Opinion Editorials, December 2006, To see today's opinion articles, click here: www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
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Born in Shepherd's Field Near Bethlehem
By Mazin Qumsiyeh
PNN, Sunday, 24 December 2006
It is at Christmastime that the sometimes-beautiful and sometimes-poignant childhood memories of Bethlehem haunt me and other Palestinian Christians most vividly.
Born in Shepherd's Field near Bethlehem to a Lutheran mother and a Greek Orthodox father, I grew up feeling lucky because we celebrated two Christmases. The Christmas season was a time of family gatherings around kerosene heaters where our fingers were cold but our hearts were warm and stomachs full.
Today, Christmas is a time to reflect on the tragedy that has befallen this most famous of little towns. Israel militarily occupied Bethlehem in 1967, but the landscape had begun to change well before that. In 1948, Bethlehem became home to thousands of Palestinian refugees after more than 750,000 people were driven from their homes in what became Israel. Palestinians were forbidden to return, and the cramped refugee camps of Dheisheh and Aida on the outskirts of Bethlehem remain testaments to this nearly 60-year legacy of dispossession.
After 1967, Israel built new illegal settlements on annexed Palestinian public and agricultural lands and Israeli-only roads to connect these settlements to Israel and one another. We could do nothing but watch as increasing portions of our homeland became off-limits to Palestinians. The only forested region of East Jerusalem, Jabal Abu Ghneim -- where I used to picnic and walk almost daily -- became the Jewish settlement of Har Homa.
Today, Bethlehem is surrounded by the settlements of Gilo, Har Gilo, and a new settlement near Rachel's tomb. The tomb is holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews but is now off limit to Palestinians, including relatives of the hundreds of Palestinian Muslims buried there.
Since 2002, Bethlehemites have faced the enormous human costs of a massive, concrete segregation wall. During my visit last July, I noticed that the route of the wall zigzagged around Bethlehem, placing fertile Palestinian agricultural lands on the "Israeli side" of the wall. The wall went straight through centuries-old villages - separating Palestinian families from each other and from their jobs, hospitals, schools, churches and mosques.
Many of my relatives have lost jobs in Jerusalem, a mere six miles away, because it is virtually impossible for West Bank Palestinians to obtain permits to enter Jerusalem. Even with a permit, checkpoints make travel unpredictable and often impossible, precluding reliable work attendance. Although I have an American passport, I am denied entry to East Jerusalem, where I taught high school. At Bethlehem University, where my brother has taught mathematics for 25 years, the wall and checkpoints mean many faculty and students can no longer make it to school. The biblical and literal path from Nazareth to Bethlehem is blocked by checkpoints and thirty-foot high slabs of concrete.
I am saddened when I see how Bethlehem has been transformed. A once-thriving community is stifled, isolated and desperate. Tourism has plummeted, jobs are scarce and Christian Palestinian families are leaving. At Christmastime, typically a period of joy and hope, this grim reality hits especially hard.
Israel's desire to acquire maximum geography with minimum Palestinian demography is the root of the suffering afflicting the Holy Land. Amnesty International has observed that the peace processes failed because Israel has ignored human rights, including the right of native Palestinians to return to their homes and lands. There is now a broad international consensus (with the exceptions of the US and Israeli governments) on the danger to international peace and security posed by Israel's continued violations of human rights and international law.
Although Israel's actions are given diplomatic and financial cover by my adopted country of America, I feel hopeful. Jimmy Carter's new book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" marks the first time a major US politician recognized publicly the reality of discrimination against the Christians and Muslims of Palestine. The Iraq study group has recommended resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as critical to regional stability. People are increasingly pausing to reconsider the value of our government's unconditional support for Israel. We need our politicians to follow suit. In this season celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace, let us all resolve to pray and work for justice in the holiest of lands.
May this holiday season and the new year bear the fruits of the collective hard work for peace with justice to all people.
***
Below are reflections/greetings for this holiday season (sorry it is not more personal) followed by a statement and action alert from the Palestinian American Congress.
1) Christmas Reflections/Greeting 2006 http://www.qumsiyeh.org/christmas2006/
It is at Christmastime that the sometimes-beautiful and sometimes-poignant childhood memories of Bethlehem haunt me and other Palestinian Christians most vividly. Born in Shepherd's Field near Bethlehem to a Lutheran mother and a Greek Orthodox father, I grew up feeling lucky because we celebrated two Christmases. The Christmas season was a time of family gatherings around kerosene heaters where our fingers were cold but our hearts were warm and stomachs full.
Today, Christmas is a time to reflect on the tragedy that has befallen this most famous of little towns. Israel militarily occupied Bethlehem in 1967, but the landscape had begun to change well before that. In 1948, Bethlehem became home to thousands of Palestinian refugees after more than 750,000 people were driven from their homes in what became Israel. Palestinians were forbidden to return, and the cramped refugee camps of Dheisheh and Aida on the outskirts of Bethlehem remain testaments to this nearly 60-year legacy of dispossession.
After 1967, Israel built new illegal settlements on annexed Palestinian public and agricultural lands and Israeli-only roads to connect these settlements to Israel and one another. We could do nothing but watch as increasing portions of our homeland became off-limits to Palestinians. The only forested region of East Jerusalem, Jabal Abu Ghneim -- where I used to picnic and walk almost daily -- became the Jewish settlement of Har Homa. Today, Bethlehem is surrounded by the settlements of Gilo, Har Gilo, and a new settlement near Rachel's tomb. The tomb is holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews but is now off limit to Palestinians, including relatives of the hundreds of Palestinian Muslims buried there.
Since 2002, Bethlehemites have faced the enormous human costs of a massive, concrete segregation wall. During my visit last July, I noticed that the route of the wall zigzagged around Bethlehem, placing fertile Palestinian agricultural lands on the "Israeli side" of the wall. The wall went straight through centuries-old villages - separating Palestinian families from each other and from their jobs, hospitals, schools, churches and mosques.
Many of my relatives have lost jobs in Jerusalem, a mere six miles away, because it is virtually impossible for West Bank Palestinians to obtain permits to enter Jerusalem. Even with a permit, checkpoints make travel unpredictable and often impossible, precluding reliable work attendance. Although I have an American passport, I am denied entry to East Jerusalem, where I taught high school. At Bethlehem University, where my brother has taught mathematics for 25 years, the wall and checkpoints mean many faculty and students can no longer make it to school. The biblical and literal path from Nazareth to Bethlehem is blocked by checkpoints and thirty-foot high slabs of concrete.
I am saddened when I see how Bethlehem has been transformed. A once-thriving community is stifled, isolated and desperate. Tourism has plummeted, jobs are scarce and Christian Palestinian families are leaving. At Christmastime, typically a period of joy and hope, this grim reality hits especially hard.
Israel's desire to acquire maximum geography with minimum Palestinian demography is the root of the suffering afflicting the Holy Land. Amnesty International has observed that the peace processes failed because Israel has ignored human rights, including the right of native Palestinians to return to their homes and lands. There is now a broad international consensus (with the exceptions of the US and Israeli governments) on the danger to international peace and security posed by Israel's continued violations of human rights and international law.
Although Israel's actions are given diplomatic and financial cover by my adopted country of America, I feel hopeful. Jimmy Carter's new book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" marks the first time a major US politician recognized publicly the reality of discrimination against the Christians and Muslims of Palestine. The Iraq study group has recommended resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as critical to regional stability. People are increasingly pausing to reconsider the value of our government's unconditional support for Israel. We need our politicians to follow suit. In this season celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace, let us all resolve to pray and work for justice in the holiest of lands.
May this holiday season and the new year bear the fruits of the collective hard work for peace with justice to all people.
2) From the Palestinian American Congress: Holiday Greetings and Action Alert
Many traditions celebrate holidays this season and we in the Palestinian American Congress wish them all peaceful and happy Holidays. Such holidays remind us of those less fortunate than we are and of our responsibilities to them. We thus stand in solidarity with our Iraqi brothers and sisters of all religions as they endure their fourth year under military occupation. We stand in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are unable to truly celebrate or even to practice their religious traditions because of the Israeli occupation, ethnic cleansing, theft of their lands, and destruction of their society.
Palestinian Christians this Christmas season cannot travel between Bethlehem and Jerusalem (a distance of 7 miles) because of the illegal apartheid walls. Palestinian Muslims this Eid Al Adha are subjected to similar restrictions. Both live in shrinking apartheid cantons subjected to political, economic, and physical siege. Most families cannot provide for their Children's basic needs let alone buy gifts for the holidays. Our prayers and thoughts must be with those people. But they need more than that. They need our solidarity and support. There are many things each of us can do. Here are just ten suggestions.
1) Learn more about history ( http://www.PalestineRemembered.com ) and the isolation of Palestinians and infringement on their religious and civil rights ( http://www.maannews.net/en/, http://www.openbethlehem.org , http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml ). Learn more about suffering of Iraqis (see http://www.electroniciraq.net/ ) and other people.
2) Support the Palestinian Civil Society call to action; for boycotts, divestment and sanctions from Israel until it complies with human rights and International law (see http://stopthewall.org/news/boycot.shtml ).
3) Write letters to the editor (150-200 words) and/or op-eds (700-800 words) to your local or national newspapers about the issues. Some media contacts can be found here: http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/contact/media.asp http://capwiz.com/adc/dbq/media
4) Write and call your TV and radio stations and ask that they interview native people from these areas on issues of religious freedom and the plight of Muslims and Christians in Iraq and Palestine and beyond (write to us if you would like suggested speakers near you).
5) Write and call your elected officials. Contacts available at http://www.firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
6) Contact local churches in your area and ask that they bring Palestinian Christians to speak to their congregations and that they pray for justice and peace.
7) Contact mosques and ask that they dedicate a Friday Prayer to Donate to worthy causes that help the suffering populations and/or those that educate and lobby to stop policies of oppression and deprivation.
8) Take time to teach children about what is going on in Palestine. Give them copies of this book titled "A little piece of ground" by award winning author Elizabeth Laird (published by Haymarket Books) and then discuss it with them. http://tinyurl.com/y7lej6 and http://www.haymarketbooks.org
9) Hold a teach-in, a vigil, a forum or other community gatherings to bring attention to the plight of people in need.
10) Send this message to your relatives, friends, co-workers and acquaintances and ask them to act. Forward to other listserves.
Contact: media@pac-national.org
See also: What would happen if the Virgin Mary came to Bethlehem today? http://news.independent.co.uk/appeals/indy_appeal/article2097790.ece
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD http://qumsiyeh.org
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04). | ||
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |