A Christian Peacemaker Team delegation in Hebron reports on glimpses of hope amid all the bad news from Israel/Palestine 

REFLECTIONS FROM THE SEPTEMBER DELEGATION

Saturday, September 27, 2003

[posted here 10-1-03]

In the midst of all the bad news, it's hopeful once in a while to learn of acts of courage and humanity. The partnership of Palestinian and Israeli fathers who lost children to the mad violence is uplifting.

Christian Peacemaker Team- Hebron

24 September 2003

Note: The following are excerpts from more extended reflections written by members of the recent delegation to Hebron.

Signs of Peace

by Janet MacDonell, O.L.M.

"In the global family, all wars are civil war," said Ghazi Brigithe, a Palestinian Muslim. He and his friend, Rani Elhanan, a Jewish Israeli, have come together to speak to us from the Association of Bereaved Families. Rani's 14-year-old daughter was killed by a suicide bomb. Ghazi lost two brothers. In their pain, the two men came to understand that killing is not a Muslim or a Jewish custom, but a government policy. They tell me of the 1400 lectures on non-violence and peace building they have given in schools, of blood banks they have organized. Palestinians donate blood for Israeli> wounded, and Israelis do the same for Palestinians. Rani calls it, "the same blood for peace." My indignation grows when I recall the hours and pages of violence that I hear from the media, while the efforts for peace go unnoted.

Images and Realities

by Bill Baldwin

We are being bombarded by so many images, pleasant and unpleasant, some inspiring, some terrible, that it is hard to sort things out. . . .

In Hebron, we were able to join the CPT for the school patrol. Although necessitated by the danger of military violence against children, this was one of the most pleasant parts of the trip. Walking along the streets of the beautiful old city of Hebron, surrounded by a crowd of schoolchildren, was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, news that the Israeli army had destroyed a house and a young man killed inside interrupted our fun.

Another memorable experience was meeting the barber who cut my hair. Although burdened with debt and threatened with the possible demolition of his house, this man goes on cutting people's hair. Sometimes he cuts hair free of charge for those who are unemployed. His little shop provides a place for people to drop in and talk. A place to drop in and talk can be a refuge of sanity in an insane situation.

Where is the justice?

by Christina Gibb

Angela Godfrey (Israeli Coalition Against Home Demolitions) took us on a tour to see part of the security fence (Apartheid Wall) that is completed near Jayyous, west of Nablus. We walked down a track from the village to a gate in the security fence in the valley below to meet Sharif, a local farmer. We had to talk to him through the fence, although the village was his home.

Sharif explained that the fence runs 5 or 6 kilometers inside the West Bank from the recognized 1967 boundary. He and 60 other farmers are cut off from their land. "We grow not only the olives you can see from here, but also citrus, grapes, avocados, mangoes and guavas," he said. "We can only go through the gate either way during the five minutes that the soldiers open it, at three times during the day. To work the farms, most of us live in sheds on the land, leaving our wives and families at home. In addition, the water is in the valley, and we can no longer pump it up to the village. It is only supplied to the village for a couple of hours every three days or so."

Sharif said that in 1947, many Palestinians fled their land when their villages we attacked. They have never been able to return. Now, they are determined to hang on--both to their farms and their homes. "We have no quarrel with the Israeli people," he said. "We have lived near each other and traded our produce peacefully with them all this time. But where is justice for us now?"

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, please visit our website at: http://www.cpt.org. Photos of our projects may be viewed at: http://www.cpt.org/gallery