Witness for the Defenseless

Published by Americans for The Link Middle East Understanding, Inc.

Volume 40, Issue 3 Link Archives: www.ameu.org August-September 2007

BY ANNA BALTZER

E very time I think I have understood the Is- rael/Palestine conflict, something will remind me how much more I have to learn. My first break- through came during a trip to southern Lebanon, where for the first time I heard a narrative about the state of Israel altogether different from the one I had learned growing up as a Jewish American. My grandmother, who had fled Europe and lost most of her family in the Nazi Holocaust, had always spoken of Israel as a tiny victimized country that

(Continued on page 2.)

Anna Baltzer is the author of Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jew- ish American Woman in the Occupied Territories. —Photo by Bud Hudson The Link Page 2

AMEU Board (Continued from Page 1.) of Directors simply wanted to live in peace but couldn’t

Jane Adas (Vice President) because of its aggressive, Jew-hating Arab neighbors. Then, while traveling through the Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr. I first met Anna Baltzer in Middle East, I was taken in by a family of Elizabeth D. Barlow a Congregational church in Palestinian refugees who told me their story Edward Dillon Old Lyme, CT. The high- back pews were filled mostly of being violently expelled from their home- John Goelet with older people; a few in land, never allowed to return. They told me Richard Hobson the balcony leaned over the stories of past and present military attacks, Anne R. Joyce rail to see and hear her. colonization, house demolitions, imprison- Hon. Robert V. Keeley ment without trial, torture, and government- The questions following Kendall Landis (Treasurer) sponsored assassination. her talk were polite, except At first, I didn’t believe them. Robert L. Norberg (President) for one woman in the bal- Hon. Edward L. Peck cony who lashed out at her So I did my own research, and soon I Lachlan Reed for criticizing Israel. realized that the stories of my friends in Donald L. Snook Lebanon were true. I realized that it was After the talk, in a meeting Rosemarie Sunderland largely Israel’s aggressive actions and poli- room behind the sanctuary, cies—and U.S. unconditional financial sup- James M. Wall she stood at a card table port for those actions and policies—that were with copies of her book and precluding a just peace in the region. I felt AMEU National DVDs of her presentation. responsible for the role my tax dollars and Council Several came up to pur- government were playing in the violations of Hon. James E. Akins chase them or just to speak international law and human rights, and I Isabelle Bacon with her. felt doubly responsible as a Jewish American, William R. Chandler In this issue of The Link since Israel’s abuses were being carried out David S. Dodge Anna writes about many of in the name of Jews everywhere. Paul Findley the things she spoke of that Determined to see the situation for my- Dr. Cornelius B. Houk day: her experiences in oc- self, I traveled to Palestine in late 2003 as a O. Kelly Ingram cupied Palestine, the ques- volunteer with the International Women’s Moorhead Kennedy tions most frequently put to Peace Service (IWPS), a grassroots solidarity her as she crisscrosses Ann Kerr organization dedicated to documenting and America, and, yes, how she Mary Norton nonviolently intervening in human rights Marie Petersen responds to her critics, like the woman in the balcony. abuses in the West Bank, and to supporting Don W. Wagner Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Miriam Ward, RSM Anna’s presentation that Occupation.

day was one of the most In spite of my research, nothing could Executive Director engaging and effective I have prepared me for witnessing firsthand John F. Mahoney have ever seen. Her DVD the injustices that characterize Israeli rule in version of it is available from the West Bank, including the expansion of our video catalog on page Jewish-only colonies on Palestinian land, the AMEU (ISSN 0024-4007) grants 15. An updated edition of permission to reproduce material her book is due out this Au- virtually unchecked brutality of soldiers and from The Link in part or in whole. gust and is listed in our book settlers against Palestinian civilians, and Is- AMEU must be credited and one rael’s Apartheid Wall, separating hundreds copy forwarded to our office at 475 catalog on page 13. Riverside Drive, Room 245, New of thousands of Palestinians from their land, York, New York 10115-0245. Tel. John F. Mahoney jobs, hospitals, schools, and each other. 212-870-2053; Fax 212-870-2050;

E-mail: [email protected]; Website: Executive Director I met one family whose house was com- www.ameu.org. The Link Page 3 pletely surrounded by the Wall—a one-family bantu- stan. I met Palestinians who had spent their lives in prison never having been told what crime they were accused of, nor given access to a lawyer. I helped vil- lagers pick barley seeds boiled in rat poison out from shrubs where settlers had planted them to deter shepherds from grazing their sheep on their land. I watched soldiers uproot olive trees in the middle of the night as collective punishment on entire villages. I took reports about extrajudicial assassinations and torture. I met the family of a six-year-old boy who inhaled poisonous gas that had been shot by soldiers into his home when he was less than a year old, and he hasn’t been able to walk, talk, or eat on his own since. I saw soldiers shoot at unarmed nonviolent protesters, including internationals and Israelis. I documented a week-long invasion into Nablus, including the systematic obstruction of medical services, and the extensive use of human shields, including an eleven-year-old girl. Dawud, whose six-month-old son died at an Israeli checkpoint when soldiers denied the family passage to a hospital in Ramallah.—Photo by Those “Benign” Checkpoints Anna Baltzer Perhaps the biggest surprise about the Occupa- tion for me was the nature of Israel’s military check- at Atara checkpoint as they were rushing their six- points. Of all the institutions of the Occupation, month-old son, who was having trouble breathing, checkpoints had always seemed to me the most be- to the hospital in Ramallah. Despite the parents’ nign. Wasn’t it natural that people be stopped to screams as they watched their son begin to choke, show their IDs when crossing between Israel and the shake, and eventually pass away, the soldiers re- West Bank, just as travelers between the U.S. and fused to let the family pass. Canada have to stop on their way from one to the I met Jaber, who was stopped at Huwwara other? I quickly realized that the hundreds of check- checkpoint on his way home from the hospital in points and other road obstructions in the West Bank Nablus. Sick with meningitis, Jaber had strict doc- were not on its border with Israel, but concentrated tor’s orders to rest in bed but was held by soldiers on Palestinian roads between Palestinian towns and for ten hours in the sun without food or water. villages. Also, unlike normal border crossings, not Not all of the violations were health-related. I everyone had to stop at these checkpoints. Jewish watched soldiers manning checkpoints beat and hu- settlers, their cars distinguishable by their yellow miliate Palestinians. I documented additional check- (Israeli) license plates, would breeze by hundreds of points set up during Jewish holidays and following Palestinians waiting at checkpoints in their vehicles threats of violence from Jewish settlers. I saw the with white and green (West Bank Palestinian) plates. way checkpoints prevent the efficient transport of During my eight months in the West Bank, I Palestinian goods. I witnessed first-hand the way documented countless abuses at these checkpoints. I checkpoints block Palestinians from reaching their interviewed Hessa, a woman who was stopped by homes and holy sites, in addition to their land, hos- soldiers at the checkpoint between her village of Deir pitals, and schools. Ballut and the nearest hospital in Ramallah when she Each year that I returned to the West Bank, I went into labor with twins. Unable to reach the hos- found these checkpoints more and more entrenched. pital in time, she lost both of her babies. At Huwwara checkpoint, the sheltered pens where Soldiers stopped my friend Dawud and his wife Palestinians would wait to enter or leave Nablus The Link Page 4 were replaced by metal turnstiles to keep Palestini- had yet to see a human face. ans waiting in a controlled line. The army redesigned In front of me was a metal detector, surrounded Zatara checkpoint between Ramallah and all points by iron bars. I began to walk through but the voice north with separate lanes for Jews and non-Jews, and called out from another speaker above, “Stop!” they installed a huge menorah—a symbol of the Jew- I stopped, wondering where he was watching ish people—at the center of the junction. Certain me from. checkpoints were replaced altogether with new terminal-style buildings. “Go back and put down your bags.” I first encountered one of these terminals in I sighed and went back through the metal detec- January of 2006 after visiting a women’s cooperative tor and set down my six bags, which were feeling in Tulkarem to purchase embroidery for friends in heavier by the minute. the U.S. Because there are no reliable postal services “Now go through without your bags,” he or- in the West Bank, and because I did not want to risk dered. I walked through. Nothing happened. the products being damaged or confiscated by Israeli “Now, go back.” airport security if I transported them in my luggage, I knew I would have to send them to the U.S. from a I closed my eyes with a sigh, walked back, post office in Israel. I had traveled from Tulkarem to picked up my six bags, and walked through again Tel Aviv once in the past by taking a shared taxi to before he could give me the order to do so. Somehow the nearby Einab junction, where I had walked from this seemed so much worse than the turnstiles and the Palestinian road to the Israeli one and caught metal detectors I had seen at Huwwara and other transport into Israel. checkpoints. At least there you could see the people humiliating you. Or maybe it was more upsetting This second time, I was traveling with my back- because I wasn’t used to being the one humiliated. pack and six plastic bags full of embroidery, and I assumed the trip would be as straightforward as it Beyond the metal detector was another set of had been in the past. turnstiles, locked again. I took a deep breath and stared at the red light, hoping to see it turn green When I arrived at Einab junction, I found a large rather than let the guard hear my voice crack if I new building, fortified by several layers of metal spoke. Thankfully, the turnstile buzzed and I fences, walls, and gates. The first layer reminded me squeezed through to reach the building itself. That of rural parts of the Wall—wire fence reinforced with was the end of the pre-screening. Now it was time electric sensory wire and razor wire with a heavy for the real screening. iron gate. The gate was open but there was nobody to be seen on the other side. I walked through and The inside of the building reminded me of an came to two large iron turnstiles surrounded by a airport terminal—high ceilings and multiple floors, wall of iron bars. The turnstiles were locked. Frus- and multilingual signs for travelers. The ones here trated, I put down my six bags to rest for a moment. read, “Prepare documents for inspection” in He- Maybe someone would come back? I waited, but still brew, Arabic, and English. The signs didn’t clarify there was nobody. where one was supposed to go, however. There was a series of five doors with red lights on top, and I I called out. “Hello? Anybody out there?” called out, “OK, my documents are ready... Now “Please wait a moment,” a staticky voice above what?” me blared, and I looked up to find a speaker attached This time nobody answered, so I asked again. to the turnstile. I didn’t have much choice but to Again, nothing. Frustrated, I set my bags down. My wait. back was hurting, I was sweating, and I didn’t know After five minutes the light above the turnstile where I was or what was going to happen to me. I turned from red to green and I picked up my bags to took a deep breath and yelled, “Is anybody there?!” walk through. It was difficult squeezing into the Eventually a second staticky voice came tight rotating cage with all my bags, and by the time through from a speaker on the wall. “Please proceed I’d made it to the other side, I was hot and cranky. I The Link Page 5 to the door.” paned window with a soldier on the other side. The “Which door?” soldier asked for my ID and I slipped it under the glass. He tried to make small talk and asked me what “The one on the left.” part of the United States I was from. I told him flatly, “Left of what? Where are you?” “For the first time in my life, a part of me wants to “I can see you,” the voice said. “Walk back- blow someone up.” wards and go left.” He must not have heard me because he let me I saw a door behind me on the left and carried through to the next tiny windowless room. The next my bags over to it. Above the door was a red light, buzzing heavy door led out into the other open- which I stared at. Nothing happened. I was ready to spaced side of the terminal, where I picked up the cry. “Now what?” I called out. Silence. I called out pace, hoping to get out finally, almost an hour after I’d arrived. No such again, even louder. luck. “What am I supposed to do?!” One more soldier behind a window beck- “Calm down!” oned for my passport yelled a cheerful sol- again. “Where’s your dier walking by on an visa?” he asked, not upper level above me. finding the stamped He was finishing a con- slip of paper issued by versation on his Israel when the pass- walkie-talkie, and put port itself is not up his hand for me to stamped. I answered wait. I glared at him. truthfully, “They told “Go there,” he pointed me at the airport that to another door near there were none left the one I was standing and that it would be at, and began to walk OK.” away. Palestinians wait to show their IDs and be searched at Einab terminal on As the words came out, “No, please!” I their way home from work. —Photo by Anna Baltzer I realized how absurd blurted out, forgetting this sounded, and I IWPS’s policy of not pleading with soldiers. “You’re kicked myself for falling for it when I’d flown in the the first human face I’ve seen and I’m starting to lose week before. How could the airport run out of visa it.” sheets? Wasn’t it more likely that they were deliber- He motioned towards the door and promised ately trying to inhibit my travel in Palestinian areas? that if I stood there, the light would eventually turn It was hard to blame the soldier, since, for all he green. I picked up my bags, approached the door, set knew, I’d snuck in over the hills of Jordan. them down, and waited. Eventually, the light turned “Whatever,” I sighed. “Call airport security—I prom- green, this time accompanied by a little buzz that ise I’m in the system.” unlatched the full iron door. I expected to find a soldier on the other side, but as the heavy door I knew it would be a while, so I sat down again. slammed behind me I found myself in a tiny room I thought I was past the point of anger until I noticed with white walls, no windows, and a second iron a line of 25 or so Palestinians waiting outside to door. That door eventually buzzed as well, and I come in from the other direction, heading back to struggled to open it as I held my bags, settling to Tulkarem. Had they been waiting there all this time? kick one in front of me instead. Why weren’t they being processed? I asked the guard holding my passport and he said he’d tend to The next room had three walls and a double- them after I left. The Link Page 6

It was one thing to feel frustrated and humili- intercom so that I could hear her through the win- ated, but another to know that my ordeal had held dow. “Please take off your clothes and put them in up dozens of Palestinians from getting back to their the container on the floor.” homes and families. “Wait,” I said. “Are you telling It took a moment for the words to sink in. Once me that in your fancy new facility you can’t process they had, I looked the soldier straight in the eyes, people coming in two directions? Don’t let the prob- and I began to undress. I removed each piece of lem with me delay these people any longer.” clothing slowly, not once taking my eyes off hers. I He told me not to worry, that the Palestinians watched her with a look of hurt, not anger. I wanted were used to waiting. This made me even more up- her to see that she was not just searching me—she set. I insisted that I would rather wait longer myself, was humiliating me. Several times she looked away. and eventually he beckoned the group forward. I When I was down to my underwear, the soldier marveled as they waited patiently and yet somehow stopped me; she said that was enough. A part of me not submissively, beacons of dignity next to my de- wished that she hadn’t. Perhaps if I were completely feated and angry presence. I took out my camera and naked, she would more likely recognize the extent of took a few photos. Within seconds, a guard appeared my humiliation and her role in it. next to me—in person, nothing but air between us!— The iron door behind me buzzed and the soldier and said sternly, “Come with me.” told me to place the crate containing my clothes and The guard picked up my bags and I followed phone into the room where I had last seen the guard. him back towards the section of the terminal from My other belongings were long since gone, and I which I had just come. We passed through the win- could hear soldiers in the next room going through dowless rooms and into a new room with crates on them. When I got back to the room, the soldier in the the floor. From there, the guard opened another, window was gone. I sat down on the chair and even heavier iron door, and motioned for me to pass waited. The soldiers next door were chatting and ahead of him. Expecting the guard to follow me in, I laughing. I imagined them examining my personal turned and instead found him placing my bags into photographs and letters. I was too upset to sit still. I the crates. Realizing that soldiers were going to go stood up and started pacing back and forth in the through my bags, I expressed my preference to be small room. I had to do something—anything—to present during the search to ensure that nothing express my emotions. If I could hear them, then they would be damaged or stolen. “That’s not possible,” could hear me. I began to sing. the guard said flatly, and the door slammed shut be- I sang an old song that I’d learned at summer tween me and my belongings. camp as a child. Its words were meaningless, but I I banged the door with frustration, realizing that sang it at the top of my lungs. Within seconds, the all my contact information for Palestinian organizers female soldier was at the window, looking very and friends was still on my computer. I knew that alarmed. I waved. I sang that stupid song until my implicating any Palestinians in resistance work could voice hurt. It felt good to sing—I felt empowered. It make them a target. It occurred to me that I still had was easier to act like a crazy person than a prisoner. my phone in my pocket and I quickly called my If I was unpredictable, then they had lost the power friend Kobi, an Israeli activist. I told him where I to control me. was and asked if he might call Machsom Watch—a Half an hour passed. Or was it an hour? My en- group of Israeli women who monitor abuses at ergy had worn off and I sat down miserably on the checkpoints—on my behalf. He said he’d do what he chair. I was so tired. The soldiers were gone from the could and we hung up. next room now. What was taking them so long? It I looked around the room. It was empty except was cold in the room, and I had nothing to cover my- for a chair and an empty crate on the floor. There self with. I began to shiver and rock back and forth were no other doors, but there was a two-paned win- on the chair. I had no more energy to yell. I began to dow with a soldier watching me from the other side cry. I cried for a long time. Eventually, the female of it. Eventually, he walked out of view and another soldier appeared in the window. I could tell she felt soldier appeared, a young woman. She spoke into an bad for me. I looked away. The door buzzed and she The Link Page 7 instructed me to open it. On the other side was a “Yes, please wait a little longer.” jacket and a cup of water. I put on the jacket and “Why?” I asked, incredulously. “You saw every- drank the water to soothe my throat, but I was unim- thing I have. You know I’m not a security threat, and pressed. I didn’t want a jacket or water. I wanted my surely you know by now that I have a visa.” freedom to leave. I wanted my dignity back. “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to wait,” she Time passed. I stopped looking at the soldiers said. and talking to them. I stopped thinking of ways to I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I lost it. I pass the time or express myself. I didn’t even feel opened up my bags and took out what was left of like myself anymore. I felt empty, defeated. I just sat my canned tuna. With my fingers, I began to spread and waited, with a feeling of profound loneliness. I the oily fish all over the window. remembered all the checkpoints and terminals I had photographed and written about and read about. “What are you doing?” asked the soldier, None had prepared me for the experience of being alarmed. held at one myself. “You don’t respect my stuff, I don’t respect After what felt like an eternity, the iron door yours,” I answered. buzzed and I opened it to find all my clothes and Next, I opened a box of Turkish delight. “I’m not bags in a large pile brimming over the tops of the going to stop until you let me out,” I announced as I containers. The soldiers had emptied every single began mashing the gummy cubes into the hinges of item separately into the iron door. I took the crates. The pa- out a black marker pers from my note- and began to write book were strewn “Free Palestine” in about loosely. Each large letters on the piece of embroidery wall. had been removed “OK, OK,” said the from its protective soldier’s voice over wrapper and crum- the intercom. “You pled into a pile. A can go now.” The can of tuna had door buzzed. been opened and left amidst the I gathered my bags hand-sewn gar- and walked out. A ments. Even the soldier was waiting Zatara checkpoint was redesigned to provide separate lanes for Jewish settlers for me on the other boxes of Turkish (left lane, yellow-plated cars) and non-Jews (right, white– and green-plated delight—a soft cars.—Photo by Anna Baltzer side. He gave me sticky candy cov- my passport and ered with powdered sugar, which I’d brought for said I was free to leave. I called Kobi as soon as I was some Israeli activists in Tel Aviv—had been opened outside. He said it was the U.S. Consulate that had and rummaged through. helped get me released. The army claimed they were holding me because of the photographs I had taken The only thing stronger than my anger was my inside the terminal. Interestingly, they hadn’t both- desire to leave. I sat down miserably and folded eve- ered to delete the images from my camera when they rything back into my bags. I was crying uncontrolla- had searched my bags. bly, but I bit my tongue each time I was tempted to speak. When I was dressed and ready, I stood up, I told Kobi what had happened to me and what I collected myself, and tried to open the door. It was had done. I felt as if I had lost a part of myself inside locked. that terminal as I had slowly lost control. Kobi reminded me that even the option of losing control “The door’s still locked,” I informed the soldier was a sign of privilege—Palestinians who behaved watching through the window. The Link Page 8 as I had would not likely have been freed. I tried to the Wall, which is full of holes so as not to hinder imagine what it would be like to endure such an in- settlers commuting to Israel. vasive screening every day of my life. I once stayed with a woman near Bethlehem Kobi told me a story about his Palestinian who wakes up every morning at 3 a.m. to get to friend, Sara, whom he’d met in Maryland. Sara work by 6 a.m. at a place fifteen minutes away. The would frequently travel back and forth between her sole income-earner in a family of six, she has worked home in Palestine and the United States, where she for several years as a nurse in West Jerusalem, ille- was studying. Each time she returned to Palestine, gally because people with her type of ID aren’t le- she was able to walk right through the checkpoints. gally allowed to go to Jerusalem. Every morning and She had enough confidence to just assert her will and afternoon she takes an elaborate roundabout route to go through, simply by the fact that she was used to and from work that involves switching vehicles, being treated like a person. And each time, after a walking a long time, and changing the shape of her few months in Palestine, she would lose that ability. headscarf at one point to make herself look like a re- In just a few hours I had gone from empower- ligious settler. The commute is absurd and costs her ment to craziness to submission to destructiveness. 40% of her income, but it’s reliable. Again, anyone What would I become after months of such treat- who wants to get from the West Bank into Israel can. ment? What about a lifetime of the even worse treat- The army surely knows about all the alternative ment that Palestinians experience? Everyone talks routes, so why do they bother installing and man- about the theft of Palestinians’ land and resources. ning checkpoints and terminals? Checkpoints and What about the theft of their time? What about the terminals don’t mean increased security for Israel. theft of their dignity? For Palestinians they mean more difficulty in getting If I had known that getting through Einab junc- from place to place. They mean longer distances that tion would be such an ordeal, I could have reached Palestinian goods have to travel to reach vendors, Tel Aviv via another route, one that is much longer often rendering the goods more expensive than their but involves no terminals. In fact, there are alterna- Israeli counterparts—accounting for the added man- tives to almost every route going anywhere in the power and vehicles required to transport the Pales- West Bank. If Hessa had known it would take so tinian products—so that the cheaper Israeli products long to pass through Deir Ballut checkpoint, she dominate the market. Checkpoints don’t necessarily could have taken a different road to Ramallah, one make going to work and school impossible; often that is much longer and bumpier but has no check- they simply make them more trouble than they’re point, only a roadblock where an ambulance might worth. have met her in time to save her babies. Had Dawud So what does Israel have to gain from adding and his wife known their son would die waiting at extra strain and stress to Palestinians’ daily lives and Atara checkpoint, they could have carried him across accelerating the breakdown of Palestinian society? the hills into Ramallah. If Jaber had known he would be held for ten hours at Huwwara checkpoint, he The Inevitability of Zionism could have sprung for an expensive taxi ride to an The motivation behind Israel’s mobility restric- alternative checkpoint ten miles north of Nablus that tions and other Occupation policies is made clear to is scarcely monitored at all. The whole trip north and me every day in the West Bank when strangers ap- then around again would have cost him several proach me desperate for help getting a visa to hours and paychecks, but he could have exited the Europe or North America. They say they can’t take it city with relative certainty. anymore. First Israel took their land, then their sons, No one who has personal experience with and now their dignity. It isn’t that Israel wants to checkpoints could believe that they exist for the secu- harm Palestinians; it simply wants the Palestinians to rity of Israel. Anyone who's spent time in the West leave. Israel is the first to admit that the Bank knows that if you're desperate and you have “demographic problem” of too many non-Jews in an enough money, you can get anywhere. There is al- exclusively Jewish state threatens Israel more than ways an alternative road, even into Israel, even with The Link Page 9

more humane alternative of Israel becoming a state of its citizens is not even on the bar- gaining table—yet. I’m still somewhat surprised by how long it took for me to come out against Zionism. I felt guilty at first, as if my criti- cism was somehow an insult to my grandparents, great uncles, aunts, and cousins who had perished during the Nazi Holocaust. With time, I realized that old wounds were blinding me into condoning new mistakes. There was—and still is—no reasonable justifica- tion for reserving a country for Non-violent resistance takes many forms. Here, a Palestinian boy builds a roadblock with rocks and wire hoping to deter the Israeli army from invading his village during the night.—Photo by Anna people of one religion or eth- Baltzer nicity—many of whom, like me, although born with the privilege, have never any suicide bomber ever could. The more insuffer- needed it—while millions of people from another able daily life in Palestine becomes, the more Pales- background with legal and historical claim to the tinians will leave “voluntarily,” and the fewer non- land suffer desperately next door. Jews will be left in Israel and the lands it occupies Once I had acknowledged my opposition to Zi- and gradually annexes with the Wall. onism, I was able to expand my documentation to Long after I began working in the West Bank, I areas outside of the Occupied Territories, including still clung to the idea of Zionism. I thought: Israel the Negev and other areas where Palestinians with good; Occupation bad. I felt there must be some way Israeli citizenship live as second-class citizens. I saw of reconciling a Jewish state with the needs and that forced expulsions, house demolitions, and land rights of everyone in the region, only this could not confiscation were happening on both sides of the happen with the Occupation in place. I felt institu- Green Line. I realized how crucial it was to shift from tions like checkpoints and terminals were a threat to an anti-Occupation to an anti-Zionist framework, in Palestinians and to the Zionist dream. order to address the root of the issue and all of its With time, I have come to see that Israel’s Occu- current manifestations. pation policies are not a perversion of Zionism—they are a predictable symptom, even an inevitability of it. The Question Most Asked The exclusivist framework of an ethnically Jewish After my first five months with IWPS, I felt state creates a dilemma that has haunted Israel since ready to write and speak publicly about what I had its inception: How can you have a democratic Jewish seen and learned in Palestine. I had never considered state in a place where the majority of people with myself a writer, public speaker, or photographer be- legal claim to the land are not Jewish? There are only fore, but witnessing the Occupation has a way of so many possible solutions: there’s mass transfer (as turning almost anyone into a journalist. The stories was done successfully in 1948 and is currently advo- and photographs that I was sending home were so cated by Israeli Minister of Strategic Threats Avigdor well-received that I was advised to merge them into Lieberman), there’s mass imprisonment (more than a book, which I called Witness in Palestine: Journal of a 10,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories. jails), there’s genocide, and there is apartheid. The Writing a book required a larger investment of time, The Link Page 10 effort, and money than I had imagined, but finally, it was great publicity. At my presentation at the Uni- after months of grueling work, the first edition of versity of Southern Indiana at Evansville, Zionist Witness was published by Paradigm Publishers of groups plastered the campus with provocative criti- Boulder, Colorado in early 2006. cism several days before I arrived. They protested Shortly before Witness was released, I sent letters my arrival in the school newspaper, and picketed to anti-Occupation organizations and other peace outside the event. More than 200 students showed groups listed online from around the country, ex- up at the talk, many of them just curious what all the plaining that I was prepared to share my experiences fuss was about. Local radio and television stations with any audience that would listen. I had borrowed were also anxious to broadcast the controversy. a car and was driving around the country, ready to Occasionally angry audience members were so stop in any city where I was invited. Without a repu- disruptive that I was unable to continue speaking. tation or experience to hold me up, I hadn’t expected On two occasions, organizers called the police to more than a few dozen responses—I received hun- have hecklers physically escorted out. In every other dreds. Within weeks, I was planning an itinerary fit case, however, the opposition was manageable and for any rock star, and in February of 2006, I set off on even polite. I felt a kind of empathy with the protest- a 16,000-mile journey around the United States. ers. It took courage to come and offer an alternative I was invited to speak at dozens of universities, message, knowing that most people in the room churches, and high schools, as well as various mid- would likely disagree. If I expected my nonviolent dle schools, bookstores, libraries, community centers, protests to be heard in Palestine, I would listen to the cafes, and personal homes. I was once hosted by a nonviolent protests by my opposition. I also re- prisoners’ creative writing class in Iowa. Everywhere spected them for feeling passionately about the sub- I went, I gave some variation of a presentation I had ject and speaking their minds. To me, this was at put together called “Life in Occupied Palestine: Eye- least preferable to indifference. witness Stories & Photos.” Of course, as at the terminal at Einab junction, I At first, I was quite nervous in front of audi- received the “light” brand of harassment. Hecklers ences. I was no expert in politics or history and I was called me “young and naïve,” or “brainwashed by sure that people opposing my work would eat me Arabs,” but never a “terrorist.” As a young, white, alive with their tough questions, making me look Jewish American, even the most hostile audience foolish and undermining my message. I had never member assumed I was well-intentioned. On the been much of a debater, plus there were several as- other hand, Arab or Muslim Americans giving the pects of my understanding of the conflict that I was same talk that I gave would immediately be branded still piecing together. as anti-Semites and terrorists, and might find themselves in trouble with the FBI if not the recipients of I quickly realized, however, that there was one outright death threats. thing on which I was an expert: my own experience. I stuck to what I knew and did not profess to know Apart from the modest opposition, I was quite more than I did. I simply showed photos and maps well-received in every city I visited. My presenta- and explained what I had seen. People could call me tions were often packed and I received countless a liar, but it’s difficult to argue with photographs. It standing ovations and invitations to return. But was very effective. something about all the applause made me uncom- fortable. It struck me that it was somehow easier for Of course, there were still many people who people to hear the truth from a young Jewish Ameri- came to undermine my talk, but they mostly stuck to can Ivy League graduate, rather than from the vic- name-calling and repeating myths about history, tims themselves. I was saying what Palestinians had since it was difficult to refute the current reality that been saying for 60 years, but few had listened to I was presenting through firsthand stories and pic- them. I encouraged audiences to reach out to Pales- tures. If anything, the presence of opposition was tinians in their communities, the real experts on this educational for the audience. issue. If the opposition began before the presentation, The Link Page 11

That said, I took my success as a very good sign. I started focusing on groups that I thought had a More and more Americans seemed ready to chal- reasonable chance of being moved to take action lenge traditional perceptions of the conflict. I found against the Occupation. These included average this particularly true in the Midwest and the South, Americans, who I assumed might have an initial pro- where many had never heard an alternative perspec- Israel bias because of a similar bias in the media, but tive, but were open to considering one if it was pre- not so much that they would not be open to anything sented. Realizing the injustices previously unknown else. In my presentation, I outlined Israel’s Occupa- to them, they were often enthusiastic about taking tion policies as well as the everyday Palestinian-led action, particularly through their churches. nonviolent resistance to the Occupation. The latter My audiences in the Northeast were more polar- was a response to questions I’d heard too many ized, often composed entirely of those already in times to count: “Why are Palestinians always blow- agreement with my message and those who had ing themselves up? Why can’t they learn to use non- come to undermine it. It was exciting to be in anti- violent resistance?” Occupation mobilization centers such as Boston, Within hours of arriving in the West Bank, it had New York, and Washington DC, but I was less of a become clear to me that Palestinians do use nonvio- novelty and my audiences were often smaller and lent resistance. In fact, they use it constantly—almost more set in their opinions. every moment of every day—which I tried to convey Everywhere I presented, people were curious if I in my presentation. was giving my presentation at synagogues. They For many Palestinians, simply staying in their wanted to know if I was bringing the message to homes on their land and not emigrating is resistance. Jewish American communities. I had sent a number Farmers walk miles to harvest their trees because the of outreach letters to synagogues, but only one had old Palestinian roads have been demolished, responded positively: Mishkan Shalom temple near blocked, or paved over with settler roads that Pales- Philadelphia. Although I had been welcomed by tinians are not allowed to use. The farmers persist Jewish anti-Occupation groups and Mishkan, inter- because they refuse to give up their right to go to est from mainstream Jewish communities in the U.S. their land—their own form of nonviolent resistance. had been virtually nonexistent. This had been a great Nonviolent resistance is everywhere in Pales- disappointment to me, as my initial target audience tine: Children wait for hours at checkpoints on the had been Jewish Americans like myself. way to and from school every day because they are With time I started to question my dispropor- determined to get an education despite the obstacles. tionate focus on Jewish Americans. Was that really Palestinians and Israelis camp out together as part- where change would come from? I was reminded of ners for peace in spite of widespread attempts to the famous words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: turn the war into one of Jews versus Muslims. A “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppres- movement leader returns from prison after 13 and a sor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” Why half years and goes back to the nonviolent resistance were people so concerned with convincing the mi- for which he was arrested. An old woman, armed nority of Americans who were least likely to change with only her voice and determination, confronts a their minds, often the very people sending additional bulldozer uprooting her trees and the fourth strong- contributions in support of Israel or the settlers? Did est military in the world protecting it. A shepherd I really expect people who were actively supporting grazes her sheep despite threats of poison and settler and thereby perpetuating Israel’s actions to be the attacks. A young boy constructs a roadblock all by ones to realize the error of their ways and bestow himself with rocks and wire in an attempt to prevent freedom upon the Palestinians? Why wasn’t I focus- army jeeps from entering his village that night. Stu- ing on mobilizing Arab and Muslim Americans and dents paint murals on the Wall and young children their sympathizers? What about other people of dig tunnels to pass under it. I tried to make clear in color, non-Arab minorities in the U.S. who are also my talks what had become utterly clear to me during familiar with ethnic discrimination and the strategies my eight months in the West Bank: Palestinians are required to fight it? not strangers to nonviolent resistance; they are The Link Page 12 champions of it. experience doing international advocacy work, but People who came to my talks—even those with also from solidarity work on the ground in Palestine. no previous knowledge of the situation—were out- Sustained grassroots nonviolent resistance in Pales- raged when they learned the details of Israel’s Occu- tine has succeeded in getting the route of Israel’s pation policies, and moved—sometimes to tears—by Apartheid Wall changed, in raising public awareness the resilience and nonviolent resistance of the Pales- around the world about the Occupation, and, most tinian people. After each talk, I wondered how peo- importantly, in ensuring that Israel’s policies aimed ple so visibly affected by what they had just seen at encouraging Palestinian mass emigration have re- could simply return to their daily lives rather than mained largely unsuccessful. drop everything and dedicate themselves to ending Palestinians are the first to tell me that although injustice. I had to remind myself of how long it had international solidarity work on the ground in Pales- taken me to let an- tine is useful and other perspective appreciated, the in, let alone to most important speak out about it. I thing internationals remembered the can do is work for doubt with which I justice in Palestine had first listened to from our own the stories of my countries. I did not friends in Lebanon. think advocacy I remembered the work in the U.S. dramatic difference could be sustain- between hearing able until my tour about the Occupa- proved me wrong. tion and witnessing Although I re- it myself. I recalled quired no fees for the even greater presentations, hosts shock of experienc- Palestinian women gather to demonstrate against the occupation. Israeli peace activ- and audience mem- ists frequently join with Palestinians in these non-violent expressions of resistance.— ing some aspect of Photo by Anna Baltzer bers were generous the Occupation and the first 2,000 myself at the terminal at Einab. I reminded myself copies of Witness sold out within the year. The sec- how long it had taken me to finally speak out. ond edition is due to come out in August of 2007 in I could not expect audience members to register time for my next tour. The limiting factor is no the gravity of the situation nor to transform knowl- longer money—it’s time. edge into action any more quickly than I had. I saw I will continue to write and present as long as I my role as sharing what I had seen and hopefully can. Not only do I love what I do, but it is exciting to helping each individual along his or her path to- do this work during a time when perceptions of Pal- wards understanding and, eventually, action, wher- estine are changing in the United States. I feel par- ever he or she happened to be at the time. ticularly lucky to have a job in which no matter how In addition to more than 30 states across the much I read, write, and experience, I never seem to U.S., I also presented abroad in Europe and in the stop learning. ▲ Near East. I saw firsthand that the movement to end the Occupation is developing not just in Palestine and the United States, but in many places around the To Contact Anna Baltzer: world. The tour was an incredible opportunity to tap Website: www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com into the U.S. and international movements, and I am Email:[email protected] more optimistic than ever that an end to the Occupa- tion is inevitable. My optimism comes not only from The Link Page 13 , Feb. 1999 . The Link The Link Issues from thepast 40 years. Issues from For AMEU’s See page 15 15 page See Link video selections. selections. video

A reprintA the 1954 of edition;available. limited number Updated edition. Good study of militant Islamic groups. Illustrated history faith of Islam's and culture. Conversations against theJews occupation. with Well criticallywritten, acclaimed history. By the author of this issue of the WhiteHow intelligence abused House US agencies. Palestiniansrespond to ethnocide against them. Reflections on Zionism and Israel. Confronts America's image of Islam. image America's Confronts Updated listing452 of destroyed cities, villages. towns, The most relevant The most What Christiansaren't told about Israel Palestinians. & A critical analysis of Israel's occupation. Updated ed. introductionIII. Baker with James by Zionismand role of biblicalupdatededition. promise; and the futureJerusalem of Middlepeace. East United Israel, States, the Palestinians. and Can Israel be bothstate?. a Jewish anddemocratic a Traces the Israelifactor in the US-led invasion of Iraq. see 2 actors; for play One-act Excellent primer. The misuse of anti-semitism & the abuse of history. & anti-semitism of The misuse Reflections on the exploitation suffering.of Jewish What the facts on the groundare tellingus. figures facts and New landthe about of 1947-48. "swap" Updated and revised edition. Former U.S. Congressman on U.S.-IsraeliCongressman U.S. Former relations. Islam and modernity. $5.00 $9.00 $8.00 $20.00 $25.00 $19.95 $47.95 $15.95 $16.50 $19.95 $19.50 $16.50 $12.50 $19.50 $12.50 $17.50 $19.50 $10.95 $12.75 $12.50 $16.95 $16.50 $17.95 $10.00 $12.00 $17.50 $12.50 $17.95 $28.50 $15.50 Postage & Handling Handling & Postage 314 $23.95 2004 paper 2005paper 2002 46 $25.00 cloth 301 $30.00 2002cloth 196 1999 $25.00 paper 749 2005 $49.95 paper 252 2007 $19.95 56 $9.95 paper 1999paper 474 2007 $17.50 cloth 400 $25.00 2004paper 420 2006 $26.95 paper 216 1993 $18.00 paper 227 2007 $19.95 196 $10.00 cloth cloth 2001paper 323 1993 $23.95 326 $14.95 paper 2007 439 $16.95 paper 2003cloth 286 $23.00 2006paper 265 2003 $27.00 paper 240 2002 $12.95 paper 329 2004 $17.99 paper 253 1999 $15.99 paper 578 2006 $22.00 cloth 222 $18.00 2005paper 258 1998 $26.95 40 $10.00 cloth 2005paper 332 2000 $22.50 paper 150 1995 $13.00 cloth 243 $18.95 2003paper 467 2003 $39.50 340 $18.95 All AMEU Prices Include Prices AMEU All AMEU’s Book Selections AMEU’s F.D.R. Meets Ibn Saud Ibn Meets F.D.R. Liberty the on Assault of Islam name the in Terror War: Unholy The Oxford ofHistory Islam Peacemakers Rabbis,Radicals, and The of Colonization Palestine Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths City, One Jerusalem: Palestine in Witness Pretext for War A The Second Palestinian Intifada Sins Original Conflict Pal.-Israeli the Understanding What'sRight With Islam Deliberate Deceptions Silent No More No Silent Palestine: Peace Apartheid Not Palestine: Brothers Blood Land Promised Whose Whose Holy City? Triangle The Fateful Religion and Blood Babylon Against Alliance An Sahmatah Burning Issues Burning What Land?What Whose Promise? TheIndustry Holocaust Conflict of Israel-Arab Reality & Image Records of Dispossession Ben-Gurion's Scandals Beyond Chutzpah form on page 16. 16. form page on To order, put checkorder, put To in left Use order column. Authors Publication Year Pgs List AMEU Summary Eddy, W. Ennes, J. Esposito, J. Esposito, J.,ed. Faber, S. Fayez, J. ed. Armstrong, K. Armstrong, Baltzer, A. Bamford, J. Baroud, R. B. Beit-Hallahmi, Bennis, P. Abdul-Rauf, F. Findley, P. Findley, P. Carter, J. Chacour, E. C. Chapman, C. Chapman, N. Chomsky, J. Cook, Cooley, J. Eady & Mast AMEU Burge, G. Burge, Finkelstein, N. Finkelstein, N. Fishbach, M. Giladi, Naeim Finkelstein, N. The Link Page 14 For AMEU’s See page 15 15 page See video selections.

The role of Holocaust survivors in Israel's founding. The targetingArabs of and inMuslims the US. Camp David's ungenerous Camp offer; 15 full-page maps. Good historyof the Arab-Israeli conflict. Good introductoryhistory. Collection Palestinianof modern literature. Poignant memory of Palestinian exile. Poignant memory WhyPalestinians don't have a state. Analysis roletheUS of in the MiddleEast. A 12-yr.-old A soccer-lovingPal. in occupied Ramallah. The history. event that shapesAraband Muslim Examines ZionistExamines notion of "Transfer:" 1882-1948. How non-Jews are treated are in state. non-Jews the Jewish How Saudipoet reflects on her country. How Israel won the battle to become US's ally. US's Israel the battlebecome to won How Author is Senior Lecturer at Haifa University. Well organizeddata for researchandprojects. study A moral inquiry. moral A Ilan Pappe et al. on Zionism, Israel, and Palestine. How Road Map is occupied used Road Map to seizeland. more How "DeservesSaid. tobe readAmerican."- by every Edward The myths used to justify Israel'sThe myths expansionist policies. Authorenvisions a secular, democratic MiddleEast. Insidestory of Iraqioccupation by Italian journalist. How & why neocons public. misled American why & How Why the peace process collapsed. Why process peace the The influenceof lobbies policy. ongovernment An Israeli looks at the forces destroying hiscountry. From WestFrom to The Bank massacres Wall $8.50 $9.50 $7.00 $16.50 $15.50 $15.50 $16.95 $14.50 $17.50 $15.00 $19.95 $17.95 $13.95 $17.50 $10.95 $19.95 $10.00 $59.50 $13.50 $16.50 $10.95 $15.50 $12.95 $17.95 $11.50 $12.95 $15.50 $15.50 $10.95 19.95 Postage & Handling 280 2004 paper paper 2004 322 $22.95 paper 2005 93 $19.95 paper 1999 400 $18.95 paper 2006 170 $18.95 paper 1996 754 $22.00 cloth 2002 288 $26.00 cloth 2006 281 $24.95 cloth 2004 223 $23.00 paper 2006 216 $9.95 paper 1984 293 $16.00 paper 1993 235 $11.95 cloth 2005 310 $25.00 paper 2004 118 $14.95 cloth 1988 372 $19.95 cloth 2006 320 $27.50 paper 2003 246 $16.00 cloth 1999 304 $75.00 paper 2005 254 $17.95 paper 2006 248 $18.00 paper 2002 280 $11.95 paper 2004 232 $23.95 paper 2003 225 $16.00 cloth 2006 216 $20.00 cloth 2006 250 $12.95 paper 2004 455 $14.95 paper 2005 168 $24.95 paper 2005 228 $17.00 paper 2006 250 $12.95 All AMEU Prices Include Prices AMEU All AMEU’s Book Selections AMEU’s In the Shadow of the Holocaust the of Shadow the In Civil Rights Peril in Obstacles toPeace Sharing the Promised Land Promised the Sharing Hamas: Beginner's A Guide Anthology In Search of Fatima of Search In The Iron Cage Iron The Resurrecting Empire Resurrecting A Little Piece of Ground Piece Little A The Crusades through Arab Eyes Arab through The Crusades Expulsion of the Palestinians of the Expulsion The Side ofOther Israel The Unfurling The Warriors AgainstIsrael The Ethnic Cleansing of Cleansing Palestine The Ethnic Israel and and Palestine Israel Zionism and the state the of and Israel Zionism Speaking the Truth the Speaking Theto Road Map Nowhere Israel/Palestine The Myths of Zionism The Myths Culture and Resistance and Culture Friendly Fire Friendly Deadly Dogma Deadly The Truth About Camp David Camp About Truth The U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East On the Border the On Toward Tomb an Open form on page 16. 16. page form on To order, put check in left Use order column. Authors Publication Year Pgs List AMEU Summary Grodzinsky, Y. Hagopian, E. ed. Halper, J. Hiro, D. Hroub, K. Jayyusi, S. Karmi, G. Khalidi, R. Khalidi, Khalidi, R. Khalidi, Laird, E. Maalouf, A Masalha, N. Nathan, S. Nawwab, N. Nawwab, Neff, D. Neff, Pappe, I. Pappe, Petersen, E. Prior, M. Prior, M.ed. Reinhart, T. Reinhart, T. Rose, J. Rose, Said, E. Sgrena G. Smith, G. Swisher, C. Terry, J. Warschawski, M. Warschawski, Warschawski, M. Warschawski, The Link Page 15

AMEU’s Video Selections

All AMEU Prices Include Postage & Handling

AJPME, Beyond the Mirage: The Face of the Occupation (2002, VHS, 47 minutes). Israeli and Palestinian human rights advocates challenge misconceptions about the Occupation and Palestin- ian resistance to it. AMEU: $25.00.

AJPME, Imagine … (2005, DVD, 15 minutes). Palestinian education under Israeli occupation. Ex- cellent for discussion groups. AMEU: $15.00.

ATFP, Palestine-Israel 101. (2005, 2 DVDs, 60-min. each). Surveys the conflict and suggests possible resolutions. AMEU: $20.00 for the set of two.

Baltzer, Anna, Life in Occupied Palestine (2006, DVD, 61 minutes). Anna is the granddaughter of a Holocaust refugee. This is her powerful account of the occupation. AMEU: $15.00.

Common Ground, The Shape of the Future (2005, DVD, 100 minutes). TV documentary examines final status issues of security, Jerusalem, refugees and settlements. AMEU: $25.00.

DMZ, People and the Land (2007 updated version of 1997 film, 57 minutes). This is the controver- sial documentary by Tom Hayes that appeared on over 40 PBS stations. AMEU: $25.00.

FMEP, Searching for Peace in the Middle East (2006, DVD, 30 minutes). A film by Landrum Bolling. AMEU: $10.00.

Jordan Sandra, Dispatches: The Killing Zone (2003, DVD, 50 minutes). British correspondent reports on violence by Israeli forces against international aid workers and reporters in the Gaza Strip. Includes the bulldozer killing of Rachel Corrie. Widely shown on British TV, this powerful documentary has been aired on only a few U.S. public access channels. AMEU: $10.00.

Mennonite Central Committee, Children of the Nabkah (2005, DVD, 26 minutes). Why Palestinian refugees must be part of any peace settlement. Comes with useful study guide. AMEU: $15.00.

Munayyer, F. & H., Palestinian Costumes and Embroidery: A Precious Legacy (1990, VHS, 38 minutes). Rare collection of Palestinian dresses modeled against background of Palestinian music, with commentary tracing the designs back to Canaanite times. List: $50.00. AMEU: $25.00.

NEF, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land (2004, DVD, 80 minutes). Excellent analysis of how the U.S. media slants its coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. AMEU: $25.00.

Pilger, J., Palestine Is Still the Issue (2002, DVD, 53 minutes). Award-winning journalist tells why there has been no progress toward peace in the Middle East. AMEU: $25.00.

Real People Prod., Sucha Normal Thing (2004, DVD, 80 minutes). Six Americans document a “normal” day under military occupation in the West Bank. AMEU: $25.00

Please Use Order Form on Page 16 The Link Page 16

A Gift Suggestion To Support The Link

A $40 voluntary annual subscription is requested to defray The work of AMEU has grown over the past 40 years be- cost of publishing and distributing cause supporters have remembered us in their wills. The Link and AMEU’s Public Affairs Series.

A bequest of a fixed sum or a percentage of an estate ensures that our voice on behalf of peace and justice will Contribution to AMEU (tax deductible) remain strong. Please Send Recent Link Issues AMEU is a tax-deductible, educational organization. The A check or money order for $______is amount of your bequest is deductible from the amount of enclosed, payable to AMEU. money that is subject to state and federal inheritance taxes. Name ______

For further information, please contact John Mahoney at Address ______212-870-2053. ______

Zip+4 ______8/07 Rush Order Form Place 9 next to the book or video you are ordering from pages 13, 14 & 15, and indicate quantity if ordering more than one. Make checks payable to AMEU. No. of Books and Videos Ordered: ______Total Price (includes USPS postage): ______Add $3 for UPS delivery, if desired ______Add $3 per book/video for intern’l delivery ______Total Amount Enclosed ______

Name______

Address______

City ______State _____ Zip ______MAIL ORDER WITH CHECK TO:

AMEU, Room 245, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115-0245 Telephone 212-870-2053, Fax 212-870-2050, or E-Mail [email protected] Americans for Middle East Understanding, Inc. Understanding, Americansfor East Middle Drive Room Riverside 475 245, 10115-0245New NY York,