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Abandon hope all ye who enter here

The Shu’afat Refugee Camp is the only refugee camp which houses over 30,000 Palestinians and is located within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. In typical Bantustan style access to the camp is restricted to one entrance/exit manned by Israeli soldiers. The encampment is completely encircled by the separation wall, separating the camp from East Jerusalem and the outside world. All that is missing is a sign at the entrance warning “Abandon hope all ye who enter here”.

The Shu’afat Refugee Camp was established in 1966. It lies on less than 1 km of land where the original capacity of 2,000 residents has been stretched to 30,000. Overcrowding, unpaved roads, crumbling structures and garbage lying everywhere are home to these 30,000 residents who reside in the only refugee camp where the residents pay municipal taxes and most are residents of East Jerusalem.

The camp cannot expand to accommodate the growing population. It is surrounded by four settlements. Even though under Israeli rule, municipal taxes are paid, the Shu’afat Refugee Camp is mostly forgotten by the State of Israel and its administration of it is largely through the UNWRA. The only new structure with in the camp is the new checkpoint which now will be able to better restrict the movements of Sha’afat’s residents.

There are people who have lived here their whole lives and have known no different than the confines of the Shu-afat Refugee Camp. A nation which prides itself on “equal rights” for all those who reside within Israel allows this to continue and I believe prefers it to open discrimination towards the, Palestinians. What is better, what you can’t see, you don’t have to think about? The moral light, the beacon, the safe nation is only so if you are Jewish. If you are an Israeli Palestinian or even worse a mere resident of East Jerusalem God’s blessings don’t apply to you. If you live in the Suf’afat Refugee Camp you are totally forgotten, living in the land before time. You are not the chosen people, you are certainly not considered equal people under the eyes of the Israeli administration, your past, present and foreseeable future are sewn into the fabric of inequality, oppression, discrimination and despair.

What happens to those who dare to dream?

Salim Shawamreh was born in East Jerusalem and soon relocated to the Shu’afat Refugee Camp during the 1967 Six Day War. He grew up to be an engineer, married and started a family. As his family grew, Salim purchased a plot of land on the edge of Anata, a town incorporated into East Jerusalem which lies just outside the borders of the West Bank. Salim saved his money and paid the exorbitant fee to apply for a building permit. In short order, he was denied. He applied several times with the same result. Due to the intense overcrowding in the Refugee Camp, Salim went ahead and built his house. It didn’t take long for the Israeli Army to interrupt the family’s lunch with gunfire, tear gas and percussion grenades and demolished the house.

Salim and his family did not accept defeat. Again, they re-applied for a building permit which was of course denied. Along with volunteers from the Israel Committee Against House Demolitions, the little house was rebuilt for a second time and promptly denied.

Salim though still did not give up; he spat in the face of defeat and again applied for a building permit which naturally was denied. Again the ICAHD volunteers gathered and the little house was again rebuilt. Along came the IDF and down again went the house.

Back again went Salim to apply for a building permit. Once again, the permit was denied. The ICAHD again came again and the little house was rebuilt now for a fourth time. This time Salim went to court to stop the demolition order on his little house. According to the Court, Salim did not act in “good faith” as “in the very fact of rebuilding since he created facts on the ground before approaching the court”.

This is too rich coming from a Court, the body of law for a State which prides itself in “creating facts on the ground”. The whole West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza (which is still occupied from the periphery) until the withdrawal in 2005 was built on the house of cards called “facts on the ground”. Even if Salim hadn’t built the house at all before going to the Court, he still would have been denied with another creative justification of denial. Of course Israel cannot come out and state “All non-Jews, do not dare to hope, do not dare to etch out a better life, do not expect equality, you are of no consequence” so they shroud it in transparent justifications to kill yet another dream.

The little house was rebuilt for a 5th time and again is under demolition order.  Salim’s crime is not that of “not acting in good faith”, but the crime of arrogance to dare to dream.

End of the World As We Know It

Open Letter to those who will say “I didn’t know”

I read a Gideon Levy article today which made me weep.

“That’s how peace has vanished from our lives. Nobody talks about it anymore; even the negotiations about it, the longest in history, are officially dead – and we didn’t even notice.”

It was not the report of the killing of innocent people on either side of the conflict, it was not another report about just another humiliation at the checkpoint, it was not even the unfairness of the situation that made me weep, it was the finality, the hopelessness, the despair that actually did it for me.

Those few words “are officially dead – and we didn’t even notice” made me realize what a complete charade this exercise in futility has been. From Oslo right through, Oslo II, Camp David, Taba, last year, with every year a little less hopeful, less and less offered until there is nothing left but a swiss cheese state for the Palestinian people with no hope in hell to create a viable Palestinian state.

I began to think of the apologists of Israel, those who intentionally support Israel’s actions without a thought to another population who suffer at Israel’s hands. It is impossible for anyone to not know the history, the brutal occupation, the humiliation and denial of any semblance of a normal life for the Palestinans. One can no longer say “they didn’t know”, as modern technology has made the world such a smaller, smaller place.

This is my open letter to those in the near future when truth prevails and is cemented in history; which with certainly, I know will not be kind to the State of Israel, say “I didn’t know”.

Dear Defender of Israeli Policy, Apologist Extraordinaire:

Until the 1980s, prior to the opening of the Israeli Military Achives to archives, before the internet, when the outside world wasn’t at our doorstep every waking minute, you honestly said, “I didn’t know”.   Just like post WWII, when the Germans claimed “we didn’t know”, I gave you the benefit of the doubt and said, “okay, you are not at fault, you didn’t know. I even gave you the 90s, as the world was still so large, we didn’t hear each and everyday what went on outside our own immediate world.

Suddenly though the world became so small and personal. Television stations dedicated to only news, not just national news, but news from far and wide. The internet became the place where we knew within minutes of what went on in the world, we could find book upon book upon book of the historical record. But still, when you said, “I didn’t know”, I looked in your sad, struggling face, the shame you were wearing and I believed you. I wanted to believe you, the other explanation was much too horrible. Maybe you weren’t much of a reader, maybe you were busy, maybe you weren’t paying attention. I let it go.

December 27, 2008, War on Gaza. It is not even right to call it a war, because there wasn’t one battle, not one fire fight, just destruction, death and darkness. IDF soldiers testifying, testimony after testimony, stating “We didn’t see a single house that remained intact”.

Honorable Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish whose three daughters and one niece all lost their lives to an Israeli tank shell during a live Israeli TV report for the whole world to hear his anguish. Dr. Abuelaish who refused to let hate consume his life and continues to live up to the description given to him by an Israeli colleague, as a magical, secret bridge between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Dr. Abuelaish is a much better human being than I. I am sure that if you tell him, “I didn’t know” he will accept it as the truth. He can forgive. I cannot. At some point in time, it no longer was possible for you not to know. The obscenity of the situation, the ease in which you could seek the truth, all modern technology at your fingertips to go and look, yet you refused.

You made excuses, you got angry at attempts to reasonable conversation, you shut your eyes, you plugged your ears, you avoided and evaded until you finally knew. And in your knowing, knowing what a human catastrophe these people have suffered through, knowing this in your heart of hearts, you still protected, resisted, distorted and maligned anyone who dared to question your tale just makes it worse. It makes it inhumane, it makes you no better than the people who perpetuated this on a population whose homes were taken, not once, but twice, who have lived under the Israeli thumb for at least over four, for some over six decades. Your excuses of “I didn’t know” to make you feel better, to feel less of a monster don’t matter to me. I am not here to alleviate your guilt my friend, it is you that will have to wear this shame for eternity.

The Oslo Accords: The Great Deception

On September 13, 1993 the world witnessed what was considered to be an unprecedented moment in historical with the signing of the Oslo Accord between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization sealed through a handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. The Oslo Accords, formally referred to as the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements were sold to an unsuspecting public as the framework of establishing a Middle East peace and to fulfill of the Palestinian right to self determination. The true nature of the Accords facilitated the Bantustanization of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the guise of a peace process. All things which followed, flowed from this point on. Read more ›

O’ Little Town of Bethlehem – Sign the Petition

(The card will be given to the Mayor of Bethlehem and a representative of Bethlehem’s City Council during the week of Christmas.)

Dear Friends in Bethlehem,

We write you today with a message of solidarity.

We write you to let you know that you and your town are in our thoughts during this holiday season.  

We write you to let you know that throughout the world, we feel pain at your plight, but pride in your perseverance.

We know that you have lived under Israel’s military occupation for more than 40 years and that your town is now disfigured by Israel’s massive wall surrounding it.

We know that that wall has separated Palestinians from Israelis, and Palestinian children from their schools, workers from their jobs, farmers from their fields, elders from their doctors, and families from their kin.   Read more ›

The Last Betrayal – Tatters of the Cairo speech

It was not so long ago when Martin Luthur King Jr. had a dream which led to the civil rights movement affording equal rights to the African American population.  Not so long ago, but so far away; especially in the moment of the Palestinian bid for statehood, a war on discrimination and inequality was waged and won equal rights for all of American’s citizens.

The Palestinian bid for statehood through the United Nations holds no real chance.  After over four decades of oppression, denial of fundamental, inalienable rights, daily humiliation at the hands of their oppressor, Palestinians will fail in their quest at the hands of a black American President.  It was two years ago, when this President spoke to the people of the Middle East in Cairo:

“On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighbouring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”

Two short years after this speech, Obama has turned his back on the Palestinian’s legitimate aspiration for dignity, opportunity and self-determination.   In these two years, settlement building has continued, leaving less and less land for the Palestinians to build their state on and with each and every day the window on a two state solution is closing with a resounding thud.  Each and everyday, these people face humiliation, financial instability, demotion of homes held within their families for centuries, have their movement restricted on a whim and now are penned in by a wall reminiscent of South African apartheid.

Obama is perpetuating the continuance of this gross violation of human rights, International law and elementary morality  has turned his back on the struggle his forefathers not so long ago freed themselves from.  One thing is certain, history will not be kind to these dark days.  

“Out of Mind, Out of Sight”, Jewish lobby stifles Gaza’s Children’s Artistic Expression

The Jewish Lobby reminds me of Mitt Romney, you can dress him out, but you can’t take him anywhere.  I sometimes wonder if they are really working for the other side, no NGO group, no Palestinian supporter promotes the Palestinian cause more effectively than the Lobby does.

The most recent bumbling effort to hide the Palestinian cause from public view was the pressure placed upon Oakland’s Museum of Children’s Art to cancel the exhibit “A Child’s View From Gaza,”  by Palestinian children ages 8-14 that “reflects their realities and their dreams for the future”.   This joint initiative was a product of MECA  (Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance) and the MOCHA (The Museum of Children’s Art) with the support of 20 local sponsors.  Many of the artists exhibited had partaken in MECA‘s project, “Let the Children Play and Heal”

One must actually wonder what threat the Lobby imagines by the exhibit of art by the children of Gaza?  It is common knowledge that the majority of children in Gaza suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome.  To deny the artistic expression of these children’s perception and experience in order to avoid attention brought to this issue again demonstrates how out of touch with reality the Lobby actually is.

Without the Lobby’s intervention and subsequent cancellation of the exhibit, I and many others never would have known about this exhibit.  Due to the Lobby’s meddling and immense pressure I am sure that it placed upon the Museum, attention has again been brought to Gaza and the PR  campaign the lobby has involved itself in.  The publicity the lobby faces through their attempt of silencing freedom of expression will be far from warm and fuzzy sentiment.  This again, put the Lobby out front and center with their agenda of manipulating public opinion through a lot of dollars which certainly doesn’t make it many friends.  The underhandedness of applying large sums of money to stifle public dissent is out front for all to see.  Keep up the good work to the lobby.  At this rate, no one will even have to blog about the injustices perpetuated upon the Gazan people, the Lobby will take care of it in their bumbling way for us.

To express your displeasure to MOCHA itself, contact Masako Kalbach, Interim Executive Director of Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) masako@mocha.org.

Demand Our Government Protect the Activists on the Gaza-bound Tahrir

It is the duty of each and every Canadian citizen to call upon our government to emphatically communicate to the Israeli government and IDF that violence against these humanitarian activists will not be tolerated and will be faced with consequence.

 The International Committee of the Red Cross stated in its June 14, 2011 press release “The whole of Gaza’s civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law”.  There is no doubt that the people of Gaza continue to face a humanitarian crisis.  The opening of the Egyptian crossing at Rafah has not alleviated the imprisonment of the Gazans.  Days which Gazans can cross into Egypt are limited to 350 people per day from an area where 1.5 million people reside.   Read more ›

Adding Insult to Injury: The Death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah

The handling of the death of 36 year old, kindergarten teacher, Jawaher Abu Rahmah adds insult to injury. Jawaher was overcome by tear gas during the weekly Bil’in demonstration against the illegal Apartheid wall on December 31st, collapsed and was brought to the hospital in Ramallah. She died the next day from the poisoning effects of tear gas. Bassem Abu Rahman’s brother was killed two years ago, also at a weekly demonstration against the wall when a tear gas cannister was fired into his chest. Jawaher is survived by her mother and four siblings. Read more ›