Israel / Palestine 10.08.2013 - 23.08.2013
August 11th: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Old City Tour, NZZ-Correspondent
After some of us had already met in Tel Aviv, we gathered in Jerusalem at the Austrian Hospice. Our first full day in Jerusalem has already been packed with highlights. We started in the morning at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we had the honour to be received by three high-ranking officials. Ilan Ben-Dov, Director of the Western Europe 1 department (among others responsible for Switzerland), talked about “Israel’s current diplomatic challenges” – just before receiving Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in the afternoon!
Amir Weissbrod, Director of Middle East Affairs department 4, informed us about “Palestinian Affairs – A Research Perspective”. He explained that the Palestinian community is in many ways divided – like for instance between the Hamas in the Gaza strip and the Fatah in the West Bank. Paul Hirschson, Deputy Spokesperson, proved himself to be a brilliant rhetoric. Adding many anecdotes, he talked among other things about the situation in Syria and Iran.
In the afternoon, we had a tour through the Old City of Jerusalem with Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (click here to listen to a 1-minute-record of Jeff Halper talking to us in front of the Damascus Gate). Mr Halper not only talked about politics, but opened our eyes also to many hidden aspects of the fascinating Jerusalem – a city where the call of the Muezzin echoes from the walls of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Orthodox Church who stand right next to the Mosque.
A last highlight was yet to come: NZZ-Correspondent Monika Bolliger visited us in the Austrian Hospice and answered our questions for more than an hour. Ms Bolliger gave us also some interesting insights in the daily work of a foreign correspondent, explained how she got that job with only 28 years, and shared her experiences from her visits in the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
Tom Kobel
August 12th: Jerusalem
When I came to this country I did not have any kind of opinion regarding the conflict. That changed today.
In the morning Israeli peace activist Angela Godfrey-Goldstein gave us a bus tour through greater Jerusalem. I found it particularly impressive to see how the Israeli state is absent in the occupied east and does e.g. not remove garbage nor build or entertain streets even in the sectors where this is its duty. As we heard later, also Police does not normally answer non-Israelian emergency calls. So we drove over dirty bumpy roads to the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim east of Jerusalem, between Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem, where Angela showed us a number of maps convincingly pointing out why a two state solution is not an option anymore. The West Bank looks like an Emmentaler, it is so full of settlements that of what is left a viable Palestinian state cannot be formed. Especially the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, a city of 40 000 inhabitants with perfect roads, garbage collection, art gallery and swimming pools, would cut a Palestinian state in two if it were connected to Jerusalem. On the way back it became clear that the settlements are here to stay, as Israel builds its national institutions in occupied territory, e.g. the ministry of housing and construction (spot the irony!) and a largely oversized police headquarters that apparently costed ten million dollars.
We later had lunch in a bedouin camp next to the highway. These beduines were driven out of the Negev in the fifties because they refused to serve in the military, bedouin spokesman Eid explained to us. Later a Jewish settlement was created next to their camp, cutting them off from one of their water sources whilst the army decided to close the other one. The next schools were ca. 20 km away but the bedouins never managed to get a schoolbus, not from the Israeli nor from the Palestinian Authority, and after many years they decided to build their own school, out of tyres and mud – and without permission of course. Only thanks to international intervention have the Israeli demolition orders not been executed, so far. In the afternoon we met Meir Margalit, left wing member of the City Council. He let us in the city hall without security check (so for once we could bring our weapons), showed us an impressive model of Jerusalem and answered our questions. He pointed out that there is a widespread discriminatory culture in Israeli politics, largely due to indoctrination during military service. We also discussed the Masterplan 2020 that allocates only 11 % of Jerusalem's land reserves to building of Palestinian homes, which is obviously insufficient considering that 39 % of the inhabitants are Palestinians. The plan is aimed at postponing the horrible (in Israel's view) yet probably inevitable moment when Jerusalem might actually be governed by a Palestinan mayor - due to a Palestinian majority of voters.
The officials of the MFA we had met yesterday were highly educated, well trained and rheorically brilliant, yet their arguments remained mostly abstract and often obscure. What really changed my mind today was the clarity of the arguments brought forth by an uneducated bedouin, backed up by very diverse and rather obvious facts. They paint a sinister picture of the Israeli state. Are we faced with a sophisticated, clandestine version of apartheid? I hope the next days will bring more clarity.
P.S.: Hello Miss Walther, best wishes from your grand daughter ;)
Pascal Meier
August 13th: UN OCHA and Holocaust-Museum Yad Vashem
After meeting several official representatives and activists we finally got the chance to meet Israeli citizens last night. Students of the Hebrew University joined us for a beer and a nice talk. After getting to know each other we started a workshop thus comparing the daily lives in Switzerland and Israel. Although there were some delicate moments when coming to talk about the conflict, it was a relaxed and informal evening. It was impressive to hear witnesses speaking about the military service, that both girls and boys have to do.
This morning started with a meeting at UN OCHA, the UN Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The presentation given to us gave an insight into the economy, safety and freedom of movement of Palestinians living in Gaza and Westbank. When we came to talk about the fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea before Gaza strip we experienced how contradictory the statements of Israeli officials and the UN can be.
After a short lunch break we headed to the Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem. We felt overwhelmed by the huge amount of information and the wide-spreaded exposition. Later we enjoyed our first free evening and took the opportunity to reflect the experiences of the last days.
Lea Küenzli
August 14th: Hebron
Early in the morning we headed to Hebron, a city in the southern West Bank and a microcosmos of the conflict. Arriving too early, our driver took us spontaneously to a local glass and porcelaine manufactory which Hebron is famous for. Then TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron) gave us a briefing about the past and present situation of the city. The organization was founded on an initiative of six European countries, Switzerland is one of them. Among several other aspects of the current situation we were particularly shocked about the fact that the Palestinians are neither allowed to walk nor to drive on one street in the city center. We had the chance to witness that later on a walking tour when our Palestinian guide could not accompany us on this particular street. Furthermore we visited the mosque and the synagogue, which are both in the same building, separated by a wall. The graves of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac together with their respective wives are supposed to lie under that building.
As we were not allowed to move on our own in Hebron we had lunch all together in the Palestinian controlled part of the city. Surprisingly we were still able to eat, althought we had glanced at cow heads, sheep testicules, chicken kidneys and camel lungs in the market!
Later Hamed Qawasmeh took us to the desert in southern Westbank. He is working as a UN Officer of Human Rights. His several engagements not only in the UN but also in other NGOs prove him to be a highly involved and caring personality. He shared his insider knowledge by showing sites where bedouins and settlers live next to each other. We were moved when seeing how these bedouins suffer from the approximity to the Israeli settlements because of the unbalanced relative strength. Now we are all looking forward to a relaxed day at the Dead Sea.
Evelyne Knüsel
August 15th: Dead Sea, Ein Gedi
On thursday we left the Austrian Hospice in Jerusalem at around 07.15 to begin the trip in the direction of the Dead Sea. We drove southways until we reached Ein Gedi. Before checking in at the hostel we went to an archeological site called Masada. Masada is an ancient city which was built up on a mountainplateau around the 1st century BCE. Under the reign of Herodes, a jewish king, the settlement became a fort with a big palace. We took the cablecar (which was by Von Roll from Switzerland by the way) and arrived on top of the plateau. There we grabbed an audio guide and explored the ruins. The sun was burning in this desertous area, and it felt like 50 degrees. Afterwards we went down and visited the museum nearby, which documented the history of the fortification. The afternoon was off. So some of us decided to go on a hike in the Ein Gedi National Park, while others remained in the chilled surrounding of the hostel. At night the whole group decided to go for a swim in the Dead Sea. We were all excited about the way it felt floating in the water.
Jan Lörtscher
August 16th: Bethlehem
Grateful to escape the heat of the Jordan Rift Valley, we headed for the cooler heights of the West Bank. On our way to Bethlehem, our driver Hassan used the opportunity to show us his hometown, which was separated by the wall, dividing his family.
Once in Bethlehem, we attended a presentation at Badil, a 1998 established resource center for palestinian residency and refugee rights. Administration Organizer Lubnah Shomali shed light on the legal status of Palestinians, especially Palestinian refugees. For Badil, refugees are a crucial aspect of the conflict between Israeli and Palestinians. According to the organization, 66 percent of the Palestinians are considered as refugees. That makes a total number of about 6.8 millions. Further we learned about the thirty laws that distinguish Israeli nationality (for which only jews are eligible) from citizenship (non-jews). Mentioning the State of Israel, Ms. Shomali drew a picture of a zionist movement that acts via occupation and colonisation, creating a state that resembles the apartheid regime.
During lunchtime in the center of Bethlehem, we were witnessing another example of how religiously charged and entangled this whole region is: While muslims surged to the Mosque of Omar for the friday prayer, christian pilgrims inspected the nearby Church of the Nativity. The basilica is considered to be located over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus.
On our afternoon-meeting we were guided through the rose gardens of Bethlehem University’s campus. Founded 1973 by a christian brotherhood, the university is the oldest in the West Bank. During the last fourty years the number uf students grew to over 3000 – 77 percent of them are muslims. After watching a DVD-presentation, we met an handful of students and chatted over coffee and cake about the differences and similarities of student life in Palestine and Switzerland.
Thereafter we were picked up by our guest families. Another eventful day was about to end.
Andreas Kurz
August 17th: Welcome to Palestine
My morning began with looking into the two glooming dark-brown childish eyes of our „host brother:“ Little three-year old Andrya is standing in front of my bed in his pampers, welcoming Lea and me to his home in Beit Sahour, Palestine.
After flat bread and hummus, our group set off to Omar Hadjadjla`s house in the village of Al-Walaja, outside of Bethlehem. Al-Walaja is almost completely surrounded by the – in the Israeli narrative – „security“ wall, which should protect the Jewish settlers` houses nearby. Omar`s house stands in a strategically difficult area: He and his family don`t want to leave their home, land, homeland they have been living in for generations, despite Israeli threats and harrassments. Therefore, the Israeli government is now starting to surround his house with an electric fence, cutting their home off from its 32 dunum land. The house is now only reachable through a tunnel. Nevertheless, he does not lose hope, shows no fear and warmly welcomes us with Palestinian chocolates in his recently reconstructed living room.
After lunch in the Old City of Bethlehem, we visited the Aida Refugee Camp, home of 5.000 forcibly displaced Palestinians (in 1948), which is situated right along the wall that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem. Saleh Al-Ajarmeh, head of the Lajee Youth Center that does social work for the refugees, invited us for tea, facts and figures about the camp. Later on, we had the opportunity to walk through the camp with a young volunteer. We saw shooting-holes in the school wall and laughing kids, car cemetaries and a mini supermarket, Israeli watch-towers that face into children`s bedrooms, and paintings of hope on the wall. While I was on my way towards the camp`s exit, a girl´s voice from above let me slow down my pace. I looked up. On the top floor`s balcony, a seven-year old refugee was smiling at me. „Where are you from?“, she asked. „Switzerland.“, was my answer. „Welcome to Palestine!“
Regina Surber
August 18th: Knowledge Means Responsibility
Today, for a part of our group the program started earlier in order to go through the main checkpoint in Bethlehem; the other part of the group enjoyed a free morning and some of them visited the Caritas Baby Hospital in Betlehem.
We reached the checkpoint, called checkpoint 300 or checkpoint Gilo, built in 2005, at 5 a.m., where we met Maria, a member of EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel). The control procedure, that Palestinians with a work permit have to go through every day, took place in the following way: first, everyone had to pass their bags through the scanning machines. Secondly, the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) controlled the passports and ID cards. In addition, the Palestinians had to give their fingerprints. Even though there were many people, especially in front of the entrance, the situation was quite calm and all procedure didn`t take more than 30 minutes for us. According to Maria, often the procedure takes up to two hours. After this passage through metallic barriers, cages and controls, we came out into a crowded area and in front of us stands, like a fortress, the jewish settlement of Gilo.
On our way back to the city center, we passed the Wall and we met the Anastas family, Claire and Johnny, whose house is surrounded by the Wall on three sides. Claire told us about their daily sufferings and the never ending Israeli pression to leave their home. This strong woman has only one favour: „Do not forget and tell this story to your family and friends“. Knowledge means responsibility.
Later in the afternoon, we met Miri Maoz Ovadia, a representative of the settlers` organisation Judea and Samaria Council. She took us inside the Settlement Kfar Etzion. Kfar Etzion, a settlement kibbutz, is mainly a community of religious families that offers also places to stay for Israeli soldiers. After some informations about the biblical history of the State of Israel, we watched a video about the origin of the settlement. The aim was to get a deeper knowledge of the challenges in the settlers´ lives. After this, Miri took us to a winery where we spent a couple of hours and got to taste some local desserts and wine. There we also met Elie Pieprz, director of External Affairs of th Yesha Council. He presented us a very interesting interpretation of the meaning of the settlements: According to him, the settlers bring peace since they are the only onces living together with the Palestinians: „Every time when I go shopping in our shopping center where many Palestinians work, I reach out for peace“. After this intriguing presentation, we could ask all our questions, which led to an active discussion.
We finished this day with its controversial topics with a wonderful dinner in a restaurant called The Tent in Beit Sahour.
Alice Dadini
August 19th: Checkpoint Watch in Bethlehem, Visit in Ramallah
4:30, wake-up call for seven of the “IFIL-adventurers” to do the trip to Bethelehem’s infamous Checkpoint 300, a gate to Israeli controlled territory for thousands of Palestinian workers. The snake-like security walls beneath our hotel are still lying in darkness, only interrupted by scattered spotlights. It’s windy and cool compared to previous “42-Dead Sea-degrees”.
Today, the checkpoint is quiet, only a few Palestinian workers are rushing through the gates with some bread and cigarettes for the day. For the Israeli soldiers the day has not really started yet, those who are not sleeping are distracted by their smartphones. (The invention of mobile internet must have been a relief to overcome a shift.) We hear stories of chaotic crowds and children born inside the checkpoints and can only imagine those scenes while we are walking through fences and hallways that look rather like an animal farm than some kind of a border. Maybe the reference to George Orwell describes best what disturbes me the most thourghout the whole trip so far: There are those who seem to be more equal than others, those who are not pushed through narrow gates.
Mr. Hanspeter Hirschi, a member of the small Swiss representative office in Ramallah, which we visited in the afternoon, talks extensively about injustice in the Holy Land. Mr. Hirschi’s words are unexpectedly open and direct regarding the sensitive diplomatic environment. Not only is the Swiss office actively promoting a Palestinian state as well as maintaining official relationships with Hamas (a terror organization according to US/ EU), Mr. Hirschi is also unambiguously labelling Israel’s settlements and its security wall as illegal. While we were walking through Qalandjya checkpoint on our way back to Jerusalem, I had to think of the Swiss representative’s words: “It’s just inhumane.”
Daniel Auer & Maximilian Auer
August 21st: Guided tour to the security wall and visit of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam
In the morning, we met Mr. Dany Tirza, a former colonel of Israel’s army and also chief architect of the security fence that is being built between Israel and the West Bank. We were quite curios to meet him because after nearly two weeks of studying the conflict, we had a lot of questions about the need and reasons for building such a huge wall. Unfortunately, Mr. Tirza didn’t give us the possibility to ask many questions. He insisted that the security wall has only been built for security reasons and not for political interests. He also explained that the fence has been built on Palestinian territory (about 90 per cent of the wall lies inside the West Bank, illegal by international law) because of the topography (and of course security reasons). Even though some of Mr. Tirza’s arguments seemed to be logical, it was hard to believe that there are no political intentions behind the wall.
More than once, Mr. Tirza explained that when building the security fence, he tried to reach the best possible balance between security and the human rights of the Palestinians. But to us it seemed rather obvious that the wall has been built only in the interest of Israel, since it takes an enormous amount of Palestinian land, hinders the Palestinian economy and cuts off people from their neighbours.
After having lunch near the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, we headed to a little village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where a peaceful atmosphere surrounded us for about three hours. Neve Shalom/ Wahat al-salam is a cooperative village where Palestinian, Israeli Jewish and Christian families live together in peace. The oasis of peace was founded by Bruno Hussar, a Domenican priest who grew up in a jewish family in Egypt before moving to France. Evi Guggenheim-Shbeta, originally from Zurich, gave us a good insight into the life of the 57 families who are living a “mini one-state-solution-life”. Their aim is to be tolerant, with same rights for everybody, diversity and acceptance. To support this aim they have several institutions like the pluralistic spiritual center, a peace school, a library and a youthclub. After a tour through the charming and colourful village, we enjoyed refreshments in a garden cafe. After driving to Tel Aviv and saying goodbye to our wonderful and always smiling driver Hassan, we spent the evening in Jaffa, enjoying the great food, beers and the warm sea breeze.
Elisa Meister, Felizitas Arnold
August 22nd: Tel Aviv: Visit in the Swiss Embassy
After our first night in Tel Aviv Jaffa, we went to the Swiss Embassy where we had a meeting with Natalie Kohli, the Debuty Head of Mission. Already on the way to the embassy by bus and by foot, we felt the warm and humid climate of Tel Aviv. When we arrived in the air-conditioned embassy, Natalie Kohli welcomed us and gave us an insight in the work of the Swiss embassy in Israel, where she especially highlighted the relation and cooperation between Switzerland and Israel.
It was interesting to hear that around 18 000 Swiss citizens live in Israel, of which 10 per cent live in settlements. Concerning those, Natalie Kohli couldn’t give us exact details on what kind of settlers (economical, religious, ideological) they are. We also learnt that Israel is Switzerland’s fifth biggest import partner.
We also talked about the peace efforts of Switzerland. In our opinion, Switzerland could sometimes put a little bit more pressure on Israel concerning the peace talks. It might not be enough just to tell the Israeli governement that it is “not useful” to build 2000 new housing units on Palestinian territory right after the start of the peace negotiations. Natalie Kohli’s opinion was that the only state that could put pressure on Israel is the US, and that Switzerland only has a really small impact.
At the end of the presentation we discussed the question if eventually there will be a one state solution or a two state solution. Natalie Kohli’s opinion and also the Swiss official opinion was that the one state solution is not feasible because it will never be a democratic solution. This was interesting to hear, since many other people that we had met, for example Jeff Halper of the Israeli Comittee against House Demolition, said that the two states solution is gone.
In the afternoon we had free time to do sightseeing, hanging around and to refresh us on the beach. In the evening we had a delicious dinner all together in the port of Jaffa and enjoyed the Tel Avivian nightlife.
Annatina Walther
