Day 8 (July 9) - Hebron

Day 8 was one of the most profound of our trip. We spent time in Hebron and Susiya - I'll talk about Hebron in this post and Susiya in the next.

I must admit that I was a bit anxious about this day. I was looking forward to it, but we had heard from last year's participants from the Presbyterian Church in Canada that visiting Hebron could be a difficult experience. It is one of the most visible examples of the occupation, and the tension and oppression it causes. It proved to be a very memorable day.

Breaking the Silence

During our bus ride from Bethlehem to Hebron, we heard from Alana Alpert from Breaking the Silence. Breaking the Silence is a vehicle through which former Israeli soldiers can talk about the occupation. They offer tours of Hebron, since it offers such a clear example of the occupation, and use Facebook and Twitter to provide information on current points of tension in the region. It was interesting to hear from a group of Israelis working for peace - if I recall correctly, I don't think we had yet heard that voice during our trip.

Hebron

Alana also spoke to us about Hebron itself. Hebron is located in the West Bank, south of Bethlehem. It is important to Jews, Christians and Muslims because several matriarchs and patriarchs of those faiths are buried there - Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. Hebron is even mentioned in the Old Testament as the place Abraham purchased as a burial place for his wife Sarah. (If you're interested, Alana - who is studying to be a rabbi - is also working on Project Hayei Sarah, an attempt to reclaim this Torah passage from the extremists who take it to be a real estate deed that gives them the right to Hebron land.)

Until 1929, Alana told us, Hebron was a great example of Jews and Palestinians living together peacefully. That year, there were riots in Jerusalem. Because of the good relationship that Hebron Jews had with their Muslim neighbours, they refused the security that was offered to them. Tragically, 67 Jewish residents of Hebron were killed when the riots spread. While many Palestinians acted to protect their Jewish neighbours, the legacy of the massacre continues today.

There were very few Jews in Hebron from that point until 1968. Several Jews returned that year to celebrate Passover in the holy city, and never left. Tensions between Jews and Palestinians in the area grew. The next major event happened in 1994, when Baruch Goldstein, an American-born Jewish settler in the area, killed 29 Muslims praying in a mosque during Ramadan. He was killed by those who survived the attack. Incredibly, Goldstein's grave today is a frequently-visited site in the town.

Hebron is unique in the area today because Jewish settlers live in such close proximity to the Palestinians in the town. Normally, settlements are very separate - up on hillsides, surrounded by walls. In Hebron, sometimes Jews live right on top of Palestinians. The town is divided in two - H1 is under Palestinian control, and H2 is under Israeli control. There is a heavy military presence in the area to protect the 800 settlers.

Jewish shiva in background, Palestinian home in foreground

illegal settlement synagogue in Hebron

The streets we walked in H2 were almost empty, save for several soldiers watching us from rooftops and hillsides, as well as military vehicles passing us on the road. Many shops have closed, there are bars on windows to protect from settlers' projectiles, and many Palestinians are unable to get to their land. We sang as we walked.

this blocked off and abandoned street used to have shops and a market

Photo: Sabeel

On our way to the mosque to see the Tombs of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we had to take Shuhada Street. Our guide for the day was not able to accompany us on the street as Palestinians are no longer allowed to walk there. In the meantime, we had attracted the military's attention, and I think, at that point, they set out to put a wrench in our plans for our day in Hebron. By the time we got to the end of Shuhada Street and were heading to the mosque, the IDF soldiers had detained our guide by taking away his identification.

walking toward Shuhada Street with military escorts Photo: Sabeel

Harry Potter capes in the mosque Photo: Sabeel

We had an interesting tour of the mosque (despite our best conservative dress efforts, women had to wear Harry Potter-like capes... very nice), and heard first hand reports of what that fatal day in 1994 was like. We then walked through the market on the way to our next meeting. This city is hurting. Blocked roadways/passages have led to the closure of shops and markets, and the violence has really affected tourism. The market itself has a wire fence overtop of it - like the bars on the windows, it prevents projectiles from settlers (including garbage, bricks, dirty diapers) from hitting the Palestinian market-goers below. It is quite unbelievable to see.

protection from projectiles in the market

protection from projectiles in the market

We then met with a few people from Christian Peacemaker Teams working in the area. Like the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, CPT volunteers accompany Palestinians (including children on their way to/from school), and monitor and document proceedings at checkpoints in the city. More on this below, but the work of CPT, EAPPI and our experience in Hebron demonstrated the power of being an "international" in this part of the world.

After our visit with CPT, we went for lunch. Our plan was to lunch with a few Palestinian families in the area to hear more about what their daily lives are like. We all successfully passed through the checkpoint - basically just going through a metal detector (for the internationals... I'm sure it is harder for Palestinians). Once we had all gotten through, though, the soldiers staffing the checkpoint decided that we could not go on - that we had to pass back through the checkpoint. We refused - families had prepared lunch for us and we were determined to continue with our programme. Our guides questioned the soldiers as to why we couldn't proceed, but it seemed that they were just determined not to let us go any further.

the checkpoint where we were held up

In order to pressure us to comply with their orders, the soldiers then closed the checkpoint so that no one else could get through until we agreed to leave. So now Palestinians are waiting in the hot noon sun as our guides try to convince the soldiers to open the checkpoint and to let us go about our day. They were forced to produce their papers for the soldiers, and explained what our plans were. Two EAPPI monitors showed up to document what was going on. Moriel Rothman, another Israeli working for peace who accompanied us that day, also took photos and video to document what was going on (more about Moriel in the next post). Interestingly, a settler from the area also videotaped us... Everyone uses social media to further their causes, I guess.

The closing of the checkpoint was the hardest part of the day for me. We wanted to stand against injustice, to stand against the occupation... but the checkpoint was closed because of us. Palestinians were delayed and inconvenienced because of us.

In the end, we agreed to leave and the soldiers re-opened the checkpoint (after, unfortunately, some of the waiting Palestinians had given up and returned home... These closures are normal occurrences for them, and I guess they knew that the closure could last for some time.) The families who had cooked for us brought the food to the other side of the checkpoint and we had a weird picnic on the street. We shared the food with others in the community - there was tons - and even took some to the soldiers. When we asked the woman who had cooked if we could do that, she replied, "Of course - they're human too." Pretty incredible, given what had just transpired.

Throughout this whole incident, I did not fear for my safety. There were some tense moments and I was pretty uncomfortable, but I knew that my foreign passport was a significant source of protection. A very different situation for Palestinians who have to face these checkpoints several times a day. It was interesting - at the beginning of the day, as we walked the streets while the soldiers stared, I was slightly terrified... You don't often see soldiers in Canada, let alone armed soldiers. But by the end of the day, I was strangely empowered - I knew that we would not be in harm's way because we were from another country. (Granted, this doesn't always hold, of course...) This is why the CPT and EAPPI programs are so powerful - they use the privilege that we, as foreigners, have to strengthen the position of Palestinians. There are interesting dynamics with these sort of "privilege politics," but for now, it is a very tangible role that internationals can play in the region.

One more thought that occurred to me that day - I felt much safer in the busy, chaotic, bustling Palestinian side of town than I did on the empty, soldier occupied H2 side.

Okay - this is definitely enough for now. More on our trip to Susiya later :). Thanks for sticking it out until the end!