Prior to last week I’d never heard of Ras al-Amud.  That’s not surprising.  As an American Jew, I was not meant to.  I was not meant to know that Ras al-Amud even existed, because to know that it exists, that it is a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem that is located just south of the old city and overlooks Silwan and Abu Dis, and that in 2003 it had a population of 11,922, is to admit that Palestinians have a legitimate claim and right to Jerusalem.  As an American Jew I’m not “supposed” to know that.  It’s another part of the Occupation; a way of trying to hide something you don’t want known, a way of trying to make people and neighborhoods invisible and of making identities disappear.  Two years ago I had never heard of Silwan, though I had actually been to the neighborhood several times, so to say I know where Ras al-Amud is because I know where Silwan is already means I know way more than the powers that be ever wanted me to.

Last week the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement held two demonstrations in Ras al-Amud (two years ago I had not heard of Sheikh Jarrah either, in spite of the fact that it was the neighborhood at the foot of the University I’d studied at and neighborhood I’d lived in for a year and a half, and in spite of the fact I’d been through the neighborhood countless times on buses and in taxies).  These non-violent demonstrations were in protest of the ground breaking of a new settlement in the heart of Ras al-Amud, called Maaleh David, which had just been approved by the municipality and of the existing settlement Maaleh Zeitim to which it will not only be adjacent but also connected to by a bridge.   Maaleh Zeitim is already the largest settlement in any of the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, with more than a hundred housing units.  The addition of Maaleh David alongside it serves to highlight the Israeli government policy of moving Jews into areas that are populated by Palestinians to inhibit the ability of that region from being exclusively Palestinian and thus preventing it from being part of a future Palestinian state.  It’s the “facts on the ground” method; if we build it the world can’t possibly ask us to give it up in the future.

I’ve been following developments in Ras al-Amud for a week now.  The second of the two demonstrations last week turned violent when police used unprecedented force against Israeli demonstrators.  It is standard operating procedure for the Israeli police and army to use violence when putting down non-violent Palestinian protests, but the use of batons and tasers by police against Israelis was entirely new.

These events are significant on multiple levels: the strategy of solidarity, the tactic of civil disobedience and the recognition and acceptance of another’s identity, all of which are important for ending the Occupation.  While it is disturbing to know that police used violence to put down the peaceful demonstration of its own citizens, what is more significant is the fact that these demonstrations are occurring.  The work of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement is what its name indicates; based on solidarity, the solidarity of Israelis with Palestinians, of West Jerusalemites with East Jerusalemites, of residents of a city standing together in voicing their opposition to unjust policies and laws.  So, first and foremost, the events in Ras al-Amud and Sheikh Jarrah are significant because they are based on solidarity.

Second, the conversations of many involved in the protests are once again focusing on civil disobedience.  Many of the members of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement have already been arrested, some multiple times, for their non-violent demonstrations.  The decisions to break a law, risk bodily harm, and get arrested cannot be taken lightly.  Civil disobedience is the breaking of laws.  Specifically, it is the breaking of unjust laws because of a recognition that certain laws sometimes work to stymie justice and that there is a moral justification to break those laws in order to pursue justice.  Technically, a sit-in that blocks the entrance to a settlement is illegal.  So last week when Israelis and Palestinians sat down together in the road to block the entrance of a settlement, a settlement that was built to purposely fracture the Palestinian community of Ras al-Amud, a settlement that violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to which Israel is a party, they were breaking the law.  Six protestors were arrested.

Solidarity and civil disobedience are extremely important.  They are two of the tools of justice.  And the weekly Friday protests in Sheikh Jarrah and now perhaps Ras al-Amud are steeped in both. 

But Solidarity and civil disobedience in the face of injustice are not the only reasons why these protests are important, they are also important because they reaffirm the names of people’s communities and by extension their identities.  In 1998 when I was 18 I did not know that Sheikh Jarrah existed because I was told not to ride the bus line that went thorough that “dangerous, dirty village where terrorists live”.  In 2000 when I was 21 I did not know that Sheikh Jarrah existed because when I asked what that area was and who lived there I was told “don’t worry about it, it’s just some unimportant Arab village”.  But in the summer 2009 when I was 30 I slept in the houses of Mahar Hanoun and Nasser al-Ghawi and their families.  I slept in their homes because even though they had legitimate legal deeds to their homes they were going to be evicted.  I slept in their homes because Israeli police carry out evictions in the middle of the night and the hope was that if internationals were in the houses it would deter the families’ evictions.  They welcomed me, an American Jewish woman, to stand in solidarity with them against the court-ordered and yet unjust prospect of being made homeless because they are not Jews.  I slept in their homes, and learned that their homes were in a neighborhood called Sheikh Jarrah, and in the middle of the night of August 1, 2009 (early in the morning of August 2, 2009), on a night when I was in my bed in my apartment in the neighborhood of French Hill, the Hanoun and al-Ghawi families were evicted from their homes.  I spent the rest of the month standing in solidarity with the families as they protested outside of their own homes, homes that Israeli settlers now occupied.

For 11 years the name Sheikh Jarrah had been hidden from me, divorced from the place it represented, and in a very Orwellian way disappeared from people’s consciousness.  But not all people’s consciousness, just some; the Hanouns and the al-Ghawis and the other residents of Sheikh Jarrah knew what their neighborhood was called; the name had been erased for me and other Jews so that we would not know.  Just like until last week the name Ras al-Amud had been erased for me and others. 

It is important to talk about Ras al-Amud because solidarity is a powerful strategy for just change.  It is important to talk about Ras al-Amud because civil disobedience is a powerful tactic for just change.  And it is important to talk about Ras al-Amud because though some would like to keep the name Ras al-Amud hidden and rename the area other things like Maaleh Zeitim and Maaleh David, they cannot change the fact that Ras al-Amud exists.  Last week the news broke, and in solidarity, and with the use of civil disobedience, the protesters were heard, and a name entered the consciousness of a larger audience.

Sara Benninga of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movements speaking at last week’s J Street conference.  Sara highlights the place that the Israeli Declaration of Independence is supposed to hold in Israel as a bill of rights in the absences of a constitution.  She also speaks to the importance of civil disobedience, non-violent protest, grass roots organizing and solidarity work to make change.  Most importantly, Sara talks about her own personal transformation to see past the “curtain of ignorance” that separates the reality of the Occupation from the consciousness of many Israelis and Jews.

The first 4:45 of this clip is an introduction of Sara and can be skipped.

Check out this post from the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity blog.  It not only gives updates on what is currently happening in Sheikh Jarrah but also makes thoughtful connections between the plight of the Al-Ghawi, Hanoun and Al-Kurd families and the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Check out this great blog post about the current goings on in Sheikh Jarrah, the neighborhood in East Jerusalem that I spent time in last summer.

I’ve written about the al-Ghawi family and the time I spent with them last summer previously on this blog.  Today the New York Times did a story on them.  On one hand I’m glad that they are getting this type of press.  The Times is one of the preeminent papers in the world and reaches a large audience.  The fact that the Times is telling their story is an important step in the right direction.  On the other hand, the Ghawis and other families, are still living in the street.  Their lives are hard, and they and those who peacefully advocate for them are continually subject to arrest.  This story is important; it is what the Occupation does to real people.  But telling and retelling the story is not enough.  I hope you will read this story and start to think about the concrete actions you can take to help not only the Ghawis specifically, but what you can do to help end the Occupation altogether.

iminisrael:

The story of the Sheikh Jarrah families has not ended yet. The international community should be actively opposing these actions. Where is the justice?

It’s a snowy day in Denver and I was just kicked out of the library; I was working on a paper comparing Palestinian’s access to health care in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.  Campus closes when the snow starts to accumulate, so in spite of the fact that I’m more productive at school, I’ve been relegated to my apartment.  Yes, I’ve been sent home.  At first I was annoyed, and then I got on line and read the latest update from Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem.

The Al-Ghawi family has been made homeless again.  This summer the Al-Ghawi’s and the Hanoun’s were evicted from their homes.  Since those evictions the Al-Ghawi’s have been living in a tent across the street from their house, and today the police evicted them from that tent.

I’m no longer annoyed; I’m unhappy, upset and angry.  The right to own property is one of the most fundamental of human rights.  John Locke asserted that both persons and estates were to be protected from the arbitrary use of power by a government.  According to the Lockean framework, a violation of a person’s right to their property is a justification for resistance to or even revolution against a government.  This is one of the ideas that inspired my country’s Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War.  Governments are supposed to have limits to their actions.  This is why countries have constitutions, or social contracts, that delineate the powers that people allow their government to exercise.

In Israel, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are not a part of the social contract.  They are not citizens of Israel, and though they pay municipal taxes they are systematically deprived of municipal services.  Simply put, their rights are not protected, or even seen, by the government and society at large.  For Palestinians like the Al-Ghawi’s the police do not serve and protect.    The police, as agents of the government, evict people from their homes.  The police are the actors that carry out human rights violations.   For the Palestinians of East Jerusalem every human right, including the basic right to own a home, is at risk of violation because the state keeps them outside of the social contract.

On a snow day, when I’m frustrated at working from home, the Al-Ghawi’s remind me that I am fortunate.  They remind me that my right to my home is not in doubt.  And they remind me that even from Denver, I have a responsibility to work for the protection of all people’s human rights.  Because today I have a home, and they do not, and that is unacceptable.

I often find it difficult to be in Denver, especially when I feel that I should be somewhere else.  Today is one of the days when I know I should be somewhere else.  If I were in Jerusalem right now, I’d be spending the day in Sheikh Jarrah, I’d be standing with the Hannoun and Al-Gawi families, I’d be peacefully protesting the Occupation.  Instead, I’m in Denver, so I’m posting this.

If you are in Jerusalem, please go to Sheik Jarrah, talk with the families, listen to their stories, and if you think it is wrong for people to be evicted from their homes simply because they are Palestinian, please stand with them.

iminisrael:

Solidarity Sunday in Sheikh Jarrah, Today, all day.

This week, there have been several violent settler attacks in Sheikh Jarrah, at the tent of the Al-Gawi family, that is still staying on the pavement outside their occupied house. During the attacks stones were thrown at the family and its guests, injuring a few of them severely. Later, police had arrested a few of the Palestinians present at the scene, and of course, none of the settlers involved.

On Thursday, authorities set an ultimatum for both the Hannoun and the Al-Gawi families to evacuate their tents by Sunday, or be forcefully evicted.

We urge you to come down to Sheikh Jarrah this Sunday (25.10.09), and show solidarity with the families who still live in this nightmare and on the wrong side of their houses walls. We will be sitting with them the whole day, starting with the early morning hours.

The following is an update on the two Palestinian families I spent time with this summer.  I slept and ate in their homes when they were still living in them and marched and demonstrated with them after they were evicted.  This update is not only heartbreaking and infuriating, but also illustrates how the police and legal system criminalize peaceful protest and are blatantly biased in terms of whose rights are upheld and whose are violated.

iminisrael:

20 October 2009

The settlers who have recently occupied the house of the Gawi family, forcefully evicted from their home in Sheikh Jarrah on 2 August 2009, launched an attack today on the Palestinians camping outside. According to local sources, seven Palestinians were injured and four arrested.

The attack started between 8 and 8.30pm, when a driver of a lorry delivering furniture to the occupied house, accompanied by four settlers, attacked a five year old boy from the Gawi family who was playing nearby. The settlers then attacked a small tent where the Gawi family have been living since the eviction. The tent was full of mainly women and children at that time. A Palestinian woman who was hit hard by the driver had to be taken to hospital. A fight broke out immediately, involving at least 15 settlers. Several members of the family sustained light injuries and a 15-year old girl from the neighbourhood was hit by a falling TV as the settlers managed to tear down the tent.

When police arrived, they made no attempts to stop the settlers attacking the family and later arrested four Palestinians. Two were released and another two, Khalet Gawi and Saleh Diab have been taken to hospital and told to come back to the police station tomorrow for further questioning. Four settlers were taken for questioning and released immediately.

The Gawi and Hannoun families, consisting of 53 members including 20 children, have been left homeless after they were forcibly evicted from their houses on 2 August 2009. The Israeli forces surrounded the homes of the two families at 5.30am and, breaking in through the windows, forcefully dragged all residents into the street. The police also demolished the neighbourhood’s protest tent, set up by Um Kamel, following the forced eviction of her family in November 2008.

At present, all three houses are occupied by settlers and the whole area is patrolled by armed private settler security 24 hours a day. Both Hannoun and Gawi families, who have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah is home to 28 Palestinian families, all refugees from 1948, who received their houses from the UNRWA and Jordanian government in 1956. All face losing their homes in the manner of the Hannoun, Gawi and al-Kurd families.

The aim of the settlers is to turn the whole area into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

(via ISM)

Maya passing out candles for a demonstration against the eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem.