Wadi Akhartoon

I don't always want to post about politics, but want a chance to share about the beauty of everyday life in Palestine as well. Oe of those beauties is the nature. When I get a chance to hike, which isn't as often as I would like, I am reminded of the beautiful countryside in Palestine and reminded of what life could be like here if people could live relaxed and free lives without conflict.

About a month ago, I went on a hike to Wadi Akhartoon. It is a valley, located just outside of Bethlehem, near the Herodian. It is the second time I've hiked. It is a very easy place to get too, and it helps remind me of nature and the fascinating ruins that are always present in this country, even if I don't know what they are.


First of all, here is a shot of the Herodian. (I know it was one of Herod's fortresses, but I regret to say, I've never been there, so I'm not exactly sure what the Herodian is.


The gang: Janelle, Luke, Abby (volunteers with the Lutheran Young Adults in Global Mission program), Timo (a Finnish doctoral student), and Me.


A glimpse of the ruins and caves we will see along the way.


These caves littered the valley and are found throughout the Judean desert. They were created by monks looking to remove themselves from society in order to pray in the very first few centuries.


We spent a good deal of time coming up with stories for what this was.


This is what Janelle so fondly referred to as a "Village of Caves."


Another ruined structure with the Herodian in the background.


Thanks to Timo's keen eyes, we saw many creatures: Rock Badgers, Stick bugs, birds, and this lizard, which you can barely see because it blends into the rock.


Towards the end of our walk, we turned a corner where we could look down the valley and just barely see the start of the Judean desert at the end of the valley.


Enjoying our little lunch


Janelle and Luke.


Timo and Abby.


Unfortunately, even a lovely morning hike is not free from reminders of the conflict. We could see settlements on every hilltop surrounding the valley. Here is a picture of one of the illegal settlements. Remember we were hiking deep inside the West Bank.


As we hiked further, we turned a corner and could see the other side of the settlement, which is well developed with new homes, typified by their red roofs. This is how settlements work. They start of with trailer homes (as seen in the first picture on one side of the settlement) and gradually develop, building more permanent and extravagant homes. The first picture shows this settlement expanding. Soon their will be red roofed homes replacing those trailer homes.

As you can see, life here is lovely, but the conflict always seems to crop up, never letting you be free of its effects or thoughts.

The Myth of Jerusalem Day

Yesterday was Jerusalem Day. An official Israeli holiday in which people celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem after it was captured by Israel in 1967.

Why is the reunification and unity of Jerusalem a myth:
1. Because there is still a clear delineation between East and West Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is largely Palestinian, and West Jerusalem is largely Israeli. There is little cross over between the two communities, and they even have their own bus systems.
2. Now that Israel controls both sides of Jerusalem, they are responsible for the municipal services for both sides. However, East Jerusalem is largely neglected. There are few parks, no street cleaning, small roads, and lack of schools for youth. If the Israeli government really wanted Jerusalem to be united, they would give equal services to both sides.
3. The plan of the Israeli government for Jerusalem is for it to be a Jewish capital. This has led to many discriminatory laws towards East Jerusalem and the Palestinian population. Many areas of East Jerusalem are set aside as "Green Zones" over large Palestinian neighborhoods, with the plan to evict these people from their houses and create parks in these areas. For this reason, Palestinians cannot build in these areas, and thus cannot provide for their families. If they do build, their homes are often demolished. The government of Israel also allows settlements to be built and inhabited in East Jerusalem. These settlements only allow people who are Jewish to live in them. Often settlers steal land, or even forcibly evict Palestinians from their homes in the middle of the night and move in.

Jerusalem is not a united a city, but still a divided city, which suffers under laws and attitudes of racism and discrimination.

May 15th - Nakba Day

I've written about Nakba day before on my blog (see HERE). Nakba day is May 15th every year. It is the day that Palestinians mourn the loss of their homes and land during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. It marks the year when at least 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. This day is used as a day to remember what happened in 1948, and also is used to mourn the fact that Palestinians do not have a homeland to this day and are currently living under Israeli occupation.

Nakba day is usually commemorated by demonstrations and also visits to people's former villages before 1948. This year, there were many demonstrations, in Gaza, the West Bank, and even on the borders of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Many Palestinian refugees were marching to the borders of Israel to demand their right of return, with people crossing the borders in some places.

The Israeli government has termed these demonstrations "riots" and has focused on the fact that Israel's borders have been breached and claimed that the Palestinians on Sunday were not "clamoring for a Palestinian State, but for Israel's destruction." (New York Times article - Israel's Leader Outlines Points before U.S. Trip).

These demonstrations, instead remind of Martin Luther King, Jr. who encouraged non-violent direct action and civil disobedience. Luther said, "The willingness to accept the penalty for breaking the unjust law is what makes civil disobedience a moral act and not merely an act of lawbreaking." All of these demonstrations started out non-violently, with un-armed demonstrators marching towards borders that are illegal under international law. Their idea was to say that we should be allowed to go there, so we will try. As with most demonstrations, the Israel army's initial response is to shoot tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Only after this violence were stones thrown on the part of some Palestinian youths. The Israel Defense Forces has now issued videos saying that their use of tear gas and rubber bullets was justified because of Palestinians throwing stones. There is an obvious imbalance in this view.

Many writers have mentioned the fact that the protests throughout the region have influenced the protests of this years Nakba Day, giving them a different tone than previous years. One writer noted that, "The overall makeup of the crowd, featuring older women and men as well as students, was a change from previous years." (TIME article - see below) I get the feeling as I live here, that these demonstrations show a different tone. The Palestinian Authority is building up to September, when they will issue a request to the UN Security Council for recognition of the Palestinian State, Fatah and Hamas have reconciled, and people are choosing non-violence as their main mode of demanding their rights. These people, men, women, young and old, gathered together to use non-violent direct action, and were willing to die (as some did) to show the world the injustices that they face daily. Their courage gives me hope that one day a Palestinian State will exist and that both Israelis and Palestinians will be equal.

Read more:
TIME article : Palestinian Border Protests: The Arab Spring Model for Confronting Israel

New York Times: Nakba Day Protest Videos

The first video on this link is good. It shows people from Syria marching toward the Israeli border. The border in this area, has separated people from families, leaving the same families split between two different countries, who can now not see each other. The video shows families hugging and kissing as they see each other for the first time in many years.

Yanun

Yanun is a village in the North of the West Bank, near Nablus. It is a small village of 60 people from five extended families. Because the land around Yanun is extremely fertile, Yanun used to survive off farming and selling of its goods. In the past decade, Yanun has suffered from worsening attacks by Israeli settlers living in the area. In 2002, the entire village was forced to evacuate by Israeli settlers. After the forced evacuation, international observers realized the need for an international presence in Yanun, in order to bring back the villagers and protect them from increasing attacks. At this point, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel, a project of the World Council of Churches, established a station in Yanun of five internationals. After seeing the increased protection, villagers began to move back into the village. The population of 60 today, is only a small portion of the amount of people.

I recently went on a tour with EAPPI to visit Yanun. It was the first time I have been in this village. I have not spent much time in the north of the West Bank. The beauty of the surrounding area, made it hard to believe that this village is more frequently a place of violence from settlers than a place of peace and serenity.


The grass was incredibly long and green, because of the springtime weather. Olives used to be one of the main goods Yanun sold. These days, many of the olive trees are on lands that have been annexed to the settlement of Itimar. Only rarely can the men from Yanun tend to their trees, which has left them less fruitful in recent years.




The scenery around the village was beautiful. Unfortunately, most of the surrounding land is claimed as part of the municipal areas of the Itimar settlement. Each hill has a settlement outpost, manned each day. Because of these outposts, villagers can no longer use most of the land they used to use for farming. The mayor of Yanun told us that almost 90% of the land they used to use for farming, is now controlled by the settlers. For this reason, the villagers cannot grow enough to making money. They can only manage to grow enough to live on.






While we were in Yanun, there were no attacks by the settlers. It was hard to believe with the peaceful scenes that these events even occur. Frequently, however, settlers enter the village. They walk around with huge guns (I don't know gun types) in order to intimidate the villagers. Sometimes they will take a swim in the village well, or allow their dogs to drink out of it, which contaminates the water. The villagers must then empty the water, and buy new water to fill the well. In the past, settlers have even walked around the village sticking their guns in the windows of the houses. I can only imagine how frightening these actions must be for the villagers of the town.


EAPPI members told us about their work in the village. Children often play by their house, because they feel safer near the presence of internationals.


This is the village school. Children can go to the school until the age of 12, then they must go to high school in the nearby town of Aqraba. Some of the children then are able to go to University in Nablus. It is difficult for families to afford University, so often parents can only afford for the first child to attend University. It makes going to University more difficult and expensive, since the old road to Nablus is now closed, forcing the villagers to take a road that takes 1 hour, instead of 15 minutes to get to Nablus. Transportation to along this route, as well as living in Nablus, is an expensive cost now added to the cost of University.


The mayor of the village, spoke to us about the situation.






In true Palestinian style, the hospitality of the village was amazing. They served us tea, as well as lunch. All the food was made from ingredients grown in the village. It was incredibly delicious! I was also able to purchase olive oil, olives, roasted almonds, and zatar (a mixture of thyme and spices used frequently in Palestinian culture) from the villagers. They are some of the best tasting products I've ever tasted!

As is most things in this country, visiting Yanun was filled with mixed emotion. The beauty of the area was astounding, which makes the sadness of the deteriorating situation even more poignant. I find on days like this, I wish their was peace so that the beauty that is Palestinian culture and society could flourish.


The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) brings internationals to the West Bank to experience life under occupation. Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) provide protective presence to vulnerable communities, monitor and report human rights abuses and support Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace. When they return home, EAs campaign for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through an end to the occupation, respect for international law and implementation of UN resolutions. For more visit their WEBSITE.
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