Letters from Overseas

December 2008

Christmas Greetings from the Holy Land.

After settling into Tulkarm, there was no time to waste. We have been here five weeks now and have been carrying on the work tasks established by previous 28 teams. We have met with some obstacles along the way but for the most part we’ve been able to continue projects started by previous teams and approved of by Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). One such obstacle this week was the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha. Most families celebrate this holiday as we would celebrate Christmas. They put on their best party clothes, gather together with families, and have meals together. There is a lot of travelling involved and in place of our usual threat of snow or freezing rain, they have checkpoints, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), and settler violence with which to contend.

As far as our work was concerned this week, it was quiet because our local contacts were with families and we wanted to respect this time. On the final night of Eid Al-Adha, we were visiting at the home of Abdulkarim and Basma Dalbah in Tulkarm. Fireworks began about 6:00 p.m. and my colleague Paulina (from Finland) and I wondered what they were all about. The Dalbah family explained that Muslim pilgrims were returning from Mecca and everyone in the neighbourhood, including the Dalbah children, went out to welcome them back with fireworks and to celebrate their safe return.

Shufa is a small village which has been badly affected by the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, only one of many. Settlements are dotted all over the West Bank and are seen to be a land-grab by Israel. They often are built on prime agricultural land, leaving less desirable land to the Palestinians. Previously, there was a road which led from lower Shufa to upper Shufa. Palestinians could drive their cars on this road to and from work, shops, and schools. Seven years ago settlers moved into the area and there is now an Israeli settlement, Avne Hefez, with close to 2,000 residents, perched atop a hilltop close to Upper Shufa and the same road which serviced Upper Shufa has now been designated as a “settler only” road. The IDF has built earth mounds made of concrete, rock, and earth, to prevent Palestinian cars from accessing upper from Lower Shufa, thus separating families and also separating farmers from their land. There is a roundabout alternative road for the Palestinians but it adds many kilometres and minutes to the journey. We access Upper Shufa by climbing over the earth mounds and walking up the settler road. Always an uneasy feeling!

We try to visit small towns such as Shufa to demonstrate to the people in these communities that they have not been forgotten. One morning a couple of weeks ago we received a call from Abdulkarim Saadi, a local contact from B’Tselem, an Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights, to say that the previous night settlers from Avne Hefez had gone to Lower Shufa and broken 75-year-old olive trees belonging to A’zmi Saleh. We went with him to see and photograph the damage and listen to the story of the farmer. Settler violence had increased that week throughout the whole of the West Bank due to the eviction of settlers from a Palestinian owned home in Hebron. That eviction, which provoked violence between the settlers and the Palestinians and between the settlers and the IDF, who are legally bound to protect Palestinians against settler violence, seemed to have a ripple effect.

A’zmi is a 52-year-old farmer who has 10 children. He had planted 90 olive trees about five years ago and they were thriving. As we surveyed the damage, we could see that because the young trunks were not more than about one to two inches in diameter, and it was easy for the settlers to snap the trees off about six inches from the ground. We had heard that the day before the settlers had cut a water pipe leading to the village of Upper Shufa. Rumours abound and we were not able to confirm this rumour. Because it is the responsibility of the IDF to protect Palestinians against settler violence, reports of damage are filed but it is unlikely that any settler will be punished for a crime against a Palestinian. It is doubtful whether any settler will be held accountable for the more serious crimes resulting from settler violence in Hebron.

Last night, we were invited to the Upper Shufa home of Jamal and Suzanne Hamed to share a meal with them and their seven children. It was a wonderful snapshot of normal Palestinian life. We were all seated on the floor and a meal was laid out before us. During the course of the evening, people of all ages came and went from the group—neighbours, relatives, friends—it was hard to tell who were Hamed’s and who were not. Discussions covered topics such as politics, education, cultural differences, oppression of Palestinians by the Israelis, oppression of Palestinian women by their own society, and Palestinian men having multiple wives. It seemed to be like a dinner table discussion we would have with guests in our own homes, concluding with a good strong cup of Arabic coffee.

Bethlehem will be the gathering place for Ecumenical Accompaniers at Christmas. We have tickets to the Church of the Nativity for the midnight service. There is a carol service at the German Lutheran church at 5:00 p.m.; all the EAs will gather at a restaurant in Manger Square for dinner at 7:00. We have been told by EAPPI staff that we need to line up at 9:00; doors of the church will open at 10 for the midnight service which will last two hours. I am looking forward to the experience. Once in Manger Square, hopefully, we can momentarily forget the Gilo Checkpoint (CP 300) and the Wall which has destroyed the main street into Bethlehem. It is not the vision of Bethlehem of old that I had in my head. The occupation has long since destroyed that vision for many people.

I hope that anyone who reads this will take time to remember the people of Palestine and Israel this Christmas season and pray, pray, pray for peace in the Holy Land.

Susan Palmai works for The United Church of Canada as an Ecumenical Accompanier serving on the World Council of Churches/Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The views contained herein are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer (The United Church of Canada) or the WCC. If you would like to publish the information contained here or disseminate it further, please first contact the EAPPI Communications and Advocacy Officer for permission.