Bassem and I gave a tour of Ramallah to a man by the name of Benjamin Pogrund (a good friend of Bassem's) in order to give him an idea of how things are progressing in this part of the occupied territories. Benjamin Pogrund is a South African born Jew who worked as a journalist at the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg. Because of his work against the Apartheid, he was imprisoned and eventually deported to London and now lives in Israel. He is also the director and founder of Yakar's Center for Social Concern. This organization unites Jews from different backgrounds and orientations for learning, prayer, and social action. You can learn more by visiting his website at www.yakar.org/eng/
Benjamin is a fascinating individual who was more than happy to discuss aspects of the conflict with me as we toured Ramallah. He made two points that I thought were worth reiterating. One, that this conflict is not restricted to just Israeli versus Palestinian. It’s a bureaucracy; it’s an example of what results when you give one people power over another. Second, the conflict is making money. Israel and the Palestinian government (if you can actually call it a government) benefit from the conflict, though the Palestinian people do not. International support helps fuel the situation. For example, Europe pays for the salary of the PA (Palestinian Authority) in order to increase security abroad. This means they are contributing over one hundred million dollars a month simply to allow the PA to function, and this includes the salaries of over 160,000 employees in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is an extremely corrupt organization that takes from the people instead of providing for them. There are endless instances of torture and harassment on the part of the PA in order to provoke Palestinian civilians to provide them with money and other resources. You can recognize when they drive by not only because of the identifying license plate, but because they all drive brand new Audis. They are also known to lead very extravagant lifestyles in general including indulgences such as grand parties, multiple houses, and luxurious amenities. While the people in power enjoy a frivolous lifestyle, 80% of Palestinians in Gaza and 46% in the West Bank continue to live below the poverty line.
Israel is making billions of dollars a year off the worsening situation in Gaza. Anything that goes into Gaza from fuel to diapers (whether smuggled, imported or carried in) comes from Israel. They too are financed by the international community to assist with maintaining order.
While Ramallah itself has become an expensive and developing city, the majority of the West Bank (and of course the mess that is Gaza) lack basic amenities such as sewage systems, water, employment opportunities, health care, and education. Roads and public areas are filthy and merchandise of all kinds is dirt cheap as no one can afford to purchase anything. I have been to a few butcheries in the area and multiple times I have seen children sent by their parents come in and ask if they could take the chicken heads from the garbage. They can't eat the heads, but their families can cook them in a soup so that at least it has the flavor of chicken.
Benji, who is a Jew himself (one of the few in Israel who support the Palestinian cause) points out that this is one of the failures of the Jews as an occupying force. They insist on maintaining their position of power over the Palestinians, but neglect to live up the the responsibilities of that position.
Benjamin is a fascinating individual who was more than happy to discuss aspects of the conflict with me as we toured Ramallah. He made two points that I thought were worth reiterating. One, that this conflict is not restricted to just Israeli versus Palestinian. It’s a bureaucracy; it’s an example of what results when you give one people power over another. Second, the conflict is making money. Israel and the Palestinian government (if you can actually call it a government) benefit from the conflict, though the Palestinian people do not. International support helps fuel the situation. For example, Europe pays for the salary of the PA (Palestinian Authority) in order to increase security abroad. This means they are contributing over one hundred million dollars a month simply to allow the PA to function, and this includes the salaries of over 160,000 employees in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is an extremely corrupt organization that takes from the people instead of providing for them. There are endless instances of torture and harassment on the part of the PA in order to provoke Palestinian civilians to provide them with money and other resources. You can recognize when they drive by not only because of the identifying license plate, but because they all drive brand new Audis. They are also known to lead very extravagant lifestyles in general including indulgences such as grand parties, multiple houses, and luxurious amenities. While the people in power enjoy a frivolous lifestyle, 80% of Palestinians in Gaza and 46% in the West Bank continue to live below the poverty line.
Israel is making billions of dollars a year off the worsening situation in Gaza. Anything that goes into Gaza from fuel to diapers (whether smuggled, imported or carried in) comes from Israel. They too are financed by the international community to assist with maintaining order.
While Ramallah itself has become an expensive and developing city, the majority of the West Bank (and of course the mess that is Gaza) lack basic amenities such as sewage systems, water, employment opportunities, health care, and education. Roads and public areas are filthy and merchandise of all kinds is dirt cheap as no one can afford to purchase anything. I have been to a few butcheries in the area and multiple times I have seen children sent by their parents come in and ask if they could take the chicken heads from the garbage. They can't eat the heads, but their families can cook them in a soup so that at least it has the flavor of chicken.
Benji, who is a Jew himself (one of the few in Israel who support the Palestinian cause) points out that this is one of the failures of the Jews as an occupying force. They insist on maintaining their position of power over the Palestinians, but neglect to live up the the responsibilities of that position.
No comments:
Post a Comment