Cities of Echoes

As I had promised back on Thursday, I would continue to share my experiences from my trip to Palestine last week, this time focusing exclusively on my observations from the West Bank. To offer a brief history lesson, the area referred to as the West Bank had been part of the Kingdom of Jordan following the collapse of the British Trans-Jordanian Mandate following the Second World War's conclusion in 1945. However, the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War of1967 with neighboring Arab nations led to the occupation of the West Bank of the Jordan River valley and has since become part of the state of Israel. What followed this event is nothing short of a humanitarian disaster, referred to by Palestinians as al-Naqba, or "the catastrophe." While the term had originated initially after the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent mass displacement of Palestinians, al-Naqba has also been used to the physical occupation of the West Bank region in 1967. Additionally, in more recent decades, Palestinians have suffered significant infringement upon basic human rights, such as freedom to move freely, maintain property, and protect themselves. In an effort to gain some semblance of self-government and diplomatic recognition within Israel and abroad, various political groups have sprung up in the Occupied Territories, including Hamas, Fatah, Jibha, and the Palestinian Authority (new version of the PLO). During my travels through the various Palestinian cities, like Ramallah and Bethlehem, I had an opportunity to speak with members of these organizations and ask about their goals/outlooks for the future. A salient trait I found was that Palestinians would like to see an end to the demeaning process of check-points and ID cards, which are used as tools of intimidation and oppression. For instance, imagine if everytime you wished to leave Ocean City or any town for that matter, you had to wait sometimes up to an hour to leave or came to the check-point to find that it had been closed for "security reasons." I believe that you would eventually feel a sense of utter hopelessness and perhaps, great animosity towards the soldier on the other side of that fence. While I do not deny that Israelis do have much to fear from their neighbors, particularly Iran and Syria, and this may warrant some of their strict security measures, but I ask how does oppressing millions of ordinary individuals create any true security? If anything, as the numerous suicide bombings in Israeli cities attest to, oppression only leads to further violence and hinders any peace efforts.

Moreover, the open defiance of Israeli settlers in close proximity to Palestinian communities, as in Hebron and Bethlehem, towards obeying their government's orders to cease expansion is another dimension of the conflict that I witnessed first hand. Just a few days before visiting the city of Hebron, which is considered holy by all 3 monotheistic religions for its relation to Abraham, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) forcibly removed Jewish settlers from a house that they had seized illegally from Palestinians. Instances like this are fairly commonplace in the West Bank where settlers, through Israeli government loans and special programs, establish compounds sometimes right ontop of exisiting Palestinian communities. As my group toured Hebron with a local resident I could not help but notice that home's had had their windows broken and doors spray-painted with Stars of David. Making matters worse is that many of these settlers are now entering the ranks of the IDF and manning posts in their settlements. To make it clear, these settlers are, in my opinion, akin to any other religious extremist, whether it is an evangelical Christian detonating a bomb at an abortion clinic or a Muslim jihadist strapping on a dynamite belt to blow apart a bus. All of these individuals should be equally treated as terrorist and tried for disturbing the general peace. It is hard to argue otherwise when you meet Palestinian families that had their door kicked in the other night or had their relative's tombstone decicrated and broken.

Check-Points and Chapped Lips

"I pledge allegiance to the world nothing more, nothing less than my humanity I pledge allegiance to the world until the last lock breaks none of us are free" -Strike Anywhere "To the World"

Over the course of this past week I spent my vacation traveling through Israel and its occupied territories in the West Bank region with a group of friends. All of us have become extremely interested in the current situation regarding the treatment of Palestinians within Israel, who have become dispersed across the area following Israel's numerous wars. Prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the partitioning of Palestine, much of what we now refer to as Israel was occupied by Arab Palestinians (Muslim and Christian) and Ottoman Turks, along with a significant Jewish minority. I do not wish to make it seem like I am trying to pass judgment on the emergence of the Israeli state; that is not for me to decide upon considering that I have not done serious research. Rather all I can speak about are the personal experiences and observations that I have taken from the past week spent trekking through Israel and the West Bank.

When crossing the border at Taba in Egypt to Israel the contrast between the two nations became very apparent, very quickly. On the Egyptian side the process of exiting the country was fairly relaxed and completed with the usual Arab casualness that I have come to appreciate greatly over these past months. A mere 150 feet away laid the Israeli border crossing station, enclosed by fences, turrets, and processing terminals. One of the first things that made me uneasy when entering Israel was the amount of security personel roaming the terminal, randomly picking individuals to interview to determine their threat level. Dressed in plain, civilian clothing the Israeli security personel pulled two of my friends aside to inquire about their reasons for entering the country. One friend, an Indian named Afsar, was drilled by an officer about his studies at the AUC, why he had a special entry visa (Indian citizen have to get a special visa prior to crossing, whereas Americans and Europeans do not), and if he knew anyone in Israel. Another friend, an American named Taylor, was approached because he had traveled to Israel several times during the past year, which apparently is circumspect to Israelis. As a result of my friends being interviewed and me traveling with them, all of us received a special yellow sticker on the back of our passports indicating that we were of a higher threat level than others - I guess now I can say I am a real rebel or something haha. From the terminal it was onto another processing area where our bags were x-rayed, phones scanned for explosives, and drilled about our itininaries while in Israel. Luckily, my group had developed a detailed itininary, which left 3 days at the end of the trip open-ended. To the Israeli border officers we said that we had left some time open so we could decide if we wanted to stay in Jerusalem longer or travel to Haifa - in reality, those 3 days were when we visited the West Bank.

Nearly an hour later we were on our way to the city of Elilat, where we then caught a bus to Tel Aviv, which is among my new favorite places to go. Situated along the Mediterranean Sea about half-way up the coast of Israel, Tel Aviv is the recognized capital of the country and its cultural headquarters. It reminded me very much of a mixture of the Jersey Shore and Philadelphia, in that there was burgeoning nightlife scene and beautiful beaches. My group was fortunate to have had a day at the beach and enjoying the 75 degree weather, then going out at night to a cool litte place called the British Pub. Located right in the middle of the nightlife scene in the city, our group got to meet a number of locals. During the course of the night I met 3 Israeli girls, all in their early twenties and living in neighboring communities. All had served in the military and had recently been discharged after 2 years of mandatory service. One girl, named Shira, now works on a kibuttz right outside of the city teaching English and French pre-teens. It was interesting to hear an Israeli perspective on the conflict in the country and gain knowledge about growing up in Israel. During the upcoming semester I may interview her formally as a source for my senior thesis concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict - something that will surely set my work apart from others.

After having spent 3 days in Tel Aviv, my group headed to Jerusalem and the West Bank. As soon as we arrived early Sunday evening we dropped our backpacks and scrambled across the Old City to get to the Mountain of Olives for sunset. According to the Bible, the Mountain of Olives is where Jesus frequently met with his Apostles and would eventually share his last days with them leading up to the crucifixion. From the top of this steep hill you are provided with one of the most amazing sights: a total view of the Old City. On the way back down we visited the garden where Jesus and his Apostles met the night before his death and he prayed to God, asking why he was to be killed. Upon entering the Old City again we toured the Arab and Christian quarters, which consist of narrow cobblestone streets lined by stalls selling everything imaginable, from shoes to pastries. My favorite place was a pastry shop called Jafar's Sweets, which sells the best kenafeh (traditional Palestinian pastry - akin to baklava) in the city. During the following days we visited the various holy sites in the city: the Wailing Wall, al-Aqsa mosque/Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Each one was breathtaking and caused me to well up because of the strong spiritual presence found within them. At each site I prayed for friends and loved ones of all the faiths, making sure not to exclude anyone.

As for my adventures in the West Bank, I need some time to reflect more on them before putting anything in my blog. Also, I am extremely tired from my 12 hours of traveling back to Cairo, which begun at 10 PM last night.

Ma'salaama for now,

Andrew