The Crack in the Wall is a Facebook community created by the Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF). “This organization highlights the sanctity of human life across the divide, attempting to crack the wall of hatred by preserving dignity, mutual respect and opposing racism, hatred, injustice and any attempt to accept the status quo.” See http://www.theparentscircle.com
I heard some members of the group speak at large meeting in Tel Aviv on
the eve of Israeli Independence Day.
Robi
Damelin and Bassam Aramin
are spokespersons for the PCFF. The grassroots organization comprises bereaved
Palestinians and Israelis and promotes reconciliation as an alternative to
hatred and revenge. More than 600 Palestinian and Israeli families belong to
PCFF. The spokespeople maintain that the bond between members is borderless.
"When you lose a child you share the
same trust," said Robi.
"There's no difference," echoed Bassam,
just "joint pain."
In a country where there seems to be no end of bad
news, these people are representative of some remarkable people I have met in
the last month who are working tirelessly for peace here.
I meet Ina from
Machsom Watch each week at Qalandiya
checkpoint. Machsom Watch is a movement
of Israeli women, former serving army officers from all sectors of Israeli
society, who oppose the Israeli occupation and the denial of Palestinians'
rights to move freely in their land. Some of them identify as peace activists. Since
2001, they have conducted daily observations of Israeli army checkpoints in the
West Bank, along the separation barrier. The reports of these observations are
published on the Machsom Watch site, and sent to public officials and
elected representatives in Israel. Through the documentation which discloses the
nature of everyday reality, they are attempting to influence public opinion in
the country and in the world, and thus to bring to an end the destructive
occupation, which causes damage to Israeli society as well as to Palestinian
society. - See more at: http://www.machsomwatch.org
Ina arrives at around 5am and
observes the queue at the checkpoint. At
6.15 she calls the Humanitarian Hotline if the humanitarian gate is not open
for vulnerable people. She reasons with
officials in Hebrew if people are refused entry or the queue is being held up
and she reports what she sees.
Ronni is one of the Women in Black,
a women's anti-war movement
with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was formed
by Israeli
women in Jerusalem in 1988,
following the outbreak of the First intifada. See: http://www.womeninblack.org
Ronni is a founder member. She stands each Friday with a small group in
the middle of West Jerusalem holding placards saying Stop the Occupation in
Hebrew, English and Arabic. She stands
silently, taking verbal abuse, crude gesticulations from passing motorists and
loud honking from car horns. She is
frequently spat at. She says, ‘The
occupation is wrong. It is a very bad
thing for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Daniel is one of a small
group of 17 year olds the British and Irish EAs spoke to at the Leo Baeck Education Centre in Haifa. He
spoke about his forthcoming graduation from high school and his excitement
about serving in the Israeli military. He grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish home
and says his views when young were very right-wing. Two years ago, however, he participated in a project run by Friends Forever – a summer camp for Jewish and Arab young
people. He was called ‘Arab lover’ by some
classmates afterwards but now has several Israeli Arab friends and has changed
his views.
“I learned that the Jewish narrative
is not the only one,’ he said.
“I still really want to serve my
country. I am a Zionist and believe in
the State of Israel. But now I have met
and worked with Arab Israelis my own age, I know they are just like me. I don’t want to be the bad soldier with the
gun in Hebron. I don’t want to point my
weapon at people. I won’t threaten them;
I want to show humanity.”
Returning to Robi and Bassam from the
Parents’ Circle:
"Each person sees history through his
own eyes," says Robi. "When you don't know who's on the other side,
you lose their humanity."
"We are more important than any land,"
answers Bassam. "One state, two states, five states, otherwise we will
share it as two graves."
In the last weeks the conflict here has been
intense. Two boys were shot dead in
Ramallah by the Israeli military on Nakba Day – the Palestinians’ name for the
day Israel declared independence and Palestinians were forced to leave their
homes in huge numbers. In the Jerusalem
area alone, homes, animal shelters and shops in six villages, have been
demolished by Israeli forces since Sunday.
1,500 fruit trees were uprooted by Israeli bulldozers yesterday morning
at the Nassers’ farm, Tent of Nations,
near Bethlehem, to make way for a settlement road. When the situation seems
hopeless, it’s ordinary individuals like those I have described who provide a
chink in the darkness of the occupation.
That’s how the light gets in.
The title of this piece comes from a Leonard
Cohen song which you might like to listen to:
I work for Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) as an ecumenical accompanier serving on the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The views contained in this email are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of QPSW or the World Council of Churches. If you would like to publish the information contained here (including posting it on a website), or distribute it further, please first contact the QPSW Programme Manager for Middle East teresap@quaker.org.uk for permission. Thank you.
