Tony Blair’s niece joins Peace Cycle through Occupied Palestine

The niece of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to brave checkpoints, soldiers and blistering sun to cycle across the Middle East from October 9.

Eight-year-old Alexandra Darby will be joined by her mother Lauren Booth and 15 other cyclists riding from Amman, Jordan, all the way to Jerusalem.

Her uncle Tony Blair, now Middle East Envoy for the Quartet, has so far made no comment on the planned trip.

Alexandra’s journey will be more than a brief sojourn in a comfortable Jerusalem hotel.

She will witness first-hand the devastating fallout of a 61-year conflict.

The Peace Envoy’s niece has taken 2 weeks off school to stay with families on unrecognised land whose homes are regularly threatened with demolition by the Israeli military.

She will visit refugee camps in Jordan, home to Palestinians forced from their land in 1948.

The group of cyclists will track the path of the eight-metre-high Separation Barrier as it snakes through the West Bank.

The fourteen-day cycle will take Alexandra through an historical and tragic landscape, finishing in Jerusalem, the epicentre of centuries-old conflicts.

For more information check out The Peace Cycle website.

Good luck to Miss Darby and all the other cyclists! It’s interesting to note how her uncle, Tony Blair, who is currently ‘Middle East Envoy’ (although exactly what he does remains uncertain) has not yet offered his thoughts about the trip…

Enjoy!

An article published last week in Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper has caused quite a stir both in Israel and in Sweden, igniting a debate concerning the limitations of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The article in question was an opinion piece (as opposed to a news item) which was printed in the back pages of the newspaper and accused Israeli soldiers of being compliant in the theft of organs from Palestinians who had been killed whilst in custody. The article made suggestions of a link to the recent scandal where an American Rabbi was exposed as leading a syndicate who were  trading human organs on the black market. The author, Donald Boström, claims he wanted to spark debate and an inquiry into the allegations which were made to him in person by family members of alleged victims. Instead of distinguishing the claims, the Israeli government has blown the story up into a diplomatic issue which threatens to seriously affect Israel’s relations with Sweden.

The Swedish Constitution
The Swedish Constitution comprises of four fundamental laws; The Instrument of Government, the Act of Succession, the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression.These fundamental laws take precedence over any and all other laws.

Vatican teaching Hezbollah how to kill Jews, says pamphlet for IDF troops?
Blood libels against Jews? Or is it suddenly OK to slander Catholics? Why is it one rule for Israel and another for everyone else?

The Pope and the cardinals of the Vatican help organize tours of Auschwitz for Hezbollah members to teach them how to wipe out Jews, according to a booklet being distributed to Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

Officials encouraging the booklet’s distribution include senior officers, such as Lt. Col. Tamir Shalom, the commander of the Nahshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade.

The booklet was published by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, in cooperation with the chief rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, and has been distributed for the past few months.

- Full article

Very special thanks to my research assistant and translator, Ida T for her help with information gathering and translating of articles for these issues.

Enjoy!

One thing that I’ve tried to explain to people in the past is that if you really want an idea of what’s happening in Israel then simply read the Israeli press – it reports very widely and freely and is, at times, extremely critical of Israeli policy which can only be healthy for democracy. Publications such as Haaretz and Ynet are both reputable and respectable and both of them publish in English.

The talkbacks/comments at the bottom of articles can be very disheartening and extremely racist at times, although I hope much of that is ‘behind the keyboard’ bravado. It also appears that most of the really nasty comments come from US citizens rather than Israelis themselves. This was also noted by Robert Fisk in an essay he once wrote after the Hollywood actor John Malkovich claimed he wanted to kill him. Fisk wrote:

[the] internet seems to have turned those who do not like to hear the truth about the Middle East into a community of haters, sending venomous letters not only to myself but to any reporter who dares to criticise Israel–or American policy in the Middle East.

…

Much of this disgusting nonsense comes from men and women who say they are defending Israel, although I have to say that I have never in my life received a rude or insulting letter from Israel itself. Israelis sometimes express their criticism of my reporting–and sometimes their praise–but they have never stooped to the filth and obscenities which I now receive.

It’s well worth having a read of ‘Why Does Malkovich Want to Kill Me?’.
Hamas kill Al-Qaida affiliate

This is interesting. Particularly with regards to the way some of the more ignorant journalists from the western media have attempted to draw associations between organisations such as “al-Qaida” and Palestinian groups as an easy way of immediately and easily discrediting any claims that the Palestinian groups may have:

Hamas: We killed head of Al-Qaida affiliate in Gaza
Gaza medical officials say 16 people were killed and over 150 wounded in the fighting.

Jund Ansar Allah seek to enforce an even stricter version of Islamic law than that advocated by Hamas.

Hamas security says the leader of an Al-Qaida-inspired group in the Gaza Strip has been killed in a fierce gun battle.

His group announced its existence in Gaza two months ago, after three of its members were killed in a border raid on an Israeli base in which gunmen rode on horseback.

Outside the mosque on Friday, nearly 100 masked fighters of the group in Pakistani-style dress, wearing their hair long in a style believed to imitate the prophet Mohammad, carried automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

- Full Article

The last thing this region needs is more splinter radical groups than it already has – in particular interference from failing states such as Pakistan. It is slightly worrying how underplayed the threat from Pakistan is. They actually DO have nuclear weapons but those in power seem to be slowly losing their grip. It all just seems so unstable and shaky. I can’t help wondering what would we do about it if radical Pakistani fighters were to be found in Ireland plotting along with separatist groups against England?

It has also been reported that some Gazans are feeling that Hamas is not doing enough and are swinging towards the more radical groups. Will this mean that Hamas will eventually be viewed as moderates relative to their opposition groups? Will that then mean that Israel will seek to talk, arm and support Hamas in a bid to control any potential effects of these more extreme groups? Only time will tell.

Human Rights Violations in Gaza

UN official: Evidence that Israel abused human rights in Gaza

There is significant evidence that Israeli forces violated international law and human rights in their invasion of Gaza between late December and mid-January, the United Nations human rights chief said on Friday.

A report by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay lambasted the “nearly total impunity” for the violations.

Pillay said rights violations included arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, extrajudicial execution, forced eviction and home demolition, settlement expansion and related violence and restrictions on freedom of movement and expression.

For the full article and to see the recommendations made click here.

Although is must be noted that:

Unlike rulings of the UN Security Council, the findings and recommendations of the Human Rights Council are not binding.

Woman of Ethiopian origin not allowed to board Egged bus

Another story which grabbed my attention was of the Egged bus driver who refused to allow a woman of Ethiopian origin board his bus telling her:

‘What, don’t you understand that I don’t allow Kushim (derogatory term for black people) on board? Are you trying to smash my door in? Were there buses in Ethiopia? Why don’t you walk? In Ethiopia you didn’t even have shoes and here you do, so why don’t you walk?’ I was shaking all over; I couldn’t even speak,” she said.

At this point Verka handed the driver the bus fair, but, according to her, he refused to accept it and said, “Kushit hold on, what’s your hurry? Since you (Ethiopians) made aliyah you’ve become arrogant.”

Verka said she responded by saying, “You can’t treat me this way. Treat your mother this way.”

At this point, she said, “He grabbed my skirt and yelled: ‘You don’t talk like that about my mother. A Kushit will not talk about my mother like that.’ I was afraid he was going to hit me, and explained that I did not curse his mother. But he continued: ‘Go back to Ethiopia! You are not even Jews; who brought you all here anyway? You’re ruining our country; you are a stupid people.’

As was pointed out by a friend of mine, it rings bells of the Rosa Parks story.
– Full Article

Video Project

Although I’m loving all the work I’m doing as it’s all so interesting, watching so much footage, in particular from Gaza, can get a bit depressing at times. The good news is that we’ve now sifted through the clips and have shortlisted the most interesting with notes reminding us of what’s what. The past two days I’ve been mainly looking at the shortlisted clips and trying to link enough together so that we can get a short film out of them. Focusing on the positive footage I’ve now got some kind of plan so that tomorrow I can sit with the editor and start piecing it together. It reminds me a bit of when I used to get in the studio to produce a music track; preparing samples and getting all the bits together with some vague idea of what I would like the finished product to sound like. Although it’s a lot harder with video footage as some of it is very raw and the bits I really like are not always useable for one reason or another. Hopefully, if successful, I will be able to post the finished product on here for ya’ll to see…

Out and About

Last night I decided to venture back down to Talpiot, the industrial area where the office is located in the hope of finding a decent kebab and somewhere I could have a cold beer. After walking past numerous restaurants I finally stumbled upon a cheap and cheerful looking kebab shop. Having got the eating out the way I was now ready to mission for beer. And a mission it was. The first problem was that I had run out of cash and it seems that only a select few cash machines like my cards. The nearest Leumi Bank was back up near where I’m staying so I had almost resigned to the fact that I was probably not gonna get a draught beer that night and started to head back. After a long, sweaty, uphill walk I finally withdrew some cash I thought I’d try my luck and asked a guy at a small kiosk whether he knew anywhere nearby I could grab a quick pint.

After an initial confusion of languages and communication issues I understood that he served beer on draught at this very unlikely looking place just in front of his Kiosk. It was a small platform/stage kind of thing with one beer tap, a parasol and was set up inches from a very busy main road. Before I could think about it he had gone to the trouble of bringing me out a table and a chair so I thought what the hell and ordered a draught ‘Baltic’ beer. It was warm. A beer that was so warm it was really hard not to wretch with every sip, which meant chain-smoking was necessary to help it go down. But I smiled and said thanks as he beamed at me looking very pleased with himself. I must have knocked it back pretty quickly and he must have thought it was because I liked it so much so he was quickly offering me another. I, politely as I could, declined and fetched myself a cold bottle from the fridge inside his kiosk trying to explain that I wanted to try something different. Like Heineken.

Throughout all this we had been conversing and he explained that there wasn’t really anywhere round here that was worth going to. He said that he finished work in 20 mins and that if I liked he could show me a more lively area not too far away. I accepted and 20 minutes later off we went. I must say that all kinds of things did cross my mind and one can’t help being a slightly paranoid and suspicious over here – it’s in the air, everyone seems to be a little bit like that at first. But I convinced myself that if the worst came to the worst I would have to flex the flying fist of judo and hope for the best. I don’t have much in the sense of back-up in J-Town.

Anyway, he was Kosher – or maybe Halal, but it was a very nice gesture and he showed me how to get to the famous German Colony which is indeed lively and lined with cafes to sit and people-watch from. We had a couple of strong coffees, exchanged numbers and I promised to pop by for a beer again. A Heineken, probably.

UNRWA – United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Tomorrow I will spend half the day in the studio editing the video footage and will then travel up to Acre, in the North of Israel, to attend a cultural event run by the UNRWA. This will include a photo exhibition, a film screening  and a theatre performance – all as part of marking the Agency’s sixtieth anniversary this year. The program looks extremely interesting so I’m looking forward to that. From there I’ll head back to Haifa where I plan to spend the weekend and get some surfing in. Hopefully this weekend I won’t have to do my Warchild impression and mark my territory at the surf beach – as seemed to be expected of me last weekend!

Right now – I believe it’s almost time for some Holland vs England action. All I need to do is find a sports café near here…hmmm…time to find my kiosk friend!

In peace. x

Ps. I apologise if anyone is having difficulty viewing the pictures – it is being worked on and I hope to have it improved this weekend some time! In the meantime, if you click through to Flickr by clicking any of the images you can either view the slideshow, or you can click on ‘Planet Shaf’s Photostream’ on the right hand side which will display the pics down the page with any descriptions I have entered. Hope that makes sense!

Today’s meeting was postponed so I was free to go on a field trip visiting more sites where conflict has taken place and has potential to occur in the future. The tour today covered some of the villages in the Ramallah district – many which I had never been to before so it felt like a fresh adventure. It was also interesting passing by some of the more infamous settlements which I’d only read about in media reports of violent clashes. Incidentally, whilst out today there were a number of clashes although by the time we arrived at one location the army seemed to have calmed the situation. The media reports were slightly conflicting, but speaking to a local man it seems that settlers had trespassed onto some private Palestinian land and were helping themselves to his fruit. Local Palestinian kids, probably relatives of the land owner, responded by throwing stones at the settlers to deter them. The settlers responded to this by throwing stones at Palestinian cars at the main road junction. The story was briefly reported in this article along with other reports of settlers smashing up windows of houses and cars in Hebron as part of their “price tag” policy, which basically means revenge attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property for decisions made by the Israeli government which the settlers don’t agree with. It’s all a bit ridiculous as the settlers end up doing what they want anyway – so absolutely no need for the random violence. It just seems like an organised and calculated method of terrorism in the hope that Palestinians will eventually give up and leave. A less obvious form of attempted ethnic cleansing perhaps.

Another major point of contention are the settlements and illegal outposts themselves. Some get dismantled, but are up again within weeks, sometimes just days. At first it might just be a tree planted with a few plants, then a tent goes up, then a caravan – a while later building begins and before you know it you have a full settlement built on land which belongs to Palestinians. They [the Palestinian landowners] can see it happening but are mostly powerless to stop it. There is in place a bureaucratic process of filing complaints and this does sometimes lead to ‘temporary’ dismantlement. They can’t do anything physically to stop it as sometimes they can’t get to the land due to restrictions and physical barriers, and even if they could, the settlers are often armed and violent.

Something else I learned today is that people are generally apathetic when it comes to filing complaints. Obviously land issues are more serious, but general complaints about settler violence and vandalism to property such as olive trees and other crop often go unreported. Some of the reasons given for this include the bureaucracy involved, the actual financial cost of phonecalls (Israel is particularly expensive), and the feeling of hopelessness in some areas – in particular where the soldiers usually protect settlers and turned a blind eye to violence against Palestinians, although in some areas the soldiers have apparently acted appropriately and dealt with troublemakers accordingly. Those soldiers are likely to be the ones with some braincells who haven’t fallen for the sick, racist made-up stories which claim that:

“The Pope and the cardinals of the Vatican help organize tours of Auschwitz for Hezbollah members to teach them how to wipe out Jews, according to a booklet being distributed to Israel Defense Forces soldiers.”

I’m pretty speechless at the level stooped to with regards to that story.

Jerusalem

I had only been to Jerusalem mostly as a tourist until this year. That usually meant visiting the Old City and the markets then heading to Bethlehem or back up north. I had never really had the time or felt the urge to explore the rest of the city, in particular the newer parts. This evening I asked our driver to drop me off near the old city so that I could explore a bit and orientate myself to where my current accommodation is in the residential area. Needless to say I promptly got myself lost and had to buy a map to work out where I had ended up. I eventually walked home which took the best part of an hour and although it was a nice way to get my head around the layout of the city I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t like hills and doesn’t like heat.

Jerusalem generally feels tense right now. I thought it was just me at first, arriving alone at a Capital city which already has more issues than your average Capital city. Currently the media have been reporting on the evictions which took place in east Jerusalem and the increase in tension between the ultra-Orthodox Haredim community and the more secular citizens. The Haredim are increasingly trying to impose religious laws on the people and even act without the consent of their elders and rabbis. An interesting article was written in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper about the long term plan of the Haredim. The current issues are centered around the use of a car park on the Shabbat and the segregation of men and women whilst walking on the sidewalks at the weekend. Ultimately it seems they want Israeli citizens to all abide by Talmudic law.

Jerusalem isn’t the only tense place right now, with all the military posturing and provocative rhetoric coming from the Israeli/Lebanese border. This article reports on the stepped up military movements from both sides of the border.

Photos

Please bear with me for the pics – they seem to take forever to upload when there’s a large batch of them and then I need to explain some of them under their descriptions in order for them to make sense. If you see a load without any explanations or description of their relevance please allow me a day or two to get the info up, otherwise just ask me about any particular picture you find interesting. I know they look like a load of hills at first, but most of those hills have a story to tell!

It’s really strange to start the week on a Sunday. All day I’ve felt like it was Monday and repeatedly forgot when I spoke with Ida who was doing Sunday kinda stuff at home. It’s difficult to describe the feeling of added tiredness when you’ve done a day’s work and in your head the week doesn’t really start until tomorrow. Very odd. Hopefully I’ll get used to it a bit more as I try harder to adjust over the coming weekend.

Today started off with some juicy legal research which I got stuck right into. We needed to know what the procedure is for submitting digital video recordings as evidence. The progression of technology into the digital age has not only meant that CDs and DVDs can be copied easily, it also means that digital recordings can easily be manipulated and the first thing opposing counsel would do in the face of video evidence is attack its legitimacy and it’s authenticity. This means, therefore, that a strict and transparent procedure must be adopted in order to maintain the weight of any admissible video evidence. Apparently the old analog tapes had some kind of time and date coding which once recorded onto the tape cannot be forged so easily. It’s obviously not the case when dealing with binary codes…

The rest of this week will be made up of working on the current video project and hopefully a couple of field trips. There is also an interesting looking United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) cultural event in the northern city of Acre on Thursday. This will include pictures and stories from the past six decades of the agency’s work with Palestinian refugees. I’m gonna do my best to get along and check it out – just need to rope someone into coming along with me…

As you might be able to tell, I’m trying to keep myself busy as I’m missing Ida something ridiculous!

I’m told that this week there should be some more field trips so I’m looking forward to those immensely. Having just returned from a weekend up north in Haifa I’m glad to get back to where the humidity is not 70% and breathing is slightly easier!

I received a call at 08:45 telling me it was likely that I would be going to Hebron in the morning so to make sure I had all the necessary ID with me. I excitedly rushed to the office and was quickly briefed on the trip. Whilst getting prepared I was then told that I would be leaving immediately to go on a different trip to the West Bank visiting some of the places which B’Tselem had reported on and learning more about some of the current issues in the region. This was an equally exciting opportunity so I grabbed my bag, some water and jumped into the taxi which was already waiting downstairs.

My colleagues all speak in Hebrew so I would try to listen to pick up some bits and pieces only to confirm I’m completely wrong when I eventually get the translation – although just from today I have picked up a few more words to add to my Hebrew vocabulary!

Sinister road network

We had a taxi hired for the day so we went from Jerusalem up to the separation wall which weaves around the West Bank (WB) cutting deep into territory well past the 1967 Green Line. We were shown the road network which is almost impossible to see if it isn’t pointed out as there are walls on either side of the road at parts where the “exclusive” roads go over the Palestinian roads. It’s something very difficult to explain. The road network is basically split up into roads which Israeli citizens can use, settlers included, and roads which Palestinians can use. It’s all done in such a way that the Israeli road users are mostly oblivious to any other roads which are tunneled underneath the main highways. I’ll be posting some pictures up at the weekend where you’ll be able to see what I mean. Additionally, although the Palestinian roads are ‘officially’ open and free to be used by Palestinians in the WB, many which we passed have huge concrete boulders blocking them which the military only move on days that deliveries are being made such as gas deliveries, etc.

Nabi Samuel’s Tomb

We then headed to a place called Har Samuel, or Nabi Samuel’s Tomb. This was also a bizarre place. Just outside we met an old fruit seller who said that he cannot obtain a permit to set up his fruit stall on his own land, which the government claim they are turning into a national park – but, the settlers from a nearby settlement have been granted a permit to set up the stall right in front of his land. Then there’s the tomb itself – from the distance it looks like a mosque or some kind of place of worship, although it appears that mostly it’s Orthodox Jews who are entering and exiting. A closer inspection confirms that it is indeed a mosque which contains the tomb of the prophet Samuel who both Muslims and Jews believe in. We took a look downstairs and saw a few people who looked exhausted from praying, one guy was sat with his face literally in his books.

Place of shooting/sewage

We continued our journey up to the spot where this video clip was captured: http://www.btselem.org/english/Video/20080707_Nilin_Shooting.asp or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ST5m9pREQ

It felt a little bit weird having watched that clip and then to be standing at the exact spot. A little bit like when you are on a history field trip, but weirder because it’s not so long ago and it could still happen at any time. This was filmed by a young lady who was watching from the balcony of her family home. We purchased some freshly baked bread and some hummus from the nearby bakery and headed onwards.

We stopped at various places along the way to take a look at the way the sewage from the settlements was left to stream down the mountains and hills causing a peculiar green line of plantation which has managed to thrive due to the extra ‘water’. In some parts we saw cattle grazing on these deceivingly ‘lush’ strips of land. It was a thought I needed to get out of my head before we stopped for a delicious kebab for lunch at a nearby village…

The Olive Groves

After lunch we headed further north nearer to Nablus where settlers had recently set fire to Palestinian olive groves. An international symbol of peace being set on fire can be read as a statement in itself. The BBC reported on this just a few weeks ago here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8160607.stm.

The burnt olive trees really were a sad sight to see in the flesh. Sadder still was the fact that nearby were many groves which looked wild and unkept mainly due to the fact that there simply was little or no protection to the Palestinian farmers from violent attacks by settlers. This is a video clip of the kind of violence they have been facing: http://www.btselem.org/english/Video/20080913_CDP_Settler_riot_in_Asira_al_Qibliya.asp.

As we went to move on we noticed an olive grove with unusually yellow leaves. This wasn’t just one or two trees, it was almost an entire grove so we decided to get closer to take a look. The suspicion is that settlers may have sprayed the trees with some kind of chemical to destroy them so my colleagues took a sample which has been sent to labs for testing.

Nablus & surrounding area

We drove up into the mountains where we could get a view over Nablus passing the infamous, now disused Huwwara checkpoint. The stories and testimonies which have been reported from this place are gut wrenching. I took some pics which I’ll post up with the others at the weekend. It was eerily empty but still very intimidating. It didn’t help that a nearby soldier had his rifle pointing straight ahead and suspiciously eying our every move.

Once up as far as we could go without passing through any of the Nablus checkpoints we managed to get a great view of Nablus and the surrounding camps. I had visited Nablus and the Balata Refugee Camp in 2006 but from this height there was a clear difference between the city and the camp. The camp looked like a proper slum from up here – the buildings all looked so close together almost built over each other. Looking into Nablus it was clear that there was a lot more space and things were spread out more. From here we could also see over to Askar Refugee Camp which looked similar to Balata. We could see Askar’s distinguishable yellow domed mosque.

The Samaritans

Just before heading back to Jerusalem we passed through a small Samaritan village. This was quite strange as Samaritans claim to have preserved the true religion of the ancient Israelites due to them having remained there through all the wars the region has seen. The village from a distance doesn’t appear to be very different to any other Palestinian village in the West Bank. It’s only when you get closer that the places of worship can be seen and are clearly related ti Judaism. To confuse matters more the residents all communicate in Arabic and apparently just use Hebrew for religious necessities. We tried to spark up some conversation with a bunch of local kids who responded with the same typical childish cheeky humour evident in most West Bank villages. The Samaritans, however, carry full Israeli citizenship and ID so have the same rights as an Israeli living in Haifa or Tel Aviv. They are said to be an extremely tight-knit community and are reported to suffer some health issues due to maintaining such a pure gene pool, although there didn’t appear to be anything obviously wrong with any of the people I saw and spoke with. It was also noted that there have not been any reports of any trouble between the Samaritans and their Palestinian neighbours.

We arrived back at the office just after 18:00 so I headed straight home to relax only to receive a call from a friend who also happens to be working in Jerusalem. He tells me to get myself together and ready for a beer or two…it would have been rude not to. Somehow I find myself in between a bunch of like minded guys who love music and are partial to a bit of DJing – I was asked a few times if I would be interested in playing whilst I was here. I politely refused the first few times and eventually (or as the beers kicked in) I said I’d at least think about it. Jerusalem would look quite cool on the old DJ CV; “Brixton – Bideford – Jerusalem”.