Israeli Colonist Wear: tallis, tzitziyot, and masks
by Harry Pockets
On 22nd July, ISM activists and Israeli activists joined locals from Suseya to rebuild the roof of a farmer’s home that had been burned by neighbouring Israeli colonists. Suseya, an agricultural village located in the South Hebron hills, repeatedly has come under attack by Israeli colonists in the nearby settlement of the same name.
Following the arson, the family living there temporarily moved out of fear of continued harassment and physical attacks by the colonists. ISM and international human rights workers gathered with the villagers to replace the burnt roof with plastic sheets in order to return the home to a liveable condition. As the group began to lay the tarp over the home, fully-masked settlers approached the group demanding that the internationals leave settler “Holy Land” (picture above). The colonists engaged in physical and verbal intimidation, characteristic of settler interactions with Palestinians and internationals in the West Bank. In the ensuing encounter the colonists, who would not identify themselves, assaulted a female ISM member who was videotaping the incident.
Shortly thereafter the IOF arrived, called by the settlers who frequently enlist the help of the army because of the tacit and active support they receive from them. Following a dialogue led by Israeli activists, the situation calmed. The group of villagers and internationals were able to successfully replace the roof with the tarp, clear away charred remains of the house interior, and assist in watering the farmers’ plants.
At the request of the farmers in the area, ISM activists are now living with the families who fear further attacks, including arson and assault.
Two Palestinian women from the Tel Rumeida neighborhood were on their way to visit their aunt in the hospital when the police stopped them for an ID check. Because one of the women was not wearing a headscarf, as is normal in the particularly religious city of Hebron, one of the policemen did not believe the two women came from Tel Rumeida. Frequently police and soldiers deny entry to anyone coming into Tel Rumeida who cannot prove they live there. After after being verbally abusive to the women, the police officer returned the IDs. One of the women took it back from him quickly as she was in a hurry, causing the police officer to become upset and nervous. He took her ID back from her, and went to his car for a while. He then told her to come over to the car. She replied that if he wanted to talk to her, he could come over to her instead. She and the other woman left in disgust.
After they returned from the hospital they called the DCO to see if they could get the ID back. The DCO said that if she doesn’t get it back in a day, they’d see what they could do.
This family is harassed regularly by soldiers and settlers and frequently calls on human rights workers in Tel Rumeida to intervene. The family believes that the harassment is severe and frequent due to settlers wanting the family’s house. The house is in a somewhat strategic location on the top of Tel Rumeida hill. Recent bouts of harassment include settlers stealing the family’s water pipe, burning their olive trees and soldiers invading the property at night.
In Tel Rumeida, Hebron, six settler men between the ages of 16 and 25 entered a Palestinian shoe manufacturing shop across the street from the ISM/TRP apartment. They began throwing shoes around, disrupting the work and intimidating the staff. In response, three international human rights workers confronted the settlers verbally and with cameras. When the settlers realized they were being filmed, they left. In order to prevent settlers from entering again, the internationals blocked the entrance of the shop. Eventually, the police arrived but they did not try to prevent the settlers from harassing the Palestinian shopkeepers. Later that day a female settler continued the harassment at the shop and internationals successfully blocked the entrance to the shop once more.
This harassment is a small incident in a pattern of settler violence that internationals have witnessed while working in the area. Two days previously, fifteen settler girls between the ages of 10 and 15, were documented once again threatening Palestinian children. The young settlers threatened a Palestinian boy saying, “I’m going to kill you”, and called them derogatory names including “donkey.” After the settler girls left, the police arrived and warned them not to go near the Jewish children. Later another police officer told the internationals to leave and if not, he would not help them even of they were ‘bleeding from the head.’ The officers blamed the internationals for the harassment and told them that by documenting the settlers, they were provoking them.
One day prior to this, a young settler tore up a recently completed brick path to the Qurtuba School in Tel Rumeida. When the damage was discovered, police were contacted. When they arrived, they refused to get out of the jeep to look at the damage; they simply instructed the internationals to stay away from the construction site to avoid “provoking” the settlers – even though the vandalism took place when human rights workers were not present. The attack at Qurturba School is the latest step in a long campaign by settlers to disrupt the project. The path was created to stop rock attacks by Jewish settlers targeting Palestinian students and teachers. In response to over 10 years of such violence, the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), agreed to fund the paving of the path with bricks and the installation of fences. Throughout the last few months of construction, settlers have attacked the workers, pulled up the bricks, and smashed much of the retaining wall built next to the path.
On Saturday, July 15, 2006, human rights workers in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, discovered that Israeli soldiers had been using the Human Rights Workers’ (HRWs) four water tanks as waste bins. Though it is unsure how long the soldiers have been doing this, what is sure is that the garbage found is of IOF origin.
It is shocking what the HRWs found inside their tanks. Because there are numerous flats in the building, the land-owner was called to point out exactly which water tanks belonged to the HRWs’ apartment. Most of the roof and many of the tanks are covered with Israeli military netting, due to the fact that the roof was at one point labeled a “closed military zone”. The soldiers still regularly ascend the stairs to the roof and there are currently two military cameras recording the area mounted on the building. Some of the netting had to be cut in order to reach the four tanks belonging to the HRWs apartment.
One of the tanks was badly damaged, with a large hole in the side and half of the top unattached from the body of the tank, making the tank irreparable. Three of the tanks are easily accessible. Inside these three tanks is where the HRWs found an abundant amount of trash, intentionally placed there by the Israeli soldiers. Some of the trash includes: forks, spoons, knives, army netting, unexploded bullets, paper, plastic, glass, bricks, broken pipes, pudding containers, an extremely outdated, unopened yogurt package, and plastic trays on which soldiers’ meals are served.
Swimming in all of the tanks were what looked like thousands of little, grayish, transparent organisms. These organisms were the first clue that there was something wrong with the water supply. Recently, some of the HRWs had noticed these tiny wormlike creatures coming through the kitchen faucet.
The HRWs currently have no clean water supply to the apartment because of the bacterial – and potentially harmful – consequences of using or ingesting it. Palestinian friends and neighbors have agreed to let the HRWs fill water bottles and buckets from their own water tanks and faucets, and to use their showering facilities. Most of the water has been emptied from the tanks, but many of the organisms still remain. The tanks must be thoroughly disinfected before they can be used again.
There is a large concern that the soldiers will again contaminate the HRWs’ water supply. Currently, there are no locks for the lids of the tanks. The idea of trashing Palestinian water tanks is apparently not new. One Palestinian told the HRWs that the soldiers have contaminated his family’s water supply with their garbage many times. So, he checks his water tanks everyday. There have been other reports of soldiers urinating in water tanks.
There is a consensus among the housemates to get new water tanks with locks, or to at least replace the damaged tank. In the meantime, the HRWs will continue to borrow water from their friends, and hope that any illness from drinking the contaminated water has been prevented.
After visiting the family of Yusuf Abumariya we headed to the house of another family. We were served tea and fresh fruit and before we were able to fully get the gentleman’s name and story, Ahmed, one of our local contacts got a call that Musa’s house had been teargassed and that his brother was in a car accident. We gave our shukrans and immediately ran out the door.
We found Musa’s sister and others frantically cleaning the house with soap and water, eyes tearing and gas hanging heavily in the air. Apparently the family was sitting in their garden on the side of the house when Jeish rolled by and shot two canisters of teargas at the house. One of the volunteers who was staying in the house went after them.
We thought about splitting up, half staying behind and the others going up to the main road to document any military activities, but our feet did the voting and we all ended up on the main road. What unfolded before our eyes is still inexplicably absurd. The main street of Beit Ummar was under seige by a Hummer, two smaller jeeps, and a platoon of young soldiers. It looked like a scene out of a war movie.
It was’t clear what was going on. Soldiers were letting some cars through and turning others away. Old women held grandchildren’s hands a little tighter as they walked through the street. One thing was for sure, the soldiers were in town and their presence was making people very uneasy.
One of the Humvees crashed into a taxi causing 1000 shekels worth of damage. The cab belonged to Ahmed’s brother and he was staying with some more of our folks trying to get some answers. We managed to fight fear and walk by the Jeish and through them to assess the situation.
Up ahead Jeish were rolling deeper into town and taunting shebab into wargames. Young soldiers took their positions, tucked safely behind the armor of their jeeps. They rolled passed old ladies who sat on their stoops gazing at this mini-invasion through tired eyes.
This carried on for about two hours. Jeish changed positions, held positions, talked into their walkie talkies and stood by buildings and in little alleys. In packs of four or at times in pairs. They reminded me of me and my friends playing G.I.Joe as kids in Riverside Park.
Their opponent, mighty as mice, were shebab. Those teenagers who defied their parents orders to go inside and stay out of trouble. Los que buscan problemas. Those who find dignity in never backing down to an enemy with far more superior equipment and orders to shoot. For two hours the Jeish deliberated and comiserated about how many times they would shoot rubber bullets at kids who scurried back and forth, drawn into the wargames, proving an uncertain sense of manhood in the face of hate.
Eventually, the Jeish retreated. They may have received orders to, or maybe they realized the absurdity of their existance -shooting rubber-coated metal bullets at kids who threw stones and slung them with makeshift slinghsots. But more realistically they were ordered to retreat, because men so entrenched in the work of occupation rarely realize the absurdity of it. My audible comments about how pathetic it was for a bunch of young men to position themselves and shoot at children was rejected with a perfect American-english “Could you please shut the fuck up.” I have heard young Zionist Americans make sure to serve their compulsory military service in Israel in order to ensure their citizenship and glory.
In the end the shebab won the Battle of Beit Ummar. Every time the children face off against the military, and cast stones, and suffer no casualties, they win. The occupation grows a little weaker, perhaps not in a material sense, but certainly in the spiritual. The young shebab regain a little bit of dignity -a dignity that is at stake under the heels of occupation. Let’s be clear, stone throwing is not encouraged by the majority of the adults. Many scuffles break out between paternal adults and rebellious youth, but boys will be boys. And if Jeish will be Jeish, Shebab will be Shebab.
In the meantime, Jeish detained the taxi driver, we rushed to the D.C.O [detention center] to await his release, and returned to the village with him for another cup of tea.
