July 9 continued... Susiya

Because our time in Hebron wasn't enough of an experience for one day (!), we went on to visit Susiya that afternoon. During the bus ride there, we heard from Moriel Rothman, an American-Israeli writer and poet (check out his blog for some of his written and spoken word). Moriel spent some time working with Rabbis for Human Rights, including helping Palestinians with the olive harvest (in which Rabbis for Human Rights not only helps to harvest olives but serves as human shields to protect the Palestinians). He told us that loving the stranger is mentioned more times in Torah than any other commandment, and that his religious beliefs inform his beliefs in human rights. Of the occupation he said, "This is not the right way - humanly, morally, Jewish-ly." It was really good to have his perspective included in the conference programme.

animals in Susiya

The village of Susiya is located in the South Hebron Hills, part of Area C with many settlements. Susiya has a long history, but Moriel gave us a brief summary - the population of Susiya grew when many refugees came to live there as a result of the 1948 conflict. In 1983, the state of Israel found archaeological remains of a synagogue in the village. Susiya was destroyed in 1986 for the archaeological dig, and citizens moved their homes to their nearby agricultural land. There have been other expulsions since then, and the struggle for the land between Palestinians, settlers and the state of Israel has continued. Even the Israeli Supreme Court has intervened.

There has been a high level of violence from the nearby settlers. We met an older woman from the village who was out tending her sheep one day when she was attacked by a settler with a lead pipe. We saw a well that had been destroyed when an entire car was compacted and put inside. Even if, somehow, the Palestinians managed to get the car out, there would be fears of water contamination from the rust. The homes of Susiya residents - caves and huts - have also been smashed.

crushed car in well (photo: J. Yanishewski)

And now, because the current village was "built" without permits (stay tuned for more on permits in a subsequent post... for now, suffice it to say that it is almost impossible for Palestinians to get building permits), a demolition order for the entire village was issued in June of this year. I say "built" because there really wasn't much to the structures that make up the village - mostly tents and caves.

(Just as an interesting side note, it took us a bit of time to find the village that day - no signs to Palestinian villages, just to settlements. Almost like Susiya's existence isn't even recognized... Although Israel has certain obligations as the occupying power, they do not provide the basic infrastructure required by the village - water, schools, roads, garbage pick up, etc.)

Susiya has strong international support in its struggle to maintain its control of the land. Many human rights groups are just a phone call away, and come quickly - often with internationals (remember the power of internationals?) - when soldiers and/or bulldozers appear. There is also an international Facebook campaign working to prevent the demolition. In one of the most tangible examples of solidarity I saw when I was there, the German government funded solar panels to provide electricity to the village... I don't imagine they would be too impressed if their investment was destroyed, were the village to be demolished. Even us - a group of 25 internationals - being there that day could have sent a signal - that we knew of Susiya's struggles and that we stand with them.

German solar panels

At the time when we visited, a lawyer working for Rabbis for Human Rights was attempting to get a court order to have the demolition stopped. There have been more recent reports, however, of demolitions in Susiya and other villages nearby. Please keep the residents of Susiya in your prayers.