The Alternative Israeli Voice

Today was another full day. We started out in Nazareth where a number of us went to Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation, a Roman Catholic Basilica which is built over a grotto believed to be the Virgin Mary's home and the place where she was visited by the Angel Gabriel. We attended the 9:00 Mass which is usually their Arabic mass, but today it was in Italian because there was an Italian tour group doing a holy land pilgrimage and the basilica was one of their stops. It was an interesting experience to go through a service in a language I don't speak and remain engaged. Fortunately, the liturgy is the liturgy and it was easy to know what was going on at any given point and to join in silently in English! And, some of the music was familiar so we were able to join in at those points too.

After leaving the church we drove to Tel Aviv and then to Jaffa (also known as Joppa, the town in which St. Peter had the dream of the net descending with all the forbidden foods and from which he left for Rome to be crucified) where we had lunch (delicious, abundant and vegetarian!) in a little dive where we had the pleasure of meeting one of Jake's friends (Jake is one of the leaders of this trip) Tal Door, who is an Israeli, first generation, born here, who is now pursuing a Master's degree in France but who works with human rights organizations here in Israel trying to further the cause of human and equal rights for Palestinians, both in the Occupied Territories and in Israel proper. Her story was very moving. Born to parents who immigrated here from South Africa, she grew up a Zionist Jew in Israel, fully supportive of Israel and the narrative that goes with the settlers of Israel. When she was 20 she visited South Africa for the first time and began to question the version of history that she had learned about Israel growing up in Israeli schools. Her recitation of her journey was spellbinding as we learned how she began to probe, to ask questions, to critique the version of history that had been told to her and as she learned more she became an activist working for Palestinian rights because she loves Israel and wants it to be the kind of democracy it says it wants to be. She was very eloquent, well spoken, courageous and engaging. She does speaking tours all over the world and I can see why. It was fascinating to hear from her how and why many Israelis manage to grow up here really clueless about some of the less admirable pieces of their history and blind to the issues of discrimination against Palestinians. Once again I saw parallels to the United States. How many white suburban Americans grow up clueless about the conditions in which African Americans in the cities live their lives or of how Mexican immigrants have to survive in a country that wants their labor but won't make it possible for them to provide it legally? This trip is as informative about United States culture as it is about Israel, because I am seeing in Israel many of the same blindnesses and obsessions and misguided ideologies as are part of our American culture.

We then went to the offices of Gisha, an Israeli human rights organization that is working on behalf of Palestinians in the Gaza strip. They are bringing lawsuits against the Israeli government to contest the barriers that the Israeli government puts up against Palestinian students who want to travel abroad to study. The famous recent case of the Fulbright Scholars is just one of many that this organization takes on.

From there we drove to a kibbutz, where we met with three amazing women who have founded an NGO called New Profiles, which helps Israeli youth who do not want to serve in the Israeli army. All Israeli Jews are required to serve in the Army - three years for boys, two years for girls. Orthodox Jews are exempted and Israeli Arabs (Christians and Muslims) are exempt, but everyone else must serve. These women spoke eloquently of their journeys from committed Zionists to political activists, challenging the military machinery of the Israeli government. The founder of the organization, Ruth Hiller, got into this when her 15 year old son told her he did not want to serve in the military because he was morally opposed to it. Israel has nothing close to the Conscientious Objector status that the United States offers, and to go against the very core of Israeli identity and culture by refusing to serve in the military is a major step for any young Israeli to take. When the organization was founded 10 years ago, there was not even any forum to discuss the idea of not serving in the military. As Ruth explained to us, the people who live on the kibbutz are died in the wool Zionists and military service is an inherent piece of that identity. When she agreed to help her son find a way to avoid military service and then went on to found this organization she put herself on the outs with the others in her kibbutz. It was clear as she told her story that she has taken the steps she has taken on this issue at great personal cost. We looked at some literature that her organization has written about the militarism that is woven into the fabric of Israeli life and again I was struck with how congruent that is to me as an American. It's no wonder the US and Israel are such close allies. We are remarkably and uncomfortably alike!

At this point, we are all beginning to suffer from "compassion fatigue" or emotional overload. We are exhausted because the schedule is grueling and the issues so intense and emotional that we are drained at the end of every day. Not to mention, we aren't getting much sleep either!

Tomorrow we leave for Jerusalem and travel to Hebron, and Bethlehem. We will spend tomorrow night in a tent on a Palestinian farm, the land of a Palestinian family surrounded by hostile, Israeli settlement residents. In the early part of the day we are meeting with a settler, so that we can hear that perspective which will be hard for many in the group to do with any sense of respect or patience. I'm praying for the Holy Spirit to imbue us with compassionate, listening hearts as we enter that meeting.

The next day we will be in Bethlehem and end the day at the Deheisha Refugee Camp where we will spend the night. If electricity is working there, I should be able to get on the internet and post to this blog (which will not happen tomorrow night from the tent!). If not, it will be Wednesday evening before I can report again.

Overall, this trip is proving to be intense, incredibly informative, but difficult and challenging, emotionally, spiritually and physically. We are all suffering from exhaustion and the accompanying frayed nerves at this point, but are committed to our mission of listening and learning as we move ahead.

More on Tuesday (?) or Wednesday!