Monday, August 31, 2009

Mermaid Sightings

Just in case there's not enough insanity here already: Mermaid Sightings Claimed in Israel

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090814/sc_livescience/mermaidsightingsclaimedinisrael

With a reward that big, I'm thinking of dressing up as one myself. I just need a photographer; anyone in? I'll split the profits 50/50?

Monday, August 24, 2009

Ramadan

Ramadan, the Muslim holiday where those who participate refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything in excess from dawn until dusk for an entire month, is hence, considered the the month of fasting. This year Ramadan began on Saturday, August 22, but because it always begins in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (which is based on the cycles of the moon) the dates of Ramadan vary, moving forward about ten days each year. Ramadan is said to be the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Fasting is meant to teach patience, discipline, empathy, and increase spirituality by inspiring a closer connection to Allah (God). It is also a time to offer more prayer than normal. Muslims pray for forgiveness for past sins, as well as guidance and assistance in refraining from everyday evils. They also strive for purification through self-restraint and benevolent acts. In general, Ramadan is a time for worship and reflection.
Fasting is the most distinguishing aspect of this tradition. Everyday during the month of Ramadan, Muslims get up before the sun rises to eat Sahur (a meal prepared and eaten before dawn) before they perform the Fajr prayer. They fast from this point until the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after sunset until the Fajr prayer the following morning. Then the process repeats itself. Those who are chronically or mentally ill, pregnant women, women undergoing ministration or who are nursing, children and the elderly are exempt from fasting.
The Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr is the first day of the following month after another new moon has been sighted, signifying the end of the fasting period. Eid ul-Fitr translates into "the Festival of Breaking the Fast," and a celebration commemorates its arrival. Food is donated to the poor, everyone dresses in nice or new clothing and communal prayers are held in the morning, followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends. The prayer is two raka' ah (a unit of prayer length), and is optional.
Since Ramadan has begun here in Palestine, streets and shops are generally more quiet during the early part of the day. When mid afternoon hits, people congregate into the marketplace and along the streets filled with vendors selling all sorts of food. Dates, baklava, pancakes with fig jelly, and other foods and pastries traditionally eaten at Ramadan decorate the alleyways. I've had to show self restraint when buying falafel or something similar that I'd love to eat in public while its hot. Instead of making others drool I usually just get food on my way home so I don't flaunt the fact that I'm eating in front of those who can't.
Not everyone is religious or Muslim, and not all who are participate in fasting, but the community respects the tradition as a whole. The grand majority of restaurants are closed during this time and while many shops continue to sell foods and goods, they don't serve food during the Ramadan. Basically, no one eats in public. Its been interesting watching the dynamics of the area shift with the coming of this holiday and I'm curious to see how or if things continue to change as the month wears on.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Boarders as a Focus for the Peace Plan?

With Netanyaho's acceptance of a two state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the public is wondering what will be included in Obama's peace plan. Of the three main obstacles to peace in this process (the designation of boarders, the Right of Return for refugees, and access/control of Jerusalem), its rumored the proposal will focus on the issue of boarders. Here are some concepts to be aware of in the debate.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418630010&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

If for some reason its not accessible, you can read below:

Encountering Peace: Drawing borders is the first step
Aug. 17, 2009
Gershon Baskin , THE JERUSALEM POST

We still have no real idea of when or what President Obama will present as an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. In the meantime, the Prime Minister's special emissary, Yitzhak Molcho, is off to Washington to try and reach some understandings with the US administration prior to the next meeting between Senator Mitchell and Netanyahu.

The rumors floating around suggest that Obama's plan will aim to focus first on setting borders between the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine, now that Netanyahu has accepted the two-state solution.

Focusing on borders makes good sense, because once borders are agreed upon, Israel can continue its settlement activities in those areas that will be annexed to Israel and begin to construct new housing for the settlers that will have to leave their homes in areas that will become part of the State of Palestine.

Once the US plan is announced, the border debate in Israel will go into full force. It is important that the public and the government understand the dynamics involved and the red lines that will be imposed from the Palestinian side.

The following are some of the issues and principles that will be part of the debate: The Green Line will be the point of reference and not the separation barrier. From the Israeli perspective the separation barrier already marks the territories that Israel has planned to annex. From the Palestinian point of view, every place where the separation barriers enters the territory east of the Green Line is illegal and therefore, cannot be the point of reference for drawing the border. The international community, including the four Quartet members, will most likely support the Palestinian stance that the point of reference is the 1949 armistice Green line and not the separation barrier.

The size of the Palestinian state will be 22% of the land between the Jordan river and the sea. The Palestinian negotiators will surely come forward with an exact figure of how many square dunams were occupied by Israel in 1967 and will demand that the Palestinian state be established on that exact figure. The Palestinians will quote the UN principle regarding the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, and the precedents in this regard established in the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

Continuity and contiguity of the Palestinian State to east Jerusalem including the Old City and the Muslim and Christian Holy Sites without going through any Israeli checkpoints will be a fundamental principle on which the Palestinians will make no compromise. The Oslo agreements cut Jerusalem off from the Palestinian people. This situation is at the top of the demands and will not ever be tolerated in any permanent status agreement.

While delineating the borders of the West Bank it will also be necessary to determine the nature of the physical link between the West Bank and Gaza, even if this will not be used for quite some time.

TERRITORIAL EXCHANGES as a principle have been accepted by the Palestinians. Yasser Arafat agreed to this principle in Camp David in July 2000. Since that time Palestinians have clarified that the exchanges must be on a 1:1 basis in quantitative and qualitative terms. Quantity is easy enough to determine, but how does one judge the quality of the territory? The Israeli settlements/neighborhoods built after 1967 inside of the expanded Jerusalem Municipal boundaries account for about 1% of the territory. Clearly, the lands in the area of Holot Halutza south of the Gaza strip are not of the same quality as lands in Jerusalem and Palestinian rejection should be easily understood. What lands could be exchanged for land in Jerusalem in terms of equal quality?

Likewise, Palestinians will reject any attempt to include land areas with communities of Palestinian citizens of Israel, such as Umm el-Fahm. There seems to be a clear understanding and agreement between Palestinian citizens of Israel and the Palestinian leadership that their status as citizens of Israel would not be exchanged in order to grant legitimacy to Israeli settlements. Even though Palestinian citizens identify with the Palestinian cause and want to see a Palestinian state established next to Israel, they will demand to retain Israeli citizenship, even if that means remaining second-class citizens. They will continue to struggle for equality in Israel rather than having to struggle for equality within the Palestinian state, which would mean an immediate decline in socioeconomic status including health care benefits, free movement and access and a whole slew of other benefits they have as citizens of Israel.

SINCE THE status of Palestinian citizens in Israel will be raised as a result of discussing borders, it would be wise to raise the issue of the possibility of Jewish citizens of Palestine. There may be some settlers who would rather remain where they are, even if it would mean coming under Palestinian sovereignty. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad

Palestinians will never accept the possibility that Israel will control their external borders. Every offer made the Palestinians so far, including the latest Olmert "take-it-or-leave-it" offer to Mahmoud Abbas fell on the Israeli demand to control access of Palestinians to the outside world.

No Palestinian leader will ever accept a Palestinian state which is a sovereign cage. This too should be easy for Israel to understand because Israel would never accept having its outside borders controlled by someone else. In fact, there is perhaps no better definition of sovereignty than this.

These are the main principles that will have to be taken into account in the discussions on borders. These discussions will be further complicated once the elements of security are included. There is almost no chance at all that the current government of Israel and the Palestinian leadership will reach an agreement on this issue.

If President Obama and Senator Mitchell are serious about resolving this issue first, they will rapidly come to the conclusion that unless they put the map down on the table, no lines will be drawn at all.

Monday, August 17, 2009

The Roomies

Everyone from home always wants to know about the people I'm meeting here. I decided to go into brief detail about my roommates since they are such a big part of my life in Jerusalem. All of them have been easy to live with and welcoming. I spoke a little bit about Tal and Dina previously. These two are married and are currently abroad traveling in South America until mid October.
When I met Dina, I liked her almost instantly. She's very unique and confident in her differences. Extremely creative and artistic, she can create anything from watercolor paintings to cartoon strips to video games; skills she continues to work on as an art student in Jerusalem. Dina's family came here from Russia and currently are living in Germany. She likes eating healthily, creating a family atmosphere in the apartment and is very natural is every sense of the word. For instance, she doesn't wear make up or jewelery and puts very little emphasis onto materialist things such as clothing. I love to be weird and silly (as everyone back home well knows) and its nice to be able to do so with Dina because she likes being crazy and random too. She (and all of the roommates, actually) has no problem giving a brutally honest answer to any question I may have. This trait is very much a part of Israeli culture. You can see some of her work online at http://www.dina.co.il or http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinakof/
Tal, Dina's husband, just got out of serving four and half years in the combat unit of the Israeli Army. As you may guess, he and I have our share of differences in opinions and sometimes his stubbornness pushes me close to the edge. However, one great thing about Tal is we can have our heated discussions, whatever the topic, and still respect the fact that we each have different opinions. I think that even though he disagrees with what I'm doing, he admires the fact that I'm passionate about my beliefs and pursing them. Many people here feel that if you have different opinions than they do that somehow you are against them and you can't have a relationship. I respect Tal for being able to see past this. The two of us have a good time exchanging youtube videos and just joking around, especially when Dina's trying to be serious. Tal is very intelligent, extremely proud of his country and what it means to be an Israeli, and is considering being a doctor or engineer. Both he and Dina went out of their way multiple times to make me feel comfortable and to show me around their home and country.
Matan is the next member of the flat. Not to narrow him down to a stereotype, but if I had to explain in a nutshell Matan's personality and quirks, I would say they fit the general image of a history major. This makes some sense since he is, in fact, a history major. He is pursuing his Master's in European history and is also trying to become fluent in French. He loves to read novels that weigh as much as I do, listens to jazz and classical music, and often joins me in my games with the cats (Hatuli and Luigi). He also loves movies, especially foreign films, classics and thrillers so we often join forces for the occasional movie night. It amuses me that he always has some kind of fruity drink and or wine stocked in the fridge. His skype girlfriend, Anya, is from Germany and is an unofficial roommate at the flat. You can always hear her voice from the computer in Matan's room and she often joins him when he comes out to eat or cook dinner. Anya is very friendly and met Matan when she came to study abroad here.
Dina and Tal left for South America the beginning of July, so Alina has taken their place while they will be traveling. Alina is one of those rare people who are beyond generous and giving. Its even more rare to find this in a person Alina's age, not that she's old, she's only in her early twenties, its just that life seems to beat this trait out of the few that have it by they time they're her age. She has been unbelievably kind to me from the beginning. She offers to share everything with me and goes out of her way to help in whatever capacity she can. Alina's family also comes from Russia and she has been working by the Dead Sea in the Jordan valley with her mother since high school. She will start school at Hebrew University in the fall to study Japanese culture. Alina is in love with everything Japanese and often goes to the Japanese cultural center in Jerusalem to expand her horizons. She hopes to get a scholarship to study in Japan at the end of her time at Hebrew University. She always gets so jealous when I tell her about my Japanese friends from back home. Amongst other things, Alina is a vegan, loves animals and has been trying to find a job as a vet technician. Clearly a bit of a black sheep in her country.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Foreigners

It never ceases to amaze me how people can be right in the middle of something and still be blind to the reality that surrounds them. I have met some very interesting, educated, and involved individuals from other countries throughout my travels. My Arabic class is full of people that fit this description. Most are in their early to late thirties and are here working for various political organizations including the European Union, United Nations, and the like. As class progresses, more and more frequently we (the students) tend to get together after for dinner or coffee. While some in my class inspire great discussion and provide me the opportunity to learn from their experiences, others disappoint me with the insights they've developed over their time here. Even some that do have insightful things to say about the region concern me with how disconnected they are in certain regards.
By no means do I claim to be an expert on the conflict in this country let alone on the politics and culture that govern the region. Nonetheless, I still get more than a sense that many of the people in positions of authority here don't really understand what they're entangled in. How can they be expected to do their jobs satisfactorily if this isn't the case? In the end, I think its obvious who suffers from this.
I'm aware that people often travel without really experiencing the place they visit. They fly thousands of miles only to surround themselves with people from similar backgrounds, with similar thoughts and opinions, who engage in activities similar if not identical to those that they entertain at home. Being aware of this phenomenon is one thing, but as of late I've been able to observe it first hand while interacting with the other Arabic students. Many of them (though thankfully there are some exceptions) don't engage with the culture or travel throughout Palestine/Israel unless they need to do so for work. While most of the professions represented by my classmates offer wonderful opportunities to see certain aspects of this country and conflict, how and what they're observing is still only a partial perspective. There is so much complexity here that in order to truly do it justice it must be examined from every possible angle. While such a method should be applied to any situation, no where is it more crucial than here.
I'm thankful my Arabic partner Yvette seems to possess a more accurate idea of the situation here and makes an effort to do so. Its nice to know that when I listen to the information she dispenses, it comes from a reliable source.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Arabic Classes

Towards my junior year as an undergraduate, I knew that I wanted to work abroad in the Middle East. I was fascinated by the culture, history, and US relations in the region. I decided to take a year of Arabic for fun my senior year knowing it would prove useful for my future plans and in doing so, I also fell in love with the language as well. In Islam, it is believed creation is only meant for god (Allah) so the manifestation of animals or people in art is not very prevalent. Instead, the written language was turned into an art form. The letters and structure of written Arabic (fous-ha) have a beautiful flow and rhythm that can be taken to great lengths in both modern and ancient works of calligraphy.
The courses I took are considered to be "classical" Arabic, that is, I can read and write Arabic, but the spoken language (colloquial Arabic) is different. There are also various dialects that change depending on the country or even different regions within the same country (Palestinian is different from Egyptian which is different from Yemeni, etc.). While I can still use some of the verbal skills taught in my classes, I didn't feel that I was learning the spoken language quickly enough. I received a flier for an intensive course in spoken Arabic for 4 days a week 3 hours a day to be held during the month of August in the Old City. I really didn't have the financial means to take the course so I emailed the professor (Dr. Moin) with my situation. We worked out an arrangement where I will be taking the class for half price and working in the office as a translator to cover the additional costs.
My first class was on Tuesday and after receiving my books I fell right back into student mode, taking my usual place in the front of the room. It felt a little strange to be back in a classroom, but I got comfortable quickly, although I'm not sure its possible to fully adjust to a three hour class period.
Most of the students in the class are foreigners involved in some sort of governmental relations. With the exception of myself and perhaps one other, the age range seems to be early thirties to mid-fifties. Yvette (my cheerful partner who sits next to me) is from Holland and her enthusiasm usually helps focus my attention when its waning.
My previous skills in Arabic sometimes gives me an upper hand as I have been exposed to much of what we're covering. However, a good deal of what we're learning is similar to what I've been taught, but differs slightly which then puts me at a disadvantage in that I have to unlearn quite a bit of information. What's more amusing is that after taking seven years of French, whenever a question is asked I automatically have to fight the urge to give an answer in French. Thankfully the only language spoken thus far has been Arabic. I'm hoping that embarrassing myself on a daily basis will pay off in the long run. On the bright side, everyone in the class is in the same boat and my professor is extremely patient, enthusiastic, and has a sense of humor.

Nablus: The Community Center

Aside from Majd's studies, there is very little to do in the refugee camp. Many men scatter the streets melting in the heat of the sun and the shameful feeling of unemployment. Women hide inside tending to household chores while children play amongst the rubble that lines the streets or run inside the thin corridors of the camp. The monotony and the heat are enough to drive anyone crazy. To pass the time, Majd and his friends use what resources they can find to pursue their artistic inclinations mostly through music and video production and Majd additionally volunteers at the local community center.
The community center itself is a very humble stone building in the camp that receives funding and support from the international community. Donations contribute to teaching dance, reading, and computer classes, amongst other things. Mustafa, one of Majd's friends, helps direct the daily life of the center and was more than happy to give me a tour and explain some of the activities they aim to provide. Perhaps the most impressive program occurs during the summer months when a selected number of students from the camp participate in an exchange program with anther country (usually in Europe). The students interact with the citizens and culture of the country they're visiting and share a project they've been working on relating to the experience. Mustafa observes an incredible increase in motivation and drive in the children that get to participate in this trip in comparison to those that do not. When the children return from abroad they tend to gain a new understanding of the world and a greater motivation to better themselves.
He introduced me to Theo, a young man my age who is volunteering at the community center from the UK, teaching English as part of a program he needs to fulfill to receive his degree in Arabic studies. Theo expanded on the information Mustafa provided and I enjoyed conversing with another foreigner who entertained similar interests. Theo explained that one of the biggest challenges was the children's inability to conceptualize rules or how to function in an organized society. When the second intifada began ten years ago (I've posted a very brief description of the Intifada below just to give people a reference, but I've left out quite a bit), Israel destroyed many governmental institutions. The result was that society itself lacked the structure and resources that a stable government provides. No child or person was obligated to do anything. Theo says his students are great kids, but they will leave and enter classes at their will. They feel no need to obey when they are told to do something and many don't come at all. Much of this has to do with the fact that the children have no concept of this kind of authority (and thankfully, Theo himself finds it somewhat amusing), though he indicated there has been more success with the younger students. Another component of this issue is that school is seen as useless. There is no point in going to school because there are no opportunities following the completion of their education. Again, there exists a feeling of hopelessness and shame in dreaming of something so far from reach.
Theo also noted how difficult it was to tell people from his home about the situation here. Most people are so uniformed and don't really want to understand many of the issues that occur, brushing them off as too complicated or simplifying the situation as tribal warfare that’s existed for centuries with no hope of secession. He finds, however, that he makes progress when he brings up situational instances that people back home can relate to. For instance, how it will take a Palestinian twelve hours to go somewhere that can be reached in forty minutes because of traffic created from the checkpoints, or from being turned down from one check point to another for various reasons.
After inquiring about my own interactions in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank, he asked what surprised me about the situation. I replied that each city has been slightly different and while each one faces the same issues, the degree to which those issues exist and their distribution differs from one place to the next. As you get further away from Jerusalem, the severity of the struggles people face tend to intensify. What astonishes and bothers me is how even Palestinians in neighboring cities tend to loose focus on what's happening around them in other areas of the West Bank because they are so preoccupied with their own individual lives. I also told him that in the US, people have no idea what the situation really looks like and in general, (since the situation poses no obvious direct impact on them) many don't care or don't want to know. I expanded, stating that when I get discouraged I try to remember those from back home who have an open mind and those that work to educate themselves and have the desire to promote or at least to encourage change, but this can be difficult in the face of so much ignorance.

Nablus: Violence and Fear

When you look at the photo album from Nablus, you will see pictures of martyrs, photos of which were taken from various places around the camp. Often they are placed near areas of a wall or building where there is significant damage from bullets, although there is barely a corner you can turn around without finding at least a few bullet holes. These martyrs are considered heroes in their community because they "fight for their country." This means that they resist and fight against the Israeli soldiers when they enter the camp on a nightly basis and throughout the day.
Though violence has toned down in the last two years (on both sides), before the ceasefire, soldiers would come into the camp every night and instill fear through multiple tactics. An intimidation method that always puzzled Majd was how the Israeli soldiers would shoot at one particular wall continually for hours every night. I have a picture of the wall he was referring to in the album. You can see where portions had to be replaced due to disintegration from repetitive gun shots.
I heard of many extreme intimidation techniques, methods for control, and disturbing actions in general on the part of the IDF. One included forcing every man in the camp under the age of 50 into confinement (jail) when they were looking for a suspect. Majd also spoke of his neighbor's wife who was 7 months pregnant and shot in the belly when she was approaching a window in her own home. While the woman survived, her baby, clearly, did not.
Soldiers still participate in raids, where they will enter the home of an individual who is suspected of some kind of wrong doing, search the entire house, and destroy what they can. Often, those who are simply acquaintances of someone the IDF wants to take into custody are arrested and put into jail for extended periods of time. Family members are also frequently arrested and accused of collaboration.
At night, Israeli soldiers have been known to jump from roof top to roof top and enter the homes of refugees searching for suspects or chasing them down. The homes of the refugees have been used as shields while shooting at Palestinian soldiers, which also will flee from one home to another. Meanwhile, the civilians in the refugee camp sit powerless and scared in their houses, waiting for the incident to come to an end. Majd tells me of one chase where both a Palestine soldier and Israeli soldier were on different floors in the same house (his neighbor's house, two feet away) and how worried he was that they would both migrate to his own home.
When suspects are caught, they are not always taken to jail even when it would be possible to do so. Many individuals have been retained and shot in the street, one of his cousins suffered this fate. Instances of harassment, provocation, unnecessary violence and discrimination on the part of Israeli soldiers has been so prevalent that although confronting violence with violence is not something to be condoned, it's impossible not to understand or at least empathize considering the situation. People cannot survive in the conditions at Balata and everyone, no matter how reasonable, has a breaking point.

A Guest at the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus

I just returned from visiting the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus with Majd, a 23 year old nursing student, and his family. I posted pictures below of Nablus and the camp. The entire experience was quite eye opening. I was so overwhelmed with information and with all the details that surrounded this place (many of which are downright depressing) that I held off on writing anything.
The Balata refugee camp was established in 1950 as nothing more than tents on the ground with the intention of being a semi-permanent arrangement with people under the impression that they would eventually be allowed to return to their homes. It is currently the largest camp in the West Bank camp in terms of inhabitants with 30,000 refugees crammed into 2 square kilometers of land making it one of the most densely populated areas on earth. Over 60% of the population is under the age of 24, classrooms are overcrowded at the very least with a one teacher to 40+ student ratio, at least 25% of the population is unemployed and of the 30% of the population that was employed in Jerusalem, only 3% are still granted access to pursue work there.
The streets and alleys of the camp where dirty, littered with garbage, and cramped with two to three feet of space between the wall of one house and the next. An unfriendly odor seemed to follow my every step; a combination of the garbage, lack of proper sanitation, and the occasional dead animal.
Majd's friends and family were extremely warm and embracing. They have next to nothing, but refused to let me pay for anything, be it a taxi or a meal and everyone went out of their way to tell me I was welcomed there. It was Arab hospitality to an extreme.
Due to their bleak situation, everyone in the Balata camp seems to take care of each other. If someone doesn't have money to pay for dinner, they will still be served food, or given a ride in a taxi, etc. There is a very strong feeling of community here.
Majd studies nursing at a school nearby, but he and his friends are really in love with art, film, and theater. They are exposed to so much ugliness and hopelessness that these outlets provide them a way to express themselves and to reach out to others in doing so. Majd and his friend Salah showed me a video they made about stones and their significance to the Palestinians that incorporated more than just the stereotypical use of stones as a weapon. The cities and homes are crafted from stone, small stones are used to play childhood games, stone is a vital tool in preparing meals, they are used to separate one property from another, and so on. They focused the film on the dream of a Palestinian girl in the refugee camp and moments of her life while she was awake, then connected her love for stones in a religious context (as they represent to her the religious monuments in which she finds solace) to all the other meanings I just listed in addition to the not so peaceful use of stones as a weapon.
When conversing with Majd's family and friends, hardly anyone I met had not been put in jail by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Hardly anyone had not been shot, had a limb amputated, or been disfigured in some way. No one I met did not have at least two to three close friends or family members who had been killed by the IDF. Majd himself has lost much feeling in his left calf and toes from a bullet that shot him in his left thy, received from the IDF when he was 16, for throwing stones. He has also lost four cousins who have now become martyrs for "defending their country." Majd himself did not appear bitter about the fact that he was shot since he acknowledges he was throwing stones. When I asked him about this act, he commented that he knew the stones would do nothing to the Israelis and that it was dangerous to do so, but that they (the Palestinians) are trapped in a situation where they have no control. They are suffocated by the reality that there is little hope of a better life and the fact that when they do retaliate when pushed, the Israelis push back again with ten times the force. When someone throws a stone, they feel like at least they are doing something instead of staying quiet and wasting away.
I recognize (and you should too), that there is no concrete method to verify the statements I collected from the people I interacted with here. I know that truth is subjective and exaggeration common. That said, these people know that I have no great power to help them. They simply want to be heard and for their suffering to be given some legitimacy. Like I said, it would be challenging for me to try to verify everything I'm told as fact, however, I can see on these people an abundance of physical injuries. When I go into homes and shops, I see the array of photos of the dead placed in such a manner to enable people to pay their respects. The physical scars on the camp itself (bullet holes, shells on the ground, etc.) and the general feeling of fear and anxiety that permeates the area leads to me to give validity in their statements.
I spent a significant amount of time in Nablus leaving me with to digest so I've written multiple posts to break up the experience. Each one has the title "Nablus" before the name of the post in order to inform the reader of where the experience is originating from.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A Very Brief Description of the Second Intifada

The Al-Aqsa Intifada or the Second Intifada was the second Palestinian uprising beginning in late September of 2000, during which violence between the Israelis and Palestinians intensified.
To the Palestinians, the Second Intifada is seen as a way of furthering their struggle to gain national liberation, justice, and to halt Israeli occupation. To the Israelis, it is thought to be an act of terrorism planned and carried out by the Palestinian leader at the time, Yasser Arafat.
Palestinians engaged in mass protests and general strikes (much like the tactics carried out in the first intifada), as well as more violent strategies such as armed attacks on settlers, civilians and security forces, suicide bombings, and the firing rockets into Israeli residential areas.
Israelis have retaliated by ceasing the movement of Palestinians from one place to another through the imposition of checkpoints and strict curfews as a means of economic warfare. They attacked the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority including police buildings and prisons with the aim of forcing the PA to suppress the anti-Israeli protests (which were proceeded by physical attacks) and also implemented aggressive riot control.
Overall, violence has significantly decreased since the ceasefire that was executed two years ago between the Palestine and Israel.