May 1, 2015
I have been reading and responding to so many e-mails lately
that I have not had time to reflect on some of the events that are taking place
and the absurdity of the situation. Yesterday I was supposed to go
downtown to Jerusalem, just about 9kms away, to attend a performance at
the conservatory by “Banat Al-Quds” (The daughters of Jerusalem) an
all-girls’ ensemble in which my granddaughter was playing the cello and singing
as well. Unfortunately the Jewish Ethiopian citizens of Israel had
a very big and violent demonstration in Jerusalem, that it was literally
impossible for me to get beyond the first kilometer of my trip, but
luckily the taxi driver found an outlet and drove me back home.
Apparently what triggered this demonstration was the violence of the
Israeli police against these Ethiopians citizens. Not much
different from the brutality of the American police against the African
Americans that we have been watching. I read a nice episode about two
Swedish policemen who while in New York intervened very gently to quell
some violence. The spectators were so amazed that they wished their
American police would get some training in Sweden rather than in Israel.
But after all “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.”
With the earthquake in Nepal and the thousands of people who
have lost their lives or their possessions, one of the first countries
that sent rescue teams and relief was Israel. Yet how ironic that
Israel continues to dispossess the Palestinians of their homes and
possessions on a daily basis. Today in Silwad in the Ramallah area, a
family was evicted from their home by brute force for no other reason but to
make room for Israeli settlers. Does this make any sense? After the
Israeli shelling of Gaza in July 2014, many areas looked like they have been
exposed to an earthquake or an atomic bomb, yet there were no rescue
teams around, does this make any sense?
Many of you might have read the story from Mondoweiss about
the two young musicians, if not please check it out
Night f horror at Ben Gurion airport for two French music
students I do not know why Israel goes out of its way to
provoke those young people and eventually turn them into activists by no choice
of their own.
On a brighter note, today the YWCA of Palestine
celebrated the Y Global breakfast which is usually celebrated around the world
on April 24, or around that date. It was a special occasion for us
this year because we had it in Bethlehem celebrating the establishment of
a new association there. It was a very lively gathering and a very nice occasion
for the members of Ramallah, Jerusalem and Jericho to meet our new members in
Bethlehem. Women’s activities and advocacy keep us going, and
definitely our involvement makes sense and makes a difference.
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