May 3 ~ Judy & Jee Sook Kutz

Glassblower, member of a family with hundreds of years of history in Hebron

Hebron is a beautiful and ancient city and was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. It is the largest Palestinian district (governorate) in the West Bank with 700,000 Palestinian residents.

Old City of Hebron, seen from a rooftop

It is the only Palestinian city that has settlements in the heart of the old city. There are 20 settlements in Hebron district. The  settlers are known to kick Palestinian families out of their home and take them for themselves. The displaced families have no recourse.

1500 Israeli soldiers are stationed in Hebron for the sole purpose of protecting the Settlers who are required to carry guns under Israeli law. As we enjoyed a cup of coffee with a Palestinian shop keeper and his sons we observed a settler with a gun tucked in the back of his pants.

In the Ibrahimi Mosque, Herod-era stones in the wall behind our group

The Ibrahimi Mosque is in the heart of the old city. The walls of the mosque were built using large stones from the time of Herod.

In 1984, Baruch Goldstein, an American Israeli doctor carried out a shooting massacre inside the mosque killing 30 worshippers and injuring 125.  The Israeli government took extreme measures against the Palestinians following the massacre. They were banned from certain streets in Hebron, such as Shuhada Street, the main shopping street in town. we walked down this street but our Palestinian guide had to return to the bus by another route. The military put in curfews and closed the market and the mosque for 7 months. 1800 shops were closed in the market, 1400 offices were closed. Another consequences was deciding the mosque was dividing the mosque between the Jewish settlers and the Palestinians.

Christian Peace Maker teams have been stationed in Hebron for 20 years. They accompany children to school and document incidents of violence. Their presence makes life safer.

Thursday, May 3 ~ Gayle Gulick

It broke my heart yesterday to hear the stories of Rami Elhanan and George Sa’adeh (from the Parents’ Circle/Bereaved Families Forum, an organization of families from both sides who have lost loved ones to the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). Like them, Daoud Nassar has wasted no time on tears, rather focusing on solutions and actions.

Message at the entrance to the farm

He has turned his farm into a center for peacemaking and nonviolent resistance called the Tent of Nations. Hundreds of volunteers flood in from around the world to help harvest his crops and spread his messages of peace and harmony.

Charlie Lewis, Daher Nassar, Daoud Nassar, Heidi Saikaly

What a great honor to meet him!

Thousands of visitors like us visit the farm annually, supporting the Nassar family and learning about their struggle to keep Israel from confiscating the farm as “State land.” For 27 years of fighting for the farm in Israel’s military and Supreme courts, the family has managed to stay on their land. Their continued presence is a witness to their commitment and the support of strong friendships from around the world.

To learn more about Tent of Nations Farm, and the Nassar family’s struggle to keep the land and continue farming there, visit either of these websites:

• Farm website:  http://www.tentofnations.org/
• Friends of Tent of Nations North America Website:  http://fotonna.org/
• Facebook page for FOTONNA:  https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Tent-of-Nations-North-America-107340499312794/

Thursday, May 3 ~ George Vasil

Today we visited Hebron.  It is the largest city on the West Bank and the third largest in Israel-Palestine. In many ways Hebron is emblematic of the current Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Hebron, from the Old City, rooftop at Christian Peacemaker Teams building

Hebron is home to 120,000 Palestinians, most of whom are Muslim.  There are 800 Israelis that live in a settlement in the middle of the town.  They’re fairly recent arrivals and their presence has been an irritant to the Palestinian community.  Hebron is in area A, as defined by the Oslo Accords.  However, Hebron has two subdivisions: H1 and H2.  H2 is under Israeli military control, and the Jewish settlement dominates, and H1 is Palestinian.  Note: There are 1700 Israeli Defense Force troops present in Hebron to protect the settlers.

With Usama in the Ibrahimi Mosque, Hebron

Hebron is the home of the Caves of the Patriarchs, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were buried. The site is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims and for many years it was open to all faiths. In February 1994, the Jewish Purim coincided with Muslim Ramadan. An enraged American-Israeli shot and killed 29 Muslims and wounded 125 who were at prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque that is present on the site.   He was beaten to death by the survivors.  Although his action was widely condemned by Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and many Israelis and Jews around the world, some in Israel viewed the killer as a folk hero.

In response to the attack, the West Bank erupted in protest and violence.  More Palestinians and Jews died as a result. The Israeli authorities reacted by closing the Caves for three months and banned Palestinians from several main streets, including Shuhada Street where many Palestinians lived and had thriving businesses.

Palestinian shops sealed shut. This street was formerly the gold and silver jewelry market.

Palestinian shops had their doors welded shut by IDF soldiers. Check points were set up in the city and IDF soldier patrols became routine.  The Cave of the Patriarchs, which had been shared by the three faiths was divided. The Muslims were given 40% and the Jews 60%.  Muslims may not enter the Jewish side and Jews may not enter the Muslim side.  Palestinian Christians may enter the Muslim side but not the Jewish side.  We were allowed access to the Jewish side but our guide Usama was not allowed.

Hebron, H2, settlement above the souk, seen through the grate protecting shops from settlers’ thrown trash

As we walked through Hebron today, we saw the closed streets and shop doors welded shut.  We walked through the market and saw the lack of traffic.  Above us we saw a wire screen running over our heads for the length of the market.  In this area, the homes above the market are owned by Israelis who frequently throw trash out of their windows and into the market below.  The wire screen was installed to protect shoppers in the market. But a wire screen doesn’t protect the shoppers from urine or other liquids that may be carelessly jettisoned from above. In one area, we saw where a large stone, launched from above, had torn a hole in the screen.  What does this tell us about the attitude of the people living above the market toward those that are in the market?

It is no surprise that Yitzak Rabin felt that his failure to remove the Israeli settlement for the heart of Hebron was one of his greatest political mistakes.