Jerusalem Heart of the City Palestinian visions from within 8 - 18 MAY 2018 Gerdien Wolthaus Paauw www.paauw.photography TRAVEL REPORT MAY 9, 2018 The Giro Rat Race Sunset over Tel Aviv. Swifts race on the sea breeze. On the rooftop terrace of the guesthouse I meet Mark. Being a huge cycling fan he came to Israel to watch the start of the 2018 Giro d’Italia in Jerusalem. He was kept by the Israeli border control for 7 hours of interrogations. Despite his Arab looks, he is born and bred in Britain. He tells me: ‘They asked the name of my grandfather, which is Jeffrey. They wanted to look into my cellphone. I handed it to them and invited them to look not only into my photos, but also to check my Facebook, Messenger, everything. It was a cat and mouse power game. They asked my second name, which is Idam. Then they thought they could nail me down: ‘That is wrong, you should write is like Adam, you must be a muslim.’ My answer was: Adam the first human, his language was probably Hebrew or Aramaic, there is no A to be found in it!’ I realised they were on a 10 hour shift; I was their game of the day. Of course I felt discriminated against, but it is nothing compared with what Palestinians have to face everyday.’ Gerdien Wolthaus Paauw We run like we live ‘We run for the same reason as you do in the West, to be fit and healthy. But we also claim the right to run freely in East-Jerusalem, our Capital. It is bitter sweet to run through areas that used to be Palestinian territory and a rich part of our history. Although these places might look fancy today, it is heart-wrenching and feels as if our identity is being killed, to know that our cultural heritage is disappearing from these places. We see the 8-9 meters high Apartheid wall, surveillance towers, helicopters, soldiers and checkpoints, every day. We are stuck. We feel out of control of our lives, as we cannot plan ahead for anything. It raises anger and frustration. Running with our friends in the Right to Movement is like fighting back in a positive way. We are actively involved in the yearly Palestine Marathon. In 2018, over 7.000 people participated. The air was full of vibrant happiness and pride. Because of the Israeli occupation, we have to stay within the West Bank. The route runs through two refugee camps –Al Aida and Ad Dheisheh, and along the Apartheid Wall, deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004, but still standing, separating Palestinians from their land and each other and preventing the basic human right to freedom of movement. The course is 21.0975 KM, that is why the runners doing the full marathon will run two loops. In the future, we dream of running the 42 km from the Nativity Church in Bethlehem to the finish at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, carrying our Palestinian flag.’ George Zeidan and Nadine Abu Rmeileh are the co-organizers of the running group Right to Movement Jerusalem. The spirit of religion ‘As a Muslim leader I know my religion well; its commandments, ethical guidelines, the sharia laws, but I prefer to talk about the fourth aspect of it: ‘imagination.’ To envision what could be, to add the spiritual aspect to what cannot be seen with the visible eye. ‘Imagination’ provides us with remarkable possibilities. In a similar way, the Palestinian identity consists of a great, many aspects, like a kaleidoscope: we have beautiful poetry, refined embroidery, fierce demonstrations and an infamous political leader called Yasser Arafat. My mother, being a devout Muslim woman, breastfed not only me, but also a neighbouring Christian baby who could not receive milk from her own mother. Through that white milk relationship, the child became my sister. We Palestinians don’t let blood define our relationships as that suggests limiting love only to family members. We celebrate the ‘womb connection’: inviting those we deeply care for into our lives. The generosity of my mother was the ultimate gift of nurturing. One day I was rushing through the streets, because I was late for my Ramadan dinner. My Christian friend Osama invited me into his shop and discretely offered me a meal. Religion is where we need each other to weave and strengthen the social tapestry.’ Professor Mustafa Abu Swai (1958) is the first holder of the Integral Chair for the Study of Imam Al-Ghazali’s Work at Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and at Al-Quds University. He is Professor of Philosophy and Islamic Studies at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, Palestine, since 1996. Our captured Palestinian Butterfly ‘I descend from an ancient Jerusalemite Muslim Palestinian family. We have been living here for over 700 years. We eat and breathe Jerusalem, the Sun of Palestine. Since 1986 my family and I have successfully run three bookstores: two at the Salah Eddin Street and one at the American Colony Hotel. Business started to take off during the first intifada in 1988 when many NGO’s and press agencies came to Jerusalem. They were in search for English books and information addressing the Palestinian side of the occupation. Nowadays we are the most specialised bookstore on this subject in Israel and Palestine. I visit book fairs and buy books anywhere in the world and bring them here to sell. Our Educational Bookshops are an intellectual fortress of resistance. We have a message to spread. With reading comes education. I am deeply concerned about the current educational system. Schools are forced to alter textbooks, political and historical facts like geographical borders in favour of the Israeli concept; otherwise, they will lose their funding. Israel is also ‘cleansing’ the language: names of Palestinian towns are changed into Hebrew. They even captured our Palestinian Butterfly and changed its name into Israeli Butterfly. Our Palestinian existence is being erased.’ Imad Muna (1964) is a renowned bookseller in Jerusalem and Managing Director of the Educational Bookshop. TRAVEL REPORT MAY 9, 2018 Abiding good news. Insjallah. Gaza is suddenly nearby. I am staying at the guesthouse of the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives. This Lutheran hospital specialises in the treatment of cancer, dialyses and childhood diseases. The patients are from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. To be eligible for treatment here, patients from Gaza are dependent on a permit issued by the Israeli government. This can take 3 weeks to months. In the latter case, the treatment is delayed or interrupted, the patient becomes more and more sick or does not survive at all. I meet two women with cancer. A daughter and girlfriend guide them. The days between treatments, they stay in a hotel in the village. Thanks to Google Translate we can communicate and I hear their stories. They do want to be photographed, but I am not allowed to release their names. They are too afraid of repercussions by Israel, such as stopping treatment. Speaking here is literally a matter of life or death. Inquiry at the hospital reveals that: the age of the people accompanying patients is subject to strict rules. People between the ages of 16 and 35 are not welcome: they pose too great a security risk. It can happen that a toddler is sent to this hospital without their parents. In the shade of the trees in front of the hospital, people are waiting for good news. Insjallah. Gerdien Wolthaus Paauw Submit to our rule ‘Busloads of Israeli settlers as well as international visitors, come to Jerusalem to take part in the ‘Flag Dance Parade’ on Jerusalem Day. In 2017 over 30.000 people attended, demonstrably waving Israeli flags, marching down the streets inhabited by Palestinians, raucously singing nationalist songs. For Palestinians, it is a display of force, conquest and aggressiveness. It epitomises the occupation. Immediately following the 1967 war, Palestinian East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel. Over the past 51 years it has virtually disappeared as a city, integrated into a large Israeli Jerusalem by extension of its municipal borders and fragmented into dozens of tiny enclaves. The route of the parade deliberately weaves through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, deliberately provoking the Palestinian residents. Shopkeepers have to close their shops and locals are ‘advised’ to stay in their houses. This march is the most graphic example of the triumphant Zionist campaign to transform Palestine into an exclusively Jewish Land of Israel. The message of this march to the Palestinians is clear: submit to our rule, get out of ‘our’ country or die.’ Jeff Halper (1946) is an American-Israeli anthropologist, author, lecturer, and political activist. He was nominated, together with the Palestinian intellectual and activist Ghassan Andoni for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. TRAVEL REPORT MAY 13, 2018 Joyless flag display. Resistance of the little man. Despite various warnings, I go into the Muslim Quarter during the Flag Dance Parade. I want to see the infamous flag show with my own eyes. Groups of (predominantly) young male settlers march through the narrow streets. For at least a quarter of an hour they chant slogans and wave the Star of David at the intersection of the Al Wad ha Gai Street with the Suq El Quatanin. Shivers run down my spine. I admire the entrepreneurs in the Suq for their composure. They know what to do and do not allow themselves to be provoked. Most stores in the Muslim Quarter are closed, but Khaled’s jeans shop is open as a protest.