GUEST BLOG: Martin and Lois Griffiths – HEBRON

One of the oldest cities mentioned in Genesis, Hebron, is a revered holy site for all three Abrahamic religions. It is here that the Patriarchs and Matriarchs: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are believed to be buried. One would hope that this West Bank city would serve as an example of peace and harmony, respect and brotherhood.

Yet the Israeli journalist Gideon Levy warns, “If you want to know what callousness is, if you want to know what racism is, if you want to know what evil is, if you want to know what injustice is and if you want to know what malice looks like, Hebron …is the best place on earth to find out.”

I first heard about the Hebron of today, from a Dunedin Quaker friend Christina Gibb. She gave talks several years ago, in Christchurch, about her experiences as a  Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) volunteer in Hebron. An important function that Christina and her colleagues undertook was to accompany Palestinian children on their way to and from school. The CPTers hoped  that their presence, in their ‘uniforms’ of red baseball caps,  would discourage  Zionist settlers from attacking the  children.

(CPT was founded in 1984 by three historic peace churches, Mennonite, Church of the Brethren and Quaker.  The CPTers go only  where local people have requested their presence.  The CPTers themselves are nonviolent, bearing witness to violence, sometimes  trying to prevent violence by ‘getting in the way’.)

In 2009, Martin and I made  our first of 4 visits to Israel and the West Bank.  

We took part in an ‘alternative’ tour, meeting Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists too, organized by ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions). As part of our tour, we went to Hebron. Hebron , el Khalil the  Arabic name, is surely like no place else on earth. It’s a  city of

over  215,000 Palestinians and between 500 and 850 Jewish ‘settlers’ guarded by a large number of IDF, Israeli soldiers. Most West Bank ‘settlements’ are on hilltops, separate from Palestinian villages, but in Hebron the settlers are right in the middle of the old city. This happened because in 1968, a group of religious extremist Zionists posing as Swiss tourists rented the main hotel, overlooking the Palestinian market, souk, of small shops and open stalls, and then refused to leave.

We visitors, walking down the narrow street in the middle of the stalls, were aghast at the sight of the overhead wire mesh erected by stall holders to try to protect themselves from objects tossed down by the Zionists. It was a shocking sight!

We visited the 1000 year old Ibrahimi Mosque, considered to be the 4th holiest site in Islam. Our  Hebron resident guide, Hashem al Azzeh, explained the various features including the historic carved wooden  minbar, pulpit.

To be precise, we visited half of the original mosque.

On 25 February 1994, during Ramadan, Baruch Goldstein, an American Jewish settler from Brooklyn, New York, walked into the Ibrahimi Mosque and opened fire on men and boys at prayer, killing 29 and injuring dozens more, before  he was attacked and beaten to death. Goldstein was a member of the Jewish Defence League, considered a terrorist group by the FBI, founded by Meir Kahane. Goldstein is considered a hero by the extremists; his grave is a pilgrimage site.

After the massacre, the Israelis punished the Palestinians, expelling them from 60% of the Mosque and turning that part into a Jewish synagogue. They also blocked off Palestinians from what was then a busy street, Shuhada Street. Even today Palestinians are not allowed to set foot on Shuhada Street.

Hashem invited us to his house. It was a struggle climbing up a rocky hill . The road to his house had been taken over by settlers, determined to drive him out.   He explained that he and his wife never leave the house together in case settlers invade it and take over.

Martin and I made 3 more trips , in 3 more consecutive years,  to Israel and the West Bank, including Hebron. Again we met with Hashem.  We got to know him, a trained medical doctor as well as community leader , and his artistic wife and think of them as friends.

Each time it was obvious that the oppression was growing, that settlers , openly heavily armed, were becoming bolder and more vicious. The soldiers, the IDF, are there only to protect the settlers; they turn a blind eye to violence against Palestinians.

The situation today  is really too ugly to put into words. The Israeli regime, IDF and police are in reality at war with the local population. See www.cptpalestine.com for a video about what children have to endure on their way to school: tear gas, stun grenades, firing from occupied rooftops, skunk water, rubber coated steel bullets. They arrive at school fearful, anxious and exhausted.

And speaking of tear gas, our friend  Hashem al Asseh died earlier this year from excessive  tear gas inhalation.

Jeff Halper of ICAHD explained that the settlers in and around Hebron are led by extremist fundamentalist Rabbis who not only justify but  encourage violence against Palestinians by teaching the Torah , and Joshua , but ignoring the Prophets.

Making matters worse, the present Israeli regime is the most right-wing ever.

Poor Hebron, not a pretty sight, not a ‘holy site’ !

 

Martin and Lois Griffiths are Human Rights Activists