A ray of hope

Did you know that the majority of Israelis support the creation of an independent Palestinian state? I learnt this today at a meeting with a professor from Tel Aviv university who established the "Peace Index," an ongoing poll of Israeli public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even at the height of the second intifada, when terror attacks were more frequent, the poll consistently found that the majority of Israelis supported the creation of a Palestinian state.

The professor also told me, however, that roughly two-thirds of people believe that even if an agreement is reached, that it will not end the conflict. Furthermore, between 60-70 percent of Jewish Israelis believe that if Palestinians or Arabs had the chance, they would destroy Israel.

On the Palestinian side, a 2007 poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, found that 60 percent of Palestinians supported the two-state solution. And in June and September 2008, the poll found that the majority of Palestinians were opposed to suicide bombings inside Israel.

It seems strange then, that both Israelis and Palestinians elected parties that openly say they want the opposite, that show no desire for a two-state solution. (Remember, it was Hamas who won the 2006 Palestinian elections). So the bad news, even though the majority of Israelis and Palestinians say they want a two-state solution, they vote otherwise. But the good news, the polls reveal that they do not accept the status quo either, that they dream of a different future. Now that is cause for hope!

53 days to go...

Friend or foe?

It was with caution today that I met a representative from the Red Cross. I have always been skeptical of the Red Cross. I was taught that they turned a blind eye to the concentration camps and gas chambers across Europe, and did nothing while the Nazis killed six million Jews. To a large extent this was true, and the Red Cross has since apologised for its failure to act during the Holocaust. But I also learnt today that the story is more complex, that the Red Cross tried to intervene, in most cases unsuccessfully, and in other cases were forced to remain as bystanders while Jews were transported to death camps.

A big failure of internatonal humanitarian law at the time, was the absence of a convention to protect civilians during war. A direct consequence of the Holocaust was the creation of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 designed to protect civilians during times of war, armed conflict or under occupation. Since then, the Red Cross has become more effective, for example during the genocide in Rwanda and now in Darfur, Sudan.

The Red Cross also has a strong presence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. They provide humanitarian assistance, visit Palestinian prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons, and monitor the situation of Palestinians affected by mobility restrictions, Israeli settlements and the routing of the security barrier.

The Red Cross operates in a discreet and confidential manner. They enjoy good relations with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and other Israeli authorities. But many Israelis despise them: the Red Cross was nowhere to be seen when the Jews needed help, but for the Palestinians, they are everywhere.

This short-sightedness frustrates me. While the Red Cross has its limits, it remains the most important organisation protecting and providing assistance to victims of war, armed conflict or occupation. They are often the only ones who remain after all other organisations have been expelled or evacuated from conflict zones. They are able to play this role because of their perceived independence and neutrality.

I am thrilled that the Red Cross is here. I think it shows that we have learnt some of the lessons of history.

54 days to go...

Market madness

Mahane Yehuda, commonly known as "The Shuk," (which means market in both Hebrew and Arabic (Suk)), is Israel's largest market. I could not miss an opportunity to see the madness before shabbat starts. Plus, as many of you know, I am a market junkie.

The shuk was bustling with shoppers and market-sellers trying to get the best deals. The smell of frying felafel, marinated olives and spices, were interspersed with wafts of freshly baked bread and pastries. Jam-filled dognuts, a specialty eaten during the festival of Channukah, are already lining the baker's stalls. I could not help buying a big box of pastries filled with sweet white cheese, chocolate, cinamon, poppy seeds and fig jam.

I was again struck by the diversity. A Jewish-Israeli shopkeeper and his Filipino wife sold me four different varieties of eggplant. An Arab-Israeli baker sold me a challah. At one point, when I was buying fruit, there was an Ethiopian woman standing to my right and a Russian man speaking on the phone to my left.

But the Shuk has also been the target of numerous terrorist attacks. On 30 July 1997, 16 people were killed and 178 wounded in two consecutive suicide bomings. On 2 November 2000, 2 people were killed in a car bomb explosion near the Shuk. On 12 April 2002, 6 people were killed and 104 people wounded when a woman suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the entrance to the Shuk. And on 2 July 2008, 3 people were killed and 50 wounded when a man driving a bulldozer plowed into cars and pedestrians nearby to the shuk.

Suicide attacks have left a massive scar on Israeli society. Whilst they have signifcantly reduced in the past few years, people still say they live in fear. They do not show it; not in the marketplace or on the street. People seem to lead perfectly normal lives. But deep down you can feel it; the security checks all around, the manic rush to get things done as quickly as possible. It is as if two simultaneous realities exist side-by-side.

Today, thankfully, the shuk was peaceful, filled with the crazy sounds and intense smells of any typical marketplace. Now that is the kind of madness I like to be a part of.

Tomorrow I am meeting a representative from the Red Cross.

55 days to go...

What I love about Israel

The food. Well actually, the humous. I cannot open a tub of humous without finishing it. What do they put in it that makes it so damn good? And they have this new thing in restaurants where you can have an entire meal of humous. You get a large soup bowl with tonnes of humous on the bottom, warm crushed chickpeas with a yummy sauce on top, all drowned in olive oil and sprinkled with parsley, paprika and red onions. Now that is holy.

The drinks. These guys make fresh lemonade like nowhere else in the world. And they add fresh mint leaves to help you reach even closer to heaven. It is my favourite drink in the whole wide world. It is even better than the one I used to get in Sydney at the Easter Show. With drinks this good, who needs alcohol?

The diversity. Every face looks different and tells a different story. It is exhilarating. There are Christian monks roaming around in brown cloaks, Arab women at the marketplace wearing brightly coloured headscarves, and religious Jews hurriedly walking to yeshiva.

The absurd. I am learning more Hebrew talking with Arab Israelis than with Jewish Israelis. And the only place where I can buy a mobile phone recharge card is at the lollypop shop. Lollypop shops are also the place people buy cigarettes. Go figure. (And no, mum and dad, I have not taken up smoking again!)

And the everyday. While Israel has plenty of quirks, in general, people are getting on with life. They have been warm and friendly, and it is super easy to get around. A welcome relief, amidst an otherwise tough journey.

56 days to go…

p.s. I heard some people were having problems commenting. I have now changed the settings so it should be okay now ….don’t hold back!

Ariel's finger

Today I visited the region of Salfit deep inside the West Bank, had coffee with the governor and lunched in one of the town’s restaurants. You can see my slideshow with captions here. The food was identical to the food you eat in a typical Israeli restaurant. It was even served in the same way. We started with pita, humus, dips and salads, and once I had finished stuffing myself, they brought out the meat and hot chips. Oi vey!

The city of Salfit and its neighboring villages are an important microcosm into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: it is home to one of the largest Israeli settlements, Ariel, with over 16, 000 inhabitants. In addition, over a dozen smaller settlements neighbour Ariel, there is a large industrial complex, a university and several settlement outposts. In 2005, a total of 37, 000 Israelis was estimated to be living in the area. Over 60, 000 Palestinians live in the area.

Ariel is known amongst Palestinians as the capital of the Israeli settlement movement. For many Israelis it is seen as a strategic city between Israel and Jordan. According to Ariel’s official website, Ariel Sharon chose the site because of its location halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, to protect the coast of Israel.

Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the region has significantly reduced in the past few years due to increased security measures by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. However, the lives of Palestinians has worsened. The security measures put in place has created a system of separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians, road blockages for Palestinian roads that are near settlements, and endless rows of fences and barbed wire, sometimes cutting through Palestinian homes and olive groves. Israel also decided to include Ariel in the Security Barrier route, earning it the name “Ariel’s finger.”

I never realized how sophisticated and developed are the settlements. I suppose I was naïve. I had imagined a bunch of wild Jewish cowboys roaming around the West Bank in caravans. But this is not the case. The settlements are linked with highways, running water, electricity, public transport, sewage treatment facilities, and more. The government supports and encourages their expansion.

There is no doubt that this is the wrong path toward Palestinian nationhood. But as importantly, I wonder whether this is the best path for the Jewish people.

I am planning a tour with settlers to listen to their perspective. So expect more blogging on this issue.

57 days to go...

In the name of security

Okay, so not quite a tour into the heart of the conflict, but rather a tour of the Separation Barrier in parts of East Jerusalem. This was a hard one. It was depressing. And it did not help that it was pouring with rain, windy and freezing (even by Geneva standards).

So why a barrier anyway? In 2002, the Israeli government decided to construct a Separation Barrier in the West Bank to prevent terrorists attacks on the Israeli population. In urban areas, the barrier is a row of 25-foot (or 6.7-metre) high concrete slabs. In other areas it is an electronic fence with surveillance devices and barbed wire. Most Israelis are in favour of the separation barrier because it has significantly reduced terrorist attacks.

The problem: the barrier does not stick to Israel’s internationally recognized borders (the so-called green line) nor does it stick to Israel’s own accepted borders. And that is because the barrier is also meant to protect the over 450, 000 Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

For Palestinians living on the barrier's route, this has lead to great suffering. I was confronted with what this means in East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in the 1967 six-day war while the rest of the West Bank remained under military occupation. Israel proclaims sovereignty over East Jerusalem but it is not internationally recognized, not even by the U.S.

The Separation Barrier takes in East Jerusalem, with its 250, 000 Palestinians (also known as Jerusalemites). Whilst most Palestinians from East Jerusalem hold Israeli residents permits, they retain strong social, economic and political ties with their families and communities in the West Bank (and vice versa). The barrier has severely disrupted these ties. I saw some areas where the barrier cut through entire villages. In other areas it separated Palestinian homes from their olive groves, taking away their land and livelihoods.

I am thrilled that Israelis feel more secure in their homes and daily lives. People do not think twice about taking a public bus. This was not the case when I was here fifteen years ago. But I saw for my own eyes the consequences of this new situation. I cannot accept that the security of Israelis comes at the cost of the rights of Palestinians to their own land, livelihoods and security. There must be another way.

58 days to go…

To question or not to question?

Today I started work. I am working with three Israeli organisations: B’Tselem, Hamoked and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. They are not the most popular crowd in Israel because they ask tough questions about Israel’s policies and practices in the Palestinian territories (and towards Arab Israelis). And if they find that Israel is violating its own laws, or international laws that Israel has signed up to, they take action. One Israeli friend of mine told me: “I do not like what they say, but they act as my conscience.”

There is a strong Jewish tradition that encourages us to ask questions. The tradition shapes teaching at yeshivas and is celebrated in Jewish festivals, like the four questions asked during Pesach. I have vivid memories as a child of being encouraged to ask questions, never blindly accepting what someone told me, and always striving for more information.

When it came to Israel and the Palestinians however, I was not encouraged to ask questions. I was encouraged to support Israel. To some extent I understand why. But, it runs counter to my belief that questions get us closer to the truth, and that truth can lead to justice; a key ingredient of shalom.

I am really glad to be here in Israel surrounded by people who are asking questions and taking action. You will hear more about their work in the coming days, but for now, I will let you judge for yourselves and ask your own questions.

Tomorrow, a tour into the heart of the conflict: Jerusalem.

59 days to go…