Blisters Are Better Than Bullets; Latest Installment from Gabe’s ISM Journal

Second Installment of a Rochester Activist's Journal depicting his work with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine.

I regret that I have been unable to write for what seems to be nearly 3 weeks. I have been in various villages throughout the Qalqilia district in the West Bank and finding an internet connection has been difficult. Either no connection exists or it is so slow that packing up and paying you all personal visits seems more productive.

At the end of September, I spent two days in Ramallah participating in one of the longest, most drawn-out meetings of my life. It was an ISM meeting among all the coordinators and lasted for about 14 hours each day.. That is not exciting to write about at all, but while in Ramallah I was able to meet the parents of Rachel Corrie, an ISM activist that was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza Strip in March of this year. They were in Palestine to visit the places their daughter had worked and to meet the people she had worked with and stood alongside. The trip also had a therapeutic element to it as they are still trying to grasp what happened to Rachel. I was only able to sit and eat breakfast with them for about 15 minutes to discuss their trip and efforts within the US and Israel to get an official investigation into their daughter's death. However, those few moments were extremely powerful. Rachel's mother sat talking, amidst tears, about her daughter and how she is trying to continue her struggle. Her father spoke about the American government's assistance (or lack thereof), and he did so with a kind smile and overwhelming strength. They won't give up. It gave me some hope that none of us will stop until this occupation falls on its head.

I then had the pleasure of shaking hands and sitting briefly with Mr. Yasser Arafat. I certainly don't find him to be the most just or qualified leader, but he is the choice of the Palestinians and for that I support him. He looks tired, he looks weak, but he can still crack a joke and shake a hand. I was excited because he is the first head of state I have ever met.

From that point on I found myself jumping around from village to village assessing the difficulties farmers have accessing their land (focusing on olive trees), whether that be due to a checkpoint, the wall or angry settlers that don't let them harvest their land. And for about a week now I have been going out to the fields and harvesting olives along with Palestinians. We are trying to target the lands most at risk. So I have spent some long days harvesting in the sun that still burns hot. I can only imagine that my friend J Barry would be in heaven climbing up olive trees to snatch those hard to reach olives.

This past Wednesday (October 8), I was in the village of Jayyous with about 40-50 other internationals and Israeli peace activists. Our goal was to march with the local farmers to one of the main gates in the Apartheid Wall and demand that the soldiers open up the gate and let the farmers to their land. Specifically we were going to march to the nearby Zufin settlement and demand that farmers be allowed to get to their lands that are trapped in the settlement, behind another fence. You see, the gate in the Wall had been closed for four days straight prior to this day and is only open for a few minutes three times a day on a good day. Also, Jayyous sits approximately 6 km from the Green Line (the border the local farmers recognized until the construction of the Wall), so most of the local land remains trapped. Anyway, the soldiers drove up and told us that the gate was not going to be opened at all for at least another day. We then all sat down next to the gate prepared to stay there the whole day. However, a few of the local farmers did not have such patience and took it upon themselves to push and pull the gate until the lock broke (which was ridiculously simple). I must add that this was after the soldiers had drove away. It was then a mad dash for everyone to rush through the gate with their donkeys, trucks, cars, etc. Some farmers were too nervous to pass through for fear of the future repercussions. The internationals all assembled to break up and accompany the farmers that were brave enough to pass. I eventually ended up helping pick some cucumbers in green houses, and had a relatively quiet day in the land. Other people, however, did not have such luck. Some farmers and internationals were forced to pass back through the gate to Jayyous once they were found. Other had to wait as they tried to pass back late in the day. A few internationals were detained for not leaving the area and later let go inside of Israel. To make a long story short, several Palestinians were physically harassed, had their IDs taken and eventually arrested with two internationals (2 Palestinians and 2 internationals total) - this was all while I remained picking in the quiet greenhouses. Internationals gathered at the gate to protest this arrest and had to stand through several rounds of tear gas from the soldiers (and them actually chasing after young Palestinian men). I was with the last round of farmers to pass back through the gate and have the gate quickly shut and locked behind us by a very unhappy group of soldiers. The gate has been completely locked since then, but some of the farmers have remained on their land since last Wednesday (with internationals throwing over food, water and other necessities). That makes a long story very short.

I am now in Sanniria, a village South of Qalqilia. This village shares much land with nearby villages of Beit Amin and Azzun Atme. As you may have guessed, much of this land lies behind the wall or captured in a settlement. Azzun Atme actually lies on the Israeli side of the fence between two settlements and will eventually be surrounded by a second fence, effectively making it another prison similar to Qalqilia city. We spent a few days picking in relatively low risk areas. The land was near a settlement and behind the wall but was easy to get to because the wall is not complete in this area. However, you could see the daily progress made on its construction and it was evident the family we were with had no hope of picking these same trees next year. I know this because they were cutting off branches and doing anything to harvest the olives quickly even if it meant harming the tree. Yesterday, however, we went to the main gate in the wall that is complete and cuts directly between the only road between Beit Amin and Azzun Atme. The soldiers decided that the gate should be shut the whole day because it was Friday (Shabbat) and a Jewish Holiday. They only allowed residents of Azzun Atme to pass to that side of the fence and let most people through in the other direction (because that side is guarded by checkpoints and more fence in any direction you turn). Anyway, about 50-60 people sat for hours on the Beit Amin side of the fence, many of them farmers trying to access their land. My conversation with the soldiers at the gate turned into an argument as I tried to help him understand these were ordinary people with no bombs. "I don't care about these people" one soldier said. "Go to Haifa (the site of the last suicide bombing) and then talk to me." This was all while I stared at their uniforms and the blatant reminder of my part in the story - "U.S. Size Long" was what I read on their bullet-proof vests. He then decided to take my friend's passport because he wanted to exercise his power and threatened my other friend who had a video camera. Why wouldn't he want to be video taped? I just sat their and tried to get two women across the gate that had been sitting for four hours and forgot their IDs. I must say they were eventually allowed to pass, and this provided one of the day's few achievements. "Why are you stopping people?" I ask. "We have a report that a man has a bomb in one of these villages" is the response. So go get him. Pat these people down and you will soon realize they do not have a bomb strapped to them. The best line was when I asked about the several cars (with Palestinian plates) that were being forced to stay off to the side for hours after trying to pass. "They are stolen cars." I find it hard to believe that anyone in Palestine would report their car stolen to the Israeli authorities. They were eventually let go - to either go back home or pass as intended. Most authorities confiscate stolen cars. Well, that's what I thought. I sat mouth closed in hopes that I could prevent any escalated harassment. Then the soldiers wanted to laugh, smile and crack jokes - all in the face of the people they had already humiliated.

I'll try and get to a computer more often. I hope you all are well.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but those of you that know me well should pool your money together and buy plane tickets overseas (how about Europe?) during any time you may have off for the holidays (Hannukah, Christmas, New Year's, etc.). Some of you are already there and would not have difficulty joining the reunion. It would be better than the States.

Be well, love, Gabriel

Some Photos