Christmas Eve in the House of Lamb/ Bread

Merry Christmas!

This will be a Christmas eve I'll never forget; I spent last night roaming around the windy streets of Bethlehem.

Traffic getting into Bethlehem was pretty bad but expected-lots of tour buses of course. Driving into Bethlehem was interesting: a few weeks back, I went on a tour with Ir Amim and stopped by the wall on the Israeli side, and here I was on Christmas eve driving along the wall on the Palestinian side.

There were more phrases similar to the famous "If you destroy our houses you will not destroy our souls" but more like "those who built this wall shall fall with it", and there were also these great murals of Ghandi and other famous figures. I wish I'd stopped to take a few pictures, but you get the idea.

Also, driving in, I was almost disappointed with the kitschy, artificial bright Christmas lights that beckoned the pilgrims toward the site of Jesus' birth-it was all too touristy-a little too commercialized for comfort-almost sacriligeous. Anyway, this is when Bethlehem receives a huge chunk (if not most) of its tourism revenue, so I guess a little capitalization is expected.

On the other hand, I felt little pangs of nostalgia gazing around at the glaring, blinking Christmas lights everywhere and the Arabic version of Jingle Bells blaring away on the taxi cab radio. Even the usually sinister blow up Santas waving in store fronts seemed kind of friendly.

Additionally, something very interesting: the streets were full of P.A. police and army personnel. Abu Mazzen (President Abbas) was in town. Those poor men standing out in the brutal winds all night-that's quite the merry Christmas.

I went with two friends from Rothberg and we met with an old friend/Palestinian tour guide and went around Bethlehem together with a few other internationals (mostly American).














First we went to a Christmas pageant of sorts. My friend dubbed it "the Love Actually Christmas pageant-Arab style". It wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. Mostly, it was just nice for me to be in the family-festive environment for the holidays. Also, it was more of a community-style event with few foreigners; and honestly, I felt almost like I was intruding.

When we awkwardly tried to blend in as we walked through the tightly squeezed rows of Palestinian families and finally found seats in the back corner, there was a huge group of little girls just staring-they really couldn't get enough. So I just smiled and slowly they inched their way closer to my chair. After a children's Christmas play in Arabic (from which I gleaned a few Arabic vocabulary I thought had been lost forever in the recesses of this language-barraged brain), and two hours, the girls finally got the courage after nudging each other and whispering to ask me what my name was. Unfortunately, we left soon afterwards, but I did get a chance to snap a photo with a few of these girls.













Then we took a freezing stroll to the Church of the Nativity that was brimming with Christians, pilgrims, tourists, everyone! You could hear Arabic, Japanese, Spanish, English, Swedish, German, Russian, Italian, no Hebrew.

We ate at a small restaurant and then made our way through the crowds to the Manger Square where I was greeted with a carnival-like atmosphere of food carts, neon lights, someone crooning a love-song in Spanish in the background, crowds of people, and just what a festive feeling.

















(In the restaurant-interesting political commentary, don't you think?)

We couldn't get into the Church of the Nativity because a) we didn't have tickets; b) Abu Mazzen was in there; c) no one was really interested in going in except for me.













There was tight security getting into the Church of the Nativity because of Abu Mazzen's posse.

Anyway, we topped off the night at a local Palestinian restaurant/nightclub. We joined in with the locals to dance to techno and Arabic music and donned Santa hats while waving our arms in that beautiful Arab style. What an unforgettable way to bring in Christmas.














A photo op with the P.A. policemen.

More Hip Hop in Israel

Last night I went to a concert in Ramle to celebrate Human Rights week held by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.



















The artists were both Palestinian and Israeli, and it was so amazing that regardless of nationality, everyone spoke and performed in Arabic and Hebrew and sometimes even English.

I finally got to meet Saz!
He's as wonderful in person as I imagined.









DAM also performed as well in addition to Israeli rappers like Sagol 59.













After the concert, we went out with a few of the performers including Saz and talked about the hip hop scene in Jerusalem. Mostly I talked with an Israeli rapper, and it was interesting because he mentioned that almost all the inter-cultural musical events were set up by Israelis, but he had never been invited to perform at a Palestinian concert though he's performed several times with Arab and Palestinian rappers, and he's a good friend of Saz.

It almost made up for the fact that I missed the European-Palestinian Hip Hop tour in Ramallah and Bethlehem.























Also, check out Shadia Mansour!

I must say, this internship is not so shabby.

Update for Mom

It's been a while since I've last posted, and for that, I apologize.

Since I last wrote, a lot and not much has really happened-

Classes are getting more demanding as this weekend beckons midterm exam week; paper topics are being discussed before my typical procrastination scramble begins; the countdown to going home has begun (just 7 weeks!), and I'm realizing I have yet to do so much here; the weekends are flying by in a surreal haze; and already I'm starting to miss Jerusalem.

During the past few weeks:

I visited Yad Vashem-the Israeli Holocaust Museum one cold, rainy afternoon and left with a heavy heart and a strange sense of shock at the speed of the human heart's desensitization

I was supposed to go to the DAM concert in Ramallah and the Saz concert in Bethlehem, but both trips were unsuccessful

I went to a lecture held by Rashid Khalidi about "The Nakba and the Palestinian Identity" during which he spoke about the second Nakba that Palestinians are currently mired in. He sharply criticized the ineffectivity of the Palestinian Authority, which he lambasted as worse than ineffective because it is in fact harming the Palestinian cause and community.

(Rashid Khalidi on the right answering a question. edit: Khalidi is actually on the left.)

Khalidi explained that the Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer a series of traumas, yet they are unable to be the masters of their own narrative. He lamented the failure of the true Palestinian narrative to be accepted in the U.S., while someone in the crowd asked how it would be possible to change this when the U.S. was the reason for all of Palestine's troubles (I don't agree). Most interestingly, Khalidi advocated the route of non-violence because in these specific circumstances, violence is counter-productive because it reinforces the Jewish narrative/history of anti-semitism and ideology upheld in both Israel and the U.S.

I celebrated my birthday with wonderful friends and five nights of three hours of sleep each.

My friends treated me out to dinner at a really wonderful Moroccan restaurant. Brought back nice memories.


































This afternoon, I went on a tour of East Jerusalem with Ir Amim-where we visited Palestinian villages marred by the lack of government funds (due to the fact that many are not represented in the local government because they choose not to vote because voting is an acknowledgement of Israeli jurisdiction) and by the "separation wall", "security fence", "envelope", call it what you will.


Our tour guide was such an honorable man-a proud Israeli and veteran who acknowledged the problems of the Israeli government's treatment of the Palestinians within Jerusalem. He described it best by telling us that Sharon once said that "Palestinians never lose the opportunity to lose an opportunity", yet "Israelis make the mistake of making mistakes". (edit: and "a mistake that succeeds is still a mistake" - Asher Ginzberg)


Just a few words about the wall: I'm not going to answer whether or not I am for it or against it.

The fact is that it is doing its job. Since it was erected, the number of suicide bombings and other attacks have decreased dramatically. Since it was erected, Israel has been under even greater global scrutiny for human rights offenses. Standing next to it and touching it is chilling and humbling. Looking up at its pockmarked facade, I am able to sympathize with the Palestinians, yet my heart ached when I heard our tour guide's voice shake as he confessed he did not have the heart to read what was written upon the wall.

































Tonight, I went to an orthodox Jewish Shabbat dinner and had an interesting discussion about why it is that Israel's birth caused such a global stir. Our host argued that it was because the world anticipated Israel's future role as a beacon of morality for the world. He also claimed that unfortunately, society has forgotten this ideal-perhaps this is the reason for the lack of peace? I had never heard this perspective before-I always believed Israel's birth made world headline news because of the issue with Palestinian refugees and the wars that followed.

And still, our weekly tradition of Shabbat dinner together continues-

Shabbat dinner with friends. Don't worry, mom. I promise I'm not starving.

As inconvenient as everything shutting down (including public transportation) on Shabbat has been, I think I will miss this the most.













Here are two views of the dome of the rock from West and East Jerusalem. The one where the Dome is closer is from the Mount of Olives-note all the graves.

The Palestinian Fatalism

It's election day!

Unfortunately, since I'm 7 hours ahead of the action, by the time I wake up, everything will be decided-the new president of the United States will be declared. (Unless ballots go missing, or machines start breaking down and dropping or switching votes, or someone demands a recount and sues the other, or etc. )

There's a lot of buzz here in Israel-it's almost as if the Israelis know more about the elections than a lot of the American students around here. And relevantly, here's a funny article I saw in the NYT.

It seems that the rest of the world has more at stake in these elections than Americans do.

"When America catches a cold, the rest of the world gets the flu."

Anyway, last time I wrote about the idea of fatalism in Israel and really only focused on the Israeli attitude. Coincidentally, the next day, I went to the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew University, which is located in West Jerusalem to go do some research for my internship in the UN archives. While I was flipping through random sources, I came upon a UNICEF booklet titled: "Palestinian Children in the Labor Market".

Especially around East Jerusalem, it's fairly common to see young Palestinian boys usually around 11-16 years old in the middle of the roads offering their windshield wiping services or selling packs of tissues to temporarily stopped cars. It's hard enough to see children doing this and even harder when you know they should be going to school instead but most of them don't have a choice because they're trying to help their poor families.

One time I witnessed a particularly disheartening scene when I was waiting to cross the street, and the usual Palestinian boys were there. One boy with a bucket was waiting for the man inside a car to pay him while the car behind was honking and screaming in an unnecessary rage of impatience because the light had just turned green. As the car drove by the boy, the man inside yelled something at the boy. After a second, the boy in response kicked his plastic bucket into the air as his younger companion watched helplessly as it shattered into a million shards onto the pavement. They couldn't have been older than 14 years old.

I remembered this scene when I found this booklet, and as I was flipping through it, I happened upon a section under the topic of "Pessimism and Fatalism".

It described,
"These feelings are widespread and reflect a general state in society...The folowing statements reflect the severity of the problem:

• We live a desperate life.
• Surely we will die as martyrs.
• I feel I am going to die when I am 20 years old.
• We live in a cemetery.
  
• I wish martyrdom.
  
• I wish martyrdom or invasion comes.
• Death is better than this life.
  

These statements confirm that political and social violence, which children are subjected to, absence of national freedom and the difficult economic circumstances negatively impact the psychological aspect of children and make them depressed. Some of them do not try to improve the quality of their lives and consider salvation beyond their capacity. These feelings lead to actions considered by society as immoral-such as: smoking and chasing after women"

-Birzeit University: Development Studies Program

I must clarify though, that I believe this study specifically focused on a particular demographic of the Palestinian population in Israel. I do not believe these feelings apply so much for Arab-Israelis, but I think they are appropriate for many Palestinians in refugee camps and those stuck in the West Bank and Gaza.

Arab-Israelis definitely have more opportunities than the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, but like I said before, they too think a peace is far in the coming.

Although this study reflects the results of a youth demographic, this information is still relevant in assessing the mood of society as a whole.

Five-Star Prison

Today is the first day of classes!


Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in Ramallah with an Arab-Israeli friend of mine.

During rush hour, it took us around 40 minutes from the Muslim Quarter in the Old City to arrive in Ramallah, but on the way back, it only took 15 minutes including our stop at the checkpoint to get back to the Student Village.

It's weird to think of visiting the Ramallah as portrayed by the media as the center of the First and Second Intifadas. Aside from the omnipresence of abandoned construction sites and a checkpoint to get out, it seemed like a regular city just like any other.

It reminded me of a less crowded and smaller version of Cairo or Alexandria with a bustling downtown area, and I felt like I was in a totally different country than Israel just a few miles away. I guess I was in a different country.

We drove next to the Israeli-West Bank separation barrier, went to a mini-mall, visited the tomb of Yasser Arafat, ate some delicious Lebanese food, walked around the streets of downtown Ramallah, and found a nice restaurant to smoke shisha before heading back to Jerusalem.

I learned a few things during my trip:

• The choice of toy for little boys in Ramallah (and in much of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City for that matter) is plastic guns.

• The malls are catered almost entirely to the youth population, which makes up around 50% of the demographics in West Bank and more in Gaza.

• Palestinians like to construct multi-leveled buildings in the West Bank because in Jerusalem they are limited to building only three-story buildings. However, the Israeli government can find any arbitrary reason to halt construction, or more often raze the building even if it is located in the West Bank after money and time are spent. Also, there were some very beautiful apartment buildings that must have cost a fortune to build but are now nearly worthless as they are behind the separation barrier. These explained the multitude of half-built buildings everywhere.

During lunch, I asked my friend if there were any universities in the West Bank and why he was studying at Hebrew University. He explained that there were plenty of universities around the West Bank and in the settlements, but as an Arab-Israeli, he wasn't welcome at them.

So, I remember being first confronted with the term "Arab-Israeli" soon after arriving in Jerusalem by some other Arab-Israelis living in the Student Village. I was confused by their vehement reaction to my asking them if they were Palestinians. I understood that maybe they wanted to prove their right to be in Israel or their "Israeli-ness", but I was thrown off by the rancor in associating themselves with Palestinians.

• I asked my friend after apologizing for sounding ignorant, but what was the difference between Arab-Israelis and Palestinians? He explained that Arab-Israelis are citizens of Israel albeit second-class citizens who live in Israel, and they carry around blue ID cards. Palestinians on the other hand, carried a different ID card and are not Israeli citizens. Therefore, Palestinians in the West Bank see Arab-Israelis almost as traitors while Jewish-Israelis see them as Palestinians.
  

Arab-Israelis are stuck in a sort of limbo in a strange hierarchy where they aren't welcomed by either side.

edit: most Arab-Israelis in East Jerusalem are permanent legal residents as opposed to Israeli citizens

Finally, I must comment on my first check-point experience. The check-point station is right outside of Ramallah, and we had to climb out of the bus and wait in a line to have our ID cards checked by the IDF.

My Arab-Israeli friends had told me their personal horror stories dealing with checkpoints, and so I was not surprised to see them overcome such a frustrating situation with humor. One of them is a big football-playing type, and on the possibility of getting strip-searched he lamented, "I forgot to wear my thong today." although others were less than jovial about waiting in the queu.

We walked through a narrow cage-like passage, put our bags through an x-ray machine and proceeded through a metal detector to show the IDF soldiers behind bulletproof glass our ID cards. It was surprisingly easier and faster than I expected; though really, the process depends on the mood of the guard on duty that day.

Next time , I think I'll go visit Jericho.



Also, here are some interesting articles I found through other blogs (although one is from last year):

The road to peace

on the new Prime Minister Livni

(picture on top from: here )