One Month Left

The summer is just flying by! This time next month I will be back in Canada and I am beginning to feel like I have to cram-in a bunch more of Israel and Palestinian in the next few weeks. There is just so much to see and do and it can be a little difficult to get to-and-from NSWAS if you don't have your own car. 

I am also thinking that it might be a little difficult and strange to come back. NSWAS has been home for two and half months and I am anticipating a little bit of reverse culture shock upon my return.

I spent this past weekend in the village which was very relaxing. My co-workers kids were back home for the weekend so it was nice to have other people in the big house to talk and hang out with. The middle son is an artist and industrial designer, mostly working on environmental projects and sustainable development. He and I share a lot in common, including a love of the Redwall series which we were able to bond over. My co-workers daughter and youngest of the kids finished high school last year and is currently in the Israeli Defence Forces, serving her mandatory period in the Army as civilian liaison and emergency situations trainer. Talking with is really interesting. The lifestyle that people live here is very different from the lifestyle I grew up in. I remember young people coming to our schools to talk to us about the dangers of bears and elk, not bombs and rockets. Conscription in Israel is an interesting topic in NSWAS. For the daughter it's quite the paradox, living in the "Oasis of Peace" and having to serve a compulsory term in the armed forces.


Work at the School for Peace has been winding down. Now that most of the summer programs are over there is less and less work for me to do and I have been feeling a little useless around the office. In May and June there was always work to be done, ongoing projects, meetings and encounter sessions to attend. 


The work load for July has been a lot less exciting. More office work, research on the computer, and organizing. I miss the excitement of the first few months, but it's also nice to have a slower change of pace.
 

Ramadan

Ramadan Kareem everyone!

We are now entering the second week of Ramadan. Many of the Palestinian members of the community are fasting and last week the entire village celebrated Iftar, the evening meal, together. It was great to break fast with the village and meet new people around plates of food.

Ramadan in the old city of Jerusalem is lovely. I am hoping to get another trip back to Jerusalem set before Ramadan ends, unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me on the last trip. The Islamic Quarter of the Old City is decorated with lights and city is bustling with people praying and inviting people for Iftar! The smells are amazing! I am going to have to bring back a few Palestinian recipes!
 

Jordan

I have returned from my adventures in Jordan. A little sun-burnt, but well adventured! I decided to take some time off and do a little bit of adventuring, partly to see more of the region and also to renew my visa in Israel until August.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an Arab Kingdom bordered by Israel/The West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia and it shares the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Jordan is mostly a desert country, with most of it’s population being located in urban centers near the Jordan River, the Red Sea and the north. Jordan differs from the surrounding Arab nations in that it has little oil and gas, or at least they not exploited yet. Jordan has a very limited economy, as most of the nation is desert, but the country exports a great deal of raw agricultural food-stuffs and tourism is also a big industry. Tourists from all over the world come to experience the desert, the Red Sea and the many archaeological sites in Jordan.

Jordan is very much a desert country

Jordan has a long and complicated history with Israel and the Palestinians. Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel 1994 after many years of war in the former British Mandate, Trans-Jordan and Israel/Palestine. Relations between the two countries have been mostly positive. Despite the fact that Jordan is an absolute monarchy, and by no means a "free" country, Jordan is pro-business and a relatively secular Arab monarchy. King Abdullah II has instituted several economic reforms during his time and although the royal family maintains control over the countries governance, some small steps have been taken towards the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Queen Rania has also been an incredibly public and positive figure, promoting rights and reforms for education, early childhood development, community empowerment and youth engagement.  Jordan has immense potential to change the Arab world and the possibility for a smooth and bloodless transition to democracy is a positive, albeit slow and small hope for the region. Many exiled Palestinians live in Jordanian refugee camps and the situation in Palestine and between Palestinians and Israelis has a massive effect on Jordanian politics.

My trip to Jordan was a combination of interest and necessity. It has always been a country I have wanted to visit and it presented me with the best opportunity to have my visa extended into August (by leaving and then coming back).

View from the Hotel in Aqaba

My trip to Jordan began in Jerusalem. I hoped on a bus south to Eilat which is located on the Red Sea and is a neighboring city to Aqaba on the Jordanian side of the border. After an over-night in Aqaba I went North on a tour of Petra. The tour group was made up of an American couple and there adult son, a young American touring Israel, two students studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem (one from Norway, one from Canada), a woman from Japan and me. It was lovely to meet people and make some new friends. 


Petra was about a two hour drive through the desert from Aqaba. Petra was built in the 3rd century BCE by the Nabateans, who carved into the stone rather then using bricks and masonry to build buildings up. 


They carved palaces, temples, tombs, houses, storerooms and stables right into the cliff walls and constructed elaborate water management systems. 


From Petra they controlled key trade routes for spice, silk, water, and minerals from the Red Sea, Arabia and even as far as the Asian trade routes on the silk road. 


From the main entrance you can walk or take a horse into the first set of canyons and structures. It felt very Indiana Jones-y to come swaying into Petra on my horse. Was just missing the hat and the whip.

Me and my horse

The First Road Into Jordan

The path towards the main "monastery" and the inner city is a winding trail of cobble stone through a series of canyons. The rock is made up of a variety of different minerals  that were eaten away by the rain and wind and expanded by the Nabateans to accommodate the trade caravans. The different minerals in the rocks make for beautiful displays of colors, deep reds and oranges, browns, whites, blues and yellows. 

Aqueducts

Some of the homes carved into the rock

One of the many shrines carved into the rock on the way into the main settlement

A filter system. As the water flowed downstream silt and other debris would be captured in these basins.

My photos really don't do the scale and beauty of the canyons

The remnants of carved figure

As you are walking, or riding through the canyons you sneak up on the monastery which beings to peak around the corner of the canyon walls. I had no notion that the Petra site was so large and the monastery itself is massive. 

The Monastery. It's unknown exactly what it's original use was. Some believe that it was a palace, others a vault or a center for commerce.

Another view of the columns

The Theater

The interior of one the rooms in the city

It's a amazing to see that the rooms were carved with right angles and so deep into the canyon walls! The remarkable thing too is that the mineral nature of the rocks makes for beautiful walls and ceilings, no rooms had to be painted, that ceiling is just minerals and residue from fires.

It was an all around amazing trip to Jordan and so much fun to be adventuring with some new faces and to have some company. 


The trip back to into Israel wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, but I will save that story for another time. 


I am glad to be back in Neve Shalom~Wahat-al-Salam, but can't wait for another adventure. I would definitely recommend a trip to Petra. I can't wait to go back. It was impossible to see everything in Petra in a day and half and I can't wait to discover what other treasures Jordan has to offer on my next trip.


For now, it's back to work.

 

Just another day

The summer just seems to be speeding by! I can't believe that it's already mid-July! 

Life in Israel/Palestine and Neve Shalom~Wahat-al-Salam, continue, (for the most part, calmly) on. Depending on the day work at the SFP and at the College can be really, really busy, or dead slow. It makes for a very up-and-down sort of work week. 

The big news for this month is that I am out of the volunteers compound and into a house! One of my co-workers in away in the US with her husband, giving lectures and fund-raising for the SFP and she asked me to house-sit while they are away! It's been great to be in a house again and out of my small room (in the formally very messy) volunteers compound. The extremely messy and domestically inexperienced volunteer has left and the building management has thankfully begun to clean and "purge" the messes and grime of volunteers past.

This is all by way of saying that I am really enjoying having a lovely house (with a big kitchen) to myself for most the week. I have been trying to get in more traveling on the weekends and leave the house empty for my co-workers daughter who returns home on the weekends. This weekend I went on a trek around the surrounding hills and "wilderness" of Neve Shalom and the other small communities and Kibbutz near-by. Boy, was it hot. You'd think after about two months I would be adjusted to the heat, but nope. It was still a lovely weekend of hiking and adventuring.

The other big bonus of being in the new house is that they have a dog! Dog ownership is a little complicated here. There are so many stray animals around Israel. Pet owners who get tired of there animals tend to leave them in remote villages like ours. "Ghost" (I can't pronounce his Hebrew name) is one such stray who was left in Neve Shalom~Wahat-al-Salam. He doesn't understand my commands (perhaps because he only knows "Hebrew") but he is incredible well behaved and I think we've established a good friendship. I also bribe him. Which helps. 
  

Out and about with "Ghost"

Israel and Palestine: Ink'd

I was asked to give some details on one of the graphic novels I mentioned in an early post. 
Joe Sacco is a writer and journalist who has worked in the former Yugoslavia and the Palestinian territories.

He has several graphical novels out on his experiences; "The Fixer" "Palestine" "Footnotes from Gaza"

He's definitely worth checking out.

Here are a few panels of his work from the Palestinian territories. These are some of the panels that really stuck with me and I have been experiencing during my time here so far. 

 I really have enjoyed his works so far and his comics have been one of the driving forces of my passion for this area and indeed my support for the Palestinian people and the peace process. 


His stories are great and his art is different and he tells great stories, many of which I have experienced first hand. Check him out the next you are in your neighborhood comic shop.

 

The United Church of Canada and Settlements

The United Church of Canada, which is the faith community I was brought up in, has a long tradition of social advocacy on behave of the oppressed, disadvantaged and the persecuted. While the United Church certainly has had many dark points in his history, it has been a strong, faith based, advocate of human rights and one of the most liberal religions institutions of Christianity for decades.

Recently the United Church has entered the political arena of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Members of congregations, the ministry and the leadership have expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and call upon all sides to reject violence and find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The UC even has a program of human rights reporting, where observers watch for and document human rights abuses at checkpoints and security zones. 

A few years ago, the church was pressured to drop some controversial wording ("apartheid") from statements and church resolutions concerning the occupied territories and the settlements in Palestinian territory. In addition the UC was drafting documents to the Canadian government, urging them to stop supporting the Israeli occupation and to boycott institutions that supported it.

This was instantly seen as an anti-Semitic gesture.

Ultimately the resolutions and proposals were dropped in 2009.

This year, actually a few weeks ago, the debate was sparked again. 

A new working group established by the UC has issued a report that once again proposes a boycott of all products from Jewish settlements in occupied territories, which are, again, illegal under international law. 

Several Canadian senators warned the UC that this move would spark a rift between the UC and the Jewish community and that it would send a clear message that "the United Church has chosen sides, declaring Israel guilty and the Palestinians the only injured party."

The working a group had apparently struggled with that very issue, as I have many times before. I am not sure why, but when ever someone raises the Palestinian issue or criticizes the Israeli Government and it's policies, it's almost always seen as an anti-Semitic gesture. The fear of being seen as "anti-Jewish" or "pro-terrorism" is so engrained into the minds of so many academics and NGOs that some people won't take the risk over fear of being branded. 

The working group had a statement on that very issue: "It is long past the point where claims of complexity can remove responsibility for making judgments about the situation. Simply put, Israeli is maintaining a hard occupation that must end so peace can emerge." 

Arguments about the complexity of the situation are no excuse for silence. On the contrary, because of the complexity, it's even more important that we talk about it. 

No one could deny that Israel lives under threat, but denying that the Palestinian people don't live under threat is ridiculous and stupid. Having been here and seen what I have seen first hand, there is no doubt in my mind that the Palestinian people are suffering and something has to be done. 

I hope that the United Church presses on in its advocacy. It's important to note that the working group didn't assign blame for the collapse of the peace process and doesn't, IN ANY WAY, condone violence, or express exclusive support of the Palestinian side of the situation, or express any desire to undermine Christian-Jewish relations, or Canadian-Israeli relations.

I hope that we can all agree that these debates are not about being anti-Semitic or pro one side or another. Violence is violence. And it must end. 

We're meant to keep doing better. We're meant to keep debating and discussing and we are meant to look critically at global affairs, read books and then talk about it. 

For myself, I have seen the settlements and the segregation; I would support a boycott of products from Israeli settlements. They are illegal under international law and as a country that supports the rule of law and professes to idealize peace, human rights and peace; Canada should call out Israel as much as it calls out Palestinian terror groups. 

Let me say this though. Settlers are not what I expected. Many would gladly leave the Occupied territories and live elsewhere in the country if they had the opportunity. There are many divisions within Israel itself and I would say that the silent majority have no interest in the territories. However, the radical, violent, well armed, organized and politically connected parties within Israel continue to deepen the divide in Israeli society and between Israelis and Palestinians. 

I would encourage all the readers out there to do some research, talk to people, read some books, watch some movies and check out the news. 

I hope we can all come together and say, that this is not about being anti-this or pro-that. Fair is fair. Oppression is oppression. We should be about freedom of speech everywhere, about freedom to worship everywhere, we should be about freedom to learn for everybody, freedom to live, express, be free from violence and persecution and free to development ourselves to the full extend and reach the highest capacity of our own human achievement.


A visiting Rabi to the Neve Shalom~Wahat-al-Salam said this on the occupation and the situation in Palestine:
"Set free the oppressed, break every yoke, clothe the naked and your light shall break free like the dawn, and the glory of the lord shall be your rear guard"-Isaiah 


Keep thinking. Keep feeling. Keep talking.

Separation

Israel is an apartheid country. No doubt about it.

I'm not exactly sure when work on the separation barrier began, but since 2006, the size of the Israel-West Bank Barrier (Also known as the "racial segregation barrier" in Arabic or the "Separation/anti-terrorist fence" in Hebrew) has grown exponentially. The idea behind the separation wall was to secure Israel from threats in the Palestinian territories. It seems however that the wall is now a political tool, which had begun to encroach on lands territorially within the Palestinian territories, thus constricting Palestine more and more, cutting off access to land and hampering Palestinian freedom of movement.

The barrier system is made up of concrete walls, barbed-wire, concertina wire (razor-wire), electric fences, guard and gun towers, road blocks and checkpoints. Areas within the occupied territories that are controlled by Israelis are blocked off to Palestinians and high-ways and roads that lead to settlements are barbed wired and blocked off from the surrounding lands. 


The situation in Gaza is similar. Although Israel evacuated it's settlements and "withdrew" it's military from the Gaza strip a few years ago, Gaza remains totally under siege. While Israel is attempting to stop weapons from entering the strip, the siege is total, food stuffs and common goods are restricted, and building supplies are prohibited from entering. Very few new houses, buildings and infrastructure can be built and buildings, and municipal works, mainly water treatment facilities (which are for some reason continually targeted by the IDF) cannot be repaired or maintained.

The situation is very dire. It just astounds me that the public outcry and international outcry isn't stronger, or more organized. 


But, it's good to be working and living around so many committed people. 


http://www.ochaopt.org/maps.aspx?id=106

The Library

Second floor reading and common area

Main stairway, window and 2nd floor offices in the foreground

There is something that is soo inspirational about a building that is under construction. You can imagine what it will look like when it's finally finished, that possibilities of all that could be.  

A few days ago we took another tour of the library as a few of the tables were being moved in. 

It's going to be amazing once it's built. A place for learning and reading and eating!

I jokingly said that I would love to come back and be a librarian. If only wishing made it so. 

July 1st is my parents anniversary! Congratulations! I hope you'll be able to put up with each other for many more years to come. :) I kid. I love you both very much. You are phenomenal parents and a great team!  I am sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you in person, but little brother tells me that he has planned fireworks and a parade for you so hopefully you'll be able to make do with one son instead of two. 


 

Graffiti

 No Peace Without Dignity

The barrier is often shorter on the Israeli side.
In order to hide the true nature of the wall,
the Israel side is often packed up with dirt, 
while the Palestinian side is between 1, to 2 stories.
Laced with barbed wire, gun towers and cameras. 

 Long live the revolution. I really love this piece.

 Banksy dove in Bethlehem

One of the bi-products on the separation barrier is the graffiti. Artists and activist from Israel, Palestine and all over the world have sprayed painted their work on the wall of injustice. Some of it is really amazing!

Banksy, a graffiti activist (or all around street pirate) and one of my favorite artists, who also came to the West Bank to paint and express his outrage over the wall.  

It astounds me that so few people know about what is going on here, the very real situation of apartheid, the segregation, the social and political violence, the restrictions on life and freedom, the ethnic cleansing and the racism.

I hope that the least I can do with the blog is convince a few of you readers out there to take a more active role in lobbying our governments for peace and not maintain a strangle hold or indifference and at worst, un-flinching and unquestioning support for Israel.

Here are a few snap shots from the West Bank.    

Bethlehem and other adventures

The Church of the Nativity

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the West Bank about 8 km south of Jerusalem. 


Bethlehem is mostly populated by Muslim Palestinians, but there is a small minority of Christian Palestinians and Bethlehem is one of the major centers and holy places of the Christian faith, the place of Nativity.


Today we were in Bethlehem to conduct the final meeting of the SFP change agents course for women in journalism. The SFP had me lead one of the discussions and reviews of the program. It was amazing to participate in the process of the program and learn about the situation from the prospective of journalistic investigation and reporting and hear exclusive from women on the occupation, the conflict and the peace process. 

Within the Church

 The Church of the Nativity is located in the center of Bethlehem and is located on the spot where Jesus was born, the sight of the stable, the manger and the exact place of birth.

The tapestries within the church

The area is packed with pilgrims and the catacombs are cramped and stuffy, but it was an amazing place to visit. Tapestries decorate the walls of the Church which, is still a very active place of regular worship beyond the pilgrims. There was actually a Palestinian family baptizing their child today as we wondered around the church.

The Silver Star marking the spot of Jesus' Birth

The "manger" where Jesus lay

More tapestries in the church

Bethlehem

The Church of the Nativity Exterior

The bell tower

Happy National Aboriginal Day in Canada!

The Israelis and Palestinians in the office think it's amazing that we can celebrate our differences and especially our indigenous peoples! Issues of land use, right to return and original ownership are prevalent in Israel and Palestine too.

"Keep doing better Canada" From the staff at NSWAS SFP 

Scaling up

This week we are ending our Grassroots Scaling up program. It has been a really great course, although I feel like I could still spend another month analyzing this material. It's interesting that I haven't come across any specialized courses in conflict prevention and peace building and university, but strategic studies is sometimes offered as a class...

Anyways, it's been a fun filled few weeks of work and learning. 

This Friday I am again heading out with the SFP to do some workshops in the West Bank. The professor from the UMASS course will also be coming with us on this trip. One of the change agents groups that the SFP works with are journalists and we're headed out to meet a workshop group to talk about reporting and media perceptions of the conflict. The staff of the SFP are having me take the lead this weekend, wanting much of the conversations to be in English. It would be an understatement to say that I am feeling nervous. Stay tuned. 

I have been to Bethlehem ounce before, but only on quick trip, so I am looking forward to going back! 

 

At School and on the Road

This weekend I traveled with the SFP and the World Peace College into the West Bank to conduct a training workshop with the "Young and up-and-coming politicians" group. This workshop group is made up of young parliamentary assistance and mid-level political staffers and advisers to political parties like Likud and Kadima on the Israeli side and Fatah on the Palestinian side. In addition there were several NGO organizers and members of other civil society groups.


The workshop was very interesting to take part in. The complexity and scope of the conflict and the peace process seems to expand exponentially with each meeting. I'm not going to go into to many details on the blog. There a few sensitive issues that are best kept offline, but you should feel free to ask me when I come back. 


Our meetings took place at a small Ultra-Orthodox monastery near the ancient city of Jericho, so after our section of the workshop was over, the director of the SFP was kind enough to take us to Jericho to explore. 


Jericho is one of the oldest, continually lived in, cities in the world and the lowest human settlement on Earth, located well under sea level. Descending from the desert towards Jericho and the Dead Sea, you can feel the added pressure in your ears and body. It was a very strange experience the first time I visited the region.


This time around I was able to explore a few more of the less touristy and more "real" locations around Jericho. As far as West Bank cities go, Jericho is relatively modern. Basic infrastructure is still a major problem. The Israelis restrict the building of sanitation facilities and the allowance of building materials into Palestinian areas is heavily regulated. 

There are many archaeological sites around Jericho as well. This time around we visited the ruins of the Caliphate palace and the Orthodox Christian monastery which is built directly into the cliff face of the "Mount of Temptation" where it is said that Jesus fasted and was tempted by Satan and several other demons. The location was featured in the Exorcist novels, and while I don't 100% believe in pure evil in the terms of hell, or demons, I have to admit that I was a little freaked out when I was wondering around some of the mountain on my own. Creepy.


Enjoy the photos!

One of the symbols of Palestinian nationalism is the key. Inscribed on this key in Jericho are the words "we will return"

Each different city within the Palestinian Authority has its own unique way of making sweets. The national sweet of Palestine is a pasty, with a base layer of cheese, topped with thin pastry and a custard/sugar (sort of creme-brullee) topping. Sooo good.

This is one of the ruins on the outskirts of Jericho. These are the ruins of Hisham's Palace from the Caliphate era.

This rose motif was original decorating a gate area. The walls and upper half the structure were destroyed in an earth quake hundreds of years ago.

The remains of the central palace

One of the interesting things about the palace is the mosaic work. When the site was original discovered it was wrongly attributed to the Byzantine era. This is one of the oldest examples of Islamic mosaic work and one the oldest original mosaic pieces in the world. The pieces from this scene are so small that from a distance it appears to be a tapestry and not millions of shards.

One of the cliffs near in the desert. Note the IDF military base looking towards Jordan on the top.

Jericho from the top of the Mount of Temptation. To the right you can just make out the edge of the Dead Sea and the mountains in the distance are on the Jordanian side.

Some of the caves in the cliff side. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves like these.

This is the tree that Zacchaeus the tax collector climbed to see over the crowd towards Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.

The central Mosque in Jericho. While the mega-phones are primarily used for the call to prayer at for sermons, they are sometimes used for public service announcements and proclamations from the Palestinian Authority.  

Some of the desert. The desert in this area isn't sand, it's mostly rock. Very, very hot.