On Saturday we were able to visit the Ayalon-Canada Park in what is, under international law, legally the West Bank, but is annexed by Israel. As we traveled to the park, we passed through the Bethlehem checkpoint where an Israeli soldier boarded our bus, checked our passports, and let us pass. That moment was one of many reminders that we, as Americans, can travel freely. Had we been Palestinians trying to visit a place that is legally Palestine, it would have been much more difficult.
Once we reached the park, we were met by Umar, who works with the organization Zochrot. Their mission is to spread knowledge pertaining to the Nakba and Palestinian history to Israelis. He led us through what looks like a typical park with stone pathways and picnic tables, but we soon learned that this had been the site of the ‘Imwas village until 1967 when the Israeli military forced residents from their homes and destroyed them. The stones lining the paths were rubble from bulldozed houses, and the large open areas had once been the center of the village. As we have learned about the Nakba these past four weeks, I still didn’t understand the scale or feel the impact of all the destruction. Even as I try to explain, I know I’m unable to capture how it felt. To know that Palestinian villages were destroyed is one thing. To trip over the partially-hidden remains of someone’s roof is something completely different.
Throughout the trip, we have been dealing with the idea of erasure. The reality of Ayalon-Canada Park is a reality of erased history. Umar and Zochrot advocate for signs marking the Palestinian villages that were destroying and honoring the people who have the legal right to return to their homes. As long as this history is erased, there cannot be justice.
–Greta S.
On Saturday evening this week, we stayed in Nazareth and heard from Bader Mansour at the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies. Bader is a Palestinian Christian but has an Israeli passport and these intersections can cause complications. One of the first things he said that stood out to me is “We (Palestinians) are citizens, but not equal citizens.”
He told us about his journey of going to university for computer science and being 1 of the 2 Arab students out of a class of 100, and how after college had difficulties finding a job because of the Israeli discrimination against Palestinians. What stood out to me about this discrimination is the similarities between Palestinian discrimination and racism in the U.S., where it is all too common that BIPOC individuals will not get job interviews, jobs, houses, and the list goes on and on. How can we fully understand and address the Palestine/Israel conflict without recognizing the own injustices within the U.S.?
Bader went on to talk about his experience working in the Silicon Valley in the U.S., and then deciding to move back to Israel because of his family’s feeling of obligation to be peacemakers. After working as a minority Arab in larger Israeli computer companies, he ended up creating his own software company and has been at it for 25 years!
His understanding of the Palestine/Israeli conflict stood out to me – he said that the only way for this to be solved is for people to be willing to understand the other side more and have fewer judgments, as well as go and experience life [walking in] someone else’s shoes rather than just hearing about it. These reflections inspire me to work towards better change in the U.S. as well as to advocate against injustices everywhere!
–Jenna W.
