Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2004, pages 28-31

Special Report

From the West Bank to the West Coast: "Tear Down the Wall!"

A Sampling of the Nov. 9 Day of Solidarity

Zububa, West Bank:

After international protesters cut through the Israeli Apartheid Wall near the West Bank village of Zububa (top) they are confronted by Israeli occupation troops, who attacked the activists with teargas and concussion grenades (photos by Abigeil Bakovic).

WE MADE CLEAR that no walls would stand between the people.

Some 200 Palestinians, 35 Israelis and a similar number of internationals gathered Nov. 9 in the village of Zububa to mark the international day of solidarity against the wall by tearing a portion of it down. Our day started much earlier though.

Zububa is the village located farthest north in the occupied territories, and adjacent to a village named Salem, inside the 1948 borders. In the days before the wall became a cold and hard fact it had been a matter of mere minutes walking between the two villages. Nowadays the two villages are cut off from each other completely, and so was our easy route to Zububa.

We were forced to go through a military checkpoint in the wall, 10 kilometers away, where we were to switch to a Palestinian bus. Ten kilometers may not sound all that much, but in the reality of the occupation this short ride took us over an hour and a half of dirt roads, and roads regarding which even the word itself will seem like an unreasonable euphemism.

We were very lucky, however. The army is regularly patrolling these roads, but with no regularity as to when and where. Indeed, as we were slowly driving we spotted an armored personnel carrier (APC) taking a left at a crossroads we were about to get to five minutes later. It was creeping slowly, as if insisting that we remember that the picturesque scenery isn't really such a pleasant one.

When we finally made it to Zububa we were led to the municipality building, where a short meeting took place, roles were set and our Hebrew signs uncovered. A march formed and we were heading to the site of the fence, bolt cutters and pooling hooks in our hands, unwilling to stop. We found a white military jeep waiting for us, but proceeded nevertheless. Shouting slogans in Hebrew for the soldiers to hear, we started cutting at the barbed wire. The soldiers were shocked.

Five minutes later we were already past the barbed wire and at the electronic fence. By the time more army forces arrived, the fence was already noticeably cut. We continued. It took half an hour of teargas, concussion grenades and some 20 meters of fence removed before we were pushed back. No arrests were made.

As we retreated slowly toward the village, the soldiers fired warning shots over our heads. The village qadi (religious leader) addressed the soldiers in Hebrew, asking them to leave and come back without their weapons. "How can there be any peace when we are imprisoned in ghettos?" He talked about partnership with us, the Israelis present; he spoke about freedom.

When we were on the bus ready to leave, a strong explosion was heard, followed by three military jeeps heading toward Salem military camp, but provocatively taking the route through the village. Kids were throwing stones. We later found out that the explosion had been a concussion grenade thrown in the direction of the municipality.

But, for the time being, the people can go to their fields.

—Jonathan Pollak, Tel Aviv

San Franciscans Rally to Stop Wall

Against the dramatic backdrop of the spires of Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco's Washington Square Park, some 200 Palestinian supporters built—and at the end of the day knocked down—a facsimile of the Apartheid Wall Israel is constructing inside the internationally recognized borders of the West Bank. Nov. 9 was chosen for this International Day of Action organized by The Bay Area Coalition Against the Wall to simultaneously commemorate the day the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

International Solidarity Movement co-founder Huwaida Arraf described the 25-foot-high barrier which separates Palestinians from their jobs, schools, farms and, in some instances, their families.Basil Ayish assailed the U.S. government for its financial support of Israel and the construction of the wall at a cost of $1.5 million a mile.Tarik Kazaleh explained the difficulties for Palestinian Americans attempting to return to their homeland for family visits.

In addition, members of Presente, a Marin County-based direct action group, sat cross-legged in a grassy corner of the square solemnly reading the names of each of the 587 children killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the past 37 months.The group, whose members also belong to the Marin Peace and Justice Coalition, distributed copies of Remember These Children booklets which state each child's name, age, place and manner of death. The booklets are available free of charge for only the cost of postage through the Web site <www.rememberthesechildren.org> or by phoning AET at (800) 368-5788.

—Elaine Pasquini, San Francisco

Washington, DC:

On the National Mall in Washington, DC Nov. 9, Arab- and Jewish-Americans, students, and activists protested Israel's construction of the 400-mile wall. The protest, organized by DC Palestine Solidarity, a consortium of nine student, professional and religious groups, included a tent with free educational materials, a quilt representing Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948 and the years thereafter and a huge sign declaring the wall as a barrier to peace.

—Delinda C. Hanley, Washington, DC

Los Angeles, CA:

The specter of Israel's Apartheid Wall swallowing up 50 percent of the best land of the West Bank has disturbed peace and justice organizations in Los Angeles for the past year. That is why 26 Southern California organizations jumped to the call for a Nov. 9 global protest against Israel's latest land grab in the guise of "security."

Weeks of strategy sessions, rehearsals and talks with the Santa Monica police culminated in an exemplary public display at the scenic entrance to Santa Monica's pier.

Days before the event, the Jewish Defense League went online vowing to stage a counter-demonstration at the pier that would eclipse the "Arab lovers."

Beneath a cloudy sky, demonstrators gathered in the morning to erect a 10-foot-tall cardboard replica of the Apartheid Wall. One side was covered by posters, photos and maps depicting the damage wreaked by Israel's medieval fortified barrier. On the other, microphones were set up while JDL hecklers—separated by several policemen on bicycles—shouted taunts.

This writer walked past the 30 or so protesters in the JDL group who shouted: "The murderers are over there, the Jews are here."

Henry Farber, a slight, elderly man, held a sign reading "Holocaust Survivor" as he expressed his support of the Palestinians to a news crew. Filmmaker Amy Halpern had crafted an original sculpture for the event, a framed mirror with prison bars entitled "Remove Poisonous Obstruction."

While people peered into the barred mirror, Halpern commented that by condemning others to a prison, the Israelis are imprisoning themselves.

Emcee Dr. Laila Marayati welcomed the crowd of 400 and urged spectators not to react to taunts or insults that might be directed at them.

Noting that many of her family members already are imprisoned in Khan Younis, Dr. Marayati said the Israelis couldn't get away with the Apartheid Wall except by referring to it as a "security fence."

"What really frustrates the Israelis is that any other people faced with the closures, hunger, curfews and poverty would have left," she noted. "But the Palestinians will not leave their land."

Dr. Marayati said the 400-mile-long wall that snakes through the West Bank is protected by moats, watchtowers and machine gun turrets.

"This Wall is paid for with U.S. tax dollars," she stated. "We have a hand in this gross human rights violation that separates farmers from their fields, students from their schools and families from each other.

"I am afraid I am witnessing the demise of the Palestine beloved by my father and grandfathers," she concluded. "We must provide seeds of hope for the Palestinians, we must tear down the wall that exists around Washington, DC and Congress."

Rabbi Leonard Beerman said he chose to address the issue of the Wall "because I care for justice and peace and because I'm a rabbi and a Jew."

He called the wall an obstacle whose consequences will bring degradation and humiliation to the Palestinian people. The Palestinians are constantly humiliated and the Israelis are in perpetual fear of suicide bombs, he continued, and these emotions take away the dignity of both people.

The Wall, he warned, takes away the chance for peace, just as the Maginot Line was totally ineffective in pre-World War II Europe.

"Anything we can do to enhance the dignity of another human is a tribute to our own humanity," the rabbi said. "The Israeli government is tragically engaged in the constant humiliation of the Palestinians, the Israeli Army uses massive force to deprive Palestinians of their dignity, yet each of us must be able to have a place of honor in this life."

Peace songs led by actress Miri Harvach seemed to enrage the JDL rabble. As Paul Hershfeld began reading his poetry, a burly JDLer burst into the crowd, screaming "you self-hating Jew." National Lawyers Guild monitor Jim Lafferty said the JDL man threw a punch at a man holding a peace sign. His fist broke the picket stick which flew into the face of a bystander and drew blood.

At this point, the police handcuffed the aggressor and led him away.

USC professor Hagit Borer stated: "I'm here to beg you to fight for the soul of our community. While Palestinians are crowded into inhumane conditions, the other side is losing its soul."

George Rishmawi of the Holy Land Trust introduced himself as "a man who lives in that prison called Bethlehem."

"The Israelis are building a wall so we'll emigrate, but we will never leave," he vowed.

Throughout the program police failed to apprehend a hooded male figure wearing a belt of mock dynamite sticks who carried a sign reading "I'm just doing my job."

Counteracting the malevolent message was a sign that read:

"Mr. Gorbachev Mr. Sharon

Tear Down This Wall."

The Rev. Darrel Meyers told the crowd that he had seen the Wall which completely surrounds the town of Qalqilya, separating residents from their fields, which are called the breadbasket of the region.

"In Qalqilya, the Wall prevents the people from seeing the sun set," the Presbyterian minister declared. "The Wall snakes its way through the West Bank, through a convent in Bethany...those who say the Wall is for security must admit it is a fraud perpetrated by the predatory Sharon."

He called upon all the people of the unholy Holy Land to pray that someday the people of Qalqilya will again be able to see the sun set.

The sun broke through the clouds as demonstrators stood before the cardboard Wall and pushed it over.

—Pat McDonnell Twair

Seattle, WA:

Christian, Jewish and Muslim voices joined together to call for the Israeli wall that is choking life out of Palestine to come down. Most also signed petitions demanding that no U.S. taxpayer dollars be used to finance the construction of the wall and that our government do everything in its power to pressure Israel to dismantle parts of the wall already built, return all lands confiscated by the wall and compensate for all losses.

Westlake Park was transformed into a Seam Zone, with a full-scale model of the wall guarded by "soldiers" who issued everyone an Announcement of Closure, not unlike those issued in the areas between the Green Line and the Wall within the West Bank. Street theater preceded the formal program: A wall puppet smashed homes, trampled olive trees and demolished ambulances, schools and hospitals, and a group in white masks crying red tears remembered Al Nakba and decried the deplorable conditions of the illegal Israeli occupation and the wall's devastation.

During the program, John Boonstra with the Washington Association of Churches said that he Israeli government's preoccupation with the so-called wall of protection may seem protectively defensive, but it is perilous annexation. Stopping the wall, he argued, is about peace and justice in the neighborhood.

Stated actress and activist Meg Savlov, "I am also an American and a Jew, and I don't want my tax dollars or my country supporting this wall... and I know I'm not alone."

Professor Nada Elia described ways in which the wall is compromising Palestinian access to life-sustaining water resources.

Joe Martin, a local low-income and housing advocate, focused on how U.S. tax dollars are needed at home, and questioned use of our tax dollars for building walls. He gave the following eight reasons for why this wall must fall:

• It SEPARATES farmers from their farmlands and water, families from their loved ones, the sick from medical care, and children from schools.
  
• It IMPRISONS people in their own homes.
  
• It DESTROYS the environment and DEMOLISHES homes; it DESTROYS communities.
  
• It IGNORES existing internationally agreed-upon borders.
  
• It WILL NOT increase security for either Israelis or Palestinians.
  
• It STEALS land and water.
  
• It PRECLUDES any chance of a two-state solution.
  
• It is PAID FOR by U.S. tax dollars.

A second, half-sized model of the wall was toppled as the crowd chanted, "Bring the wall down!" During the program, Jim Page and the Raging Grannies performed songs written specifically for this issue and, as a finale, the crowd joined hands and learned a Debkeh dance to celebrate communities that will be saved when we stop the wall and truly bring it down.

The following groups sponsored the event and many more participated in the activities of the day: American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) Seattle Chapter, American Friends Service Committee, Arab-American Community Coalition, Churches for Middle East Peace, Community Action Network, Hayaat-UW, Kadima, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Not In Our Name, Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Seattle Chapter Fellowship of Reconciliation, Seattle International Human Rights Coalition, Seattle Tikkun, Seattle Women in Black, Stop the Wall Campaign-US, Voices of Palestine, and the Washington Association of Churches.

Excellent information about the wall and other Nov. 9 actions that happened throughout the world can be found at the Web site <http://www.stopthewall.org>.

—John Reese, Seattle

 

SIDEBAR

Worldwide Protests Held

Countries which held protests against Israel's Apartheid Wall on Nov. 9, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, included:

Argentina Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Brazil Canada Chile England France

Germany Holland Iceland Indonesia Ireland Italy Japan Jordan Norway Philippines

Poland Scotland South Africa Spain Sweden Syria USA Wales

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