Palestine: A Short Walk to Freedom (ish.)

Palestinian shops on settler roads in Hebron are soldered shut

Feeling a bit restless, the ISMers decided to have a walk. "But where oh where should we go?" we wondered. "Hmmm, I bet Hashem in Hebron will know a nice place for a walk" we decided. 

Hashem lives in the Tel Rumeida area of Al Khalil - aka Hebron. He has a small moshkilla ('problem' in Arabic*) - nasty neighbours. Although this is rather past the scale of hearing babies crying through the walls at all hours, the music being a little loud for past 11pm or  them putting the bins out on the wrong day. No, no, no, Hashem's neighbours happen to be extremist Zionist settlers, meaning a slightly more radical version of the above**. Imagine:

1. The road outside your house being shut down - so, no more access for anyone except Jewish settlers. Instead, you can feel free to scramble around the rocks and dirt tracks behind your house.
2. HUNDREDS of settlers coming into your house and smashing up all your stuff.
3. Your nephew having his teeth knocked out with stones by settlers.
4. Your wife miscarrying following settler attacks.
5. Your wife miscarrying AGAIN following settler attacks. 
6. Not being allowed to access your land with olive trees on it - except once when the Israeli Supreme Court ordered that you should be able to harvest for two hours on one day.
7. Happily going to harvest these olives, only to find that they have already been harvested and stolen by settlers.
8. Your grapes, pomegranates and other fruit trees being hacked down and poisoned.
9. Your water supply being poisoned and then your new water tank having holes shot in it. 
10. Your four children living in fear of leaving the house. 

Get the gist? When we went to visit Hashem, he told us all about this and showed us videos and evidence of the attacks. Then he surprised me. "I want an adventure," he said "let's go down the settler road from my front door." This is the aforementioned closed street, along which no Palestinians or internationals are permitted to walk. There is a soldier stationed at the entrance to the road, stopping anyone 'unsavoury' from entering. (*cough* apartheid *cough*)

So, feeling a little concerned, but proud to be able to go on this 'adventure' with Hashem, GB and I, with the rest of the ISM Hebron team followed him up a path leading onto the road. 

As we walked, I asked him how long it had been since he'd walked there - "Oh, a long, long time." he said. "A year?" I asked. "Or more?" - "Yes, definitely more, much more."

The walk was only around 200 metres or so to the checkpoint, where the soldier stared at us in amazement and confusion - 'does not compute' -  before rushing to the radio and calling his mates. Unfortunately, we dispersed speedily to avail ourselves of falafel, before he could introduce us to his friends - who I imagine may have invited us to tea. In prison. Minus the tea.

Hashem will continue to fight the occupation, and I hope one day he will have a happier neighbourhood. I feel like we did a little but important thing today. 

Who knew how big a small walk could make you feel.

P.S. You can watch a video of our walk here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyURJ33qQ2Q&feature=youtu.be



* easy to remember because mosh pits can totally kill - far too much headbanging!!
** his nearest neighbour is in fact Baruch Marzel, king of extremism and leader of the Jewish National Front