tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91216755285643772032024-02-07T10:27:41.898+02:00Behind the WallA series of auto-ethnographic tales on the encounter with Palestinians and Bedouins, around Jerusalem, depicting various social, cultural, economical and political aspects of life behind the wall. Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-43584090982573481912019-04-18T11:11:00.000+03:002019-04-18T11:11:14.367+03:00Everything alright?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJcBMfGAJt_LTNCCgzVZDVOxoPgbDmYPA0NW3eLd7JL5s-bNHn2q5o0ZsM_0MfFU35zrBGyeDC1uc53QWtEgRHvhPEXi30oNHyv1E0HuGWtflMNnB3XjYqAegEuIzWMncd1tMYREq6AIZ/s1600/Raid+on+Hizma+grocery+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1600" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJcBMfGAJt_LTNCCgzVZDVOxoPgbDmYPA0NW3eLd7JL5s-bNHn2q5o0ZsM_0MfFU35zrBGyeDC1uc53QWtEgRHvhPEXi30oNHyv1E0HuGWtflMNnB3XjYqAegEuIzWMncd1tMYREq6AIZ/s400/Raid+on+Hizma+grocery+shop.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raid on Hizma grocery shop, April 16, 2019</td></tr>
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Tuesday morning, I got up with quite bad pain in my joints and I could hardly stand on my legs. A few days before, a client told me about the sudden paralysis of her son, and I wondered if I will be paralyzed too, or simply die. I checked with Dr. Google and found out that there were other options regarding my health state. (My family doctor was not available.)<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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I had a couple of free hours, decided that it was time for my car to get a polish, and drove to the Palestinian Authority to have this done, for less than half the price than in Israel. I went first to visit my Bedouin friend Ahmad in 'Anata, and I met him on the way. He asked if everything was alright and, thinking about my aching body, I answered: "Not exactly". He told me to wait for him at his house and make myself some tea or coffee.<br />
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At his place, I was welcomed in ecstasy by Browny. Browny II is my latest dog, which I found after not only <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/my-little-palestinian-garbage-dog/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the little Palestinian garbage dog, Doggy,</a> but also Blacky and Browny I, mysteriously disappeared. Browny and I are deeply in love. Since I have a small apartment and Ahmad a large terrain, which is heaven for dogs, I left Browny with Ahmad, who takes good care of her. Browny loves 'real' chicken much more than dog food. So, I got some chicken leftovers out of the freezer. I wanted to defrost them, but there was no hot water; in fact, no water at all. Unclear, what happened this time, but there would neither be chicken for Browny, nor tea or coffee for me.<br />
<br />
<h2>
A raid on the village</h2>
A client called regarding a report he had asked me to write, and then Ahmad said that we're off to the <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.692.5707&rep=rep1&type=pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Palestinian village Hizma</a>, since at that very instance there was a raid on his garage and grocery shop. <span style="font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px;">I have written previously about </span><a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2016/05/hizma-example-of-oppression.html" target="_blank">Hizma as example of Israeli oppression</a> and about the grocery, which in its former life was<a href="https://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2015/07/ramadan-kareem.html" target="_blank"> a small restaurant </a>that was impossible to keep running, because of the frequent army closures of the village. Now a shop, it makes hardly any money but is less vulnerable to these closures.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-693865" height="191" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2019/04/Raid-on-Hizma.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Israeli municipality, army & police vs. Hizma villagers, April 16, 2019</td></tr>
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<br />
We found the main road of the village flooded with army and police, while the villagers were watching. I was told the raid had to do with not paying municipal taxes. Authorities had come in to appropriate whatever they could find, including cars. Ahmad's places were the last in the row. We just saw how both the salad bar and the large refrigerator with its contents were taken away from the grocery. Police didn't find anything of value in the garage, since they had taken everything in a previous raid, and neither Ahmad nor Ali, the garage manager, had the money to restore what had been lost then. I felt sad and helpless. I was concerned that the authorities would destroy the buildings and made a futile call to a human rights lawyer lawyer in order to prevent this, but things didn't develop in that direction.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<strong>Little story</strong>: Many of the soldiers at the raid were women. At some point, one of these female soldiers approached and questioned what I was doing. Obviously, I looked out of place in the village. Furthermore, I happened to wear my Amnesty International jacket. She asked if I were waiting for someone to attack the soldiers, so that I could make pictures when they would respond with force. I answered that I hope this wouldn't happen. And actually, the whole event passed without any physical violence. Later, I considered going up to her, and tell her that I'd been in the army too, and that I hope that some time in the future she will realize the damage of the occupation. Afraid of being arrested, and also feeling a bit sorry for her, since she simply tried to do her job, I did not turn my thoughts into action. With Passover in mind, I also wondered about the fate of the area and the freedom of the Palestinians, had the Israeli elections turned out differently.</blockquote>
<br />
The Jerusalem municipality considers this part of Hizma as belonging to greater Jerusalem. Therefore, one may claim that if they didn't pay taxes, this was an appropriate measure to take against these shops. In addition, Ahmad was summoned for a police hearing, and warned that he could be charged for illegal use of land NIS 300,000 (ca. $84,000), which is several times the worth of the property. But things are complex. The problem concerns tens of shops on the main road of Hizma, on the Palestinian side of the separation wall. Most of the people running the shops live hand to mouth and have no entry permit to Israel. Even if they had, there is no functioning legal system that could authorize the shops. Last but not least, the Jerusalem municipality does not even provide here the most basic municipality services.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-693867" height="195" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2019/04/After-raid-on-Hizma-grocery-shop.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The party is over, Hizma, April 16, 2019</td></tr>
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We were there for about an hour and then soldiers and police dispersed. It was painful to see people joking; some were clearly having fun. On his way out, one of the higher ranked police officer asked Ali: "Everything alright?" Ali and I looked at each other in astonishment. Did this officer consider himself the host of a party? Ali replied: "Yup, everything alright!"<br />
Ahmad then took me to a place to to do the car polish, but it was not the right weather for this kind of work, and we were asked to return another day. We continued to Omre, who was trying to sell car pieces in his new car lot; not sure that he sold anything today. Omre made us some coffee on a bonfire. We then went back to Ahmad's place, where the chicken pieces had defrosted enough to give some to Browny. Browny already learned to sit nicely before getting her food, and now I tried to teach her to say hi, by giving me her paw. This was less successful.<br />
<br />
For the moment, we're alive and the buildings are standing, so how could one doubt that everything is alright? Happy Passover and Easter!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This post was originally published in </span><a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/everything-alright/" target="_blank">my blog at the Times of Israel</a></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> .</span>Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Hizma31.836461 35.2632310000000194.9704164999999989 -6.0453629999999805 58.7025055 76.571825000000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-64232245367115446592019-01-04T20:45:00.000+02:002019-01-04T20:45:57.842+02:00My little Palestinian garbage dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsuJvyP-XprrEvUvNsmJfFvXEjQ2sL4dpoAV5-ZuTi5wGhX1Ni0itBMqeJS0YQvUFERR70XZ1w_Z5wXJppZBky04OO8iCoCjVecmTsYOCNJCCrEpxj9SNgkQh1WYv4VFKrM9woueIRZ_j/s1600/Doggy-and-the-pluch-dog-640x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsuJvyP-XprrEvUvNsmJfFvXEjQ2sL4dpoAV5-ZuTi5wGhX1Ni0itBMqeJS0YQvUFERR70XZ1w_Z5wXJppZBky04OO8iCoCjVecmTsYOCNJCCrEpxj9SNgkQh1WYv4VFKrM9woueIRZ_j/s400/Doggy-and-the-pluch-dog-640x400.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Ahmad and his nephew Tarek, both Palestinian Bedouins, were working on the garbage dump in the Palestinian town 'Anata, when they heard the noise of an animal in distress. Digging through the garbage, they found a puppy, bleeding heavily from its leg. They took it to Dr. Mamoon, the vet, who told them it needs surgery. It got out of surgery with one foot less.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a>A day or two later I got acquainted with Doggy, as I named him. Doggy was the cutest little dog I had ever met. I went to the animal shop, Noah's Ark, in 'Anata, where the salesperson happened to be the vet who had done the surgery, and bought food for small dogs. Doggy was able to drink milk, but so young that he still had to learn how to eat. Getting him to swallow his medication was quite an endeavor. He looked very sad and could barely walk, but seemed happy with any attention. Ahmad found a huge plush dog and Doggy readily adopted it as his surrogate mother. He would crawl over his doll, or hide under its large ears or legs, and didn’t seem to care that it wasn’t alive.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;">For me, it was love at first sight. I learned on Youtube about dog training, and then exercised with Doggy, so that he would get acquainted with his name, come to me, or stay put. I went to visit him every couple of days and convinced myself that the lessons worked, but perhaps they really did. Even though it was Ahmad who brought him in, now he found that this dog needed too much attention. Ahmad wanted me to take Doggy home. Considering that my apartment is small and includes my clinic, I objected.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">It is true that Doggy would pee and poop around, despite my attempt to toilet train him, but I had not expected opposition</span>, which was in striking difference with the attitude to Anthar, the house cat. </span><span style="font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">Ahmad was concerned over the fact that</span><span style="font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;"> t</span><span style="font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">he dog's behavior highly disturbed the workers at the dump, whereas</span><span style="font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had not realized that in Arab culture dogs are considered unclean. Now I know this stems from ancient times, when dogs were considered ritually impure and allowed only for work, whereas the prophet Mohammed himself had a cat.</span><br />
<blockquote>
<br />
<img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-661664" height="150" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/12/Anthar-and-Doggy-Nov.-2018.jpeg" width="400" />Anthar and Doggy: Getting to know each other<br />
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<span style="color: #878787; font-family: "pt serif" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400;"><strong>Little Story</strong>: It wasn't just people who despised Doggy. Although my baby dog did his best in being friendly, Anthar the cat did not enjoy his new brother at all. In the beginning, Anthar kept far from this smelly monster and even wouldn't touch his own food, if Doggy happened to be around. I tried to make them work on their relationship, and put Doggy in one hand and cat goodies in the other, but Anthar wouldn't come close. In the second stage, Anthar would allow the dog to get closer, but would hit him in the face, when he came nearby. Eventually, Anthar developed some form of tolerance.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, Ahmad built a small home for the dog just outside his terrain, but I felt bad about it and brought him back. We got into fights. At some point, Ahmad had enough of it and gave him away to our mutual friend <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ali-baba-and-his-four-daughters/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ali, the one with the four daughters</a>, who now also has a son. When I found out, I got terribly angry and made them cancel the deal, simultaneously feeling uncomfortable about being in competition with Ali's toddler over a pet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Doggy’s leg was healing and he started to follow me on my path; at least that’s what he tried. First, he made it only for a few meters, but then, he managed to make short walks. Eventually I had to pick him up, because he would get exhausted. I felt sorry, and searched on the internet whether something could be done regarding his foot. I found some places in the USA that make protheses, but nothing here in the country. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;">All seemed fine, but then my little Palestinian garbage dog got too close to another dog, who just had given birth to ten puppies. (It’s difficult to believe that a mother can divide her time between so many children, but that’s what she did.) Doggy was either simply interested, or looking for his biological mother and approached her. She got defensive and bit him badly in the head. Initially, Doggy seemed to recuperate, but the next day something looked wrong. </span><br />
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<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-661643" height="250" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/12/WhatsApp-Image-2018-11-09-at-06.21.56-400x250.jpeg" width="400" /><br />
Dr. Mamoon & Tarek taking care of Doggy, Nov. 2018<br />
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<img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-663346" height="207" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/12/Noahs-Ark-animal-shop-and-hospital.jpeg" width="400" /><br />
Noah's Ark, Animal hospital and shop, Al-Ram<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Late at night, Tarek and I went to Noah's Ark in the Palestinian town Al-Ram, just outside the municipal border of Jerusalem, which is not just an animal shop, but an animal hospital as well. The hospital is a short drive from my home, but it took much longer, since <a href="https://www.btselem.org/separation_barrier/a-ram" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the separation wall between Jerusalem and Al-Ram</a> forced us to make a detour. I had never been in such a place. I was amazed to see the modern machinery, as in a hospital for humans. Moreover, I was astonished that there is a hospital for animals in this environment, situated adjacent to the symbol of oppression, the wall. I anxiously awaited the result of the x-ray. Dr. Mamoon, who works in both 'Anata and Al-Ram, informed us that Doggy’s skull was broken, but his brain seemed intact. I was both in shock and relieved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Additional antibiotics and a cream for his wounds, and Doggy got over it. But then again he started to feel bad and stopped eating. Back to the vet, who believed this time it was a virus. Vitamins and more medication, three times a day, and Ahmad, who was the one doing most of the caretaking, experienced it more and more as a burden. Doggy’s state went up and down; good and bad days alternated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">I went to a three day conference, and though I was the one in charge of the conference, my mind wandered to my sick friend, who did not get better. The day before my return, Ahmad told me that Doggy was gone; gone in the sense of ‘disappeared’. He had searched everywhere but didn't find the dog and was sure he is dead. </span><br />
<br />
<img alt="" class="size-vertical wp-image-661645" height="480" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/12/Doggy-died-300x480.jpg" width="300" /><br />
Little Palestinian garbage dog z"l<br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">I found it difficult to believe him. Would Ahmad have killed Doggy out of mercy or anger? Would he have given Doggy to someone else to take better care? I asked one of the workers and he too said that Doggy had disappeared. I was filled with feelings of doubt, guilt and anger. Then sadness started and I cried every night. It surprised me that within just over a month, I became so attached to this little animal. I went through a process of grief, being reminded of him every time I went to visit Ahmad, recollecting emotional instances with him, the visits to the vet, the wagging of his tail when he saw me and his falling asleep on my chest. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a challenge to tell my Jewish Israeli friends that I’m sad, because I miss my little Palestinian garbage dog, but they turned out more supportive than I expected. In contrast, most of my Palestinian friends couldn't quite get it. Some suggested - too early - that I simply take another dog. I understood that I cannot keep talking about a dog, when many of them have much bigger losses to deal with. <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yasser-and-his-razor-knife/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Yasser’s barbershop</a> was recently destroyed by Israeli authorities. <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/mohammed-with-the-two-houses/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mohammed’s house</a> was accidentally burned to the ground. Mahmood, who I owe a blog post, cannot afford medical treatment for his ill wife. And <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-anaconda-from-thailand/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ahmad is still fighting with his wife over their kids</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">In the meantime I'm getting used to life without Doggy, but for sure this was one more confrontation with the fact that some - animals as well as people - are less fortunate in life than others.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This post was originally published in <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/daniel-weishut/" target="_blank">my blog at the Times of Israel</a> .</span>Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Anata31.811201 35.2596019999999734.8871915 -6.0489920000000268 58.7352105 76.568195999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-11422632863032278482018-09-19T20:00:00.000+03:002018-09-19T20:00:01.178+03:00The anaconda from Thailand<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="250" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/09/20180910_132351-640x400.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Looking at corruption, 'Anata, Sept. 2018. </td></tr>
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You never would expect in Thailand an anaconda, the world’s largest snake from South America, which crushes even large animals with its muscles, before swallowing them as a whole. But, always be ready for surprises.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
My Palestinian Bedouin friend <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ten-years-wait-for-us-visa/">Ahmad waited for ten years for his US visa</a>, and against all odds, he did get it. We’ll skip the period he spent in the US, though it was as dramatic as one could imagine, and continue with the arrival of his wife and kids in the Palestinian Authority. Yes, after six years in the US, and shortly after Ahmad obtained his green card, she and their four boys came back to the Palestinian village. Ahmad, who had returned earlier, anxiously awaited their homecoming. However, things didn’t work out well between them and they separated, not in the most civil way.<br />
<br />
<br />
She once more took the children and didn’t allow them any contact with their father. Having paid for their return tickets and done his best to provide them with a house, food and monthly allowance, Ahmad was outraged. Though in this surrounding it would be common to arrange this kind of issues through the families, with a lack of male family on her side, and reluctance from his family, Ahmad decided to go to court. His main concern was that she would take the boys to the US. Once more, I became deeply involved. We went to the Sharia (family) court in the Palestinian town Abu Dies, and after going back and forth for hours between various offices, the judge signed a travel ban for the children, which we then delivered at the Palestinian police. We also contacted the US embassy, the one which just moved to Jerusalem, and in these exceptional circumstances, they were willing to release the passport numbers of the children. Since Palestinian borders are controlled by Israel, an Israeli lawyer was hired to get the travel ban approved by Israeli authorities. Everything seemed fine and the divorce was supposed to appear before a judge in a couple of days.<br />
<div>
<br />
<h2>
Gone with the kids</h2>
And then, on my way to Ahmad in the Palestinian town ‘Anata, his wife called: “Hi, please tell Ahmad that I’m in the US and that the kids are here and off to school.” I was in shock. How did she get out of the country? Highly aware of the fact that in this environment one kills the messenger when one is not pleased with the message, I contemplated what to do. I decided to take him apart and conveyed the message straightforward. He didn’t kill me, because he simply didn’t believe the information.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the coming days, it became clear that the family did leave the country and thoughts of corruption came to our minds. Other ways had to be found to get hold of the children and more lawyers were consulted. In these interactions, Ahmad would tell the emotional story, whereas I would add the facts. Through Mussa, a friend of his with high standing, provisions were made to meet the chief of the police criminal department at his home, but somehow the meeting never took place. I then succeeded in convincing Ahmad to go to the police station. The clerk called the chief’s office, informing that we had arrived, and then told us that the chief is not there. When we did not give in and instead suggested to submit a complaint to some other officer, we were asked to wait. A little hungry, we went to the minimarket opposite the station. The place was new and did not yet offer much. Ahmad bought some sausage and pitta bread and made us a sandwich at the counter while telling the owner that he should have opened a kiosk. Back at the station, I recommended that the clerk call again, and this time we were allowed in. I went straight to the room of the chief, and there he was… Our acquaintance stemmed from a previous situation when he was in a lower function and had been instrumental in <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2016/04/gone-with-phone.html">rendering my stolen cellular phone</a>. He immediately came up to me, with hugs and kisses.<br />
<br />
<br />
At the chief’s office, people were coming and going. The chief made numerous calls; not just related to our case. Though our lawyers had asked for some written statement by the police, we failed to obtain anything in writing, since the chief didn’t see a reason for writing an official complaint about the kidnapping. Moreover, he considered that – with the presently strained relations between the US and the Palestinian Authority – approaching Interpol would not be of much help either. He promised to figure out how wife and children could have left the Palestinian Authority, but advised that we take the case to the Israeli police. Being in doubt that Israeli authorities would be concerned about the fate of four Palestinian children, who are in the US under the care of their mother, I thought this latter approach was unlikely to be successful. We were a bit at loss, and I picked my brain for more ideas… Ahmad’s mother in law had cooperated in not letting him see the children even when they were with her, and had later purposely hidden the fact that the family left the country. I never dreamt that I would suggest arresting an elderly lady for being an accomplice in the kidnapping, but that is what I did, in the hope that this could be helpful in bringing the kids back. The police chief promised to do so, but let’s see. We remained with the sense that some error in the system is being covered up.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Little story</strong>: <span style="border: 0px; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Little story: On our way back, just near <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2016/05/hizma-example-of-oppression.html">the Palestinian village Hizma</a>, Ahmad’s brother informed him by phone that a letter from his wife’s lawyer had arrived with a request for alimony. I was still digesting this new piece of knowledge, when a car suddenly stopped in front of me (on the highway). I almost hit it. Less than hundred meters later, on the roundabout near the Hizma checkpoint, another car suddenly cut my way. Ahmad shouted something like ‘the animals’… Thoughts on Arab driving came to my mind. However, the first driver certainly didn’t look Arab, and was probably a settler, whereas the second one I didn’t notice, since it went too fast. Anyway, twice within one minute, I managed to evade a major road accident, and my neck was hurting because of my rapid stop.</span></blockquote>
</div>
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<div>
<br />
<h2>
Lawyers and anacondas</h2>
<br />
I brought Ahmad to ‘Anata and drove on to see a few clients in Jerusalem at my clinic. Later, I would join him in a confrontation with his Israeli lawyer, who was supposed to answer the question of how possibly she could have left if he had ‘closed’ the borders. Mohammed, <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/mohammed-with-the-two-houses/">the one with the two houses</a>, one of which was burned in the meantime, came with us. So did Mussa, who I mentioned previously and who was friends with the lawyer as well; Mussa’s brother joined the company. The six of us sat outside at <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/where-is-maale-eizariya/">a car wash in Al-Eizariya</a>. There was a long and tense discussion and everyone shared his viewpoint. Occasionally, the voices raised. The lawyer, who had asked for a substantial sum of money, admitted to having said earlier that there is no concern and that the borders were closed, while actually, he had not verified that. He promised to find out what had happened… More thoughts on corruption came to our minds.<br />
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Ahmad was furious. He had believed that at least from the Israeli side, he could count on an honest system, and now – with failures on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides – he was left without children and little chance to do something about it. He shared his tough thoughts and emotions, while Mussa provided a description of his wife so that the lawyer would understand. “This woman is poisonous… poisonous. She is like an anaconda from Thailand. You know the anaconda from Thailand? She comes after you, kills and swallows you.” He opened his arms wide in front of him to show the size of her mouth. I couldn’t help grinning, which was completely out of place, but this level of drama I had not expected.<br />
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From there, we continued to Ahmad’s brother, Muhammad, to fetch the letter about the alimony. (I have written about <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2016/05/jailed-without-offense.html">Muhammad, during his time in administrative detention.</a> Luckily, he is free now.) We met at his petrol station, in the village Al-Zaim, for which he tries to obtain a permit from the Israeli authorities, already for years.<br />
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<h2>
The wisdom of Buddha and the hope for atonement</h2>
It was late and we were all exhausted. I took Mohammed (the friend, not the brother) and Ahmad back home. We’re near <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-slams-israel-over-expected-demolition-of-bedouin-village/">Khan Al-Ahmar, the Bedouin village threatened by demolition</a>. Suddenly, there is a donkey lying on my lane just ahead of me, and at the other side of the road a broken car. We stopped, and Ahmad helped the donkey back on its legs while making a remark about the drivers, who were only concerned about their car. Someone less careful than I would have hit the lying donkey and probably killed it. The donkey seemed not badly hurt and continued wandering…<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="250" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/09/20180911_143911-400x250.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Wandering donkey visiting Ahmad’s place to find shade and water, Sept. 2018.</td></tr>
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Back in ‘Anata, Mohammed and Ahmad went to have a shawarma. In the meantime, I bought some food for Anthar, the cat, who deserves a blog post by itself. We then sat together for a couple of minutes, under the beautiful eyes of this veiled man in the picture. We had some coffee and tea, and I was a bit disappointed that Anthar had preferred the shawarma over cat food. While I could hardly keep my eyes open and pondered about anacondas in Thailand, Ahmad talked about nirvana, the wisdom of Buddha, and his hope for atonement.<br />
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This post was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/mohammed-with-the-two-houses/">my blog at the Times of Israe</a><a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/mohammed-with-the-two-houses/">l</a> .</div>
</div>
Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Anata31.811201 35.2596019999999734.9447410000000005 -6.0489920000000268 58.677661 76.568195999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-19816013623032621422018-04-24T08:00:00.000+03:002018-04-25T23:08:02.764+03:00Mohammed with the two houses<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is my friend Mohammed. He has half an eye, one wife, two houses and three children. Mohammed is a Palestinian man, 38 years old. He makes his living from a garbage dump on the outskirts of <a href="http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/Anata_EN.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the Palestinian town 'Anata</a>.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-604927" height="312" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/04/Mohammed-and-boys.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Mohammed and boys" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mohammed and sons in front of their house, 'Anata, April 2018</span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The place is located in the West Bank, northeast of Jerusalem, in administrative Area C (full Israeli civil and security control). His work consists in the first place of collecting money from the trucks that come and dump Israeli trash, mostly from renovations. Next, he searches in the trash for valuables. He assembles wood, various metals, and tiles. He also repairs old furniture and electric appliances he finds. All these he then sells. He makes just enough money to finish the month.</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Half an eye</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mohammed used to work in Israel. He actually was the bartender of a pub in the center of Jerusalem and liked his work tremendously. Later he worked in renovations and as a guard. At some point, he did not succeed anymore in obtaining an entrance permit to Israel. He tried to continue his work anyway, but was arrested time and again for illegal entrance into Israel, and about six years ago he was imprisoned in Shata prison. In those days, he still had two eyes, and no problem with his eyesight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One day, there was some unrest in the prison (which did not have to do with him). Jailers stormed in and started hitting everyone. He was harshly knocked on his head, and afterwards taken to the Israeli Rambam hospital in Haifa. As a result of the beatings, he lost the sight in one of his eyes altogether, and part of the sight in his other eye. When evaluated later in a Palestinian hospital in Ramallah, he was declared 100% handicapped. Albeit, as a Palestinian this doesn't provide him with any financial or other social benefits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He got himself a job in Ramallah, as a worker in a shoe shop. He made NIS 50 (ca. $14) for a full days work, which was far from enough, until he found the garbage dump.</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One wife</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mohammed's wife is a permanent resident of Jerusalem. She used to work as a teacher's assistant in a school in the Shuafat refugee camp, but she left her job, because each summer she was put on unpaid leave. Lately, she began working as a cleaning lady in one of the Jerusalem hotels. The job isn't paid well, but at least it provides a stable income.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In order to keep her Israeli residence permit, she has to live in Israel. Since Mohammed has no entry permit, she chose to rent a flat, a tiny one, in the Shuafat refugee camp, <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yasser-and-his-razor-knife/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">about which I wrote previously</a>. The camp is officially situated within the expanded municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, but is on the Palestinian side of the separation wall, which Mohammed can reach easily. The downside of living in the camp is that because of the Israeli checkpoint that she has to pass on her way to work, it takes her an hour to get there, although it is less than 4 km (ca. 2 miles) away. However, this arrangement could solve the problem as regarding housing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not exactly. Even though she now lives in a Palestinian neighborhood, on the Palestinian side of the wall, Mohammed is all the same not allowed to join her, for precisely the same reason, that the camp belongs to Jerusalem. Technically, it's no problem for Mohammed to get to the apartment, but at any point he could be arrested by soldiers who frequent the camp.</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Two houses</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mohammed is a creative and handy guy, and decided to build a second house, on the garbage dump. So, he bare handedly constructed a home from garbage alone, and it became beautiful! He decorated it with pictures he found and wooden carvings he created. He put plants and flowers around it. Dirt is all around and the smell may be horrific, but finally, the whole family could be happily together, every so often.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-604939" height="196" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/04/Mohammeds-house-outside-e1524242773847.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Mohammed's house outside" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">House on the garbage dump, 'Anata, April 2018</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And then, he received a demolition order... It is true, he did not apply for a permit to build the house, and he does not have the right papers. Nevertheless, despite the fact that officially there is an authority to which it should be possible to apply, in practice <a href="https://www.btselem.org/planning_and_building" rel="noopener" target="_blank">it is virtually impossible to get a building permit</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mohammed is just one of several of my friends in this locality, who lately received demolition orders from the Israeli authorities. Probably, this has to do with ethnic cleansing <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/8-european-countries-demand-israel-pay-for-west-bank-structures-it-destroyed/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">E1, the area between Jerusalem and the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement</a>, of Arab population outside designated areas. Furthermore, the house is adjacent to two roads that are about to open in the near future. The 'Israeli settler' road, or in its official name <a href="http://peacenow.org.il/en/east-ring-road" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the 'East Ring' Road</a>, leads from the Anatot army base to Road 1, and is meant to connect the northern Jewish settlements with Jerusalem, without having to drive through Pisgat Ze'ev. The 'Palestinian' road, which lies parallel, is meant to connect 'Anata with the Palestinian village Al-Za'im. The opening of the roads is expected to be accompanied by the building of an additional checkpoint. Perhaps, the pending demolition has to do with this development too, which could explain why this month tens of demolition orders were issued in Al-Za'im as well.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-604999" height="370" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/04/New-Palestinian-road-e1524279767694.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="New Palestinian road" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">New road, 'Anata, April 2018</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Mohammed doesn't know what to do. His wife cannot give up her flat in Shuafat, without losing her residence permit, and he cannot afford renting a second flat in 'Anata.</span><br />
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<blockquote style="background: url("https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/images/sprite.png") -955px -514px no-repeat scroll rgb(236, 233, 225); border: none; color: #333333; float: none; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 21px; outline: none; padding: 12px 12px 12px 56px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline; width: 399px;">
<div itemprop="articleBody" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
<br />
<strong>Little story</strong>: </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mohammed is a great cook as well. On Friday afternoons, I tend to join him for lunch. Although sometimes we eat something simple, like hummus or pizza from the local bakery, commonly he prepares a barbecue. Everyone around will be invited: family, friends, and truck drivers.<br />
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Once, he made something special, called 'zarb'. It is a meat and vegetable dish of Bedouin origin, cooked in an underground pit, but this time he did it on a fire. He used veal, potatoes, carrots, onion, hot peppers, lots of garlic, and olive oil. It looked to me somewhat frightening, but it tasted delicious.<br /><b>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-604972" height="364" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/04/zarb.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="zarb" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Bedouin meat dish 'zarb', Oct. 2017</span></td></tr>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Three children</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The couple has three children under 10, two adorable boys and a girl. The oldest is the serious one. He is always ready to assist; in the weekends and sometimes after school, he helps his father with the garbage. The youngest is wild and reckless and drives everyone nuts. The girl is more silent, and since she is mostly with her mother, I am less acquainted with her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This week, the same week in which Mohammed was informed that he has 7 days left to empty his home before destruction, his oldest has a school trip to Haifa. The child asked his father to come along, like the other fathers. Mohammed had to explain that this is impossible, which for the boy was hard to grasp. When speaking to me, Mohammed says: "This is how the Israelis grow hate in the hearts of our children. We didn't have anything against Jews or Israelis, and would love to live in peace, but it is extremely difficult not to feel frustration and anger with the occupation, when there are so many restrictions. Where am I supposed to go?"</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-604940" height="233" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2018/04/Mohammeds-house-inside-e1524242908748.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Mohammed's house inside" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Inside the garbage house, 'Anata, Dec. 2017</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></blockquote>
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This post was originally published in </span><a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/mohammed-with-the-two-houses/" target="_blank">my blog at the Times of Israe</a></span><a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/mohammed-with-the-two-houses/" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">l</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> .</span></blockquote>
Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Anata31.811201 35.2596019999999734.9208020000000019 -6.0489920000000268 58.7016 76.568195999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-3318514786514774972017-05-27T20:00:00.000+03:002018-04-23T22:23:27.896+03:00Yasser and his razor knife<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm not a masochist, but I don’t have a problem with Yasser stroking my neck with a razor knife. Yasser has a barber shop in that area of Jerusalem, which is just behind the wall. This is on walking distance from my home; for me it’s easy to get there, and his price is far below what I would have paid elsewhere.</span><br />
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<a href="http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2017/05/20170524_153609.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Yasser in his barber shop, May 2017" class="size-full wp-image-546750" height="834" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2017/05/20170524_153609.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 470px;" title="Yasser in his barber shop" width="1024" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yasser in his barber shop, May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yasser is a Palestinian Bedouin, from a Jordanian family, born in Ramallah. He is married and has seven children. I met him through <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ten-years-wait-for-us-visa/" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ahmad, about whom I wrote previously</a>. I’m very pleased with his hairdressing expertise, and over the years in which I frequent his place, we became friends. Although his muscular appearance could deceive, he is a soft hearted and welcoming person. When I have my hair cut, I usually get coffee or a soft drink, and occasionally a milkshake, or a whole meal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yasser’s barber shop is a place of social encounter. Many men just drop by to say hello, have something to drink and/or groom their hair. I love to visit Yasser, and did so on Jerusalem Day, the Israeli national holiday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.</span></div>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Life in an urban refugee camp</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yasser’s salon is in the Shuafat Refugee Camp, which is the only Palestinian refugee camp located inside an Israeli-administered area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Shuafat Refugee Camp is on the Palestinian side of the separation barrier; adjacent to the Shuafat neighborhood of Jerusalem, which is on the Israeli side of the barrier. When you drive from French Hill to Pisgat Ze’ev, you can easily see it on your right, with high apartment buildings, behind the concrete wall.</span><br />
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<a href="http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2017/05/Shuafat-entrance.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Entrance to Shuafat Refugee Camp, May 2017" class="size-full wp-image-546595" height="309" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2017/05/Shuafat-entrance.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 470px;" title="Shuafat entrance" width="849" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Entrance to Shuafat Refugee Camp, May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The neighborhood was established in 1965 by the late Jordanian King Hussein. The intention was to temporarily house in the Camp around 1500 people, residents of the Old City of Jerusalem, during its renovation. They were forced to stay in the Shuafat Refugee Camp after the June War broke out in 1967, and Israel captured and subsequently annexed the Old City, together with most of the Arab parts of Jerusalem.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There is no systematic registration of residents, and their number today is estimated to be at least 20.000; possibly, much higher. Not surprisingly, housing is crowded and the streets are packed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Though residents pay taxes to the City of Jerusalem, municipality services are limited. The water systems have breakdowns, sewage occasionally floods the streets and makes the neighborhood smell badly, and garbage is hardly collected. In fact, Adam Teva V’Din, an organization protecting Israel’s environment and public health, has <a href="http://www.adamteva.org.il/?CategoryID=1244&ArticleID=2075" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">recently submitted to court a petition on behalf of the residents</a>, demanding that the Jerusalem Municipality upholds its duty to provide them with basic sanitation services. Also the electricity system has breakdowns. People are poor, living conditions are bad, with alarmingly low building standards, and dirt and rats are all over. Not surprisingly, drugs and criminality are blatant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Primary education is provided by the Jerusalem municipality, UNWRA and private organizations. For secondary schooling, most children need to travel through the Israeli checkpoint, to other parts of Jerusalem, since the school in the nearby Palestinian village Anata does not have enough place for all. Israeli health care providers, UNWRA and private institutions provide basic health services.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anatot (Main) Road, Shuafat Refugee Camp, May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The latest <a href="http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/shufatcamp.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">research study</a> from 2012, found that inhabitants of the camp are primarily focused on work within Jerusalem. However, unemployment is estimated to be around 25%, since many have difficulty in obtaining an entry permit to the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Shuafat Refugee Camp has been in the news for its ongoing tension, as it is <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/stuck-between-israel-and-the-pa-shuafat-refugee-camp-seethes/" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">stuck between Israel and the Palestinian Authority</a>. In 2011, <a href="http://www.jpost.com/National-News/New-checkpoint-opened-at-entrance-to-Shuafat" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">a big checkpoint opened at its entrance</a>. In rush hour, queues in front of the checkpoint may take an hour, or more, turning the whole area into one big traffic jam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Israeli army forces are present at the checkpoint, and enter the camp on a regular basis; especially when there is unrest upon which soldiers fire gas bombs. Soldiers check to see if people have resident permits for the camp, and may arrest those who don’t have such a permit. Thus, not only camp residents are blocked from entering Israel, but non-residents are banned from entering the camp as well. Each time there is Israeli military interference, Yasser and others close their shops, which could be several times a week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since last month, there is an Israeli police station at the checkpoint. Yasser tells that police started to fine cars parked on the sides of the road leading to the checkpoint, probably for security reasons, as if there were other places to park. Unfortunately, they do not do much about the drugs and other forms of criminality in the area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Looking at the half empty cup</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yasser used to work in ladies hair salons in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. This lasted until about a decade ago, when without an entry permit, he – like many others – wasn’t allowed anymore to enter Israel. Now, he makes a living as a hairdresser for men and boys. He also does cupping therapy, putting cups on the body and through suction, the skin is drawn into the cup by creating a vacuum. He believes that financially he is better off here than in Jordan, but still in the camp living conditions are difficult, and the daily life under occupation is tense and frustrating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yasser tried many times to get an Israeli entry permit, but without success. He once received a permit for a week to look for work in Jerusalem, but he didn’t manage to get a job in such a short time, among others since getting a job in Israel requires an Israeli contractor to go through a lengthy administrative procedure. The reason for the decline of his request of a permit, remains unclear. As far as he knows, he has no police record, apart from the incident in which he was halted on his way to work with a razor knife in his pocket, which he had just bought to do his job as barber. This resulted in his detention for a couple of days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Little story</span>: Clients visiting the barber shop are regularly surprised to see a western looking guy in this Palestinian establishment. Meeting non-Arab Israelis in this neighborhood is out of the ordinary. Not expecting me to speak some Arabic, they usually ask Yasser who I am. Hereupon, Yasser tends to pull a practical joke, by responding that I’m Bedouin; that my father, who came from a local tribe, married a foreign woman and emigrated. Clients then look in disbelief, but when I approve Yasser’s words in simple Arabic, they quickly make friendly contact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At such an encounter, one of the clients put on some music, and decided that they’re going to show me a dance. This was in the middle of my haircut, but who cared.</span></div>
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<a href="http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2017/05/dancing-in-the-barbershop.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Dancing in the barber shop" class="size-full wp-image-545539" height="686" src="https://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2017/05/dancing-in-the-barbershop.jpg" style="border: none; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 399px;" title="Dancing in the barbershop" width="1024" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dancing in the barber shop, Aug. 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They started Al-Dahiyya, a Bedouin version of the dabka, danced by men only, and asked me to join. I did so for a few moments, until it felt too strange for me as an Israeli Jew to dance in a Palestinian barbershop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Despite the many difficulties, Yasser remains positive about the possibility of peace, and about Israelis in general. If it was up to him, Jews and Arabs would live together in harmony, and he’d be fine with Israeli rule over the whole of Jerusalem and Ramallah too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yasser cannot visit me, but in recent years I have invited him for <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2015/10/balloons-over-palestine.html" style="border: 0px; color: #346f99; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">my birthday parties in the area administered by the Palestinian Authority</a>. This time it’s his turn. I wished him the best for his 35th birthday. He was surprised that I remembered; especially, since for Palestinians birthdays are not that important, and he completely forgot.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This post was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yasser-and-his-razor-knife/" target="_blank">my blog at the Times of Israel</a> .</span></div>
Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Shuafat Refugee Camp31.810040880129261 35.24431228637695331.796547380129262 35.224142286376953 31.82353438012926 35.264482286376953tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-67192795708920326272017-02-13T22:06:00.001+02:002017-02-13T22:59:59.631+02:00Ten years wait for US visa<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Nimbus Sans L", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
Ahmad is waiting for almost a decade to join his wife and children in the US. This does neither coincide with US law, which gives special consideration to immediate relatives of US citizens, nor with the understanding that there is no waiting list for immigrants who are immediate relatives.</div>
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My friend Ahmad, <a data-mce-href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/where-is-maale-eizariya/" href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/where-is-maale-eizariya/" style="color: #346f99; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">who you may have come across in my earlier blogs</a>, is a Palestinian Bedouin from the Jahalin tribe, living near Jerusalem. He is 42-years old and married to a Palestinian American woman, who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with their children, who are all American citizens.</div>
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In 2007, soon after their marriage, the couple submitted an immigrant application so that they could live together in the United States. Since then, the application is "in process" and for over nine years they are awaiting a response.</div>
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Trying to make a living</h4>
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Ahmad was born as the tenth and youngest child in a Bedouin family, while his mother, his father's third wife, was herding the goats. The family lived on the West Bank in a cave and later in a tent, until they moved to a stone house in the village Al Zaim, when Ahmad reached the age of 12.</div>
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According to Ahmad, when growing up he was increasingly confronted with Israeli oppression. At age 17, in a period of three months, he and his friends, in defiance of the Israeli occupation, wrote some graffiti on the separation wall and took part in a small demonstration. They also considered burning the car of a Palestinian neighbor who collaborated with the Israeli authorities, but they decided not to do so.</div>
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In fact, he was never involved with violence against authorities. Moreover, he once prevented bloodshed, by stopping a Palestinian man from attacking Israeli Jews. Nonetheless, first he was imprisoned for the graffiti, then for considering to burn the car, and later for entry into Israel, leaving him with a criminal record.</div>
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Ahmad, who as a child sold aluminum he found, in order to finance his school books, finished high school. As one of the very few of his tribe in these years, he continued studying in Al Quds University, in Abu Dies. He obtained a BA in media and is finalizing an MA in Political Science. He became known as promoter of peaceful ways of coexistence and received a scholarship for a doctoral program in the United States.</div>
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Meanwhile, he tried to make a living in various professions, among others as a security guard in Israel. After the closure of the wall, he was forced to remain in Al Zaim, on the Palestinian side of the wall, looking at Jerusalem. This situation has been unbearable for him and, seeing himself as a global citizen, he longs to leave the country and be free.</div>
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A battle for freedom</h4>
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When they got married, Ahmad and his wife didn't expect any difficulty in moving to the US, where relatives of both their families live. But things turned out to be complicated and highly frustrating, because their case remained pending for years.</div>
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His wife would visit the West Bank and live there for a few months, until she would return to the US to give birth. (Giving birth in the West Bank could possibly impede the baby's US citizenship.) Thus, she and their oldest children were on the move between the two countries for several years, with detrimental effects for her career, for the upbringing of the children, and for their social integration. After having done so for the first three boys, they could not anymore afford the travel costs and she stayed with the children in the US.</div>
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Time and again they submitted extra information to the American consulate in Jerusalem, which was regularly followed by a message that they would receive a response within a couple of months. In the meantime, they turned to five different lawyers and to two Senators, in order to get an update from the Jerusalem consulate, but in vain. The years apart have taken a huge emotional toll on the - separated - family. Moreover, not knowing whether he'd receive a visa created immense uncertainty. Ahmad's life has been on hold; whatever he did, he had to consider that perhaps he'd have to leave things in the middle.</div>
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<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(201, 201, 201); clear: both; color: #787878; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15.6px; margin: 5px 0px 22px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 0.5em; width: 470px;">Ahmad and I, in front of sculptures of Javier Marin, The Hague, August 2009</dd></dl>
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<strong style="color: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 21px;">Little story</strong>: Jerusalem, Summer 2003. I was going home after a long day of work as Professional Director of a Mental Health Institute involved with Holocaust survivors. I descended from the intercity bus at the central station and halted a taxi. I looked inside and saw that another passenger had already taken a seat. When asking about this person, the driver said “do not bother; I will take you both”. I didn't give it much thought and entered the car. During the short drive, the three of us started talking. I enjoyed our conversation and at the end of our ride, I invited them in for coffee. The driver was an Israeli Arab man, living in Al Zaim, a village close to Jerusalem, and the passenger was his fellow villager, Ahmad. Since then we are friends.</div>
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Ahmad and I are diverse in many ways: religion, nationality, culture, personality and appearance. And, perhaps because of that, we continue to enjoy each other's company and frequently hang out together. We also travelled several times to Europe, especially since it is easier to get him an entrance permit to the Netherlands, France or Italy, than to Israel, where he worked until the separation wall was built, or to the United States, where his wife and children live.</div>
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I much appreciate Ahmad's positive outlook on life.</div>
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Ahmad is now the father of four boys, between nine and four years old, but he can neither give them fatherly guidance, nor visit them. He has not seen his wife and children for almost five years, and never met his youngest son. He tried to obtain a tourist visa, but this application was declined, on the pretext that his immigrant application is still in process.</div>
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Living alone as a man is unacceptable in the Bedouin community. Having lived for most of his married life without the vicinity of his wife, he did consider a divorce, so that he could remarry with a local woman. However, realizing that he then would have to give up on his children, to whom he feels greatly connected, this was not an option.</div>
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His wife hardly manages with the boys, who not surprisingly suffer from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Her adolescent daughter from a previous marriage - who has US citizenship as well - lives with them. If there weren't enough difficulties, last year their house in Ohio burned down; no one was hurt, but they lost all their belongings.<br />
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Recently, Ahmad and his wife filed <a data-mce-href="https://www.caircolumbus.org/?p=457" href="https://www.caircolumbus.org/?p=457" style="color: #346f99; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">a suit against the consulate, through The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)</a>, compelling the American consulate to issue a decision on the visa request. Already, irreparable damage was done to the lives of Ahmad, his wife, and their children. Furthermore, the start of the Trump era strengthened anti-Muslim sentiments. Still, with the assistance of CAIR and their attorney, Ahmad and his wife are hopeful, that the American court will make an end to their miserable situation and reunite their family in the land of freedom.</div>
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The response from the consulate is pending.</div>
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This post was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/daniel-weishut/">my blog at the Times of Israel</a> .</div>
Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Jerusalem, Israel31.787718866070374 35.26199340820312531.733732366070374 35.181312408203127 31.841705366070375 35.342674408203123tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-35117779518225884142017-01-13T19:58:00.000+02:002017-01-13T20:14:06.657+02:00Where is Ma'ale Eizariya?Ma’ale Adumim is a city with a population of over 40.000 inhabitants. It is a commuter town for Jerusalem and the third-largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank.<br />
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Last week, the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee discussed annexing Ma’ale Adumim to the State of Israel (see also: <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/bennett-vows-to-pursue-maale-adumim-annexation-in-january/">Bennett vows to pursue Ma’ale Adumim annexation this month</a>). Annexation of Ma’ale Adumim would strengthen the occupation of Palestinian lands. Moreover, plans to connect Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem create a barrier between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, and complicate traveling and transport by Palestinians even more.<br />
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My first job as a clinical psychologist was in Ma’ale Adumim. This was 23 years ago, in 1994. Ma’ale Adumim, founded in 1975, received city status in 1991 and at the time was rapidly expanding. The primary health care clinic, in which I worked, was still located in a caravan. I have fond memories of that period, when I was not yet aware of the bothersome aspects surrounding this town.<br />
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For Israeli Jews, Ma’ale Adumim has become a popular and well known town, with only Jewish residents. In contrast, most Israeli Jews would not be able to locate on the map the Palestinian town of Al-Eizariya, despite the fact that it is just near Ma’ale Adumim and larger in population and area. The two are only separated by a roundabout.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">Entrance to Al-Eizariya, September 2016 </span></td></tr>
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Al-Eizariya was founded in the 6th century BCE, and nowadays forms an urban agglomeration, together with the city of Abu Dis and a few villages, like the Bedouin village of Jahalin. This agglomeration is part of the Jerusalem governorate of the Palestinian Authority, and mostly Area B (administered by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority).</div>
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At the entry to Al-Eizariya, there are big red signs stating that entrance is dangerous for Israelis. At the entry to Ma’ale Adumim, there is an Israeli checkpoint; Palestinians without an Israeli permit are not allowed to pass. Both places are kept apart. Moreover, regardless of the fact that they are on walking distance from each other, people live as if unaware of the other town and its inhabitants.<br />
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When Ma’ale Adumim was built, Bedouins used to live on the land and herd their flocks. They were expelled to the village Jahalin, just opposite Ma’ale Adumim, and located near Jerusalem’s waste disposal site. Notwithstanding legal battles, pollution stemming from this site still contaminates air and water, and poses health hazards.<br />
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Abu Dis too is an ancient place, dating back to the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. Among others, the Palestinian Al Quds University is situated here. Abu Dis is adjacent to Jerusalem, but separated by the separation wall. In order to reach Jerusalem by car from Abu Dis, one has to make a detour which could take an hour, instead of a five minute drive before the erection of the wall.<br />
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Ma’ale Adumim is a modern city. Its name means ‘ascent to reds,’ referring to the red rocks in the ascent from the Dead Sea. I show friends who come to visit how it is beautifully built, with broad clean streets and lots of vegetation.</div>
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The tomb of Saint Lazarus of Bethany is located in Al-Eizariya, which means ‘of Lazarus’, in Arabic. The town, which is also called Bethany, is a place of pilgrimage for Christians and thus has a number of churches. Still, most of its inhabitants are Palestinian Muslim, many of them Bedouin, who are served by dozens of mosques. Christians and Muslims live together in harmony.<br />
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In Al-Eizariya, infrastructure is quite limited, sewage is insufficient, and it is only a couple of years ago that the main road was paved, not by Israeli or Palestinian authorities, but by USAID. Unlike in Ma’ale Adumim, life takes place outside and people and cars are all over. It is when driving through a dusty and dirty Al-Eizariya, that Palestinian Arab friends call my name in passing.<br />
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<i><b>Little story</b>: December 31, my Bedouin friend Ahmad and I planned to visit the university in Abu Dis. The university was closed, so we had a hummus with falafel and french fries. While eating, a small cat with striking colors — white with a red tail — put its eyes on Ahmad. Ahmad had been coping with mice in his apartment. A variety of non-lethal measures appeared to be ineffective, but he hadn’t tried a cat. So he took it along in the car.<br />
We drove through Al-Eizariya, and passed the Christmas tree at the central square and a group of heavily armed Israeli soldiers, a little further. We also came across our friend Sami, who invited us for a meal on the occasion of his newborn child. We declined, since we had just eaten and were heading for another place to get me a second hand microwave.<br />
The university was closed, the microwave turned out to be dysfunctional and the New Year’s party in Kfar Adumim, a nearby Jewish settlement, to which we both were invited, was canceled. However, I finished the year in good spirits, and Ahmad with a new cat.<br />
*** Three days later, the mice have disappeared and Sami was arrested by the Israeli army, after a raid on his house, allegedly for his involvement with setting up the Christmas tree.</i></blockquote>
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Things can be different</h3>
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Throughout the years, I have visited many more people in Al-Eizariya than in Ma’ale Adumim. I know where to eat hummus, oriental meat dishes and knafeh (sweet middle eastern cheese pastry). I also have my greengrocer and my butcher, who shake my hand upon meeting and occasionally invite me for coffee. What a different experience with the shopkeepers in my own Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view Al-Eizariya (left) & Ma’ale Adumim (right); Google, 2016</td></tr>
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So, the two places are worlds apart and there is no Ma’ale Eizariya. However, looking on the map, Ma’ale Adumim looks like a large spread out suburb of Al-Eizariya; hence the name.<br />
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I doubt that either discussion on the annexation of Ma’ale Adumim or arrests of Palestinians, peacefully objecting the occupation, like Sami, will bring us a peaceful 2017.<br />
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This post was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/daniel-weishut/">my blog at the Times of Israel</a> .</div>
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Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Al-Eizariya31.765829305289436 35.2798461914062531.738826805289438 35.239505691406251 31.792831805289435 35.320186691406249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-8237696721156974992016-10-02T18:09:00.000+03:002016-10-02T18:09:11.650+03:00Ali Baba and his four daughters<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
My good friend Ali studies for a Masters degree in English translation at the AlQuds University in Abu Dis, a suburb of Jerusalem. At the same time, he makes a living as a building contractor in Israel. He is a bright, ambitious and lovable guy. However, that’s not the whole story<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>…</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>From an early age Ali had to take care of himself, since most of his childhood his father was in an Israeli prison, because of a security offence. Ali felt that for many years he missed direction and is distraught that as a consequence it’s only in his thirties that he was able to finish his B.A.. He is learning to believe in himself, worked day and night as chef in a well-known Israeli restaurant, and taught English (to Arab Palestinian students) and Arabic (to Jewish Israeli students). Recently, he started his own construction company and is now building a yeshiva. He is fluent in Hebrew, has many Jewish friends, and surprises with his knowledge of Judaism and the Torah<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><br />
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Ali married a woman from Al-Eizariya, a Palestinian city located just 2 miles (3.2 km.) from Jerusalem, on the slope of the Mount of Olives. They have two 4.5 year old twin daughters, who were born closeby, in the Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital on the Mount of Olives. Though born in Israel, the girls are stateless<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ali lived all his life in Israel and the logical thing would have been to register the twins as Israeli citizens. However, his attempts to do so became tormentous, because he himself was born in East Jerusalem, and as such did not obtain Israeli citizenship, but ‘only’ permanent residency. (He applied for Israeli citizenship, but in recent years “Israel almost entirely halts citizenship approvals for East Jerusalemites”.) The girls are already at the age for kindergarten and the decision by the Israeli Ministry of Interior on his request to register them is still pending<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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One may ask why he did not register the girls with the Palestinian Authority. Although this is a possibility, they would then have lost any rights in Israel. In contrast, I am a permanent resident of Israel, living in East Jerusalem as well. There would be no problem registering my Jewish, Jerusalem or elsewhere born, children as Israeli citizens<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s get back to the twins. One of the girls suffers from autism, does not speak and is in urgent need of a special school and treatment. The earlier she will receive assistance, the higher the chances for substantial improvement. As a result of her lack of citizenship, she remains at home. Several people and organizations intervened, but the girl does not yet receive proper care<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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For similar reasons, it was impossible until lately to enroll the healthy twin sister in kindergarten. The intervention of these organization facilitated her enrollment, which is a beam of light. Nonetheless, only a private kindergarten that is much more expensive than a state-owned facility was willing to take her<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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The family is stuck</h3>
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These are not the only girls in the family. Ali has two daughters from a previous marriage, who live with them. Unlike the twins, these girls did receive Israeli residency and go to Israeli schools. Occasionally, Ali takes the girls to a playground in Jerusalem, but as a result of the statelessness of the twins he cannot legally take them along with their older sisters<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, also the Israeli residency request for Ali’s wife is pending for years, as a result of a law restricting family reunion. Since she has no residency, she can only visit her family in Israel once in three months, when she gets a temporary entrance permit. Not being able to stay together legally – despite the fact that they are married for several years – puts a high burden on the couple<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Little story: Ali and his family live in a Palestinian neighborhood, in a small apartment, with the four daughters sharing the same room. I much enjoy visiting them. I love the Palestinian cooking of his wife and I practice my Arabic with the daughters. Last time I returned from a visit, there must have been some rioting, since there was a bunch of Israeli soldiers near the house and I was halted in my car. The soldier asked me in broken Arabic how I was doing, and I replied in Hebrew that I’m fine. I guess it was beyond his thought pattern that in this surrounding he would meet a Jew or Israeli, so he continued in Arabic and let me pass<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span></i></blockquote>
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Ali’s family is stuck on both sides of the wall, like many other families in which not all members have Israeli residency. You may ask why then wouldn’t they live all together in the areas on the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority. This is because a Palestinian from East Jerusalem can only keep his residency status as long as he lives in Jerusalem. If they would choose the option of living in a Palestinian administrated area, Ali and his daughters from the first marriage would lose their Israeli residency, and they would not be allowed to return to Israel. This would force Ali to give up his life in Israel, his income, friends and pastimes<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Thus, Israeli bureaucracy and the objection to provide Israeli residency to partners and children of Israeli Arab residents can make the life of many miserable<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ali reminds me of the story of Ali Baba, who remains grateful and positive, notwithstanding all adversities. However, I know that despite his professional success, Ali is deeply sad about his family situation.<br />
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This post was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/daniel-weishut/" style="color: #e69138; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">my blog at the Times of Israel</a> .</div>
Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Jerusalem, Israel31.768319 35.21370999999999231.552388 34.89098649999999 31.984250000000003 35.536433499999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-85771993220725509212016-08-21T07:42:00.000+03:002016-09-23T23:48:41.673+03:00Checkpoint bluffIsraeli army checkpoints are present on all roads around Jerusalem leading to or through the Palestinian Authority. They are the official and regulated holes in the wall separating between “us” and “them.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2016/08/Checkpoint.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjtDrQmumcFR8BHozKRHWTteth87yf-EICEl6oZfSMSecFK8kZEdrxTgNJzikw18_y22raaZsHVJDB80TYs-e2MwBBCUxPpmiZwFgPdrDxWtYdxU1CYmNPf7MTOepeXKzPW7KhC5LWLkKvUTuvVDHqGd1yrBO_JmLk7aZr3p1nbgaU=" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Can it keep out danger? Checkpoint near Jerusalem, Nov. 2015</span></td></tr>
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I have crossed checkpoints hundreds of times; mostly, in order to meet friends at the Palestinian side of the wall. Let me tell you a bit more of what you may not want to know about these checkpoints.</div>
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Checkpoints are staffed by armed Israeli soldiers, backed by security guards. These youngsters, like your daughter, your brother or your neighbor, stand there for many hours in a row, during day and night, in heat and in cold, checking car after car and person after person. They have the impossible task to keep out those who could be a danger to Israel’s security.<br />
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I will leave for another discussion what we consider security, if we include also the security of non-Jewish citizens, if our greatest enemies are truly expected to come through these gates and whether their immense hindrance of the Palestinian population is justified.<br />
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In the direction of areas under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, cars are hardly ever stopped, but in the direction toward Jerusalem things are different, with great disparities between checkpoints. At some checkpoints, private cars are stopped every so often. At others, each car is halted, all passengers are requested to show identity cards, and often the luggage compartment of the car is investigated. When suspicion arises, which happens virtually only when it concerns Palestinians (or foreigners), passengers are delayed and interrogated and also the inside of the car could be searched. Whereas Israeli buses usually drive through without interference, Palestinian buses are stopped and passengers have to get off in order to be checked.<br />
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The time to pass a checkpoint varies substantially. Checkpoints, like the one at Qalandia, have often long queues. Thus, the time it takes by car from Ramallah to Jerusalem, cities that are only 14 km (9 miles) apart, can take up to an hour and a half. The time it takes to pass depends on the part of the day, or whether there was a security alert.<br />
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At larger checkpoints, Palestinian pedestrians are often demanded to line up like cattle in a cage. They are searched and sometimes requested to undress. Smaller checkpoints are merely gates in the wall and open only for short periods of time. However, one cannot be certain of the exact hours of opening. Thus, one may find oneself stuck in front of such a gate, which for whatever reason remained closed at the time it was supposed to be open.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2016/08/Closed-checkpoint.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgJW4QUT2BitWikHNG3t7Y7TM0VACJWHcyppoURenCFhkTChWTx450BRAPRedaKcdsUshwSOBrt3PHAw9dlK3Bbd0AcGE2YTer1m4tCVdvFqCWQLUnTxUoR7P0Ykts-4c7GXEkakoJBRMGQF3wjsH1aUWpeutfA1DZnFS2Z2aZz5esxCVaM9mIc=" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Waiting for a closed gate, near Jerusalem, Nov. 2015</span></td></tr>
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Apart from these ‘permanent’ checkpoints, temporary checkpoints may be established by the Israeli military any moment, and remain for hours, days or weeks in a row.<br />
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Passing through is easy</h2>
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In my plans, I calculate the extra time it may take to drive through a checkpoint, but for me, passing through is simple. I open the window of my car, smile at the soldier in charge and say “Shalom!” Having neither the physical profile of a suspected terrorist, nor an Arab accent in my Hebrew, most soldiers let me move on with a wave of their hand. Sometimes, there is not even a need to slow down.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444;">Little story: Not being aware of the fact that some checkpoints are either for cars or for pedestrians, I once tried to walk through the checkpoint on Road 60 (the ‘tunnel road’), which is for cars only. After attending the wedding of a friend, someone had dropped me off at the checkpoint, since he couldn’t pass with his car with a Palestinian license plate. On the spot, a soldier pointed a gun at me and demanded that I keep distance, until I succeeded to explain – with my arms in the air – that I’m an ‘innocent Jew’ on my way home. On the other side of the checkpoint, I asked for a ride with a passing car. The surprised driver was one of my ultra-orthodox Social Work students, who just came back from his apprenticeship in an Israeli settlement…</span><br />
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Occasionally, a soldier asks where I came from and what I was doing there, referring to the village I just visited. When I respond that I went to see a friend, had my hair cut, or did some shopping in the local supermarket, I’m looked at in disbelief. Some check my sense of reality, verifying if I realized the – by them perceived – danger, I put myself in. Or, they may simply ask: “You have friends there???”. To which I respond affirmative, and add, when I’m in the mood:<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><i>"Where I just came from, there are people as well;<br />regular people, like you and me."</i></span><br />
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Moreover, Palestinian villages, like Al-Zaim, Hizma and the Shuafat refugee camp, albeit with different official standing, are located – at least partly – within the boundaries of the Jerusalem municipality. Therefore, the ‘other’ side of these checkpoints — where I came from — is actually also Jerusalem.<br />
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We like to look at these checkpoints as enhancing ‘our’ security and obviously, they do make it more difficult for those without permit to enter Israel and/or to smuggle tools that could be used for attacks on Jews. But, let us not fool ourselves. Part of this sense of security is psychological, driven by fear and our longing to feel safe. In general, passing cars are not checked thoroughly and even most trucks are not inspected with care. Thus, for those with Israeli citizenship or an entry permit it is rather easy to smuggle into Israel a knife or other small weapon.<br />
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But not for all</h2>
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For those without an entry permit to Israel, entrance is more complicated. Still, they may be able to borrow the Israeli ID of someone else, get a ride from an Israeli friend or taxi driver, or pass the wall in other manners than through a checkpoint. Thus, not a few Palestinian Arabs take the risk to be caught and imprisoned by Israeli security forces.<br />
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It is not so difficult to pass a checkpoint armed and with bad intentions. However, most Palestinians have more mundane things on their minds than killing Jews. They may be on their way to work, for example at an Israeli restaurant or construction company. Possibly, they wanted to visit relatives who live only a few hundred meters away, but on the Israeli side of the wall. Perhaps, they urgently tried to reach the Al-Makassed hospital, on the Mount of Olives, since hospitals in the areas administered by the Palestinian Authority are much further away. Or, they simply wanted to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque.<br />
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<i>Originally published at <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/checkpoint-bluff/">The Times of Israel</a>.</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6qwhHobzPc6_5T0wm6MP1W8gA5GebXv8VDTqsFHveJVX4ze0czPMJCSrTzY_JIVjs_tz5OHmw-_H9eYCNBdi3MZd4IrVmDVm-YQq18rNbnOspKk_JbySoqzOaQdleKcdpu0qNCcCzGPI/s1600/police+violence+2015%252C+activestills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6qwhHobzPc6_5T0wm6MP1W8gA5GebXv8VDTqsFHveJVX4ze0czPMJCSrTzY_JIVjs_tz5OHmw-_H9eYCNBdi3MZd4IrVmDVm-YQq18rNbnOspKk_JbySoqzOaQdleKcdpu0qNCcCzGPI/s400/police+violence+2015%252C+activestills.jpg" title="Police violence in Israel" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Ethiopian protest against police violence. Tel Aviv, May 2015 (Activestills)</span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>One of the comments to this post read:<br />
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"Stop violence ... U r selfish ....<br />
U don't deserve be citizen of this country .<br />
I wonder what was happend if you had 15 years old daughter that being murdered by terrorist."</blockquote>
Later that week, a long-standing and beloved friend of mine wrote me a personal email. She complained that she receives notifications from me - on Facebook - wishing Arab Muslims happy holidays, and asserted that as a Jew my pro-Arab stance is inappropriate.<br />
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It was then that I painfully realized how much misunderstanding and ignorance there is in Israel of the intent of those at the left side of the political spectrum in general, and of human rights defenders, in particular.<br />
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I am a member of various non-governmental organizations to which I feel connected professionally, socially or ideologically. Two of these organizations are despised and considered as anti-Israel, by many Israeli Jews, namely <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/" target="_blank">Amnesty International</a> and the <a href="http://stoptorture.org.il/?lang=en" target="_blank">Public Committee Against Torture in Israel</a>. Some call me naive in being part of these specific organizations and accuse me of ignoring the importance of security for Israel. However, in other parts of the world, human rights organizations like these are seen as upholding democratic and humanitarian values (See: <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.730397" target="_blank">Haaretz, July 12, 2016</a>), the reason for which I joined them, in my attempt to make Israel a better place.<br />
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I did not write in support of terrorism, on my Facebook page. I wrote in order to increase awareness of unsuitable police violence, as occurred in the last year against an Ethiopian youngster, a Bedouin supermarket employee and a female demonstrator against the gas plan, among others. I wished my Muslim friends a happy Ramadan, like I wished my Jewish friends a happy Passover, earlier this year. I see this as a small gesture of solidarity.<br />
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What is loyalty?</h3>
It seems that things are perceived differently than intended. I'm considered a traitor, since my attitude doesn't prove loyalty with the Jewish right-wing majority. Who counts my years as a mental health officer in the Israeli army, taking care of over a thousand soldiers and supervising colleagues? Who cares that in my posts and actions I uphold Jewish values such as 'healing the world' ('tikun olam') and 'welcoming a stranger' (See: <a href="http://www.prri.org/research/jewish-values-in-2012/" target="_blank">Jewish values in 2012</a>). Everything boils down to the perception that I howl with the enemy.<br />
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It is true! Living in Jerusalem, close to the separation wall, I have on the other side a great number of Palestinian friends, with whom I enjoy hanging out and 'even' celebrate my birthdays. Among these are many Palestinian Bedouins. And yes, more than a few of them have come in conflict with Israeli authorities. But, this is not because they wanted to kill Jews or destroy Israel...<br />
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My friend Yasser, the hair dresser, was kept in arrest for several days for carrying a knife that he had just bought for his work. My friend Mohammed, the owner of a petrol station, is for almost two years in administrative detention, because he spoke on the phone with a distant family member, who turned out to be a terrorist suspect. My friend Mahmood, the taxi-driver, was shot in his leg, while waiting at an Israeli checkpoint. These three Palestinian men, from three different villages near Jerusalem, wanted to make a peaceful living, but caught in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they and their families were made to suffer.<br />
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Things to come</h3>
In future posts, I'll elaborate on the stories behind these and other incidents, which touched my heart and mind. I'll share my impressions from personal encounters with Palestinians behind the wall and with the hardships they endure. My hope is that through these stories more understanding will be achieved of how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict looks from a different perspective, through intercultural friendship and in daily Palestinian life.<br />
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The stories will not be balanced. They will show a personal view of the situation at the other side. One may argue that showing one side only is not okay, but I believe it is, since 'our' side is shown over and over again. One can weigh my stories against many others shared on the Israeli side.<br />
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Lastly, perhaps I would have looked at things differently, if my daughter were murdered, as the comment on my Facebook post suggested. However, 'only' two of my clients, a colleague, a friend, and my ex-partner were murdered; all Israeli Jews. In addition, as a psychologist I work for years with family members of fallen soldiers. Therefore, I believe that I know enough to understand - also - the fear and agony at the Israeli side.<br />
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This post was originally published in <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/daniel-weishut/" target="_blank">my blog at the Times of Israel</a>.Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Jerusalem, Israel31.768319 35.21370999999999231.552388 34.89098649999999 31.984250000000003 35.536433499999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-60667589384519991312016-05-26T16:51:00.000+03:002016-06-04T10:47:32.209+03:00Jabal Al Baba - Not ready for evacuation!<b>This tragic story is about the Palestinian Bedouin village Arab Al Rass ("Arabs who came from the village Rass"), located on Jabal Al Baba ("Hill of the Father"). </b><br />
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</span> <span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://bimkom.org/eng/wp-content/uploads/jahalin/jabal%20al-baba.htm" target="_blank">Jabal Al Baba</a> is home to about 40 families, close to 320 people, mostly children, from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jahalin_Bedouin" target="_blank">Jahalin Bedouin tribe</a>. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The village is built of huts made of aluminum and wood, though in the last years the European Union has provided basic housing structures. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Living conditions are poor.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Villagers live primarily from their flock of animals. The </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">separation barrier </a><span style="text-align: justify;">hampers their life severely, but since it is not yet closed, they still have ways to go around. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgHcOiAWlLKqq7Nvb_1cq8Ksx2kFFYV7WUoABvUe-oBODKxNS_n9iBBQ7x2s2p3dOiFSpEccE5PXmBcPHxkbuyc-NVm_Jw7f-lTUFmpRr9HX2pHuWGgMOrC-hFa4OQP09yM497lB0IGSj/s1600/Jabal+AlBaba+invitation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgHcOiAWlLKqq7Nvb_1cq8Ksx2kFFYV7WUoABvUe-oBODKxNS_n9iBBQ7x2s2p3dOiFSpEccE5PXmBcPHxkbuyc-NVm_Jw7f-lTUFmpRr9HX2pHuWGgMOrC-hFa4OQP09yM497lB0IGSj/s400/Jabal+AlBaba+invitation.JPG" width="285" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jabal Al Baba can be found between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem" target="_blank">Jerusalem </a>and the Israeli settlement <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27ale_Adumim" target="_blank">Ma’ale Adumim</a>, adjacent to the Palestinian town <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Eizariya" target="_blank">Al-Eizariya</a>. It is the highest hill in this area and has a beautiful view on its surroundings. The village on top, Arab Al Rass, was established by the Jahalin Bedouins, after their expulsion </span>from Tel Arad, in the south of Israel, in 1952.<br />
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Jabal Al Baba is one of the places - in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E1_(Jerusalem)" target="_blank">an area named E1</a> - that is planned to be evacuated by Israeli authorities in order to connect Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim through the building of housing units and industry. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Already in previous years and lately once more, villagers received requests from Israeli authorities to leave their homes. However, they have not done so, since they live on the Jabal for almost sixty years and without being offered a viable alternative housing plan, they have nowhere else to go.</span></div>
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Recently, through collaboration of a range of organizations, including the British Council and Birzeit University, a group of artists from different countries in Europe (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, Norway) came to Jabal Al Baba. Together with some local people, they lived on the hill for ten days and learned about the life and customs of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jahalin_Bedouin" target="_blank">Jahalin Bedouins</a>. As a matter of fact, they lived on the "Pope's Hill", a small property, belonging to the Vatican, on top of Jabal Al Baba.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGaB8VmD5wlGY4d4YMpPD8pMPfcakI8Zen-nRGq7Jj9XWXuWH38mqcvwtbNbSdDKzh5_7Zs7ymwp6Xhe9kS0cGog5gLz5lnH9imgWzvGksk2dehUrEwHdtsVQ6KL9Mbziam9mn_FZ9nhH/s1600/20160517_114713A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGaB8VmD5wlGY4d4YMpPD8pMPfcakI8Zen-nRGq7Jj9XWXuWH38mqcvwtbNbSdDKzh5_7Zs7ymwp6Xhe9kS0cGog5gLz5lnH9imgWzvGksk2dehUrEwHdtsVQ6KL9Mbziam9mn_FZ9nhH/s320/20160517_114713A.jpg" width="320" /></a>At the end of their stay, the artists put up a performance, which included visual arts, puppetry, storytelling, dancing and singing. Old and young came to watch and listen, with on one side the Palestinian women and their many children, in the middle the Palestinian men, and on the other side representatives of international organizations. It was amazing to see how these foreign artists performed the tale of <a href="http://bimkom.org/eng/wp-content/uploads/jahalin/jabal%20al-baba.htm" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Jabal Al Baba</a>. They told the history of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jahalin_Bedouin" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Jahalin Bedouin tribe</a>. They showed the harsh daily life of the women, envisioned by a giant Bedouin mother. One of the actors shared - in a most funny way - how she actually had managed to milk a goat. There were cotton wool sheep, and the struggle against the Israeli occupation was symbolized through a monster.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIBW221wKgj6v59j1Sl_077RkBtfYHo5F_DYGItO6Xy6tDGGFtwPvHrqeYOs2vcCLsp7M1PUeAYggPSzRrZf-ay5jfrsX_cQNyTD5Jik5nZuhlGtOE-K68UQ5JULGlJX1vy0qtmeAgcX8/s1600/20160517_114700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIBW221wKgj6v59j1Sl_077RkBtfYHo5F_DYGItO6Xy6tDGGFtwPvHrqeYOs2vcCLsp7M1PUeAYggPSzRrZf-ay5jfrsX_cQNyTD5Jik5nZuhlGtOE-K68UQ5JULGlJX1vy0qtmeAgcX8/s400/20160517_114700.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.709704" target="_blank">During the years, the villagers have made attempts in Israeli courts to prevent evacuation</a>, but without success. Since they themselves do not have Israeli entry permits, they cannot attend the court hearings. As part of the performance, a British lawyer invited some of the spectators to tell their story, as if they were in an Israeli court.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzkmwCsJvGAHJYQeQMXtIoy05PLyYmQjex-0AAZ7pxMtb5XN0ao3o1RV8UK7SxEz9Ww5TYYAC1tjdvYJxKa6oKPQcxxv9ns-pLQH1h8YKUnQO2dxiuR-sPKSzccYaDicR2YvOxYpKhZN9/s1600/20160517_115715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzkmwCsJvGAHJYQeQMXtIoy05PLyYmQjex-0AAZ7pxMtb5XN0ao3o1RV8UK7SxEz9Ww5TYYAC1tjdvYJxKa6oKPQcxxv9ns-pLQH1h8YKUnQO2dxiuR-sPKSzccYaDicR2YvOxYpKhZN9/s400/20160517_115715.jpg" width="335" /></a>In fact, <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-demolishes-two-EU-funded-illegal-Palestinian-structures-442453" target="_blank">two houses funded by the European Union were demolished</a> recently. Moreover, on the day before the performance, <a href="http://www.caabu.org/news/news/british-parliamentarians-dismayed-israels-demolitions-palestinian-homes-jabal-al-baba" target="_blank">Israeli authorities demolished 12 houses</a>, leaving many without shelter. This was traumatic not just for the villagers, but for the visitors as well. As the Dutch/Italian actress said: "Yesterday was my worst day, and today - standing in front of you - is my best day here".<br />
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The United Nations immediately called "on Israeli authorities to <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-coordinator-calls-israeli-authorities-stop-destruction-humanitarian-aid-and" target="_blank">stop destruction of humanitarian aid and respect international law</a>".<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155019068913561.1073741826.339398983560&type=1&l=ef77796d07" target="_blank">For more pictures, click here.</a></b><br />
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<b>For video, click below.</b><br />
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Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Jabal Al Baba31.774731684993426 35.278558731079131.767982184993425 35.268473731079105 31.781481184993428 35.2886437310791tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-76345112387699955092016-05-19T14:15:00.000+03:002016-05-20T15:31:13.919+03:00Jailed without offense<b>I was shocked to learn that Muhammad's life had changed from one moment to the other...</b><br />
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Muhammad is a Palestinian Bedouin from Al-Zaim, 52 years old, with two wives, who have a bunch of children each. He is a quiet and peaceful person, trying to make his living from a simple petrol station. Most of the day he sits at the station and drinks coffee and tea with friends. Unfortunately, in recent years he suffers from health problems and he had to go through surgery several times. Though as a Palestinian he suffers badly from the occupation, he keeps away from politics or anti-Israeli activity, at least as far as I can see. Muhammad and I are friends for over eight years. We live only about 3 km. (2 miles) apart. I visited him many times; at the petrol station, in his home, and in the hospital. He, like many of my Palestinian friends, cannot visit me, since he has no entry permit to Israel.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>One late night in March 2015, there were knocks on his door, soldiers entered the home where the family was deep asleep, and he was taken into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_detention#Israel" target="_blank">administrative detention</a>. No explanation; he just disappeared behind bars...<br />
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Administrative detention</h3>
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By now Muhammad is in jail for over a year and there is not much one can do about this, since he is not accused of anything. Think about it... He is imprisoned while there is not any evidence that he committed an offense. The sole reason for his detention is that the authorities fear he might take some terrorist action, which they want to prevent. The information submitted to the judge is classified and not even accessible to his lawyer, which is the usual procedure in such cases. Administrative detention can be extended each time for up to half a year, and there is no limit to the number of times it can be prolonged.<br />
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Let me explain: <i>"Administrative detention is implemented solely on the basis of an administrative order, without either indictment or trial. Under certain circumstances, this type of detention may be lawful. However, due to the substantial injury to due process inherent in this measure, international law stipulates that it may be exercised only in very exceptional cases – and then only as a last possible resort, when there are no other means available to prevent the danger. Nevertheless, Israeli authorities routinely employ administrative detention. Over the years, thousands of Palestinians have been held in Israeli custody as administrative detainees for extended periods of time."</i> (<a href="http://www.btselem.org/topic/administrative_detention" target="_blank">Administrative detention, B'tselem</a>)<br />
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There are only few countries that practice <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_detention#Instances_of_administrative_detention" target="_blank">administrative detention</a>, Administrative detention is criticized severely by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_detention#Criticism_by_human_rights_groups" target="_blank">human organizations</a>, such as <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Amnesty-International-slams-IDFs-administrative-detention-policies-448065" target="_blank">Amnesty International</a>, since it is in breach with international law.<br />
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Muhammad is occasionally in the opportunity to call me from the jail. In the last call he informed me that, despite his expectations, his detention was prolonged for another four months. He asked if there's anything I could do about it. I had written a letter on his behalf in the past, which didn't make a difference, and I didn't believe there's anything more I could do. However, I contacted his lawyer. The lawyer suggested that he'll try to get me heard when Muhammad's case will be brought before a judge in order to ratify the extra four months.<br />
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The court was a <a href="http://nolegalfrontiers.org/general-information/11-the-military-courts?lang=en" target="_blank">military court</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofer_Prison" target="_blank">Ofer prison</a>, and the case would be handled a few days later, behind closed doors. Chances that I would be allowed into the army base were slim. Chances that I'd be accepted into the courtroom and heard were even slimmer. Chances that whatever I said would make any impact versus some secret security report were close to nihil. With my professional and national background, a psychologist with Israeli license, I was the only one - except for his lawyer - in a position to possibly have any impact. Therefore, I decided to try against the odds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpR4E-95SBggoz5XuHtxAyoZEU5zQCvSv6ER5tZ5EsHjWPp6dF3cxirBgKGDaIdFv0ciGTx1UcLu5Pq5kVapgWOV-aaBBQkG1uB-JhpqHPZ2aHaz9cSCgxdCLrOduIQ_WGbtSmIrbOyJj5/s1600/ofer+prison.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpR4E-95SBggoz5XuHtxAyoZEU5zQCvSv6ER5tZ5EsHjWPp6dF3cxirBgKGDaIdFv0ciGTx1UcLu5Pq5kVapgWOV-aaBBQkG1uB-JhpqHPZ2aHaz9cSCgxdCLrOduIQ_WGbtSmIrbOyJj5/s640/ofer+prison.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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The trial</h3>
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Sunday morning I went to the <a href="http://nolegalfrontiers.org/general-information/11-the-military-courts?lang=en" target="_blank">military court</a>. During the weekend I had wondered whether I'll succeed to get in or not, and asked myself what I could possibly say to have any impact. I prepared a file and dressed up in my most officially looking clothes. I had only told Muhammad's brother, Ahmad, that I'll try to get into court, and asked not to tell Muhammad, in order not to raise expectations.<br />
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I came to the entrance of the army base and with the help of the lawyer I was allowed in. I could bring with me only some paperwork; no phone, no wallet or anything else. This part went more smoothly than expected. It is customary to have a body search and, if needed, take off parts of one's clothing to check, similar to strict airport security, but this time I simply passed the metal detector and was free to enter the waiting space of the court.<br />
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The question was whether the judge would let me into the courtroom; something that would be doubtful since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_detention#Israel" target="_blank">administrative detention</a> cases are dealt with behind closed doors. I waited for over two enervating hours, which is worth a story by itself. Suddenly, the lawyer called me into the caravan, which functioned as a courtroom... There was Muhammad, my friend, sitting with his feet shackled. Next to him another prisoner. Apart from them, only the judge, a couple of lawyers and some prison staff were present.<br />
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Giving testimony</h3>
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Muhammad and I were happy to meet, but we were not allowed to talk. The lawyer introduced me to the judge, dressed in army uniform, and the prosecutor, an army officer as well, objected immediately. She explained that it is unheard of that I'd be allowed to testify in such a case, and she quoted the law on this issue. In the meantime, the interpreter, a young soldier, who had translated the first few lines for Muhammad, was now playing with his cell-phone. No one seemed to care, but when I asked him to get back to his job, so that my friend would understand, he did so. (I had to repeat my request several times during the hearing.) My heart sank and I was ready to get up and leave. However, the judge overruled the objection, and stated that if the prosecution can bring in army/security witnesses, the defense should be allowed as well to bring in a witness.<br />
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The lawyer hadn't prepared me for what was to come. I was asked to speak freely, but didn't know what would be best to say in these circumstances. The tension was high. There was some discussion whether my statement would be character evidence or an expert opinion. The prosecutor objected to the latter, so it became the first and the judge asked me not to use any professional terms. (When I used a psychological term anyway, the prosecutor objected and I was warned.) I spoke about our friendship, about Muhammad's calm personality and about his family and health issues. The lawyer claimed that the fact that Muhammad has a Jewish friend shows how unlikely it is that he is a terrorist. He added that he himself doesn't even have Jewish friends. Then, I learned that Muhammad was arrested only because he had had telephone contact with a distant family member in Gaza who had something to do with guns. Muhammad tried to explain to the judge that the fact that he had spoken with this person, doesn't mean that he has anything against Israel.<br />
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The judge went for a lunch break, and didn't return. We were informed that he will write his decision only next week. Although the judge made a proper impression, it is unlikely that my friend will be freed. At the same time, the fact that I was heard in such a case is a precedent, and could possibly be helpful in other cases.<br />
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To be continued...<br />
<br />Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Ofer prison31.872309731797845 35.17944574356079131.870624231797844 35.176924243560791 31.873995231797846 35.181967243560791tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-19728413919287789472016-05-11T08:00:00.000+03:002016-05-12T12:10:36.993+03:00Hizma - Example of oppression<b><br />
The Palestinian village <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a>, where I have several friends, is the location of many of the events in my posts. Though yesterday there was a bomb attack at its entrance in which an Israeli army officer was seriously wounded, it's mostly a quiet village. </b><br />
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</b> On this Day of Remembrance, I want to tell you a bit more about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a>; a village suffering badly from the occupation. With the imposed hardships, it is not surprising that anti-Israeli sentiment is on the rise, in this village like in many others.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Hizma is geographically adjacent to the Jerusalem neighborhood <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisgat_Ze%27ev" target="_blank">Pisgat Ze'ev</a>, a Jewish Israeli settlement. The two places are separated by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier" target="_blank">wall</a>, which has a passage with a checkpoint. The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, though at some hours there is substantial waiting. Israelis can pass freely in both directions, but only Palestinians with permits can enter Israel. Hizma is situated on the main road between the Palestinian towns <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah" target="_blank">Ramallah</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Eizariya" target="_blank">Al-Eizariya</a>. At certain hours in the day, queues at the checkpoint obstruct the stream of cars at the Palestinian side of the wall, so that also those who are passing by and do not want to cross the wall need to wait in line.<br />
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The history of Hizma dates back to biblical times. In the last population count, from 2007, it had 5650 residents, but by now it probably has many more. In 2010, there was an unemployment rate of 30%, but likely higher by now. (For more factual info, see <a href="http://vprofile.arij.org/jerusalem/pdfs/vprofile/Hizma_EN.pdf" target="_blank">Hizma village profile</a>.) Hizma has suffered over the years from the Israeli occupation, through closure by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier" target="_blank">wall</a> and confiscation of lands, but there are more ways of oppression. Many of its small shops and garages, oriented toward Israeli customers and Palestinians passing through.<br />
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No entrance to the village</h3>
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As I explained in the <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2016/04/gone-with-phone.html" target="_blank">story about the theft of my phone</a>, the West Bank is split into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank_Areas_in_the_Oslo_II_Accord" target="_blank">administrative divisions</a>. Hizma has a village council appointed by the Palestinian National Authority. However, most of Hizma is considered Area C, which is under Israeli army jurisdiction and only a small part is Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control. Moreover, a part close to the main road, including several businesses, was confiscated and now belongs to the Jerusalem municipality. Consequently, it is highly confusing to whom to turn for which issue. In addition, administrative processes are not transparent and may take years. Thus, businesses that have tried to get official permits, often fail. What happens then is that that businesses don't even try to get legalized and from time to time one Israeli authority or another comes and closes, or sometimes destroys, a business, or confiscates merchandise or machinery. This is also what happened more than once to the "Bedouin Garage", previously called the "Garage of Peace", and to neighboring shops, that take months to recuperate from such setbacks. Consult with a lawyer did not help in finding a better solution to this situation.<br />
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In the last year, the socio-economic situation is getting worse. Life in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a> is hindered severely, because of Israeli roadblocks on both sides of the village, which prevent people from entering, unless they live there. So, if you come to work, do errands, or visit, you're not allowed to enter. In some cases roadblocks were put after some youngster threw a stone toward a car at the outskirts of the village, as a way to express frustration with the occupation. However, in most cases there is no clear reason for cutting off the village from the rest of the world. One doesn't know in advance when the soldiers or police will appear, nor when they will disappear. Roadblocks are there for many hours, sometimes the whole day and sometimes for several days in a row. They are guarded by armed police and/or soldiers, who can be seen from far and thus oppression is felt consistently. Not surprisingly, anti-Israeli sentiment is on the rise.<br />
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<h3>
Out of work!</h3>
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As a result of the roadblocks, many of the small businesses in Hizma have lack of income. Businesses have immense hardships to keep things going and not all survive. This is extremely difficult, since anyway a large proportion of villagers is out of work and those who do have work find themselves responsible for feeding - often large - families.<br />
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The "Bedouin Garage", on the main road of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a>, relatively flourished just a few years ago. It had ten workers, who made a modest living for their families. Now, it lost much of its clientele and has three employees left, who part of their time are forced out of work, sit in front of the garage and drink coffee, or simply go home because there is nothing to do. Some of the workers live far away, so even if the roadblocks are lifted shortly after they went home, it may take them hours to get back to the garage. The next door restaurant, <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2015/07/ramadan-kareem.html" target="_blank">see my story "Ramadan Kareem"</a> on its opening, did not survive this situation and closed shortly after its start, since potential clientele couldn't enter the village. At least, it wasn't destroyed by Israeli authorities, like the car wash on the other side of the road.<br />
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For years, the main street of Hizma needed repair, because of large bumps and holes in its surface, which made driving dangerous. The only point of light in the village is that the Palestinian Authority just asphalted the street and provided it with a sewage system.<br />
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<b>Check out more of my stories on <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.co.il/search/label/Hizma" target="_blank">events that happened in Hizma - click here</a>.</b>Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Hizma31.836461 35.2632310000000194.8663095 -6.0453629999999805 58.8066125 76.571825000000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-622593874572454902016-04-30T19:48:00.000+03:002016-05-15T10:08:25.901+03:00Gone with the phone...<b>A few months passed since my last post. It's not that I didn't have anything to write; things were too delicate to share. However, here I have a story I can tell you...</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5ulLUKPNAp4dCvPMSJMPEuBUcGF93KUjztCJWs9GUUA8dgZOD0i9yZOdVL9v373qkM5Ltzji_FviSHwRs9r39tVUMlBQIOMG1e9V44_a_VaYW1g9ciZ-5d6edcg0OJo0zHWitBnpQdQS/s1600/20160428_150759.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5ulLUKPNAp4dCvPMSJMPEuBUcGF93KUjztCJWs9GUUA8dgZOD0i9yZOdVL9v373qkM5Ltzji_FviSHwRs9r39tVUMlBQIOMG1e9V44_a_VaYW1g9ciZ-5d6edcg0OJo0zHWitBnpQdQS/s200/20160428_150759.jpg" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 5px 10px 0px 0px;" /></a><br />
My car was in the "Bedouin Garage" - this time not since it needed repair, but because I came to fetch something from Ali, the garage manager. He hadn't arrived yet and in the meantime I went to buy some vegetables next door. For some reason, I left the car open; something I usually don't do, but the car was at the entrance of the garage, surrounded by people I knew and I considered it pretty safe. On exit of the greengrocery - just minutes later - I saw a small crowd near my car. I hadn't even realized that I left my telephone inside; now it was gone. I couldn't believe it. Someone stole my phone from within the garage.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
Who took it?</h3>
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My hope was on the security cameras... I rushed off to teach a class, and when I came back at night, Ali showed me the films. One could see how some youngster walked in, opened the door of my car and was gone with the phone within a moment. Although it was difficult to recognize the thief, one could clearly see Ali's 14 year old son only a couple of meters away from the thief. I was furious that no one intervened. Then Ali said he is happy that his son didn't do anything, because he could have been knifed, which made me reconsider my previous thinking. Ali added that no one knows the thief, but even if they would have known, they wouldn't tell me, because the villagers protect each other, and those workers not living in the village, wouldn't want to be involved. Moreover, I learned that my phone was only one out of several phones stolen in this main street in recent times, mostly from Jews. I estimated that I better take the loss and forget about this incident. The following morning I bought a new phone. <br />
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I informed my friend Ahmad of the story, who told me to wait and see... The next time we met, it became clear that as a local, he was able to find out more. He introduced me to someone with the words "this is the brother of the thief" and we're going to handle this in the Bedouin way. The brother already had seen the film and recognized his sibling, and we were off to their family, close by. The father of the alleged thief wasn't at home, but the mother immediately invited us into the guest room. The room, in contrast to my expectation, showed that the family was relatively well-to-do. There, the brother shouted at the thief, who shouted back. Things were more complicated since the thief already had sold the phone and spent the money. The mother was very hospitable and kind, bringing in more and more delicious salads. Ahmad did most of the talking, raising my esteem in their eyes, to such an extent that before I left the mother kissed me and the brother promised they would take care of the situation within a few hours. I felt ambivalent, both honored and uncomfortable, but they probably acted in the wisest way; Ahmad in increasing the chances of getting back the phone and the family in minimizing any negative action from my side. Some cups of coffee, a few hours and many phone calls later, not much happened; and also after a week neither phone nor money were returned.<br />
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<h3>
Will the police get it back?</h3>
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The first plan didn't work; so Ahmad suggested a different course: we go to the police. In Bedouin life legal issues are settled within the families and it is undone to go to the national authorities. However, he thought that since I'm a foreigner, going to the police would be more effective. The question remained which police. The West Bank is divided into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank_Areas_in_the_Oslo_II_Accord" target="_blank">administrative divisions</a>. Part of the village <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a>, though behind the wall, is confiscated and therefore under Jerusalem civilian rule. Part of the village is considered Area C, which is under Israeli army jurisdiction. A small part is Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control. I was pretty sure that neither of the two Israeli systems would do much to get my phone back. The third option, going to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Civil_Police_Force" target="_blank">Palestinian civil police</a>, is not done by Israelis, who would consider this too dangerous. <br />
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Since I actually am a foreigner and regarded this as the only option that could possibly work out well, we went to the Palestinian police. At the police station things went smooth and swift. We were addressed immediately by the head of the Criminal Investigations Department. After Ahmad convinced him of the importance of the case, I filed a complaint. We gave details of the phone and the name of the thief. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfONhyphenhyphenl2BeK8ks9wzfYuQhvzoy67-5R7uYAVGOJA6vXcxBiNut9zaqcVUx-WTHMKCg-TfMGgUCEmW3UcYWQadVE9R0BNuQVHUU5vtn6dWixIHwv7rooODaPf4SMdcj_0AmArlTKG12ljrt/s1600/20160428_150805.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfONhyphenhyphenl2BeK8ks9wzfYuQhvzoy67-5R7uYAVGOJA6vXcxBiNut9zaqcVUx-WTHMKCg-TfMGgUCEmW3UcYWQadVE9R0BNuQVHUU5vtn6dWixIHwv7rooODaPf4SMdcj_0AmArlTKG12ljrt/s400/20160428_150805.jpg" /></a><br />
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<h3>
What a surprise!</h3>
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A few days later, the garage was searched by a horde of Palestinian policemen. Unclear what exactly had happened, but probably someone didn't like my actions - that were backed by the garage - and therefore complained about something against the garage. The story made news in the village street - this being the first time someone had dared involving the police - and several of the neighboring shop owners gave their support. <br />
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Weeks passed and just as I had given up on police action in my favor, I received a call inviting me to come back to the station. The next day I obtained my phone. It was a highly pleasant surprise, not just the return of the telephone, but also the attitude of all policemen involved, which was more kind, fast and efficient than I received in any other police station I had been in.<br />
<br />Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com4Hizma31.836461 35.2632310000000194.8663095 -6.0453629999999805 58.8066125 76.571825000000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-73379868330553205452015-11-15T09:05:00.000+02:002016-05-13T09:44:25.895+03:00An old Palestinian lady<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkh44qVZRTbx5C_XcbSLz2CCbLzZpK2GHZVCkSpi44ZEmmdjWbGZFLQRz5KqufLmIqNP6Dvvikrulu_j1D0diMQuuN7mJve6qjD0A7k3hXIGB83hVm43ogwvZCo-Oi9CJnkI3q-I6GR8yr/s1600/20150316_112910.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkh44qVZRTbx5C_XcbSLz2CCbLzZpK2GHZVCkSpi44ZEmmdjWbGZFLQRz5KqufLmIqNP6Dvvikrulu_j1D0diMQuuN7mJve6qjD0A7k3hXIGB83hVm43ogwvZCo-Oi9CJnkI3q-I6GR8yr/s400/20150316_112910.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>This wasn't behind the wall - the old Palestinian lady was walking in front of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_Gate" target="_blank">Damascus Gate</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem" target="_blank">Jerusalem</a>, while Ahmad and I were having coffee. Ahmad spotted her from far in the crowd, because she looked tiny and ancient, somewhat bent, leaning on a broken stick. What struck me most at that point was her beautifully embroidered dress.</b><br />
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<a name='more'></a>When passing our table, she stopped for a moment, as if somehow she had felt that we had expressed interest in her. She didn't beg for anything, but looked so sad! I contemplated giving her some money, but asked Ahmad first. I still find it hard to figure out in which situations money is accepted readily, and when it is considered an insult. He thought it was appropriate and she was eager to take the money. Then, Ahmad offered her a chair at our table. I don't know in which culture this is the norm, but where I come from, one doesn't offer a person who looks homeless to join your table in a restaurant. I would never have done it, but I love this form of hospitality toward a complete stranger, who looks as bewildered as she did.<br />
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Ahmad addressed her as "hajje". (For a man, this would have been "hajj".) "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj" target="_blank">Hajj</a>" is a form of address reserved for people who made the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj" target="_blank">pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)</a>, but used also in respect for the elderly. Note: One has to be careful in the use of this term, since not everyone enjoys being considered old. He asked where she came from and what brought her to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem" target="_blank">Jerusalem</a>. Hajje told him that she lives with her daughter near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah" target="_blank">Ramallah</a>, but her son in law doesn't treat her well, so most of the time she stays elsewhere.<br />
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Ahmad called out to another friend who happened to pass by, and he joined our table as well. We considered that hajje is probably hungry, and asked the friend to fetch her something to eat from the restaurant. The friend came back with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falafel" target="_blank">falafel</a>. I asked how much it was, but this time my offer to pay turned out inappropriate. He looked surprised and responded that it was on the house. <br />
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At some point, hajje said that she would love to find some clothing for the night and started to cry. I thought by myself that clothing may not be the most urgent thing she needs, but Ahmad referred her to a nearby shop. She stayed at the table.<br />
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We had to go, all of us in different directions, and we left hajje behind. I wonder if we could have done more and am still curious whether she went to the shop or not.Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com2Jerusalem31.768319 35.21370999999999231.552388 34.89098649999999 31.984250000000003 35.536433499999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-20868477516347567322015-11-01T07:21:00.000+02:002016-05-09T10:54:18.748+03:00Balloons over Palestine<b>It's my birthday and I had planned to go out and have dinner with my friends, Yasser, Ali & Ahmad, in "our" restaurant in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a>. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJmRvZMh_Ae3wi3jQVovLQ3MNWW65nD5Puk_Ill9vYfefEPCdnzF7vEnhieXCTIP5cYV9yshhApJ_fjrnAUfzNSwfQv0a-7Pt0lgAdqPg5jNldHdj5JIfNX4TF5H4BAQ8NWWuXy7jNN6w/s1600/20151027_213045.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJmRvZMh_Ae3wi3jQVovLQ3MNWW65nD5Puk_Ill9vYfefEPCdnzF7vEnhieXCTIP5cYV9yshhApJ_fjrnAUfzNSwfQv0a-7Pt0lgAdqPg5jNldHdj5JIfNX4TF5H4BAQ8NWWuXy7jNN6w/s400/20151027_213045.jpg" /></a><br />
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Planning meant that in the early afternoon Ahmad and I had checked with the restaurant that we'll have food and cake this same night. In the present political climate, the only Jewish friend I had dared telling my plan, made me promise to send her a message after returning home safely.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>On my way to the restaurant, through the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuafat" target="_blank">refugee camp Shuafat</a>, with Yasser and Ali in the car, Ahmad called to tell that he found the place closed, which came as quite a surprise. But no worry, he said he'd handle the situation (whatever that could mean). When twenty minutes later we arrived, the restaurant was open again.<br />
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Yasser's bearded look resembles a member of ISIS, but he is actually a peace-loving person and my hairdresser. Yasser suggested that we go to the town <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27Anata" target="_blank">Anata </a>and fetch his brother. I didn't feel so secure going there at night, and asked Ali to join as well. This prompted Yasser to ask what happened that I fear being with him, when just a few days ago I had suggested that we'd go swimming together. <br />
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Waiting in the dark night, we see a couple of children playing soccer. One of them accidentally kicks the ball in the direction of a group of goats, inhabiting the ground floor of one of the buildings. The goats jump up. We hear the sound of a helicopter over us. It's the same sound as the one I hear lately from my home and clinic (in a direct line only 3 km/2 mi away). There, the alarming sound distracts both me and my clients. Here, it's Ali who says exactly what I thought: "they may throw a bomb on us". This is quite unlikely, but I do realize that my two body-builder-type friends will not be able to save me in case a bomb did drop.<br />
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Back at the restaurant the situation is most surrealistic: a bunch of Palestinian men blowing balloons, singing and dancing for their Israeli/Dutch friend. I turned 52, but it feels like 12. English birthday songs are played through the radio of one of the cars. A big cake comes in, with on top my name, candles and some kind of colorful instrument turning around and making music. They want to make pictures of me, standing there with a big knife, before cutting the cake.<br />
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The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebab" target="_blank">kebab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shashlik" target="_blank">shashlik</a> are delicious. More people join us, workers at closeby shops; by now we are about 15. Some I know better; others I never saw before. One suggests to offer food to the Israeli soldiers, who block the road to the entrance of the village, just a few meters away... I find it difficult to understand which remarks are meant as jokes and which are serious. Anyway, we are all tired and hungry.<br />
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Safely at home, I remember to send my Jewish friend a message. What a great party!Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Hizma31.836461 35.2632310000000194.8663095 -6.0453629999999805 58.8066125 76.571825000000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-43375796324534492742015-10-23T10:00:00.000+03:002016-05-15T07:55:55.795+03:00Relaxing, in the arms of the police<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6S58ty1Y-B8" width="560"></iframe><br />
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"Isn't it lovely? isn't it wonderful?" For long I had pressed Ahmad to do something nice together and after a very tough week for both of us, he surprised me and suggested to go and sit on a mountain.<br />
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I thought this was a great idea. There are few places of leisure where we can both go freely, and Ahmad knows how much I favor mountains. Most of the mountains in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaean_Desert" target="_blank">Judean desert</a> have hardly any vegetation, but Ahmad took us to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bab_al-Shams" target="_blank">Bab AlShams</a> ("the Gate to the Sun). Somehow this mountain catches more rain than others and has lots of trees, perhaps because it is the highest in the area.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bab_al-Shams" target="_blank">Bab AlShams</a> is situated between Al-Za'im and Ma'ale Adumim. It came in the news when in January 2013 a few hundred Palestinians put 25 tents next to it out of protest against immense Israeli building plans in this area (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E1_(Jerusalem)" target="_blank">area E1</a>). They were evacuated by Israeli authorities after a couple of days.<br />
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We drove to the top, through a steep unpaved a road, where one has a beautiful view of the surroundings in all directions. Even the fact that the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim takes part of the view cannot damage the magnificence. We sat for an hour or so in the shade, talking things over and trying to relax. This was important for both of us; again too much tension had accumulated. I was satisfied and even smiled.<br />
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However, the road down was more frightening than the way up. A police car blocked our way and two armed officers stepped out. We were requested to leave the car and separated. My ID card was taken and then each of us was interrogated. "What were we doing there? Where were we going? Didn't I know this was an area closed by the army and that it was forbidden to be there?" My response that we had been sitting on top of the mountain and looked at the view, and that now we are going home, did not make much impression. They checked our details in the computer and told us that they'll take us to court. <br />
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They then inspected the car from top to bottom, probably for drugs or a weapon or so, and afterwards showed me a legal document explaining this is a closed area. I was scared to death that the next step would be to take out the handcuffs, so I didn't really concentrate on the paper. What I guess is that the area was acclaimed a military zone after the anti-occupation event mentioned before, and perhaps because it is relatively high, overseeing many places. However, it is just a bare mountain.<br />
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During the twenty or so minutes, which felt like ages, each of us used his charms. I apologized, told them I had no idea I did something wrong and gave them my card. Eventually, they said that we were free to go - this time...<br />
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Although this was a relief, it took me days to relax. What started as an attempt to free ourselves somewhat from sorrow, ended... What can I say? As Ahmad said, "they really don't want us to enjoy life".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QBvhc4At2jodpR6L5bLLPTF5YiH_G7Q-W3GMjJkYDzEmIcfWruYkAwBV8z5rj_9gGQiF8Mx6rql49livcz9f-YiHB-eyYvQTFCTr_cK5YWRc-2O602sCcauL6RPA79NnfNsiFiVtyyNf/s1600/bab+alshams+tea.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QBvhc4At2jodpR6L5bLLPTF5YiH_G7Q-W3GMjJkYDzEmIcfWruYkAwBV8z5rj_9gGQiF8Mx6rql49livcz9f-YiHB-eyYvQTFCTr_cK5YWRc-2O602sCcauL6RPA79NnfNsiFiVtyyNf/s320/bab+alshams+tea.JPG" /></a>Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com1Bab AlShams31.791439576162617 35.281133651733431.784691076162616 35.2710486517334 31.798188076162617 35.291218651733395tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-3369618324923290572015-10-16T10:21:00.004+03:002016-05-09T10:58:04.456+03:00Still Tense?<b>A friend and colleague asked why I used the phrase "<i>still </i>tense" when referring to the situation in Jerusalem, mentioning that she doesn't see an indication of improvement. Another friend told me that "tense" is an understatement, adding that the situation is "crazy".</b> <br />
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They are both right. Although I have a couple of other posts ready to be published, I felt I cannot simply pass by the present political state without addressing it directly. This crazy state, though not called "war", certainly feels like war. Moreover, there is no real sign of improvement. <br />
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The occupation continues to take its heavy toll. I cannot put it strong enough: <b>Though on the Palestinian side, aggression is essentially the consequence of oppression; on the Israeli/Jewish side, aggression is fueled by fear (and not by reason)!</b><br />
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<a name='more'></a>One oppressive measure follows the other in order to restore a <i>feeling </i>of security. In Jerusalem, police and army are everywhere visible. The number of checkpoints is increasing, but mostly near the entrance of Arab neighborhoods. Living on the Israeli/Jewish side, my life is not severely disrupted. However, my clients and I have a hard time concentrating because of the helicopters and shooting one can hear from my place, and I do think twice before leaving home, even simply to put a letter in the mailbox. (You remember those we used before email?) An Israeli friend called to warn me that I shouldn't take any risks and visit Palestinian villages. I responded that my own neighborhood, French Hill in Jerusalem, seems dangerous enough. Actually, also a Palestinian friend gave the advice to be careful. <br />
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For my Arab friends the situation is much more difficult. One of them told me that he didn't go to his job in Jerusalem, since he was afraid that something bad would happen to him either there or on his way. Another friend had a problem getting his car back from a garage in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nablus" target="_blank">Nablus</a>, which he needs for his work. The car is stuck in the garage, since the workers cannot work steadily. In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hizma" target="_blank">Hizma</a>, both the <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.co.il/2015_07_01_archive.html" target="_blank">restaurant</a> I have written about previously and the <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.co.il/2015_10_01_archive.html" target="_blank">garage </a>are almost out of work, leaving many families without income.<br />
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What I find terribly sad, is that reporting is polarized, and that you hear mostly the extremes. News on both sides is about murder and oppression. Demonstrations, events and expressions for cooperation and peaceful coexistence take place all the time, but are hardly mentioned. It's almost only on Facebook that you can see how many individuals and groups try to do something positive. I'll name just a few, and not necessarily the most prominent, but to give an indication of the variety. There are non-governmental organizations as <a href="http://www.theparentscircle.org/" target="_blank">Parents Circle - Families Forum</a> and <a href="http://www.sikkuy.org.il/" target="_blank">Sikkuy - The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality</a>, and Facebook groups as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/antiapartheidleague/?fref=nf" target="_blank">Anti-Apartheid League</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenBornEqual" target="_blank">Born Equal</a>, aiming at bridging the gaps between Jews and Palestinian. Political parties, as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meretz" target="_blank">Meretz</a>, criticize the Israeli leadership. Also general human rights organizations, as the <a href="http://www.stoptorture.org.il/en" target="_blank">Public Committee Against Torture</a>, <a href="http://amnesty.org.il/?CategoryID=153" target="_blank">Amnesty International</a> and many more, speak out against the way the present situation is handled by the authorities. There are roadside demonstrations of people in mixed neighborhoods, and many individual publish pictures of Jews and Palestinians holding signs that they refuse to become enemies. Sadly enough, even a well-respected news service as <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/misc/breakingnews" target="_blank">Haaretz</a>, reports on few of these more encouraging pieces of information.<br />
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So, back to my words "still tense", referring to the situation in Jerusalem, I used them with the sincere hope that things will be better soon... Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com1Jerusalem31.768319 35.21370999999999231.552388 34.89098649999999 31.984250000000003 35.536433499999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-51986717791660486882015-10-09T20:34:00.000+03:002016-05-15T10:09:08.462+03:00Support by friends<b>This wasn't my week...</b><br />
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The situation in Israel/Palestinian Authority is terribly tense between Arabs and Jews, everywhere, but especially in and around Jerusalem. Stone throwing, riots, violent attacks, destroyed property, wounded people and occasional deaths occur on a daily base. The neighborhood I live in, French Hill, is in the North of Jerusalem, just near the separation wall. It is inhabited mostly by Jews, but also Muslims and Christians live there. French Hill is surrounded by three Arab neighborhoods, Issawiya, Shuafat & Beth Hanina. As a result, violence is for me on walking distance, and police and soldiers are all over, even in the air. It's awfully depressing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-ZbLk_KlrPzVjlZk3SYEv310J3awr5OPPTw5ZBNIhcI_0TdwbcOJlqXLPv2_jtg6wFrcxUuZUcbvEHbg8NzBeIjT6TMNaY2BfrnXyk1pIh_5NlkUknuS0W067KST2SQblu8fUbaoVPMx/s1600/garage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-ZbLk_KlrPzVjlZk3SYEv310J3awr5OPPTw5ZBNIhcI_0TdwbcOJlqXLPv2_jtg6wFrcxUuZUcbvEHbg8NzBeIjT6TMNaY2BfrnXyk1pIh_5NlkUknuS0W067KST2SQblu8fUbaoVPMx/s400/garage.jpg" /></a><br />
<a name='more'></a><h3>
In conflict</h3>
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Among Israelis there is fear and anger, but life is not necessarily disrupted. At the Palestinian side, life is affected much more, because of additional restrictions of movement, closures either by authorities or as a consequence of the violence, and even less work. In situations like these, when there is national conflict people tend to polarize, blaming the other side. Thus, Israeli media emphasise the violence of Palestinians and the Palestinian media vice versa. It's amazing to see that when you switch the news channel, you get a completely different narrative. <br />
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However, also in private conversations and among friends it is difficult to suggest that perhaps it's "your" people doing something wrong, without being harshly criticized. Moreover, Jewish/Arab friendships are often viewed as a form of betrayal, on both sides, even more now. Therefore, I make a point of being in touch with my Arab friends, especially in times like these, and keep human contact, despite the pain. I guess I am naive; can I really change something? Perhaps I keep this contact mostly to be able to continue seeing myself as a good person, but anyway I do believe in bridging conflict.<br />
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But then, I also got upset with my long-standing Bedouin friend. In fact, he got at least as upset with me. I will not go into the personal reasons, but for me the main issue was that he took more distance from me than he was used to. He had his own reasons. Although not the crux of our fight, clearly, it was affected by the present political difficulties and the immense built-in power difference between me, as representative of the occupying forces and him, who tries to make a living.<br />
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<h3>
Friends who help</h3>
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As had happened before in similar situations, my Israeli friends wanted to know the details of the story, were supportive of me as a person, but would use the opportunity to recommend that I leave my Bedouin friend alone and go my own way. Their interest and support were more appreciated, than their attempt to dissolve the friendship. With my Palestinian friends the manner of dealing was totally different. I went to the garage, which used to be called the "Garage of Peace" and is now named the "Bedouin Garage", to have my car fixed. I was still terribly upset, which was showing. Ali, the garage manager, who knows me, didn't ask a thing. There were several cars, customers and workers to handle, but Ali remained close to me in the few hours I was there and took care that not just the car, but also I would come out okay.<br />
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Another Ali, Palestinian but not Bedouin, pressed us for a <a href="http://sulha.org/category/whatisulha/" target="_blank">sulha</a>. This Ali went through efforts to show to each of us - separately - the point of view of the other, while emphasizing how important it is to be considerate, because of the other's state. This created an atmosphere in which my Bedouin friend and I were able to meet again and talk things over. We sat down at a cafe, had tea and then coffee, and talked. While talking, it turned out that my friend's narrative of the situation was highly different from mine. Both in the political and in the personal, things depend on perspective. Eventually, we reached the point at which each of us was able to understand the other's perspective. The conversation was difficult and painful, but after a couple of hours, we separated on good terms. <br />
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I'm happy to have Palestinian friends!<br />
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<br />Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com2French Hill31.806576215144883 35.23757457733154331.803202715144884 35.232532077331541 31.809949715144882 35.242617077331545tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-83842816796159909172015-10-04T09:00:00.000+03:002016-05-09T12:56:54.659+03:00All in the Bedouin family<b>Though most Israelis would say that I'm crazy going to a Palestinian village, endangering my life, I feel at home in <a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a>.</b><br />
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I drove to Al-Za'im for two good reasons. My tire was leaking air and, because of the recent sand storm, I wanted to have my car washed. However, my main motivation was my bad mood; I secretly hoped my visit to the village would elevate it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wpngDdqBfP10NEpNocVzpg2DhyhkY8MInzVL6xSXjl5eaSDC3A6tLNNgm4yk4teglFNdW8MWk46E3gtgtnE0uNWY629zd-q5Wuvo81UOJvfqavtgCa0lrdek4CqXVCezIYc8pdaBWdOy/s1600/20140926_165355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wpngDdqBfP10NEpNocVzpg2DhyhkY8MInzVL6xSXjl5eaSDC3A6tLNNgm4yk4teglFNdW8MWk46E3gtgtnE0uNWY629zd-q5Wuvo81UOJvfqavtgCa0lrdek4CqXVCezIYc8pdaBWdOy/s400/20140926_165355.jpg" /></a>The huge metal gate in the concrete wall happened to be open, and - for me - it was easy to cross the soldiers at guard. At the entrance of the village, I passed the petrol station of Ahmad's brother. The petrol station is not functioning, since the brother is in administrative detention for almost half a year. The family was recently informed that he'll remain in jail for another half a year. The idea of administrative detention is just incredible. One night he was taken away from his bed, without any charges, and just disappeared behind locks. (My efforts to do anything about it were of no avail.)<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
Opposite the petrol station of Ahmad's brother, there is a garage. I waited somewhat, helped pushing another car into the garage, practiced my best Arabic and changed oil. Then one of the workers looked at my tire, laughed when discovering a huge nail, and fixed it in a moment. I asked what to pay and he answered NIS 25 (about $6). I told him that it can't be so little for both the tire and a liter of oil, to which he replied "say hi to Ahmad".<br />
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I moved on to the closeby carwash. Yasser, Ahmad's cousin, who runs the carwash, apologized for the fact that there were several other cars before mine. I left the car with him and went to the green grocer; also closeby. Al-Za'im is not often frequented by foreigners and villagers are likely to approach me. Since I had not met the man in the shop before, he right away asked me whether I live in <a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a>. I told him I'm from Jerusalem and bought some stuff. <br />
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On my return, Yasser suggested that I stay away from the sun and wait in his air-conditioned caravan (two beds and a sink). Although Yasser didn't mind, I felt uncomfortable invading his privacy, and stayed outside. Now also a customer from the village, waiting to have his car washed, asked me where I'm from, and if I were Turkish, since my face is too white to be a local. I explained that I'm originally from the Netherlands. Nonetheless, I considered that Bedouin life goes according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan" target="_blank">clans</a>, and that a local person would have been asked who his father was, or of what "house" he were, referring to the name of his <a href="http://www.anthrobase.com/Dic/eng/def/descent-group.htm" target="_blank">descent group</a>. So, I joked that "I'm from the house of (mentioning the name of the <a href="http://www.anthrobase.com/Dic/eng/def/descent-group.htm" target="_blank">descent group</a> of the family of Ahmad and Yasser)". Yasser immediately confirmed.<br />
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More family to come... Yasser's father, another brother of Ahmad, passed by the carwash. When he saw me, he came to shake my hand and tell Yasser he should take good care of me. Then, several boys - around the age of ten - walked up the road and waved at me. Two of them were the sons of Ahmad's brother with the petrol station; the other, the son of a third brother.<br />
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Not long after, I left <a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a> with a clean car, a fixed tire, a couple of bags with locally grown vegetables and fruit, and a big smile.<br />
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* More about the village Al-Za'im you can read in <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.co.il/2015/09/the-village-azzayim.html?spref=fb" target="_blank">my previous post</a>.Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0Al-Za'im31.788165220138303 35.26314847656249231.734175720138303 35.182467476562493 31.842154720138304 35.34382947656249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-16653549944649971692015-09-19T16:27:00.000+03:002016-05-09T12:54:00.439+03:00The village Al-Za'im<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ2Vetlxi55YCinhL49TmTbOfROi3UfQMo30jjp02Y5BgjBh754nNLbViCDQlR2H3HDbH2qgeFLDPtVi6RmRGcdTPfMnuVOR0TWq5WZTossn9YRF-vkRdsgp0Nul_zMy4b0G8yRzc06O4/s1600/20150915_170355+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="223.5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ2Vetlxi55YCinhL49TmTbOfROi3UfQMo30jjp02Y5BgjBh754nNLbViCDQlR2H3HDbH2qgeFLDPtVi6RmRGcdTPfMnuVOR0TWq5WZTossn9YRF-vkRdsgp0Nul_zMy4b0G8yRzc06O4/s400/20150915_170355+%25281%2529.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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<b>Close to Jerusalem, along the highway to the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim and the Dead Sea, one can find the Palestinian village <a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a>.</b> <br />
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In previous posts I have mentioned that I visited Ahmad's village. So, let me tell you somewhat more about the village itself.<br />
<a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank"></a><br />
<a name='more'></a><a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a> is the home of Ahmad's family since their tribe was moved by Israeli forces from the Tel Arad neighbourhood in the South, in the early fifties. The villagers of Al-Za'im are partly Bedouin and partly non-Bedouin Palestinians, virtually all Muslim. It's quite a large village, where tradition and modernity mix. The village, with over a thousand inhabitants, has buildings of four stories and more, and many little shops run by families. Some families live in huts with their flock, on the outskirts of the village. Occasionally houses are demolished by Israeli authorities, since people don't have building permits. However, building permits are not given, which forces the villagers to build anyway. There are many people in the streets; mostly men. Young men in modern clothing and older men in jalabiya (traditional dress) mix. Women, if around, all have their hair covered. It's full of cars, also on the road sides; some new, but many far beyond repair. Occasionally, a horse, donkey, sheep or camel may cross your way.<br />
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Life in <a href="http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/place.php?plid=354" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a> is difficult, but relatively calm. People are friendly, and riots are scarce. Garbage is mostly burned and water is distributed in tanks. As in many suburbs, life in the village used to be oriented toward the city, Jerusalem, with many people either working or having relatives there, like in Ahmad's family. People went to Jerusalem for shopping in the Old City, praying in the Al-Aqsa mosque, and visiting one of the hospitals at the Mount of Olives. This was until the establishment of the separation wall, about a decade ago, which kept Al-Za'im on the Palestinian side of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier" target="_blank">the wall</a>, in Area C (Israeli administration). <br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_West_Bank_barrier" target="_blank">The wall</a>, which you can see from all parts of the village, changed everything. With its grey concrete, barbed wire, and soldiers, it is a symbol of oppression. The villagers who hold Israeli identity cards can cross the checkpoint, like Jewish Israelis and foreigners, but recently the opening hours of the gate were limited to only few hours a day. If the wall is closed, one can still reach the village from another direction, which makes the drive half an hour longer, which is a real bother. Those who have only Palestinian identity cards cannot legally cross, even if they are offered work in Israel or have family members living just on the other side.<br />
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As a result of the separation from Jerusalem, finding work became a major problem. In the past, Israelis would come to have their cars fixed in one of the many garages. However, Israeli authorities put at the entrance of the village a big sign claiming that it's not allowed to hand over cars to a garage in Palestinian Territories. This caused a drastic reduce in the number of Israelis, limiting even more the possibilities of income for the villagers.<br />
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As a consequence, the villagers of Al-Za'im orient themselves toward the nearby town <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Eizariya" target="_blank">Al-Eizariya</a>. This small desert town is only a 15 minutes drive from the village, but buses are infrequent and not always stop at Al-Za'im. Since Al-Eizariya is up the mountain, it's for most villagers too far to walk. Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com0alZa'im31.787701 35.26353100000005731.733705999999998 35.182850000000059 31.841696 35.344212000000056tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-38999471167297937202015-09-12T00:17:00.001+03:002016-05-13T09:14:52.018+03:00Getting arrested as a normal thing<b>Tuesday afternoon. It's close to 40° C (over 100° F) and I feel a flu is coming up. Ahmad calls to tell he got arrested at the Qalandia checkpoint.</b> <br />
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I immediately send a fax about his mental state to the police, in the hope this will get him out. However, the next day he's not yet released and my feeling of helplessness increases. I find out that he was moved to the Russian Compound in Jerusalem; a place where Palestinians are often treated harshly, and sometimes even tortured. After some investigation, I get hold of the name of the lawyer provided to him by the Public Defense, who tells me that Ahmad is charged with driving a car without an Israeli driving licence, use of drugs, impostering and entering Israel. My heart drops. The lawyer informs me that he will not continue with the case and it's unclear who will take over. The next morning Ahmad was supposed to take a couple of American visitors to a tour of Bedouin life, both to share the hardships about life in the West Bank and make a little money. I cancel the tour last minute and also rearrange the hours of my clients. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>Thursday morning, after a series of calls, I discover the name of the new lawyer, who notifies me Ahmad will appear before a judge within half an hour at the Traffic Court. (Luckily, not the Military Court.) I rush to court, but Ahmad isn't there. We wait and wait, almost giving up, but three hours later Ahmad appears, hands and feet shackled, accompanied by three policemen (one of them the size of the other two together); a terrible view. We're only shortly before the judge, since based on the fact that an Israeli psychologist (me) is willing to be Ahmad's guarantor, the defense lawyer makes a deal with the prosecutor. Ahmad will be released on bail, if I manage to arrange the payment before the office closes (in less than an hour), for a week because of the holidays. What a stress! 2.30 PM, just before closing, the judge signs the paperwork. Ahmad will be brought back to the Russian Compound, where an officer will have to identify him (?), after which he'll be expelled from Israel near a checkpoint. However, by 6.30 PM he's not yet released and I get worried once again. While cooking, I cut my finger and blood is all over the kitchen. At 8.30 PM, Ahmad calls to tell that he's about to be released, but he has not yet received his belongings. <br />
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Friday morning, I'm going crazy. I try to get hold of Ahmad in any possible way. Call his friends, the Public Defense, the police, go to his house in the village, to the local cafe. What went wrong? No sign of him, until at 8.30 PM he suddenly answers the number a friend of his gave me, explaining that he slept the whole day until just now. I immediately go to see him and am furious. How possibly could he have gone to sleep without contacting me? The rumors about the drugs and the possibility that instead of calling me he went to see a girlfriend (as the friend suggested) do not make my mood better. In front of the people around, I refuse the coffee and knafe (Arab cheesecake) that he has waiting, realizing that this is an insult. He gets upset too and explains that he is very thankful for my help, but that I should know by now that getting arrested is a normal thing for him, and that it's "my" people who are doing this to them (the Palestinians). After I calm down, he shares that he tried to help a client of the garage and drove her car to get it fixed, when he was arrested. He adds that he was investigated extensively and had had little sleep during the days of his arrest. With interference of the lawyer and my letter, the police had dropped all charges, which were without base, except the driving in Israel. As a result he was moved from court to court, ending up in the Traffic Court. He was released only in the middle of the night, after being cursed by the police officer, without any of his belongings (phone, money, car keys & shoe laces). This was near <a blank="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27ale_Adumim" target="_">Ma'ale Adumim</a> (an Israeli settlement), from which he had to walk through a wadi (valley) and up a mountain, for an hour or so, to reach the house of a family member. There, being exhausted, he fell asleep. <br />
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Friday night, since Ahmad cannot legally go back to the Russian Compound, I go to the police and try to get his stuff. They tell me that only on Sunday they'll be willing to check if it's there. In the meantime, he has no phone, no car and no shoe laces, and my flu is not getting any better. <br />
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Tomorrow a new year starts! <br />
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P.S. I did go there that Sunday, and after waiting for half an hour or more, for no clear reason, I got Ahmad's belongings.<br />
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<a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.co.il/search/label/legal%20system" target="_blank"><b>For more of my stories on arrests by security forces, click here.</b></a><br />
<br />Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com2Jerusalem, Israel31.768319 35.21370999999999231.552388 34.89098649999999 31.984250000000003 35.536433499999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121675528564377203.post-31460772771761521222015-07-28T23:28:00.000+03:002016-05-13T09:09:01.447+03:00Ramadan Kareem!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<b>Coming out of my meeting with a client, I see three unanswered calls from my Palestinian Bedouin friend Ahmad, so I return his calls. He says "I'm opening the restaurant today, and I need some money to buy food for the guests"</b></div>
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<a name='more'></a>I had been involved during the building period and in the past two months the restaurant had been opening "next week", so I am kind of surprised. I ask what happened with the money I had given him previously to buy food and he replies with a "You know, we had a lot of expenses…". Since my next and last client for the day had just cancelled, I tell him that I'd meet him in a close Palestinian town, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Eizariya">El-Eizariya</a>. We meet at 5.00 PM, on the first day of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan">Ramadan </a>; everyone, except me, is fasting. I'm excited that a dream comes true. We buy several chickens (dead), vegetables and other stuff. I learn that it is going to be a party, mainly for the workers of his garage, which is next door. Ahmad considers it obvious that at the first day of a restaurant, everyone is invited for free, whereas I had thought that the money I gave will be used to make dishes for sale. Although I like this concept of generosity, I am upset.<br />
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Not as planned...</h3>
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The cook, who had joined us, takes the food with him, and the two of us take off to the restaurant, in a village by the name of <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2016/05/hizma-example-of-oppression.html" target="_blank">Hizma</a>, close to Jerusalem. We find the place still in a mess, with furniture upside down and piles of wood and paint still around; leftovers from the window that they had made that morning. We clean somewhat, arrange the tables, and it actually begins to look quite nice. When I ask whether we should work on the kitchen as well, the response makes it clear that the kitchen will not yet be used and the cook and his wife are preparing the food at home. At 6.30 PM Ahmad asks the manager of the garage at what time the fast will be over, and I understand that this will be at 8.05 PM. Ahmad insists that we drive to the cook's home, in another village, <a href="http://danielweishut.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-village-azzayim.html" target="_blank">Al-Za'im</a>, to make sure everything's alright.<br />
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At 7.00 PM the cook shows us a heap of chicken parts, while his wife is still cooking, and then he disappears. At 7.25 PM I ask Ahmad what happened to the cook, and get the explanation that he went to bake the meat somewhere in a place with an oven. I see Ahmad getting more and more excited. Even in a culture, where time is used flexibly, the end of the fast is on the minute. Moreover, it is considered a blunder to cancel a party. Time is running out and it's still a twenty minute drive back. I try to calm Ahmad, who tells me that I misunderstood, and the fast is over already at 7.53 PM; we won't make it. I suggest to call the garage, to tell that we'll be late (or won't come at all), but my suggestion is dismissed. I realize that the dishonor it too great, in which case one better doesn't say anything. <br />
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Fire and cake</h3>
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I see fire in Ahmad's face and understand that there's big trouble. We're on a balcony, sixth floor. In the house are also the cook's wife and three of their adolescent children. Also, my nerves are wrecked. The best scenario I can imagine is Ahmad's cell-phone flying to its destiny; in other scenarios someone will get hurt. The cook comes back. I wonder if I should warn him before entering, but don't. Both the cook's wife and I do our best to cool down the situation, while the chicken smells deliciously. 7.50 PM dinner is ready, but alas, Ahmad walks out, followed by me, thus returning the insult. Not exactly, since the cook's wife, blocks his way, and her daughter bars mine… 7.53 PM I sit down with the wife and the children on the floor, where a great meal of chicken, rice and other delicacies is served, with date and carob juice. The men are served on the balcony. Slowly, things relax…<br />
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We finish the meal with a huge birthday cake for the daughter, with her picture on it, and have coffee. Ramadan kareem ("<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan">Ramadan is generous</a>")! <br />
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P.S. The restaurant did open at the following night, and everyone was invited for free!<br />
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Daniel Weishuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15865504049463524098noreply@blogger.com4Jerusalem, Israel31.768319 35.21370999999999231.552388 34.89098649999999 31.984250000000003 35.536433499999994