YWCA International Conference on Youth

The Young Women Christian Association of Palestine (YWCA)  a member of the World YWCA is holding its international conference on Youth  this weekend based on UN Security Council Resolution 2250.    The resolution which was adopted on Dec. 9, 2015, emphasizes the importance of youth as agents of change in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.  So the  slogan of the conference is “ Youth participate,  and Youth decide; Toward Freedom and Justice.  Youth from Gaza were also able to attend through video conference linked with the YMCA of Gaza.  I was at the opening session yesterday, and felt so proud of this organization which has been so close to my heart and where I had spent many years of  my volunteer work.  I wish I could have stayed  throughout  the conference sessions, but physically I cannot cope anymore.  I could not even attend the special reception in the evening marking 125 years on the establishment of the YWCA of Palestine.  Quite a long and rich history.

Speaking at the opening session held  at the Red Crescent Hall in Bireh-Ramallah, were  the President and  National General Secretary of the YWCA of Palestine,  the World YWCA General Secretary, the Palestinian Minister for Women’s Affairs, the general secretary of the YM/YWCA of Norway, the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund and Head of the United Nations Youth Group in Palestine.  The representative of Sweden was not allowed in at the airport, but  another member of the delegation spoke on her behalf.  When you live under occupation, no matter how well you plan a conference, there is always a surprise waiting for you at the end of the day.  Fortunately it was just one member out of all those guests.

All the presentations were very good and most pertinent.  The local Palestinian organizations were well represented and it was a pleasure having so many internationals in the conference representing Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Macedonia, India, Ukraine, Romania, Switzerland and the USA.

One of the first lessons I learned from the World General Secretary, the late Elizabeth Palmer is that the YWCA must have  antennas to sense the needs of its community and be able to adapt its work  and comply with those needs.  Indeed the history of the YWCA of Palestine has been closely knitted to the history of Palestine.  I still recall the programs we used to have at the YWCA of Jerusalem before 1948, and which also served as  the premises for the YWCA of Palestine at the time.  It included leadership training through a variety of programs like drama, sports, debates and handicrafts.  We were also privileged to be able to make use of the YMCA  gym, swimming pool and library.  Things changed completely after 1948.   But the  spirit of the YWCA did not change.  There were capable leaders to restart the organization in East Jerusalem, Amman, and Jericho.  Since the time when the West Bank was annexed to Jordan, the YWCA became part of the National movement of the YWCA of Jordan, and working with the Palestinian refugees became a priority.   In fact   the World YWCA was one of  the first international organizations that came to the rescue of refugees at Aqbat Jaber in Jericho, one of the largest Palestinian refugee camps after 1948. 

Another landmark in the history of Palestine,  was the June 1967 war when over-night we found ourselves under a new reality: an Israeli occupation.   In fact on Monday June 5, the morning of the war, we were supposed to go to Amman for a National Council meeting.  Well  that was not possible for some time, but when eventually we resumed our trips for the National Council meetings, they were quite an ordeal because of the strenuous procedures of the bridge crossing. One can actually write a whole book about those experiences.  

Once again there was a new reality that the YWCA  had to face and adapt programs to,  in order to meet the needs of the whole community which was quite at a loss.  With a committed General Secretary and her team of staff and board, the YWCA of Jerusalem became a centre for the various sectors of the community.  Over and above its vocational school, clubs for all ages, men and women were established to provide leadership training, and to fulfill the needs of the community.  Summer camps, art, music and  folk dancing helped uplift the spirit of the young people, and a mothers’ club helped to  identify the needs of the children, and played a role in the establishment of parent-teachers associations.   The YWCA  seemed like a centre of information for many groups and especially the church groups that were guests at the new  hotel in the Jerusalem YWCA building.  Speaking to those groups to make them aware of the grave injustice committed against the Palestinians was part of our  purpose.  .  The first human rights committee started at the YWCA  long  before any of the official Palestinian  NGOs on the subject started, and the World YWCA helped us circulate Action Alerts.  In fact the YWCA has been avant garde on all levels, and never hesitated to get involved in any forum that would help the community and the Palestinian cause. 

The youth have  always been a major  focus of the YWCA, so it is not surprising that the YWCA was avant garde once again in planning this conference.  The World YWCA has set a model to its affiliated organization by its involvement ahead of anybody else in so many world issues.  I still remember that the first time I heard of divestment was at one of the World YWCA council meetings when a resolution was taken to divest from banks that supported the apartheid regime in South Africa.  Global warming and disarmament were always some of the issues brought up at the various world council meetings.  The World YWCA was the first international organization which recognized the YWCA of Palestine  as an independent organization.  It  affiliated as such to the World YWCA Association in its Council meeting in Stavanger, Norway in 1991, although the state of Palestine was not yet recognized .   It did much better than the Oslo agreements which took place two years later, and are  still marking time.  However, we will continue to hope that with the energy and commitment of the Youth we shall overcome someday.  Yes indeed we cannot lose hope because we have a just cause, and three cheers for the YWCA, its leadership, and its members.  

What was wrong with both UN speeches?

On Thursday,  September 27, 2018, both the Palestinian President Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the United Nations  General Assembly.  

Every time I listen to speeches like those, I keep hoping against hope that something new or fresh might come up to uplift our morale and truly give us reason to look forward to better days.  Of course it was necessary for president Abbas to draw the attention of the assembly that the USA has not been  an honest broker to the peace process, because they turned a blind eye to the violations of Israel to all the agreements signed with Israel.  He  announced that the Palestinians are not willing to continue  committing themselves to agreements that Israel has not kept, including the recognition of Israel, while Israel refuses to recognize Palestine or its right to self-determination.  He criticized the recently passed  Nation State Law, which actually has been criticized by many Jews inside and outside the State of Israel.  However it was very out of place for Mr. Abbas to carry the conflict with Hamas to the International Arena.  This is something that he should deal with on the local scene and if any help is needed it should be solved in the Arab Summit meetings. 

On the other hand, Mr. Netanyahu’s  main  emphasis,  before responding to some of the points that  Mr. Abbas referred to, was on Iran.  He had a theatrical presentation, showing diagrams and sites of nuclear facilities, which actually American experts announced immediately that it was false information.  Furthermore, he urged the world community not to tolerate this at all because this is a threat to the whole region.  And of course he thanked the president of the USA, Mr. Trump for pulling out of the agreement signed with Iran during the term of Mr. Obama, and urged other countries to do so

We have seen how previous false threats regarding Iraq led to a war, that the whole region is still suffering from.   How ironic indeed when Israel itself was the first country in the whole region that had  acquired a nuclear reactor  built in the Southern part of Israel as early as the fifties with the help of France at the time.   Over and above Israel has never signed the non-proliferation agreement, neither has it ever allowed any inspectors to the site. So by what right was Mr. Netanyahu  talking so vehemently about Iran as if it were  threatening the very existence of Israel.  "I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran - Israel knows what you're doing," Netanyahu said. He added that Israel will continue to act against Iran - "also in Syria and also in Iraq."

Both Israel and Iran are aware of each other’s nuclear potential,  unless Israel has an ulterior motive to wage a war, the outcome of which will be a completely new Middle East, with the Palestinians being its collateral damage. 

The Emperor

Mr. Trump,  who on earth appointed you the Emperor of the universe as to think you can undo treaties, cancel UN resolutions, and impose sanctions on countries all over the world.

Ever since you took office you have been handling matters according to your whims and wishes antagonizing people and regimes, whereby the whole world seems to be in a big mess, and on the verge of a war, here and there.  

Because you have the power and money, you think you can get away with all this.  The day will come when all your actions will boomerang, and your own people might be the first to raise their voice against your actions.  Let alone all other countries whose destiny you have been meddling with.  

As  a Palestinian, I ask you what right do you have to cancel the UN resolution regarding the “right of  return of the Palestinians,” and the money allocated by the UN to UNRWA which was established as a temporary organization until the Palestinian refugees would be able to go back to their homes.  You are morally and financially obligated to see to it that those refugees are granted their right.  And until that happens you are still obligated to fund UNRWA because it is the veto power of the US used along the years that  has been the reason  behind  the failure of the implementation of UN resolutions that would  redress the grave injustice inflicted upon the Palestinians in 1948 as well as in 1967.  

You are dealing with issues with the principle of MIGHT is RIGHT.  We are no more in a jungle Mr. Trump.  There are rules and regulations, and an international law that governs actions of governments.  If you want the law of the jungle to prevail, then wake up, because that law will not spare anybody,  and the emperor will eventually be exposed  "as naked as can be" (according to  Hans Christian Andersen)

Why a cultural Centre?

A few days ago Israel bombarded the Mishal  cultural centre in Gaza destroying it completely.  Why?  This centre has been the gift of Said Meshal to the youth of Gaza to help them cope with all the pressure of living under  siege for the last twelve years.  It is neither a Hamas nor a Fateh Centre.  In fact there is an Egyptian cultural centre in the building.  Ironic indeed when Egypthas been  trying  to mediate some sort of  a long term truce “Hudna” between Israel and Hamas.  

Is it not enough that those young people as well as all the people of Gaza are deprived of a normal life, that it was too much for Israel to see them enjoying some fun with music art, and drama.   Once again, I cannot help but see the irony of it when at the same time Israel is asking that help to UNRWA in Gaza should not be curtailed because it will make life  for  the people of Gaza much worse.  

Indeed it will,  and so will the demolition of a cultural Centre that was supposed to lift up the spirit of the youth,  and engage them with activities that are normal to all children of the world ?  

UNRWA laying off its staff

I have written more than once on the UNRWA crisis, but this time UNRWA is laying off its staff and is causing a great deal of concern within the Palestinian community.  The financial situation, especially in Gaza has been deteriorating so badly  that the last thing this besieged area could deal with is the cutting of UNRWA  services and laying off its staff.  

When UNRWA was established in December 1949,  it was established as a temporary relief agency for the Palestinian refugees who,  in 1948, were driven out of their homes at gun point, or fled  for their lives, when the state of Israel was established on Palestinian land . 

Why was it temporary?  Because a year earlier, and in December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 194  allowing  all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.  Israel which planned that exodus in the first place, was determined not to allow the Palestinians to go back to their homes and in no time it started destroying villages and occupying  Palestinian homes to settle Jewish families in them,   so  that a new reality would hinder any return of the Palestinians.   Even the Palestinians who stayed in the newly established state and had been evicted to another area of Israel, were not allowed to go back to their homes.  

The failure of the UN to implement that resolution, and to link it with the  acceptance of Israel as a member state, is the root cause of the crisis that UNRWA is facing at the moment.  

Instead of exerting its effort on a political solution for  the refugees,  the UN  member states who supported UNRWA kept  raising funds and supporting the budget, and supporting the salaries of their representative staff working with UNRWA, without any financial support from Israel itself which was basically responsible for the refugee problem.  

Undoubtedly the Palestinians have been grateful for this support which sustained them for a long time.  However,  they  would have been much more grateful had the UN taken a legal and moral approach to the refugee problem and worked  towards their return  instead of draining their budgets year after year on services that are now being  curtailed  for financial reasons.  

Of course one  of the main reasons that the UN could never implement resolution 194 was the veto power of the US, and its blind support of Israel  which did not even oblige Israel to be morally and financially responsible for the refugee problem.   Furthermore, the US has exacerbated the financial crisis by withdrawing its commitment to UNRWA.  How ironic indeed.  As I mentioned earlier in an open letter  to Mr. Trump.  “ We are not requesting charity, we are demanding our rights.  And that is why the UN is legally and  morally obligated to set the record straight, and to keep supporting the work of UNRWA until it implements a just solution to the refugee problem. 

Human Rights Commission

How ironic that the US has decided to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Commission because it is one sided, at a time when the focus of  the world is on the issue of the children of the immigrants being separated from their parents at the US borders.  How brutal.  But then of course the decision was mainly taken to avoid further embarrassment about shielding Israel from violations of human rights as well as international law. 

What makes it more ironic is the reaction of Israel agreeing completely with the decision and bragging as usual  that Israel is the only democracy in the region.  Yet it emphasizes the fact that it is a Jewish State.  How can it be Jewish and democratic when 25% of its population is not Jewish.    Addressing the Congress on Judaism and Democracy, earlier this year,  on the controversy over the Jewish nation-state bill, the Israeli Minister of Justice  Ayelet Shaked  said  that there is place to maintain a Jewish majority even at the price of violation of human rights.

 I   wonder who makes the human rights commission  one sided?  Isn’t the USA basically responsible for that fact,  when it meddles in other countries’ affairs and wages wars in the name of democracy,  and at the same time vetoes every resolution condemning Israel for its human rights violations.    As a settler colonial power Israel has refused to implement any of the UN resolutions regarding the Palestinian plight, whether it was the right of return of the 1948 Palestinian refugees  as stipulated in UN  resolution 194  or the end of  the occupation of the land captured in 1967 in accordance with  resolution 242. But it seems that the powerful can get away with anything.  

Palestine: The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

After the massacre of Gaza on May 14, I was writing to a friend and asking how many more need to die before our voice is heard and we are granted justice.  He wrote back reminding me of Bob Dylan’s song  “the answer is Blowin’ in the wind.”  I have always loved that song.  So I decided to improvise new words to suit our situation.

Samia   

How many massacres must we go through

Before they see us as  humans?

How many evictions must we go through

Before we have the right to go back to our homes

Yes,  and how many times are we labeled terrorists

Before we are granted our rights

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind

How many years must we stay under siege

Before we regain our freedom

How many years must we face humiliation

Before we’re granted  our dignity

And yes how many more lives need to be lost

Before justice and peace will prevail

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

How many years can people stay  oppressed

Before rising up towards  freedom

How many young people must die

Before the world raises its voice 

And yes how many handicapped will stay around

Before they can lead a normal life

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind

Congratulations Israel on your 70th Independence Day.

Congratulations Israel on your  70^th Independence Day.  Surely you should be proud of your achievements. 

1.  You established your state on  land that belongs to the Palestinians. You were not satisfied to share with them their land, so you had to evict them to have your own Jewish state.  You did that by resorting to brutal force, and  in some cases  massacres that remain a black spot in your history. 

2.  For the first eighteen years, you imposed strict military rule in the country which  controlled every aspect of the  lives of the original owners of the land who managed to stay in the newly established state.

3. You gave the indigenous Palestinian population citizenship, but they did not have the same rights that the Jewish community had, neither did their towns or schools have the same privileges and budgets

4.  Moreover, by some absurd law, this Palestinian population ended up being “present absent” meaning that they were absent as far as their right to claim their homes and property, but were present for paying taxes to the newly established State.   

5.   For the last 50 years, you have been occupying the rest of the Palestinian land which you did not succeed in conquering  in 1948. 

4.  You claim you are not occupying the land, but that you have liberated it. And you claim that Jerusalem is the united eternal capital of Israel, yet 

a.   The residents of the West Bank have no access to Jerusalem except for certain purposes and on certain occasions. 

b.  The residents  of Jerusalem are not citizens and their residency can be revoked any time under a variety of absurd regulations.

c.  The residents of Jerusalem are deprived of having their  spouses join them should they be from the West Bank without going through an endless procedure of family reunification which is mostly denied even after many years of marriage.

d.  It takes for ever and sometimes never for a Jerusalem resident to get a building permit whereas the Jewish settlements have encroached on most of the Jerusalem and West Bank Land.  So demolishing homes  and confiscating land in the Palestinian areas is very common.   

7.  Over and above you already have a population of  around two million  living under siege in Gaza. Although you claim to have withdrawn from Gaza you continue to control its borders, land, sea and sky.    

8.  You claim to have the most moral army in the world yet your soldiers raid homes at night and get children out of their beds.  You already have 350 children in your jails and -6500 men and women, many of whom are under administrative detention without charge or trial, and around 1000 of them are sick.

9.  You claim to be the only democracy in the region.  Yet you have two sets of laws for your own citizens.  And you deny entry to anybody including Jews and even  Rabbis who do not agree with your policies.  This is certainly not a democracy.  Over and above you silence voices of dissent in your own country and you imprison young people who do not wish to serve in the army.  

10.  You claim your hand is stretched out for peace, yet every day your armed settlers are grabbing new areas with the protection of your  army.  Barak’s generous offer  with  which you brain-washed the world and your own citizens amounts only to a little over 15% of  historic Palestine instead of the 22% on which the Palestinians were willing to establish their new state after the Oslo agreement. 

You certainly do not want peace but you want to be left in peace without being held accountable to any of the violations of human rights or international law. 

Of course you can always count on President Trump and his representative at the UN Nikki Haley to cover your back so as to get away with those violations.   No wonder you are feeling on top of the world as you are celebrating 70 years of Independence while we celebrate 70 years of our Nakba (the catastrophe of dispossession.)

Maybe you should stop for a moment and listen  to the prayer of  one of your Jewish Rabbis:  Rabbi Brant Rosen.

Le'el she'chafetz teshuvah,
to the One who desires return:

Receive with the fulness of your mercy
the hopes and prayers of those
who were uprooted, dispossessed
and expelled from their homes
during the devastation of the Nakba.

Sanctify for tov u'veracha,
for goodness and blessiong,
the memory of those who were killed
in Lydda, in Haifa, in Beisan, in Deir Yassin
and so many other villages and cities
throughout Palestine.

Grant chesed ve'rachamim,
kindness and blessing,
upon the memory of the expelled
who died from hunger,
thirst and exhaustion
along the way.

Shelter beneath kanfei ha'shechinah,
the soft wings of your divine presence,
those who still live under military occupation,
who dwell in refugee camps,
those dispersed throughout the world
still dreaming of return.

Gather them mei'arbah kanfot ha'aretz
from the four corners of the earth
that their right to return to their homes
be honored at long last.

Let all who dwell in the land
live in dignity, equity and hope
so that they may bequeath to their children
a future of justice and peace.

Ve'nomar
and let us say,
Amen.

Le'el she'chafetz teshuvah,
to the One who desires repentance:

Inspire us to make a full accounting
of the wrongdoing that was
committed in our name.

Help us to face the terrible truth of the Nakba
and its ongoing injustice
that we may finally confess our offenses;
that we may finally move toward a future
of reparation and reconciliation.

Le'el malei rachamim,
to the One filled with compassion:
show us how to understand the pain
that compelled our people to inflict
such suffering upon another -
dispossessing families from their homes
in the vain hope of safety and security
for our own.

Osei hashalom,
Maker of peace,
guide us all toward a place
of healing and wholeness
that the land may be filled
with the sounds of joy and gladness
from the river to the sea
speedily in our day.

Ve'nomar
and let us say,
Amen.