heaven and hell

“A country is not just what is does – it is also what it tolerates...” Kurt Tucholsky, German Jewish Essayist.
This quote is near the beginning of the exhibition in Yad Veshem, the
holocaust memorial museum. A day after I saw this I went on the
“Breaking the Silence” tour of Hebron. Breaking the Silence is a group
of ex-soldiers who served in the West Bank, and especially Hebron, who now speak out about what they witnessed and experienced there. Our guide Eyal said that he does not blame the settlers or the army for what is happening in Hebron. He blames his parents and thousands of ordinary Israelis like them who let this happen. One of the Israeli women who runs Machsom Watch, that monitors checkpoints in the West bank, once commented “if you think you are going to hell and want practice then go to Hebron”. Jews have lived in Hebron since ancient times, and in 1929, during general unrest throughout Palestine, many Jewish men, women and children in Hebron were massacred. All surviving Jews left Hebron. The families and descendants of these Jews have no wish to return. But a group of zealous religious Jews went to
celebrate Passover in Hebron several years ago, and against the will
of the government of Israel, stayed and began to settle there. The
actual 1929 group of Jews have since condemned what they are doing and
have fought against their occupation of property in the courts. Owing
to the settlements now right in the middle of the town, whole streets
are closed and shops shut. People living on those streets have to
climb to their roofs and across neighbours’ houses in order to come
and go. They have bars on the doors and windows to avoid the stones
thrown at them. Their children have to be accompanied to school to
avoid settler children and their mothers harassing and throwing stones
at them. A once thriving old city is a ghost town. The tomb of the
patriarchs is next to the old city, supposedly the burial place of
Abraham, who is holy to both Jews and Muslims. A mosque and synagogue
share one building, with separate entrances.
In contrast to this madness, I visited the most inspiring place in
Palestine. If you come here and only have one day to visit, then this
is the place to come. Near Bethlehem is The Tent of Nations. The
brothers Daoud and Daher run it on land bought by their grandfather in
1916. Here they run summer camps for children from refugee camps and
local villages. They plant trees. Internationals come to support and
work. It is part of the network for Working on Organic Farms. There
are 400 dunums of land tucked in between a block of Israeli
settlements known as Gush Etzion. When their grandfather came here he
dug caves for the family to live in. International visitors can still
stay in one of the caves. In 1991 the nightmare started. Israel
claimed the land was state land and wanted to evict them. Fortunately,
the brothers had all the papers going back through the various
occupations of Palestine, from the Ottoman period, the British Mandate
and the Jordanian period. They went to court to prove the land was
theirs. The court wanted maps, they made maps. The court wanted aerial
photos, they had them taken at great expense. The court wanted
testimonies from 40 people in the nearby village – they brought the
people to the court, who were subsequently made to wait hours in the
sun until hearing the session was postponed. They have spent nearly 20
years fighting this case. Whatever it costs, they keep fighting on.
They lost 250 of their trees to road building for the settlements.
Settlers have come to break into the land, trying to establish
caravans and new outposts there. More and more internationals started
to gather to protest and send the settlers away. Settlers came with
guns whilst one of the children’s summer schools was running. Daher
said, “Put down your guns and come in to drink tea”,but the setterls
broke in with their guns instead. The road to their property has been
blocked with large boulders to prevent them bringing produce in and
out. He took a bulldozer to clear the road and was arrested. There
have been demolition orders on their tents, fences, even their caves!
The court came to the land with settlers and the brothers showed all
their papers. The settlers showed a tiny piece of paper with a verse
from the Old Testament.
They have been offered money, but still they will not go. For the last
13 years The Tent of Nations has become a centre for peace,
understanding and bridging between people. Many Israelis have come and
helped. Even a woman from the settlement came, and was shocked at what
she heard and saw. She brought her husband and others who helped build
composting toilets there. These people since left the settlement for
Jerusalem. Jewish children came to play with Palestinian children.
Soldiers came in a jeep to check on what was happening, but left when
they saw all was peaceful. One time an army jeep got stuck on the road
block they had created, and Palestinian children came down to help
lift the jeep free.
Daher said “When you make a problem, I try to make good, because I
want to make change”.
We planted five trees whilst we were there and bought certificates of
solidarity. As we approach the Christmas season, and Bethlehem is in
people’s minds, what better way of expressing the Christmas message
than this inspiring project, outside a city wall, trying to build bridges and create peace.