Poem by Naomi Shihab Nye

In doing more research on Naomi Shihab Nye and her work I came across this poem she wrote. As I mentioned in a previous post Nye's father is a Palestinian refugee, but Nye herself also lived in Jerusalem in 1967. Her and her family only remained there for a year and moved back to the United States at the beginning of the 1968 war.

Anyway, I found this this piece that she wrote and wanted to share it with all of you.

Everything in Our World Did Not Seem to Fit

Once they started invading us.
Taking our houses and trees, drawing lines,
pushing us into tiny places.
It wasn't a bargain or deal or even a real war.
To this day they pretend it was.
But it was something else.
We were sorry what happened to them but
we had nothing to do with it.
You don't think what a little plot of land means
till someone takes it and you can't go back.
Your feet still want to walk tliere.
Now you are drifting worse
than homeless dust, very lost feehng.
I cried even to think of our hallway,
cool stone passage inside the door.
Nothing would fit for years.
They came with guns, uniforms, declarations.
LIFE magazine said,
"It was surprising to find some Arabs still in their houses."
Surprising? Where else would we be?
Up on the hillsides?
Conversing with mint and sheep, digging in dirt?
Why was someone else's need for a home
greater than our own need for our own homes
we were already living in? No one has ever been able
to explain this sufficiently. But they find
a lot of other things to talk about.

Testimony from Breaking the Silence

On the Breaking the Silence tour I took part in, the organization offered booklets that contained the written testimony from various soldiers regarding incidents that they themselves were apart of or witnessed. Here are some of their stories.

The clip below is an interview with two former soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces; they are now participants with the Breaking the Silence organization.

Breaking the Silence

One of the greatest, most moving and unfortunately most disturbing things that I did while living in the West Bank was to go on a Breaking the Silence tour. This organization was created after the beginning of the Second Intifada and is comprised of form Israeli soldiers who have decided to share with the Israeli public what is being done in the West Bank and Gaza. Here is the bio they put on their website:

Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran combatants who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories. We endeavor to stimulate public debate about the price paid for a reality in which young soldiers face a civilian population on a daily basis, and are engaged in the control of that population’s everyday life.

Soldiers who serve in the Territories witness and participate in military actions which change them immensely. Cases of abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and destruction of property have been the norm for years, but are still explained as extreme and unique cases. Our testimonies portray a different, and much grimmer picture in which deterioration of moral standards finds expression in the character of orders and the rules of engagement, and are justified in the name of Israel's security. While this reality is known to Israeli soldiers and commanders, Israeli society continues to turn a blind eye, and to deny that what is done in its name. Discharged soldiers returning to civilian life discover the gap between the reality they encountered in the Territories, and the silence about this reality they encounter at home. In order to become civilians again, soldiers are forced to ignore what they have seen and done. We strive to make heard the voices of these soldiers, pushing Israeli society to face the reality whose creation it has enabled.

We collect and publish testimonies from soldiers who, like us, have served in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since September 2000, and hold lectures, house meetings, and other public events which bring to light the reality in the Territories through the voice of former combatants. We also conduct tours in Hebron and the South Hebron Hills region, with the aim of giving the Israeli public access to the reality which exists minutes from their own homes, yet is rarely portrayed in the media.

Founded in March 2004 by a group of soldiers who served in Hebron, Breaking the Silence has since acquired a special standing in the eyes of the Israeli public and in the media, as it is unique in giving voice to the experience of soldiers. To date, the organization has collected more than 700 testimonies from soldiers who represent all strata of Israeli society and cover nearly all units that operate in the Territories. All the testimonies we publish are meticulously researched, and all facts are cross-checked with additional eye-witnesses and/or the archives of other human rights organizations also active in the field. Every soldier who gives a testimony to Breaking the Silence knows the aims of the organization and the interview. Most soldiers choose to remain anonymous, due to various pressures from official military persons and society at large. Our first priority is to the soldiers who choose to testify to the public about their service.

In the winter of 2009, myself along with two colleagues decided to go one the Southern Hebron Hills tour. I wish I had my photographs and interviews to post along with this information, but due to technical problems they are no longer available.

While this tour takes a person on many stops, what I remember most from the experience was visiting one family who were literally living in a hole/cave in the ground. Their house had been built without an authorized building permit from the Israeli government and as a result it was bulldozed to the ground. What the family had left they gather together in holes they had dug in the dirt. The coverings to keep out the hot sun or rainy weather were old cement sacks that the women had stitched together.

Utterly shocked by the living conditions these people found themselves in, (the people in my village in Africa had a higher stander of living) I was humbled to knees when the family we were visiting offered us tea. Not only did this family have to sleep in a cave/hole they also had no water. Clean water had to be carried in by the family from a great distance. A trip made even more cumbersome by the Israeli settlers who live near by and the laws especially designed to protect them.This family with little to nothing to their name stood their offering everything they had to me, my colleagues as well as the roughly 20 or so individuals on the tour with us. Generosity like that restores my faith in the world, but usually breaks my heart as well. It always seems that the ones most willing to give are the ones who have the least to give.

Arabs aren't Terrorists

For my American Ethnic and Minority Literature class we have been assigned to write a paper over an ethnic or minority American poetry. I can't say I'm terribly excited about the assignment due to the fact that it's over poetry and that is definitely not my strong suit. Anyway, I chose to write about Naomi Shihab Nye an Arab-American poet whose father is a Palestinian refugee and mother is an American of German and Swiss decent.

In researching information for the paper I came across this letter that Nye wrote not long after the September 11th attacks. I am not sure how many people remember or are even aware that one of the reasons given by Osama bin Laden for the attacks was the United States continued support of Israel. I think it is important how she touches on the stereotypes associated with Palestinians and address how the actions committed by these men and others with similar beliefs/attitudes are not helping their cause by committing such crimes. I hope you enjoy.

Letter from Naomi Shihab Nye, Arab-American Poet:

To Any Would-Be Terrorists

I am sorry I have to call you that, but I don't know how else to get your attention. I hate that word. Do you know how hard some of us have worked to get rid of that word, to deny its instant connection to the Middle East? And now look. Look what extra work we have. Not only did your colleagues kill thousands of innocent, international people in those buildings and scar their families forever, they wounded a huge community of people in the Middle East, in the United States and all over the world. If that's what they wanted to do, please know the mission was a terrible success, and you can stop now.

Because I feel a little closer to you than many Americans could possibly feel, or ever want to feel, I insist that you listen to me. Sit down and listen. I know what kinds of foods you like. I would feed them to you if you were right here, because it is very very important that you listen. I am humble in my country's pain and I am furious.

My Palestinian father became a refugee in 1948. He came to the United States as a college student. He is 74 years old now and still homesick. He has planted fig trees. He has invited all the Ethiopians in his neighborhood to fill their little paper sacks with his figs. He has written columns and stories saying the Arabs are not terrorists, he has worked all his life to defy that word. Arabs are businessmen and students and kind neighbors. There is no one like him and there are thousands like him - gentle Arab daddies who make everyone laugh around the dinner table, who have a hard time with headlines, who stand outside in the evenings with their hands in their pockets staring toward the far horizon.

I am sorry if you did not have a father like that. I wish everyone could have a father like that.

My hard-working American mother has spent 50 years trying to convince her fellow teachers and choir mates not to believe stereotypes about the Middle East. She always told them, there is a much larger story. If you knew the story, you would not jump to conclusions from what you see in the news. But now look at the news. What a mess has been made. Sometimes I wish everyone could have parents from different countries or ethnic groups so they would be forced to cross boundaries, to believe in mixtures, every day of their lives. Because this is what the world calls us to do. WAKE UP!

The Palestinian grocer in my Mexican-American neighborhood paints pictures of the Palestinian flag on his empty cartons. He paints trees and rivers. He gives his paintings away. He says, "Don't insult me" when I try to pay him for a lemonade. Arabs have always been famous for their generosity. Remember? My half-Arab brother with an Arabic name looks more like an Arab than many full-blooded Arabs do and he has to fly every week.

My Palestinian cousins in Texas have beautiful brown little boys. Many of them haven't gone to school yet. And now they have this heavy word to carry in their backpacks along with the weight of their papers and books. I repeat, the mission was a terrible success. But it was also a complete, total tragedy and I want you to think about a few things.

1. Many people, thousands of people, perhaps even millions of people, in the United States are very aware of the long unfairness of our country's policies regarding Israel and Palestine. We talk about this all the time. It exhausts us and we keep talking. We write letters to newspapers, to politicians, to each other. We speak out in public even when it is uncomfortable to do so, because that is our responsibility. Many of these people aren't even Arabs. Many happen to be Jews who are equally troubled by the inequity. I promise you this is true. Because I am Arab-American, people always express these views to me and I am amazed how many understand the intricate situation and have strong, caring feelings for Arabs and Palestinians even when they don't have to. Think of them, please: All those people who have been standing up for Arabs when they didn't have to. But as ordinary citizens we don't run the government and don't get to make all our government's policies, which makes us sad sometimes. We believe in the power of the word and we keep using it, even when it seems no one large enough is listening. That is one of the best things about this country: the free power of free words. Maybe we take it for granted too much. Many of the people killed in the World Trade Center probably believed in a free Palestine and were probably talking about it all the time.

But this tragedy could never help the Palestinians. Somehow, miraculously, if other people won't help them more, they are going to have to help themselves. And it will be peace, not violence, that fixes things. You could ask any one of the kids in the Seeds of Peace organization and they would tell you that. Do you ever talk to kids? Please, please, talk to more kids.

2. Have you noticed how many roads there are? Sure you have. You must check out maps and highways and small alternate routes just like anyone else. There is no way everyone on earth could travel on the same road, or believe in exactly the same religion. It would be too crowded, it would be dumb. I don't believe you want us all to be Muslims. My Palestinian grandmother lived to be 106 years old, and did not read or write, but even she was much smarter than that. The only place she ever went beyond Palestine and Jordan was to Mecca, by bus, and she was very proud to be called a Hajji and to wear white clothes afterwards. She worked very hard to get stains out of everyone's dresses -- scrubbing them with a stone. I think she would consider the recent tragedies a terrible stain on her religion and her whole part of the world. She would weep. She was scared of airplanes anyway. She wanted people to worship God in whatever ways they felt comfortable. Just worship. Just remember God in every single day and doing. It didn't matter what they called it. When people asked her how she felt about the peace talks that were happening right before she died, she puffed up like a proud little bird and said, in Arabic, "I never lost my peace inside." To her, Islam was a welcoming religion. After her home in Jerusalem was stolen from her, she lived in a small village that contained a Christian shrine. She felt very tender toward the people who would visit it. A Jewish professor tracked me down a few years ago in Jerusalem to tell me she changed his life after he went to her village to do an oral history project on Arabs. "Don't think she only mattered to you!" he said. "She gave me a whole different reality to imagine - yet it was amazing how close we became. Arabs could never be just a "project" after that."

Did you have a grandmother or two? Mine never wanted people to be pushed around. What did yours want? Reading about Islam since my grandmother died, I note the "tolerance" that was "typical of Islam" even in the old days. The Muslim leader Khalid ibn al-Walid signed a Jerusalem treaty which declared, "in the name of God, you have complete security for your churches which shall not be occupied by the Muslims or destroyed." It is the new millenium in which we should be even smarter than we used to be, right? But I think we have fallen behind.

3. Many Americans do not want to kill any more innocent people anywhere in the world. We are extremely worried about military actions killing innocent people. We didn't like this in Iraq, we never liked it anywhere. We would like no more violence, from us as well as from you. HEAR US! We would like to stop the terrifying wheel of violence, just stop it, right on the road, and find something more creative to do to fix these huge problems we have. Violence is not creative, it is stupid and scary and many of us hate all those terrible movies and TV shows made in our own country that try to pretend otherwise. Don't watch them. Everyone should stop watching them. An appetite for explosive sounds and toppling buildings is not a healthy thing for anyone in any country. The USA should apologize to the whole world for sending this trash out into the air and for paying people to make it.

But here's something good you may not know - one of the best-selling books of poetry in the United States in recent years is the Coleman Barks translation of Rumi, a mystical Sufi poet of the 13th century, and Sufism is Islam and doesn't that make you glad?

Everyone is talking about the suffering that ethnic Americans are going through. Many will no doubt go through more of it, but I would like to thank everyone who has sent me a consolation card. Americans are usually very kind people. Didn't your colleagues find that out during their time living here? It is hard to imagine they missed it. How could they do what they did, knowing that?

4. We will all die soon enough. Why not take the short time we have on this delicate planet and figure out some really interesting things we might do together? I promise you, God would be happier. So many people are always trying to speak for God - I know it is a very dangerous thing to do. I tried my whole life not to do it. But this one time is an exception. Because there are so many people crying and scarred and confused and complicated and exhausted right now - it is as if we have all had a giant simultaneous break-down. I beg you, as your distant Arab cousin, as your American neighbor, listen to me. Our hearts are broken, as yours may also feel broken in some ways we can't understand, unless you tell us in words. Killing people won't tell us. We can't read that message. Find another way to live. Don't expect others to be like you. Read Rumi. Read Arabic poetry. Poetry humanizes us in a way that news, or even religion, has a harder time doing. A great Arab scholar, Dr. Salma Jayyusi, said, "If we read one another, we won't kill one another." Read American poetry. Plant mint. Find a friend who is so different from you, you can't believe how much you have in common. Love them. Let them love you. Surprise people in gentle ways, as friends do. The rest of us will try harder too. Make our family proud.

naomi shihab nye
Clicking on her name will bring you to the website where this letter was posted.

Operation Defensive Shield

In speaking of the Israeli use of curfew in my previous two posts I made brief mentions to both the city of Jenin, a northern West Bank city not far from the Palestinian/Israeli border and to Israeli Operation Defensive Shield. To be fair this operation was conducted primarily as result of the Palestinian bombing of a hotel in Israel that resulted in the death of 30 elderly Israelis and the Palestinian bomber. Some may argue that response was not proportional to the crime, but that can be left for further debate. My goal here is not to convince you, my audience, that Palestinians are saints, above reproach. No, I just want to share information that the main stream media does not cover and which as a result you may not be aware of.

Before moving on to a new topic of discussion I wanted to show a bit of the results from the "Battle of Jenin" which was fought during Operation Defensive Shield. Let this documentary show what the people of Jenin face.

A Look at the Use of Curfew in the West Bank

Curfew. A perfectly innocuous term, right? Associated with the protection of teenagers and young adults, it simply means giving a person a deadline in which they must be home and off the streets. It is a tool, in this instance, intended to restrict ones movement in order to protect those who fall under its safeguard. Yet, there is a darker implication to this restriction of movement. What if the wielders of the power, those who initiate as well as enforce the curfew, see it as a method to protect themselves and not those who must live under its restrictions? What if it is fully understood that the implementation of this manner of protection will result in negative if not dire consequences for those who come under its restrictions? In such circumstances, has the tool of protection not been turned into a weapon of terror? This is the situation that residents of the West Bank and Gaza currently find themselves living in. Israel with its unlimited power over these regions has the authority to implement, at their discretion, a curfew over any portion of the territories they choose as well as any and all people who find themselves in the area. Why does Israel use the curfew and moreover what does life under Israeli curfew look like to Palestinians?

There is no clear data of Israel’s first implementation of curfew on Palestinian populations; though, Adam Hanieh, a writer with the Middle East Research and Information Project, says the use goes back to at least the end of the 1980’s when Palestinians began their first “intifada” or uprising against Israeli occupation. Heavy use of it was again seen during the first Gulf War back in the early 1990’s (Hanieh 1) “as a precaution necessary to prevent an explosion of violence in support of Saddam Hussein” (Human Rights Watch) . It was not until the early part of the 2000’s, with the second intifada underway, that this practice appeared to become a routine policy (Hanieh 1).

This timeline of events fit in with Israeli Defense Force (IDF) statements that say curfew is imposed as a “security measure”. In recent years it has been used to allow military personal to enter the areas and conduct operations safely. Is the treatment that Palestinians face under curfew really necessary to keep the Israeli military safe?

Sam Bahour, resident of the West Bank and co-author of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians describes Palestinian life under curfew as being in “total lockdown”. Curfew affects every area of Palestinian life; businesses close or simply cannot open, schools are dismissed and are also shut down, government offices and medical care and services such as pharmacies, doctors’ offices and ambulances are all cut off from the public. While this restriction on movement can be confined to a couple hours out of the day or even a few days out of the month it has also been implemented for longer stretches of time.

In 2002, during Israeli offensives “Operation Defensive Shield” and “Operation Determined Path” the city of Nablus, one of the largest cities in the West Bank with a population of roughly 120,000, experienced three stretches of prolonged curfew. They ranged from, April 2 to the 22 then again from May 31to June 6 and finally from June 21 to the end of September. This last period was especially trying not only for its length of time but also for its severity. During this three month period the residents spent more than 70 days under 24 hour curfew; throughout which time Israeli forces would periodically cut water and electricity supplies to most homes (Amnesty International). Other cities, such as Jenin and Hebron, have undergone similar situations. The city of Hebron, located in the southern part of the West Bank, experienced only 19 hours of not being under curfew during one 26 day (or 624 hour) stretch in 2003 (oPt).

The implementation of the curfew is at times as distressing as the curfew itself and is often lethal. Bahour describes how he and residents of his neighborhood are often informed of the curfew

“This total lockdown is accomplished by Israeli jeeps, tanks and armored personnel carriers roaming the narrow Palestinian streets with loud speakers notifying all, in an awful Arabic accent, to go home or risk being arrested or shot. This announcement is regularly accompanied by rapid machine gun fire in the air and the detonation of tear gas canisters and stun grenades in the open markets to make sure people get the message” (Bahour 30)

B’Tselem, an Israeli Human Rights organization working in the West Bank and Gaza, supports Bahour’s claim but also adds that Israel’s procedures are not always this clear. While his account depicts a coordinated if not rather shocking effort on Israel’s part to inform Palestinians of the impending curfew this is not always the case. According to B’Tselem, a number of witnesses claim that there is much confusion about whether or not a curfew is in place and that they “often have to rely on rumors and what they see happening in the streets” to know what is going on (Curfew 1). This claim has been documented in countless sources such as, Barriers to Education a report put out by the Right to Education Committee at Birzet University. This report cites unclear procedures of curfew implementation during school hours as a safety risk for students. (Murray 5). Middle East Report also discusses the confusion that surrounds the execution of curfew. It writes that there have been many occasions in the city of Ramallah when the government radio has issued one time for the curfew to be lifted but the soldiers on the streets have issued another (Hanieh 1). Amnesty International collected this testimony from Rami, a 12 year old resident of Jenin, regarding the killing of his friends, brother’s six-year-old Ahmad and 12-year-old Jamil Yusuf Ghazawi due to the confusion over curfew:

"I heard that the curfew had been lifted. When I heard this, I went out and joined my friends, Jamil, Tareq, Ahmad, Muhammad, Wa'el and Wissam. We all headed off to the main street. Jamil, Tareq, Ahmad and Wa'el were on their bikes and the rest of us were on foot. When we reached the intersection with the main street, we saw IDF jeeps by the square and became afraid. We headed back toward home, and stopped and stood to the side of a building on our street when we heard the sound of a tank go by. We then saw another tank about 300 metres from us, so we left the building and began to hurry back home. Jamil was telling Ahmad and Tareq to leave quickly as there were tanks. The tank was now at the end of the street and then I saw Dr. Samer's car coming toward us. He was blowing the horn to warn us to get out of the way. The next thing I remember is a red light and then an explosion.

"I moved toward the side when I heard the bomb. After that I came back towards the street and first saw Ahmad. He did not have a left leg and his stomach was on the road. I saw Jamil: he was injured in his back and was shaking his hands. He opened his eyes for a minute and then closed them. Tareq was near an electric pole, we found him last. One of his legs had a hole in it and pieces of the bomb were in his stomach, his ear and his back.

"Dr. Samer stopped his car in front of our house and was walking towards our garage. When he got out of the car, the neighbours told him to come inside, he then collapsed. Our neighbour Yazid carried him. Dr. Samer had no shoes and he was dressed in a T-shirt and trousers."

Upon investigation into Israeli Defense Force (IDF) procedures of implementation of curfew on Palestinian populations, B’Tselem walked away with no answers. The spokesperson for the IDF refused to offer any information. While B’Tselem recognizes the legitimacy of Israeli curfew on Palestinian populations if it is in conducted a correct manner i.e. clear notification of areas under curfew and only for a set period of time (restrictions like the ones put on the people of Nablus and Hebron break International Law), they are distressed by the manner in which it is implemented and enforced by the IDF (Curfew 1).

To make sure curfew is obeyed IDF has made it its policy to arrest or shoot anyone seen on the streets during curfew hours (2). In a report written by Amnesty International, one family speaks of how they witnessed an unknown man left lying on the streets during curfew because all those who ventured from their homes to try and aid the dying man were shot at by IDF soldiers. The family goes on to describe how neighborhood dogs began to eat the man’s decaying body as the IDF would not allow neighbors or medical personnel to enter the street and claim the body (Amnesty International). During one five month period, B’Tselem reported that 15 Palestinian civilian were killed by the army for leaving their homes during curfew. Of the 15, twelve of them were under the age of 16, the youngest being six years old (PRESSE). Of the 15 killed,

“four Palestinians, three of them children, were killed and 24 injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a market in Jenin at a time when Palestinians residents believed the curfew on the city had been lifted” (Hanieh 1).

While the use of curfew has eased over the recent years, it is still reportedly utilized.

Between March 11 and April 13 of this year, the village of Awarta, population 6500, was put under curfew three times while Israeli officials investigated the murder of an Israeli family in a nearby settlement (Democracy 2). While the need of curfew is not in question, one has to wonder if the severity of its restrictions and its enforcement is a necessary “security measure” for the IDF forces.

Works Cited

Amnesty International. "Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus." 4 November 2002. Amnesty International. 25 October 2011 .

Bahour, Sam. "The Violence of Curfew." Tikkun (2002): 29.

"Curfew." 6 May 2010. B'teslem. 5 October 2011 .

Democracy, UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and. Right to an Education: The Case of Awarta . Nablus, 2011.

Hanieh, Adam. "West Bank Curfew: Politics by other means." Middle East Report (2002): 1-3.

Murray, Helen. Barriers to Education: The Israeil Military Obstruction of Access to Schools and Universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Birzeit, July 2004.

oPt, OCHA. Humanitarian Update. United Nations Humanitarian Report. Jerusalem: United Nations Relief and Works Agency, 2003.

PRESSE, AGENCE FRANCE. "Israeli Army 'Kiling Palestinian Children'." 17 October 2002. Sydney Morning Herald. 25 October 2011 .

New Information on Old Events

In preparing to write an Objective Essay over Israelis use of curfew on Palestinians I found a number of interesting articles but one I found particularly interesting and shocking was put out by Amnesty International entitled "Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus"

The report, written at the end of 2002, describes the Israeli military operations Defensive Shield and Determined Path in relation to the cities of Jenin and Nablus.

I would like to share with you some key/interesting points from the piece in hopes that it will interest you enough to click on the link and read the report yourself. Please keep in mind that Amnesty International is neutral third party observer. They have nothing to gain by reporting this information.

After the first day (of Operation Defensive Shield) those killed or wounded in Jenin and Nablus were left without burial or medical treatment. Bodies remained in the street as residents who ventured outside to collect or attend to the dead or injured were shot. Tanks travelling through narrow streets ruthlessly sliced off the outer walls of houses; much destruction of property by tanks was wanton and unnecessary. In one appalling and extensive operation, the IDF demolished, destroyed by explosives, or flattened by army bulldozers, a large residential area of Jenin refugee camp, much of it after the fighting had apparently ended.

Israel has the right and responsibility to take measures to prevent unlawful violence. The Israeli government equally has an obligation to ensure that the measures it takes to protect Israelis are carried out in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law. As the occupying power of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, Israel has an obligation to respect and protect the human rights of all people in these areas.

Throughout the period 4-15 April, the IDF denied access to Jenin refugee camp to all, including medical doctors and nurses, ambulances, humanitarian relief services, human rights organizations, and journalists. Amnesty International and other organizations tried to get information by the only means that seemed possible: constantly telephoning residents under curfew. By 12 April residents said that the continuous curfew had led to an acute food and water shortage. In some cases children were drinking waste water and became sick as a result. One resident from the edge of the camp said that: "the camp smells of death due to the scattered bodies, some bodies are buried under the rubble, others crushed by tanks, and the rest are left lying in the streets."

During the fighting Palestinian residents and Palestinian and foreign journalists and others outside the camp saw hundreds of missiles being fired into the houses of the camp from Apache helicopters flying sortie after sortie. The sight of the firepower being thrown at Jenin refugee camp led those who witnessed the air raids, including military experts and the media, to believe that scores, at least, of Palestinians had been killed. The tight cordon round the refugee camp and the main hospital from 4-17 April meant that the outside world had no means of knowing what was going on inside the refugee camp; a few journalists were able to slip into the area at risk to their lives after 13 April, but only saw a small portion of the camp, including some dead bodies before leaving. Those within the camp reachable by telephone were confined to their homes and could not tell what was happening. It was in these circumstances that stories of a "massacre" spread. Even the IDF leadership appeared unclear as to how many Palestinians had died: General Ron Kitrey said on 12 April that hundreds had died in Jenin before correcting himself a few hours later saying that hundreds had died or been wounded.

On the evening of 21 June 2002, the IDF blew up an unoccupied house in the old city area of Jenin. The explosion also demolished an adjacent house, which contained eight family members, all of whom were trapped in the rubble. Two were seriously injured and one 12-year-old child, Fares, died. According to the family and neighbours no warning was given to the family before the explosion, despite protests from a neighbour who had been used during this military operation to check the adjacent house. Amnesty International interviewed neighbours, as well as family members. Their accounts of the incident are consistent. The IDF has claimed the targeted property was used to store munitions. Regardless of whether this was the case, the responsibility remains for those members of the IDF involved in the operations to secure the safety of the civilian population in the immediate area.

The IDF systematically compelled Palestinians to take part in military operations. Several Palestinians interviewed by Amnesty International in relation to other subjects said that they had been compelled to take part in military operations and as "human shields". These practices violate international humanitarian law. Although the IDF announced through the State Attorney on 24 May 2002 that it would not use civilians in military operations, Amnesty International has continued to receive reports of cases in whicThe large number of cases of Palestinians used as "human shields" in IDF military operations reveal a clear pattern. Typically the IDF would compel an adult male(6) in their military operation to search property in each area of the refugee camp. A Palestinian would be held by the IDF for a certain period, sometimes for days. These Palestinians were placed at serious risk, in some cases resulting in injuryh Palestinians were used by members of the IDF during military operations, including as "human shields".

Water supplies were also cut by the IDF and, in addition, many of the water storage tanks on the tops of houses were damaged by IDF fire; in some places the water supply was not restored for 20 days. The Director of the Water Sector for Jenin city told Amnesty International delegates that in one pumping station supplying Jenin city and the western villages the pumps were inoperable; damage to the network was extensive and "mainlines from the reservoirs or pumping stations were cut intentionally by bulldozers or indirectly through heavy tank traffic. Seven of 11 booster pumps [which help water reach high areas] were hit or destroyed by heavy machine gun fire or tanks. Damage to the network inside the refugee camp was beyond repair." On 5 April the IDF occupied one pumping station and dismissed the operator for four days. Camp residents and those living in the upper areas of the town remained without water for up to three weeks; UNRWA reports that water points to the camp were not restored until 28 April.


Medical relief services were denied access to Jenin refugee camp for nearly 11 days, from 12 noon on 4 April until 15 April 2002. In addition the IDF shot at ambulances(10) or fired warning shots around them. Ambulance drivers were harassed or arrested. Meanwhile the dead in Jenin refugee camp remained in the street or in houses for days. The wounded lay for hours untended or were treated at home. In several cases people are reported to have died in circumstances where lack of access medical care may have caused or hastened their death. Many testimonies show families desperately telephoning for help in vain and compelled to stay alone with dying or dead relatives. Many cases of Palestinians killed by the IDF show the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining medical care or an ambulance to remove the dead.


Given the density of population in the one square kilometre refugee camp, which had a population of around 14,000 before the events of 3 April 2002, the complete destruction of the Hawashin quarter and the partial destruction of two additional quarters of the camp, have left more than 800 families, totalling some 4000 persons, homeless, living in tents or with relatives. About 169 houses with 374 apartment units have been completely destroyed with additional units partially destroyed.(16) Additionally, widespread IDF vandalism and property damage to the interior of homes was visible in a number of areas of the camp, especially in the al-Damaj quarter.

New Take On Life Under Occupation

A friend of mine posted this clip on Facebook a year or so ago and it stuck with me ever since. As I mentioned in my previous post, if Americans or other Westerners were faced with the inaccessibility of basic services such as medical care or education we would be up in arms. We would be rioting in the streets. Yet, the idea of someone denying us access to the hospital is so far fetched to that it is hard to even imagine it. This clip does a fine job of depicting what is happening to Palestinians every day in a way that more of us can empathize with.

Emotional Argument

For my Argumentative Writing class we were asked to construct an arguement using one of the three audience appeals. These appeals are pathos/emotions, ethos/character and logos/logic and reasoning.

For the assignment I chose to make an emotional argument about the right to freedom of movement and how we are all entitled to it, even Palestinians.

Freedom. We talk about freedom a lot, particularly here in the United

Sates. We enjoy freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion,

freedom to buy and sell arms as well as countless others. Yet, what

about the freedom of movement, the freedom to enjoy going from point A

to point B without being harassed, denied or stopped. Too few are

aware of what a luxury it is to enjoy such travel. Yet, there is one

group of people who recognize all too well what a privilege it is, for

it is one they have been denied for the past 60 years and those are

Palestinians living in the West Bank or Gaza, an area also known as

the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

With hundreds of checkpoints spread throughout an area the size of a

postage stamp there is not one town, village or person who is not

affect by them. Routine aspects of life, like going to work or school,

buying food and visiting the doctor have been made into trips or

terror or simply trials of patients and fortitude. Here is one medic’s

heart wrenching account of trying to get a severally ill patient to

the hospital for the treatment he needed:

“Yesterday [Monday, 2 July], at 2:15 P.M., I arrived with the

paramedic Taher Tahboub, 35, in the ambulance with license plate

62308-91, at the tunnels checkpoint in Bethlehem . We were

transporting Yousef Harbi 'Abd al-Qader 'Ashur, 20, who was suffering

from an accumulation of fluids in his lungs and was in critical

condition. Yusef's father was with him in the ambulance and we were on

our way from al-Ahli Hospital , in Hebron , to al-Makassed Hospital ,

in East Jerusalem .

We arrived at the checkpoint after coordination between the Red

Crescent and the Red Cross. The Red Cross was supposed to arrange the

crossing of the ambulance to the Israeli side. When we arrived at the

tunnels checkpoint, a border policeman with dark skin stopped us. He

yelled at me in Hebrew to go back to where I came from. I told him in

Hebrew that I was driving a patient in critical condition and that in

a humanitarian condition such as this he had to let me pass. The

policeman told me that I was not allowed to go through the checkpoint

to Jerusalem . I told him that only a few days earlier, after

coordination with the Red Cross, I had passed through this checkpoint

to Jerusalem . The policeman wasn't convinced and insisted that I

leave the place.

I didn't leave. I parked the ambulance on the right side of the road,

about seventy meters from the checkpoint. Taher and I called the Red

Crescent in Hebron and Bethlehem and asked them to coordinate between

the Red Cross and the Israeli side so we could pass. The Red Crescent

official in Bethlehem promised to take care of it and told us to wait

next to the checkpoint.

About three quarters of an hour later, around 3:00 P.M., a border

policeman, who appeared to be Druze, approached us and asked about the

patient's condition. He opened the ambulance door and looked at the

patient lying inside with a tube for draining fluids attached to his

chest. It was obvious from the appearance of the patient that he was

in a very critical condition. The policeman was not convinced and said

that a Palestinian ambulance was allowed to cross an Israeli

checkpoint only if the patient was in a life-threatening condition. I

emphasized to him that the patient was in a life-threatening

condition, but he said "No, he can wait." I asked him if he was a

doctor. He didn't reply and went back to the checkpoint.

Around 3:45 P.M., while we were waiting for an answer from the Red

Crescent in Bethlehem, a third policeman came and asked us to move

away from the checkpoint. The policeman was nervous. We moved back

about 200 meters and stopped next to the entrance of the road that led

to Beit Jala. We continued to wait for the Red Crescent's reply.

Around 4:00 P.M., the Red Crescent notified us that there was no point

in continuing to wait, and that we should return the patient to

al-Ahli hospital in Hebron . They promised they would continue to try

to coordinate the transport of the patient for tomorrow. We returned

the patient to al-Ahli hospital. He was exhausted from the long wait

at the checkpoint.

The next morning, a Red Crescent ambulance took the patient to the

tunnels checkpoint where a Jerusalem Red Crescent ambulance was

waiting and took the patient to al-Makassed Hospital. (Hashhash)”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that a person has the

right to move freely within their own state yet this man’s testimony

is just one many collected by the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem

that illustrate that Palestinians are being denied this right. Were

this to happen on the streets of America or anywhere else in the

developed world the citizens would be up in arms. Access to timely

medical care is a right not a privilege. It is meant to be given to

all mankind not just those thought to be worthy.

Is it not time that Israel allows Palestinians enjoy the same rights

as the rest of us?

Works Cited

Hashhash, Musa Abu. B'Tselem. 3 July 2007. 8 September 2011

Book Review

Here is the review I mentioned in my last post.

State Sanctioned Torture in

“Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel’s Detention of Palestinian Children”

The inhumane treatment of Palestinian children prisoners is the general focus of Stolen Youth; however, the writers behind this work of nonfiction contend that this treatment is part of a bigger plan set forth by the Israeli government. They claim the goal of the treatment is:

”demoralizing and defeating the population … It is designed not only to punish but also to intimidate. It is intended to convey the message that resistance is fruitless in the face of these overwhelming control structures. Above all, it is designed to render the population passive: the Israeli army, secret service (the Shabak) and police will reach out and target anyone – including the weakest and most vulnerable sectors of Palestinian society” (Catherine Cook 23).

DCI/PS, the organization behind the writing of Stolen Youth, attempt to demonstrate how the treatment of Palestinian children plays into what they view is Israel’s ultimate goal concerning the Occupied Territories, to “control the land, the economy, and the resources without assuming direct responsibility for the resident Palestinian population” (29). The authors argue that Israel is involved in using methods that are designed to “undermine the identity and self-confidence of the individual and the community” (23) methods also known as torture.

Cathrine Cook, Adam Hanieh and Adah Kay, the writers of Stolen Youth were all staff members of Defense of Children International at some point between 1999 and 2003. This organization, also known as DCI, is an international organization that currently enjoys consultative status with groups such as the United Nations Economic and Social Council, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Council of Europe was created in 1979. In 1992, DCI/PS, PS the Palestinian branch of the DCI’s organization, was established, making it one of 45 national branches that make up DCI (Defence of Children International Palestine 1). As staff members, these writers’ colleagues were often former victims of the Palestinian/Israeli prison system. Those relationships, along with their involvement in research and outreach programs, have given them a level of knowledge not easily obtained. In writing this book, they were aided by Israeli organization such as Hamoked, Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories and B’Tselem. At the time of publishing, DCI/PS was the only child rights organization working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (Catherine Cook viii).

Stolen Youth is divided into three sections, with each one focusing on a particular aspect of the imprisonment system that child prisoners are forced to go through in Palestine. In Part I, “Framework and Context” (chapters 1-4) opens with a brief history of children prisoners in Palestine, creating a framework to better understand the following chapters. This flows into Chapter 2, which deals with the system of control Israel has established over the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1967. The authors go a step farther by dealing not only with the history of Israeli control, but also by delving into the possible reasons why Israel has established tools such as curfews and checkpoints, what they hope to gain from such measures and what impact all of this has on Palestinians. Chapter 3 narrows in on the Israeli military orders and court system that has been established in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), a system which the authors theorize is designed to give legitimacy to the occupation. The last chapter in this section deals primarily with International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law. Within this chapter a reader is informed of the legal rights to which every child is entitled.

The writers set up Part II, “Arrest through Incarceration” so that readers can easily follow the pattern of abuse a child experiences from his arrest through his imprisonment. Chapter 5 is concerned with the first stage of a child’s imprisonment – the arrest and transfer to a detention or interrogation center. This chapter depicts children, some as young as 13, being blindfolded, bound and beaten, and finally taken to a location unknown to them or their families for reasons also often unknown (66). It draws on over a decade worth of testimony from former child prisoners to establish that the stories given are not random incidences but are, in fact, all part of a deliberately established system of abuse. Chapter 6 moves to the next stage of imprisonment which is that of interrogation and detention. In this chapter, we are given a firsthand look at the living conditions that children are placed in while waiting for their trial, as well as disturbing yet matter of fact testimonies of the treatment they received at the hand of Israeli soldiers. It is here we read about Huwwara Detention Center near the city of Nablus where six to nine children are forced to together in one room, not given soap, shampoo, clean water, or bathroom facilities and only enough food to feed two people (72). The last chapter in this section deals with the problems children face once placed in jail. This includes, but is not limited to, being put in adult facilities alongside adult criminals instead of other juveniles. There is also the difficulty they face in having access to a lawyer, as well as sentencing being determined more by the political climate at the time rather than the actual crime committed.

The last four chapters of the book make up Part III, “Analysis and Conclusion”. In this section, the writers first try and bring all the information together by going over information from Chapter 4 regarding International Human Rights and Humanitarian law and taking a more pointed look at how these laws are being broken. The psychological impact of undergoing such treatment is also examined. However, what is most interesting are the last chapters, in which the writers examine how Israel is able to get away with this behavior in light of it being condemned by not only the United Nations, but also lawyers, both Israeli and foreign, and numerous government, relief and aid agencies .

This book has a number of things going for it, first it is written by people who have experienced firsthand life in the Occupied Territories. The importance of this cannot be overly stressed. Relying on media feeds and personal relationships and interactions will only gain one so much insight into a situation. The real impact of life under occupation can only be understood and felt when one has experience it for oneself. The fact that the writers the use such stark language in the delivery of their information is another credit to them and this book. Often, books that cover divisive subject matter use inflammatory or proactive language to influence the reader. Stolen Youth does not employ such tactics. Instead it allows the reader to establish their own emotional reactions to events and policies depicted in the book, instead of relying on the writers to do it for them.

The heart of the book, however, is found in its use of personal experiences. The facts and statistics are great for they establish credibility. If that was all this book had to offer, it would still be horrible to read about the plight of these children; yet, it would be rather easy to forget them once the book was finished. By letting us hear their voices as well as the voices of lawyers and aid workers, a sense of indignation is created that children, especially children in the developed world, are being allowed to be treated in such a manner. Along with the anger is devastation, a bit of your heart that is breaking as well.

From my own experience, the authors of Stolen Youth have given an accurate depiction of life for Palestinians under Israeli Occupation. Having gone through check points, road blocks and an interrogation myself, I can confidently say that these are all tools designed by the Israeli government to instill fear, especially for Palestinians but also those who sympathize with their cause.

When I was interrogated, I was terrified, yet rationally I have to ask myself, why was I afraid? I am not Palestinian; they could not just throw me in prison (I was not doing anything illegal) or harass my family. Yet there I stood, shaking as I answered question after question about my presence in the West Bank. As an American citizen, I was confident that these people could not hurt me, yet they still had power over me. They had the power to revoke my visa and force me to leave the country, baring me from entering for next ten years. This is something that I had seen them do under the guise of “security” with another westerner with whom I worked. We were both English teachers at the time.

Works Cited

Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh, Adah Kay. Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children. London: Pluto Press, 2004.

Defence of Children International Palestine. n.d. 19 September 2011 .

Children in the OPT

Recently I wrote a book review over "Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children" which will be posted in the coming days. However, the book was published in 2004, and I couldn't help but wonder about what has occurred during the past seven years.

Here is what I found:

Between 2004 and August 2011 Defense for Children International (DCI) have documented the death of approximately 836 children as a result of military and/or settlers presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Their deaths have occurred in circumstances ranging from air and ground attacks, during assassination attempts, random gun fire, road closures, unexploded ordances and in clashes. Of these:

161 were eight or younger
137 were between nine and 12
263 were between 13 and 15
275 were between 16 and 18

Between 2008 and August 2011 (DCI) has recorded the presence of approximately 17,087 children in Israeli detention with roughly 1,600 being between the ages of 12-15.

Since 2004 DCI has recorded 17 instances where Palestinian children were used by Israeli soldiers as Human Shields. The youngest involved a nine year old child forced at gunpoint to search bags thought to contain explosives.

73 children have reported being either killed or injured by settler attacks. However, DCI is quick to note that these numbers do not begin to reflect the total number of instances involving children.

After reading all that you are probably wondering who Defense of Children International is and why you should believe them. Well, DCI is an international organization that currently enjoys consultative status with groups such as the United Nations Economic and Social Council, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. It was created in 1979. Then in 1992, DCI/PS, PS referring to the Palestinian branch of the DCI’s organization, was established, making it one of 45 national branches that make up DC.

All this information can be found on their website: Defense for Children International Palestine Section