Protection versus Oppression: How can Israel and Palestine Co-Exist?
A Personal Reflection
By: Karen L. Hernandez-Andrews
April 15, 2009
From March 17 – April 1, 2009, I was in the West Bank and Israel with a peacemaking delegation from Christian Peacemaker Teams. There, I witnessed first hand, not only the efforts on the ground to better the lives of the Palestinians, but also, the oppression faced by Palestinians on a daily basis. From check point after check point, to increasing numbers of Settlers taking over Palestinian land, to the Security wall (which is about 60% finished), to the fact that it can take a Palestinian more than four hours to drive to their final destination, when that same distance would take an Israeli an hour or less because they can drive on “clean roads” – the oppression is obvious, apparent and blatant. On the other side, Israel’s need to protect itself is understandable, and in fact, with the many check points, and the security wall, suicide bombings have dropped dramatically. Where, then, is the happy medium? Where does the need to protect turn into oppression so severe that people are literally dying? How can a society protect themselves and at the same time, not oppress? More, how can people learn that the right to protection does not mean that it is alright to hurt people in the process? The ultimate idea to ponder then is, Protection versus Oppression: How can Israel and Palestine Co-Exist?
This is of course a question that is asked every day, around the world. As I walked through the streets of Hebron, where fanatical Jewish settlers are taking over the old city, or when I stood next to the separation wall, knowing that on the other side, less than six feet from me, was a family whose livelihood is literally cut off from the rest of the world; or as I watched Israeli soldiers escort children from the village of Tuba to the village of At Tuwani, because if they don’t, the nearby extremist Jewish adult settlers who live on the Ma’on Settlement will attack the children as they have done before (and actually just did once again on April 6) — I asked this question.
As I sat in Sderot eating lunch and a “color red” occurred, when I had to run and take cover because a rocket was on its way over to somewhere in the vicinity, I asked this question. Sderot, about a mile away from Gaza, is ravaged by Qassams from Hamas and Hamas wannabes, and has been for the last eight years. I spoke to several people in this small city of 20,000, all of whom have some sort of bomb shelter in or near their home, who put their children to sleep in the bomb shelters, who have just built a new playground with a bomb shelter, whose theatre and indoor sports arena are rocket proof, whose schools have been fortified, and where all the bus stops have been turned into bomb shelters. As I heard stories of the way people live in Sderot — I asked this question.
As I sat in the taxi on the way to Nablus and waited in line at a rotary, because the settlers in the area had the right of way in to and out of the rotary, before any and all Arabs; as I stood and looked over eighty homes that were scheduled for demolition in Jerusalem; as I listened to people’s stories who live in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp and heard about how their family and friends were killed in the Intifada, and as I watched children who were the third generation to be born there, playing around us; as I walked through the streets of Hebron and noted the over five-hundred businesses out of the seven-hundred business that are now closed due to the violent conditions of the city — I asked this question. When the Muhammad Ali Hospital director in Hebron told us that it takes two hours to get a permit for a Palestinian to go to Jerusalem for emergency care, (and Jerusalem is about 40 minutes away) — I asked this question.
When several of us went to the Jewish side of the Ibrihimi Holy Temple/Mosque, and they asked all of us if we were Muslim or Christian — I asked this question. If we would have been Muslim, they would not have let us in. When I saw a sign that basically said that Jews are not allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, because as of right now, the site is Islamic — I asked this question. As Israeli soldiers pointed their guns at unarmed Palestinian women at a Mother’s Day celebration and demonstration against the security wall — I asked this question. As I stood on the roof of Wi’am, an organization in Bethlehem that works to educate about the Palestinian plight, and stared at yet another illegal Jewish settlement — I asked this question.
Is this protection? It may be, but it is also oppression. Just last week, Israel closed all entrances in to Jerusalem to Palestinians who have a work permit to get into the city because of Passover – this is to stop any violence during the holiday. This means that these Palestinians cannot work, therefore do not get paid for ten days, and hence, cannot provide for their families. Protection versus Oppression: How can Israel and Palestine Co-Exist? I wish I knew the answer, but right now, all I have are more questions. Indeed, Israel has the right to defend itself and to keep their society safe, but I must ask, at what price? With whose lives? By what standards? In what means? The Palestinians are suffering horribly. It is time for Israel to reexamine their policies, make them more humane, work with Palestinian leaders and come to some semblance of understanding and coexistence. For everyone’s sake.