Category: Features

Honoring Rachel Corrie

16th March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, occupied Palestine

Rachel Corrie, April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003 (Courtesy Rachel Corrie Foundation)
Rachel Corrie, April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003 (Courtesy Rachel Corrie Foundation)

Today, March 16th, 2017, marks 14 years since the day that Rachel Corrie had her life taken. And though her life ended early, her courageous heart and defiant spirit will be carried onward, and continue to inspire many activists now and into the future.

Holding a megaphone, and wearing bright colors, Rachel Corrie stood in between a Palestinian house awaiting its demolition and the bulldozer about to demolish the house, in the town of Rafah in Gaza. For several days, ISM activists had been serving as protective presence in the homes that were on their way to being destroyed. Just hours before, a group of activists entered a Palestinian house about to be demolished, shouting at the military that they were inside, and they backed out.

The definition of a bulldozer: 1) a powerful track-laying tractor with caterpillar tracks and a broad curved upright blade at the front for clearing ground. 2) a person or group exercising irresistible force, especially in disposing of opposition.

A solidarity activist with ISM, Rachel Corrie used her body, her voice, her heart, and her will to try to stop one of many house demolitions plaguing the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation forces. The driver of the bulldozer, a Russian immigrant, claimed that he did not see her. And, as the driver began to drive towards the house, he scooped up the dirt and took this beautiful human with him. Not once, but two times, as other activists shouted to stop through the loudspeakers. Rachel’s skull was fractured, and though she was still alive after the incident, not long after she was rushed to the hospital, she passed away. Rachel was twenty-three years old.

The case after her death proved to be controversial and contentious. Rachel’s parents sued the state of Israel, and many organizations criticized Israel for their one-sided investigation of the case. As of 2015, the court has rejected the appeal.

Rachel’s parents continue to do her work through the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice and launched projects in memory of their daughter. They have also advanced investigation into the incident and asked the U.S. Congress and various courts for redress. Rachel’s story has inspired a play entitled “My Name is Rachel Corrie”, followed by a book “Let Me Stand Alone” that includes journal entries and emails from her experience in Gaza.

This is a poem written by Rachel Corrie only a couple of months before her tragic death.

Leaving Olympia
January 2003

We are all born and someday we’ll all die. Most likely to some degree alone.  What if our aloneness isn’t a tragedy? What if our aloneness is what allows us to speak the truth without being afraid? What if our aloneness is what allows us to adventure – to experience the world as a dynamic presence – as a changeable, interactive thing?

If I lived in Bosnia or Rwanda or who knows where else, needless death wouldn’t be a distant symbol to me, it wouldn’t be a metaphor, it would be a reality.

And I have no right to this metaphor. But I use it to console myself. To give a fraction of meaning to something enormous and needless.

This realization. This realization that I will live my life in this world where I have privileges.

I can’t cool boiling waters in Russia. I can’t be Picasso. I can’t be Jesus. I can’t save the planet single-handedly.

I can wash dishes.

Here is Rachel’s last email.

Hi papa,

Thank you for your email. I feel like sometimes I spend all my time propogandizing mom, and assuming she’ll pass stuff on to you, so you get neglected. Don’t worry about me too much, right now I am most concerned that we are not being effective. I still don’t feel particularly at risk. Rafah has seemed calmer lately, maybe because the military is preoccupied with incursions in the north – still shooting and house demolitions – one death this week that I know of, but not any larger incursions. Still can’t say how this will change if and when war with Iraq comes.

Thanks also for stepping up your anti-war work. I know it is not easy to do, and probably much more difficult where you are than where I am. I am really interested in talking to the journalist in Charlotte – let me know what I can do to speed the process along. I am trying to figure out what I’m going to do when I leave here, and when I’m going to leave. Right now I think I could stay until June, financially. I really don’t want to move back to Olympia, but do need to go back there to clean my stuff out of the garage and talk about my experiences here. On the other hand, now that I’ve crossed the ocean I’m feeling a strong desire to try to stay across the ocean for some time. Considering trying to get English teaching jobs – would like to really buckle down and learn Arabic.

Also got an invitation to visit Sweden on my way back – which I think I could do very cheaply. I would like to leave Rafah with a viable plan to return, too. One of the core members of our group has to leave tomorrow – and watching her say goodbye to people is making me realize how difficult it will be. People here can’t leave, so that complicates things. They also are pretty matter-of-fact about the fact that they don’t know if they will be alive when we come back here.

I really don’t want to live with a lot of guilt about this place – being able to come and go so easily – and not going back. I think it is valuable to make commitments to places – so I would like to be able to plan on coming back here within a year or so. Of all of these possibilities I think it’s most likely that I will at least go to Sweden for a few weeks on my way back – I can change tickets and get a plane to from Paris to Sweden and back for a total of around 150 bucks or so. I know I should really try to link up with the family in France – but I really think that I’m not going to do that. I think I would just be angry the whole time and not much fun to be around. It also seems like a transition into too much opulence right now – I would feel a lot of class guilt the whole time as well.

Let me know if you have any ideas about what I should do with the rest of my life. I love you very much. If you want you can write to me as if I was on vacation at a camp on the big island of Hawaii learning to weave. One thing I do to make things easier here is to utterly retreat into fantasies that I am in a Hollywood movie or a sitcom starring Michael J Fox. So feel free to make something up and I’ll be happy to play along. Much love Poppy.

Rachel

More young camera activists trained in Hebron

15th March 2017  |  International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team  |  Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today five young students from  Ibrahimi boys’ school took training in camera skills in H2, the Israeli controlled part of the city of Hebron.  Training consisted of camera skills, for video, stills and phone-camera; as well as the human rights and legal aspects they need to be effective and safe human rights campaigners in their own community.  Last week the same training took place at Qurtuba school when five girls got their training.

The project was started by Human Rights Defenders here in Hebron, who have a proud history of using cameras to document unjust situations and even on occasion, to prevent more injustice being done.  Only this week a Human Rights Defenders  activist filmed the arrest of a boy at Shuhada Street checkpoint for the alleged crime of carrying a knife.  Without the protective presence of the camera, Israeli soldiers could have acted extrajudicially.

The cameras for this project were donated by ISM Northern California.

Now a new generation of activists learns a new way to resist the occupation of their country and their community.

Curfew, harassment and break-in for Shuhada Street as settlers celebrate Purim

14th March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Israeli settlers on 12th March 2017 harassed and threatened Palestinians and attempted to break into Shuhada Street kindergarten, as the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) was put under curfew for Palestinians so that settlers could celebrate Purim undisturbed by Palestinian presence.

As on every festive occasion celebrated at the illegal settlements in here, Palestinians had to expect even greater restrictions than usual on their freedom of movement and their human rights (almost non-existent even on ordinary days).

Around 11 am and with no notice at all, Israeli forces closed the Shuhada Street checkpoint, the main access-point for Palestinians into the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood, leaving many Palestinians stranded outside the checkpoint unable to get home. This  was essentially a curfew, as Palestinians already inside the checkpoint could not leave their homes for fear of attacks from the settlers.

Colonial settlers marching through Shuhada Street as Palestinians are under virtual curfew

Hundreds of settlers marched from the illegal Tel Rumeida settlement towards Ibrahimi Mosque on Shuhada Street, while  Israeli forces ensured that settlers did not have to see so much as a single local Palestinian resident on their way. Qurtuba school and Shuhada Street kindergarten were unable to sent their students home, as soldiers denied them passage and the street they need to walk down was completely blocked by settlers, who have a history of harassing and attacking Palestinian children here. Israeli forces also invaded a Palestinian family roof on Shuhada Street in order to watch the procession of costumed settlers.

Colonial settler child dressed up as a occupying soldier

A group of settlers, including infamous and violent Ofer Yohana (עופר אוחנה), appeared at the kindergarten door and tried to break in, while children were still playing inside.  At this commotion the kindergarten children came outside only to see settler children trying to climb the fence that is supposed to protect the kindergarten. At the same time, settler adults started banging on the kindergarten door and trying to open it, insulting and yelling at the Palestinians inside. Instead of stopping this attack, Israeli forces attempted to prevent Palestinians and internationals from filming the incident. Only after more than an hour of idly watching the settlers harass, insult and verbally abuse the Palestinians (see a video, video credit: Human Rights Defenders) and attempt to break into the kindergarten, did Israeli forces present at the scene finally ensure that the settlers moved away to allow the children get home.

Colonial settlers climbing protective fence at the kindergarten

Banksy and the Walled Off Hotel: a personal view

13th March 2017  |  International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team  |  Hebron, occupied Palestine

Over the last weeks there has been a lot of noise about Banksy (a street artist from the UK, now darling of the art world) and his new hotel in Bethlehem. Initially the vast majority of news articles seemed to glow with praise for this new project.  However I quickly found myself uncomfortable with the language that the project uses in its narrative. And other commentators have also expressed discomfort.  A number of articles have now come out that are somewhat more critical of the enterprise. I decided that to further my own understanding I would talk to some Palestinian activists and then write something myself – so here it is to be shared.

On Banksy’s website there is a question and answers page which helped me begin to analyse the political message behind the hotel. The attempt at neutrality Bansky appears to project made me immediately alarmed.  This is how he describes the wall:

“It divides the nation of Palestine from the state of Israel and restricts movement between the two for citizens of both sides. Depending on who you talk to its (sic) either a vital security measure or an instrument of apartheid. Its route is highly controversial and it has a dramatic impact on the daily lives of a lot of people. The one thing beyond dispute is that everything here is under dispute.”  

The statement that the wall restricts movement for both parties  implies an even-sided conflict, something which is clearly untrue in the case of a long-standing full-scale military occupation.  The statement is also in fact false: Israeli citizens are not prevented from entering the West Bank, and there are currently an estimated 600,000 of them residing in settlements which are recognized as illegal by the entire international community. Israelis are free to cross the wall into Palestine, whereas Palestinians need special permission, regularly denied, to cross into Israel, even if needing specialist hospital treatment.  So the ‘dramatic impact’ Banksy talks about is only dramatic, or indeed an impact, for the Palestinian people, and not for Israelis.

The language then slides into identifiably Zionist rhetoric:

“Is it anti-Semitic?

Definitely not. The Walled Off Hotel is an entirely independent leisure facility set up and financed by Banksy. It is not aligned to any political movement or pressure group. The aim is to tell the story of the wall from every side and give visitors the opportunity to discover it for themselves. We offer an especially warm welcome to young Israelis. Absolutely no fanaticism is permitted on the premises.”

It is a common Zionist tactic to label any objection to colonialist state-building and ethnic cleansing of Palestine as ‘anti-Semitic’. Banksy legitimises this method of silencing opponents when he implies that any political movement or pressure group against the wall and occupation could easily be seen as anti-Semitic. This Zionist rhetoric shuts down real discussion.

The declaration that ‘no fanaticism is permitted on the premises’ is particularly interesting: local residents told me that for the last few months there has been a heavily armed unit of Israeli military stationed on the back balcony of what is now Banksy’s hotel. They were not there all the time, but often seen during the evening and were a very intimidating sight.

So this leads to a question for Banksy: why did you allow this unit of soldiers to enter your hotel while it was being built, when that was bound to be threatening to the local population? When you say ‘no fanaticism’, does this mean only from the point at which the hotel was opened? I only ask as it clearly wasn’t the case when you were building the thing.

This leads me to question why the project was made in Area C at all. Banksy explains that it is so Israelis can stay at the hotel without risking legal problems.  However, Area C is the 60% part of the West Bank which remains wholly under Israeli control.  Palestinian homes regularly face destruction here, building permits are almost impossible to obtain (unless you are Israeli), there are regular road closures and the Palestinian economy is at its most controlled and strangled in this part of the West Bank. By opening his business here in Area C, Banksy has chosen to deal directly with the Israeli state, to whom he will have had to apply for permits, and to whom he will have paid fees.  This is a privilege that Palestinians who wish to build houses or businesses are regularly denied.  I do question the legitimacy of a project which is meant to be a protest if it is done with express permission of the state it is protesting against.

And if the project truly embarrassed or damaged Israeli state they would simply not have allowed it at all.

Bansky has in the past made statements which are clearly directly opposed to the wall: in 2005 he said that the wall ‘turned Palestine into the world’s largest open-air prison’.  But here he tries to create a spurious neutrality. This time he chooses not to make any real statement against the occupation but rather to encourage people to understand the ‘two sides of the conflict’. This comes at a time when the Israeli government detains and imprisons Palestinian children simply for making Facebook posts against the occupation.  But Banksy, even with all his privilege and anonymity, and who in comparison is risking nothing but a small chunk of his sizable income, will not make a firm statement against injustice. What is his reasoning?  If I were being charitable I might think that he feels he can highlight his point better by an appearance of neutrality; if I were being cynical I’d suggest he will make more profit from neutrality than from condemnation.

The local Palestinian activists I spoke to have questioned the value of another foreigner-owned business opening in Palestine, particularly one which directly profits from the occupation they have to live under. This is a legitimate concern: many foreign companies directly profit from the occupation and suck money out of the Palestinian economy. Banksy indicates vaguely that all profits will be fed back into local projects without specifying what these are. For all we know the money from this could directly support Zionist interests. And although Banksy’s claims that he will not profit directly are probably true he does stand to profit hugely in publicity, reputation and brand.

Looking at this hotel as a form of activism it begins to seem another example of foreigner saviourship: a person from England comes to Palestine and tells everyone that Israelis and Palestinians just need to sit down together and the problems will be over. This obviously did not come as a plan from any of the Popular Resistance Committees within Palestine, and is in fact grossly offensive to many people.This style of logic shows a complete misunderstanding of the colonialist project that is in motion by the Zionist state.

Banksy’s stated aim is to bring Israelis and Palestinians together in his hotel, but with a few dorm rooms at $30 a night and the next cheapest rooms at $215 up to $965, the only people that the hotel will bring together are the international bourgeoisie, people who are the least affected by the occupation, who maintain their riches in the face of occupation, or even increase them. The global elite do not effect any real change in this world, but rather maintain injustice for their own profit and comfort. So what does he hope to achieve?

My initial reaction was excitement  that Banksy was shining the global spotlight on the apartheid wall again, but the more I get to understand this business the more uncomfortable I become with it. My best interpretation is that it attempts a good political point but misses the mark through misunderstanding and commodification of the Palestinian struggle. And the worst interpretation?  That this is a Zionist project, profiting from and normalizing the horrors of the occupation.               

This is a personal reflection and does not necessarily reflect the views of ISM.                

A new generation learns to ‘shoot’ the occupation

Human Rights Defenders have started a new project to protect the human rights of the children who have to live and study in the middle of the occupation and ghettoisation which is the centre of Hebron. Last Sunday, 5th March, the first of four schools, Qurtuba School, had training in how to use video cameras as a tool to resist the attacks and harassment they regularly face from settlers and Israeli forces. Three other schools will also receive training.

Qurtuba children learn to use cameras (photo courtesy of Human Rights Defenders)

 

The next generation of activists (photo courtesy of Human Rights Defenders)

The project is called the ‘Capturing Occupation Camera Project’.  Groups of students in each of the four schools will be taught to use the cameras, and to understand their own human rights and the legal situation as it relates to their own film-making and activism; they will be trained always to put their own safety first, last and always. They will be a new generation of human rights defenders who ‘shoot’ the occupation, with cameras and not bullets or stones. as they relate to their own film-making and activism; they will be trained always to put their own safety first, last and always.  They will be a new generation of human rights defenders who ‘shoot’ the occupation, with cameras and not bullets or stones.

As Badia Dwaik, from Human Rights Defenders says: ‘The camera is our gun. We use it to shoot the occupation. We need to use the energy of the kids in the right way.  To be a good resistance, you should be alive: you should keep safe, and resist for a long time. We don’t want to be killed. To be alive and keep resisting is the most important thing.’

Human Rights Defenders have a history of using cameras to fight for human rights in Hebron. When Badia’s house was violently raided by Israeli forces in November 2015, Badia filmed the raid until soldiers broke his camera.  When the ISM support group in Northern California heard of this they funded a further four cameras. One of these was used by Imad Abu Shamsiya to shoot the now internationally famous video [link  of the Israeli soldier Elor Azaria extra-judicially executing a Palestinian outside his house in Hebron in March 2016. Without Imad’s film there would have been no evidence and no international outcry.

Now ISM Northern California have funded more cameras as resistance tools to continue to fight against human rights violations in the city of Hebron.