In 1948, shortly after its creation, Israel was invaded by the Arab states, in a war motivated by the lust for power of a small group of men, and widespread anti-semitism. Over the next five decades a series of smaller wars were fought in which Israel repeatedly had to defend its existence, and that of the Jewish people. To prevent the creation of a potentially threatening Palestinian state, Israel occupied much of Palestine and began building Jewish settlements, populated at first by radical Jewish nationalists, and then by economic migrants.
At the end of the second world war in 1945, the allies occupied Germany and began a punitive program of deindustrialization, with the aim of breaking German industry so that the country could never rise again as a threatening power. By mid 1947, amid rising unrest, it became clear that the policy was a mistake. Germany was brought into the Marshall Plan, and huge amounts of US aid were poured in to help rebuild the country.
Hebron Market
Today, Israel is a nervous, threatened nation, battling terrorism within its borders and hostile countries all around it, whereas Germany is now one of Israel's closest allies, at the political heart of a united Europe, being called on to provide massive aid to struggling countries on its own borders.
The occupation is motivated by fear. It has no political, historical or moral justification, and injustice can only breed hatred.
Wall between Israel/Palestine in Bethlehem
A couple of weeks ago I went to a press conference given by Raquel Rolnik, UN Special Raporteur on Adequate Housing. She gave her preliminary findings, stating that Israel has an admirable record of resettling millions of Jewish refugees but has failed to provide the same service for refugees of other ethnicities. I asked her what tangible, on-the-ground results her report will have when she presents the finished version to the UN in a year's time. Her response was immediate and unequivocal: "Nothing."
The truth is that Israel has been ignoring UN resolutions calling on it to withdraw from the occupied territories for decades, and with US backing there is little that outside powers can do to persuade it otherwise.
Martin Luther King said that "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." The only people who can free Palestine are the Palestinians themselves. For 60 years they have chosen to fight Israel on the battlefield, and for 60 years they have been hopelessly outmatched against an adversary who is vastly militarily superior, as the dream of self-determination slowly evaporates.
Artist in Hebron
Israel is a modern democracy with armies of international media groups closely monitoring its every move. Every Israeli I met was a warm, sensitive person. I've never felt so welcome as I did in Israel. Even the most right wing settler, whose vision was clouded by fear, was ready to recognize the difference between right and wrong when it was brought into clear daylight.
King states in his biography that he and his supporters did not choose non-violence for ideological reasons. They chose it because they knew it would be the most effective weapon against a people who knew deep in their hearts that what they were doing was wrong. In his words, "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." The Jewish people have been shaped by their turbulent past to be amongst the most educated and compassionate in history. The potential for non-violent resistance hangs like a big, juicy olive, just waiting to be plucked.
Basilica, Nazareth
With governments falling to non-violent resistance throughout the region, it is only a matter of time before the Palestinians embrace the movement in their own struggle. And in fact it has already started. A couple of weeks ago Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike against his imprisonment under a dubious law called Administrative Detention, convinced the Israeli government to release him without further legal process. According to the New York Times, the government feared that if the trial was referred to the High Court of Justice, it "could have set off a broader review of Israeli military courts’ practice of administrative detention".
The Palestinians have waged war for six decades. They are about to start waging peace.
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
When I first visited Eid's family near Jericho, under threat of eviction to make way for an Israeli settlement, we sat and ate together and watched his two mischievous five and six year old daughters chasing each other around the pole at the center of their tent. I left his village with a deep sense of frustration and sadness. But by the time I left Israel, after speaking to people of every political view point, and being able to laugh and feel a bond with every one of them, regardless of ethnicity, background or ideology, it was with an unexpected sense of hope. I've always been drawn to the idea that our shared human identity is greater than our differences, but from a distance I was never sure if it was truly possible. In the most conflicted land in human history, I was convinced.
You can see all my photos of Israel, Palestine and Jordan on flickr.
This will be my last post on this blog. Feel free to email me with any questions, and thanks for reading!
Dirk
At the end of the second world war in 1945, the allies occupied Germany and began a punitive program of deindustrialization, with the aim of breaking German industry so that the country could never rise again as a threatening power. By mid 1947, amid rising unrest, it became clear that the policy was a mistake. Germany was brought into the Marshall Plan, and huge amounts of US aid were poured in to help rebuild the country.
Hebron Market
Today, Israel is a nervous, threatened nation, battling terrorism within its borders and hostile countries all around it, whereas Germany is now one of Israel's closest allies, at the political heart of a united Europe, being called on to provide massive aid to struggling countries on its own borders.
The occupation is motivated by fear. It has no political, historical or moral justification, and injustice can only breed hatred.
Wall between Israel/Palestine in Bethlehem
A couple of weeks ago I went to a press conference given by Raquel Rolnik, UN Special Raporteur on Adequate Housing. She gave her preliminary findings, stating that Israel has an admirable record of resettling millions of Jewish refugees but has failed to provide the same service for refugees of other ethnicities. I asked her what tangible, on-the-ground results her report will have when she presents the finished version to the UN in a year's time. Her response was immediate and unequivocal: "Nothing."
The truth is that Israel has been ignoring UN resolutions calling on it to withdraw from the occupied territories for decades, and with US backing there is little that outside powers can do to persuade it otherwise.
Martin Luther King said that "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." The only people who can free Palestine are the Palestinians themselves. For 60 years they have chosen to fight Israel on the battlefield, and for 60 years they have been hopelessly outmatched against an adversary who is vastly militarily superior, as the dream of self-determination slowly evaporates.
Artist in Hebron
Israel is a modern democracy with armies of international media groups closely monitoring its every move. Every Israeli I met was a warm, sensitive person. I've never felt so welcome as I did in Israel. Even the most right wing settler, whose vision was clouded by fear, was ready to recognize the difference between right and wrong when it was brought into clear daylight.
King states in his biography that he and his supporters did not choose non-violence for ideological reasons. They chose it because they knew it would be the most effective weapon against a people who knew deep in their hearts that what they were doing was wrong. In his words, "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." The Jewish people have been shaped by their turbulent past to be amongst the most educated and compassionate in history. The potential for non-violent resistance hangs like a big, juicy olive, just waiting to be plucked.
Basilica, Nazareth
With governments falling to non-violent resistance throughout the region, it is only a matter of time before the Palestinians embrace the movement in their own struggle. And in fact it has already started. A couple of weeks ago Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike against his imprisonment under a dubious law called Administrative Detention, convinced the Israeli government to release him without further legal process. According to the New York Times, the government feared that if the trial was referred to the High Court of Justice, it "could have set off a broader review of Israeli military courts’ practice of administrative detention".
The Palestinians have waged war for six decades. They are about to start waging peace.
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
When I first visited Eid's family near Jericho, under threat of eviction to make way for an Israeli settlement, we sat and ate together and watched his two mischievous five and six year old daughters chasing each other around the pole at the center of their tent. I left his village with a deep sense of frustration and sadness. But by the time I left Israel, after speaking to people of every political view point, and being able to laugh and feel a bond with every one of them, regardless of ethnicity, background or ideology, it was with an unexpected sense of hope. I've always been drawn to the idea that our shared human identity is greater than our differences, but from a distance I was never sure if it was truly possible. In the most conflicted land in human history, I was convinced.
You can see all my photos of Israel, Palestine and Jordan on flickr.
This will be my last post on this blog. Feel free to email me with any questions, and thanks for reading!
Dirk
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