I'm living in a schizophrenic reality here. On one side, there is a movement going on reminiscent of racial cleansing - Remove all Arabs from Jerusalem, and do it now!, and on the other side, there is normal daily life. People going bowling on the weekends, and laughing in coffee shops. I can not reconcile them. It makes understanding this area so difficult, because if you want, you need only see what you'd like. Life can be managed without ever acknowledging the devastation Arab families face on a daily basis.
Something that's been front page news lately, and on my mind a considerable amount, is the demolition and eviction campaign going through East Jerusalem. This area is now, and always has been, in the West Bank - meaning Palestinian Territory. However, this becomes grey because although it is Palestinian land, it's governed by Israeli municipality. This of course leads to things like East Jerusalem residents having a cap put on their water usage, but paying the same in taxes as everyone living in West Jerusalem. Or civil services like street cleaning, road repair, or traffic policing being virtually non existent.
These circumstances, albeit awful and certainly unfair, are livable. But imagine this: You are now raising your family in the house where your parents were raised. It's the only possession of worth your family owns. And you do own it. You pay taxes on it to the Israeli municipality, you abide by the community regulations, it's yours. Then one day, an Israeli Defense Force officer (or 3 or 4) comes to your door with a notice stating "you have 10 minutes to evacuate your house and get out as many of your belongings as you can, this is no longer your house". Your house has a 50/50 shot of either A) being demolished to create a park, synagogue, parking lot or B) become immediately inhabited by an Israeli family (known here as "Settlers" for their uncanny ability to settle in someone else's house or on someone else's land without little thought to the plight of its previous residence).
This is the dire situation in Jerusalem right now. There are, of course, settlements (Israeli and/or Jewish communities) being built throughout the West Bank which daily feed the growth of the Palestinian refugee population. But that work is known to be illegal. Here in Jerusalem, the political process of ridding the area of Arab families is masked by claims that "Kind David used to take his walks through this area, and thus, it must be turned into a national park", and so, it is not that the Israeli government WANTS to get rid of the Arab families, but that they want to "preserve history". A thinly veiled rouse if you ask me.
One Arab family living on the outskirts of this targeted neighborhood received a demolition order a few weeks ago. Realizing they could do nothing to stop it, they sold their house to an Israeli family for pennies. The next day, the demolition order was dropped and never spoken of again. Tell me this isn't political.
Last night I went to my first protest. I can say this openly because as much as my mother would freak out (for my safety and future political career) if she knew, I know she doesn't read my blogs (thanks mom). A group of 50+ activists from all walks of life - Israelis, Palestinians, Internationals, met together, holding signs and chanting, at the doorstep of a house in East Jerusalem previously owned by a Palestinian family, currently occupied by Israeli Settlers. Where did the Arab family go you may ask.. they were living in a tent across the street.
And yet in the midst of all of this, they keep fighting, waiting for someone to stand up and defend them.
In the words of one the protester's signs, "Obama, here is your chance to earn your Nobel Prize - enforce international law"
(side note: As of right now, pictures are posted on Facebook as the internet is too slow to put multiple pictures up on this. Check them out!)
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