Column
Side-by-side, demanding an end to occupation
By NEVE GORDON
At around 9 a.m., the first 50
Israelis passed the military checkpoint and climbed over the dirt barricade.
They were entering Bethlehem, which is considered “Area A” of the
Palestinian Territories and therefore out of bounds for Israeli citizens.
Determined to meet their Palestinian partners, these Israelis, members of
Ta’ayush, Arab-Jewish Partnership, had decided to defy the law. Christmas
Eve, they thought, was a suitable day for an act of civil disobedience.
In August, Ta’ayush members had attempted to walk from
Jerusalem to Bethlehem, but, when they reached the checkpoint, they were
brutally beaten by the Israeli police who used water cannons and clubs to
disperse the crowd. On Dec. 24, the activists entered in a roundabout way in
order to ensure that this time around a solidarity meeting would indeed take
place.
Bethlehem’s monthlong curfew had been lifted the day before,
but the city was in no mood to celebrate. Children had been locked up in their
homes for weeks, parents had not gone to work, and access to medical facilities
had been obstructed. Scores of residents had been imprisoned, houses had been
demolished, and many streets and sidewalks had been turned to rubble by tanks,
armored vehicles and bulldozers.
As they made their way from the barricade to Manger Square outside
the Church of the Nativity, the activists were shocked to see that Bethlehem,
which had had a complete makeover just three years earlier, was in ruins.
The square boasted no Christmas tree; there were no lights and no
banners marking the sacred day. It was clear that this was not to be a joyous
holiday.
At around noon, a second group of approximately 200 Israelis and
50 French citizens met at Checkpoint 300, the major entrance to Bethlehem from
Jerusalem. Immediately after the Latin patriarch’s convoy passed through
the checkpoint, at around 12:30 p.m., the Israelis marched forward and demanded
that the Israeli military make way so that they could enter Bethlehem. They
brought toys for the Palestinian children with them, a symbolic gesture meant
to brighten just a tiny little bit the days of those who have lost their
childhood. They also had a truckload of basic foodstuffs for the needy, knowing
that over 60 percent of Palestinian families live on $2 a day.
Probably because the eyes of world were watching (scores of TV
crews were covering the patriarch’s convoy), the police decided not to
interfere and allowed the Ta’ayush members to cross the checkpoint. The
protesters took out signs -- “Happy Christmas? Without Oppression!”;
“Peace, Security and Liberty For the Two Peoples”; “Dismantle
the Settlements and Make Peace” -- and began marching the two kilometers
to Manger Square, chanting: “Down with the Occupation! Down with the
Occupation!” in Arabic and Hebrew.
Residents of Bethlehem joined the marching crowd, and together
they entered the square where they were met by hundreds of Palestinians as well
as by the activists who had arrived earlier.
It was an electrifying moment.
In the midst of the bloody conflict and merely a day after the
harsh curfew had been lifted, hundreds of Muslims, Jews and Christians,
Israelis, Palestinians and internationals stood side-by-side demanding an end
to the occupation.
The very existence of such a protest undermines the Israeli
government’s claim that there is no partner with whom to negotiate, and
demonstrated once again that the two peoples have a common cause.
All of the TV crews witnessed the event, and many of them even
filmed it. Yet, while the Arab Al-Jazeera and Abu-Dabi stations broadcasted the
demonstration throughout the day, CNN, BBC, Skynews and the like decided not to
report about this precious moment of Jewish-Arab solidarity.
Most astonishing was the Israeli press, which made nothing of the
protest, begging the question of why 250 Israelis standing together with
hundreds of Palestinians in the middle of Bethlehem -- in an act of civil
disobedience -- was not considered newsworthy.
The answer is straightforward: The demonstration disrupts the
picture the Israeli government and media have been attempting to paint over the
past two years. If the protest had been covered, the Israeli viewer would have
had to confront the fact that the occupied Palestinians are not the
bloodthirsty terrorists they are frequently portrayed to be, that all they are
demanding is an end to the occupation, and that Palestinians and Israelis can
work together toward achieving this goal.
To be sure, such a picture would have probably created a
dissonance among many Israelis who have been subjected to incessant propaganda
and incitement against Palestinians. Nonetheless, it is precisely this type of
dissonance that is most needed in Israel if we are to break the current bloody
impasse: to show the public that a different, more humane and peaceful route is
possible.
When the religious ceremonies ended, the Israeli government
re-implemented the curfew, knowing that the TV crews had left the city and no
one would document the return of the oppressive regime. In this cynical world,
two days of freedom are apparently enough.
Neve Gordon teaches politics at Ben-Gurion University, Israel,
and is a contributor to The Other Israel: Voices of Refusal and Dissent
(New Press 2002). He can be reached at
ngordon@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
National Catholic Reporter, January 17,
2003
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