab population "was under martial law, and in little position to voice opposition". It is well known that the secrecy of decision-making in the planning process, as for theMuseum of Tolerance, precludes genuine consultation and objections.
As Esther Zandberg of Haaretzpointed out, "Very few things filter out to the general public in an orderly fashion – and when they become known, it is often too late to do anything. The list of building plans approved under a veil of secrecy and guile is lengthy ... Most prominent is the Museum of Tolerance, set for central Jerusalem and planned by Frank Gehry. Not merely was this plan approved before being presented in full to the Israeli public, but those involved refused to reveal it even after it had been published in foreign architectural magazines. The plans were finally made public at a festive cocktail party, once they were already a fait accompli."
The building itself will be "the world's largest and most expensive museum complex", 30,000 sq m , built at a cost of $250 million, with money raised by wealthy American Jewish donors. It will include "two museums, a library-education centre, a conference centre and a 500-seat performing arts theatre" and seems more of a tourist attraction that will "swamp the fragile urban fabric of Nahalat Shiva" a poor area of Jerusalem. The building contains the Gehry trademarks and shapes – twisting, leaning, colliding, collapsing, folding, tilting, swirling (which Zandbergconsiders McDonaldesque) – all crammed together fortress-like on a raised plinth, and an unnecessary intervention into Jerusalem's uniqueness. In fact local reaction has described it variously as a white elephant, Orwellian, or the world's largest physical oxymoron. Some say it is doubling up on the Yad Vashem with its proposed Holocaust library, and that the money would rather be spent on helping still-impoverished Holocaust survivors.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre claims that "All citizens of Israel, Jews and non-Jews, are the real beneficiaries of this decision" and that the project will be used to create mutual respect. Yet this will be a distinctlyZionist-orientatedcomplex, which, as declared at the launch, is to express the dream of the foundation of the Israeli state.
It poses many questions. Would such a scheme have been built over a Jewish cemetery? Will the new museum of tolerance include the history of the Naqba, the Palestinian tragedy parallel to the founding of the Israeli state?
Rabbi Hier is reported to have said that while the museum will not conspicuously avoid the Palestinian situation, "It's not about the experience of the Palestinian people. When they have a state, they'll have their own museum."
While its predecessor, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles may contribute to communal harmony, to pursue this enormous sister project in Jerusalem, at this critical time, when the "peace process" is in turmoil, would seem highly insensitive, a statement of Israel's hegemony over the Palestinians, rather than any expression of tolerance. Though the Wiesenthal Centre claims it will promote inter-communal harmony, it will not be particularly appealing to most Palestinians, since they are institutionally discriminated against within Israel, and walled off, imprisoned and under siege in most of the West Bank and Gaza. It will further inflame passions in an already combustibleMiddle East, and push any peace accord further off the horizon.
Rabbi Hier, enraged by the protests of the whole Muslim community, and IPCRI's Gershon Baskin, hasbranded themall extremists and in league with Hamas, and accused them of attempting a land grab.
Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine(of which I am a founder member) is responding to IPCRI (Israel/Palestine Centre for Research & Information) who have asked forsupportin stopping this project from going ahead, and who say that Jerusalem "is the one city in the world where there is a real potential to demonstrate that Jews, Christians and Muslims can live together in peace, understanding and real tolerance, where we can learn to celebrate the diversities of our civilisations."
This is obviously the wrong building in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe when there is a really genuine peace with justice, it can be built in a different location, with full participation of all sectors of the community in a truly free and undivided Jerusalem.
If it's not the power getting cut, leaving entire neighborhoods in darkness, then it's the water not reaching the top floors or the cooking gas running out. If you have an electric generator, some small part of it is bound to be broken and unfixable, because even before the hermetic three-week siege, Israel prohibited bringing in any spare parts for cars, machines and household electric appliances.
And if you somehow manage to find the money for a generator that was smuggled through the tunnels (its price has doubled or tripled since last month), it's at the expense of buying a heater (not electric, of course), English lessons, clothes for the children and visits to the doctor.
This is Gaza in November 2008. Just as Gaza is the emptying of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency storehouses and the farmers who sowed and watered, but cannot market, their tomatoes, guavas and strawberries out of the Gaza Strip because Israel forbids it, it is also the calmness with which people receive the sudden darkness and the jokes that there is not much food in the refrigerator to spoil anyway.
Gaza is the ability to tell jokes in any situation, and the burning insult of having no running water for three or four days. And yet, the children go clean and neat to school.
Gaza is the long Nasser Street which has been blocked to traffic for over a year. Its asphalt is torn out and it is riddled with potholes and mounds of sand. When Israel forbade bringing any construction materials and raw materials into the strip, the renovation work stopped on this thoroughfare, the main access to three hospitals, which are always in danger of equipment failure if some part breaks down.
But Gaza is also parents leaving their children alone at home, without fear, or letting them go to a playground far from home, or go by themselves to their grandmother in the Jabaliya refugee camp (in the streets parallel to Nasser Street).
Gaza is reports of policemen attacking Fatah supporters at a university, or the police closing a restaurant for one night because its owners didn't report in advance about a symposium that was held in the restaurant's hall, in which Hamas speakers participated and was organized by a research center associated with Ramallah authorities.
Gaza is the teacher who forces school girls to cover their heads, although senior officials assert that this is not the education ministry's policy. It is exaggerations and false rumors, and it is also the Fatah detainees' report that cameras were installed in the interrogation room to ensure that the interrogators act within the boundaries of the law. It is the surprise when "Hamas" police restore stolen property, even before it has been reported stolen.
Gaza is the feeling among Fatah supporters that the power has been stolen from them, and their fear of the security apparatus, as it is Hamas' self confidence. It is the comparisons made with the intimidation methods in Yasser Arafat's era and exchanging information about the suppression of Hamas activity in the West Bank.
Gaza is the anger of the entire public, including Fatah members, for what appears to be Ramallah's deliberate neglect and indifference toward the strip and its residents' fate.
Gaza is those dreaming to leave it, and those who left years ago for school and work and miss it. Gaza is the people who cannot return to their families here, because even if they could find a crack and enter through the border crossings blocked by Israel, they would remain imprisoned here, and would have to renounce their freedom of movement and choice completely.
Everything is so intense here.
"We measure our lives in minutes, not in days or weeks," a Fatah man said. His life has been turned upside down since June 2007, and is turned upside down every day due to the political rupture. He was referring to Fatah men like himself, convinced that Hamas people in the West Bank also "measure their lives in minutes."
But his description suits everyone. The changes are so sudden, violent, swift and frequent that the individual has no control over them - whether it is high politics or laundry times.
Gaza is people's constant attempt to cling to a normal life, although Israel foists on them abnormal terms of imprisonment, isolation from the rest of the world and deterioration to a state of humiliating dependence on international charity programs.
Mother tongue: English Joined: April 28, 2004 Location: United States
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Originally written by Abdallah Ali on November 24, 2008 10:55 PM
Originally written by Scott Rasmussen on November 23, 2008 8:07 PM
This aspect of the political dynamics of the Arab world is barely understood by us in the West.
Since I was little, I hear that family and tribal affiliation is the strongest in the Palestinian communities. It was sometimes the reason of great misunderstandings and disagreements among families and clans, which took ages to disappear, if ever. People affiliate to their clans because they strongly believe in the power of a group. They don't believe much in individualism especially when it comes to hard times.
My grandparents and parents told so many stories that were based on tribalism and such strong bonds, which are naturally formed in most cases. In a given town or village, there could be 4-5 families, 1-2 of which are dominating the area for different reasons. Just like Fateh and Hamas you can imagine that they are the biggest, strongest two families in the Palestinian society now. Those two families have a large number of young men, who may enjoy physical strength, higher education, guns or above all strong belief/loyalty/affiliation. Those families can be the richest too and their senior members are very wise and people listen to their arbitration.
This is the dominant structure of nearly each Palestinian town and village. As the article rightly put it, Arafat played an important role in strengthening the power of Gaza clans. Some of them misused this power, which resulted in chaos. It somehow played a role in weakening the Palestinian Authorities power in the street. A number of clans turned into something like gangs and did a number of crimes, which people sometimes describe as ‘organized crimes’, like extortion and abduction of foreigners. PA bodies were aware of such wanted persons and their whereabouts but were unable to break into their strongholds without causing gross damage. Hamas did not have a problem with that.
As you also read, some clans had an influence on the PA, which was the main concern for Hamas when it came to power. Some of those clans only understand the language of power, and Hamas didn’t waste much time on them.
It is really a long topic and could take me ages to keep writing on it.
==========
Ah, I forgot to stress the fact that Hamas managed to convince its members to be more loyal to the Organization than to their families or clans. This is how Hamas succeeded in building up its power. Hamas leaders and under-leaders are sure about the loyalty of their members, who rarely let them down.
I also stress the fact that members of the mentioned families in that article took part in bringing down the notorious figures of their OWN families.
Thanks; very informative indeed.
[Edited by Scott Rasmussen on November 27, 2008 4:42 PM]
Mother tongue: English Joined: April 28, 2004 Location: United States
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Originally written by Maxi Schwarz-Bastami on November 24, 2008 12:21 PM
There is a modifier to that collective. And if you are having difficulty teaching English, maybe it's because you are among peers who also have some expertise in the matter.
Maxi
No, there's little in these threads to suggest that you are peers. In fact, there is only one person who regularly posts at TC who writes in a consistently crisp and recognizably literate English. But I don't want to embarrass her by naming her.
[Edited by Scott Rasmussen on November 27, 2008 4:54 PM]
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