The forgotten people

Yesterday I visited a group of people who live far south of the West Bank, known as the "cave-dwellers." They are poor nomadic communities who live in caves. They are largely unconnected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but got caught up in the middle. Neither the Palestinian Authority nor the Israeli authorities provide services or support to these people. They lack adequate housing, electricity and water.

The family of cave-dwellers I visited are a special case. They are one of a few hundred families who live in an area near Yatta, which has been designated as a "closed military zone." People who have private land in closed military zones are usually allowed to stay in these zones, however, these families have been subject to numerous evictions from their land and their caves.

Two Israeli organisations, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Rabbis for Human Rights, stepped in (along with a few other organisations), to defend the rights of the cave-dwellers. Their work is inspiring. They too are among the unspoken heroes.

ACRI represents the cave-dwellers before the Supreme Court of Israel each time they are evicted. In most cases their petitions have been successful and the cave-dwellers have been able to return to their land. The latest eviction took place in 2000, but last week the Supreme Court once again ruled that the they have the right to return to their caves.

A group of rabbis was immediately on the ground helping them rebuild and resettle. They performed the ultimate mitzvah, spending all day friday before shabbat, building pens for the sheep and cleaning up their dwellings.

I am overwhelmed by the acts of kindness performed by so many Israelis in the context of this conflict. This is not the news you read about in the media, which seems to only pitt Israelis and Palestinians against each other. Their acts may be invisible in the bigger story, but they flourish on the ground: it is a true testament to the human spirit.

40 days to go...