It's Almost Supernatural

Bringing Order to Giloh

During my recent trip to Israel we were lucky enough to visit Giloh, a suburb in Jerusalem which fell under incessant fire during the early stages of the second Intifada. Armed with an astute military expert our bus made its way toward Giloh via the twisted and scenic road that hugs the pre '67 Jerusalem borders.

Palestinian fire on regular Israeli suburbs presented the IDF with one of the major challenges of the second Intifada. Before the Intifada the shootings had largely been limited to the settlements -- but during the Intifada the Palestinians brought the shootings to regular Israeli suburbs like Giloh. The challenge was partly tactical and partly psychological. People living in settlements are used to and aware of the constant threat but the people of Giloh weren't prepared or conditioned for it at all. An immune system was needed.

The tension reached breaking point when the Palestinians started firing at the kindergarten in Giloh. A suit of armour was provided in the form of ugly concrete pillars which formed a wall defending the Kindergarten and many other private residences from the incessant Palestinian fire. The wall has since been painted and now pleasant pictures hide a reality behind the wall that only the most daring of dreamers will call a view of a future. (This wall is not to be confused with the utterly dreaded apartheid wall - it does not physically separate one side from the other and you can easily walk around it to see what's on the other side as I did in the photo's shown below.)

When the Palestinians fired on Giloh they informed the press because they wanted the world to see their symbolic and brazen firing on our capital. Israel initially brought in tanks to deal with the problem but this only played into the Palestinian strategy of maximising media coverage. The tanks were soon removed.

Below you can see one of the buildings in Giloh scared with bullet holes. This became the reality of a citizen living under fire. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

The next picture is taken standing alongside the painted pillar wall looking out over Beit Jalla. It's a view of where the Palestinians were shooting from. Most of the shooting came from places near the Churches. The army was ordered not to fire retaliatory shells from here because damaging the churches would have also played directly into the Palestinians strategy. To end the carnage the IDF sent ground forces into Beit Jalla and Bethlehem (far left of the photo) to hit the Palestinians hard from cellar to cellar and from house to house. (Click on image for larger version.)

To stop the infiltration of Islamic suicide bombers from Bethlehem into Israel you can see the security barrier that has been constructed (see below). I say Islamic suicide bombers because there has never been a single Christian Palestinian suicide bomber in Israel. The Christian Palestinians of Bethlehem argue that it's unfair that they suffer the hardships brought by the security barrier when they are not responsible for the terror. Unfortunately, before the construction of the barrier, hundreds of terrorists infiltrated Israel through Bethlehem.

Contrary to what you will hear from most media outlets it's true that 95% of the barrier is a chain link structure. The first photo shows the section in Bethlehem that is a concrete barrier to protect Israelis from sniper fire. The second photo shows how the barrier continues as a fence. And no...the fence is not electrified.

Gush Katif in Nitzan

One of the most eye opening parts of the seminar I recently attended was the visit to Nitzan which hosts several sites being used to provide temporary housing for the Jewish families forced to leave Gaza.

Altogether about 1750 families have vacated Gaza and they need housing, employment, farmland, and community structures. 750 families are living in tiny hotel rooms. Nitzan will eventually provide temporary housing for 1000 families. I didn’t find out where the other 750 families are supposed to be housed.

As of today 500 families are living in Nitzan. Many of the other families from Gaza are living in tents - but that is largely their own decision as a protest against the disengagement from Gaza. Eventually Nitzan will be able to provide temporary housing for 1000 of the 1750 families.

After 2-3 years the families will be able to move to their new permanent residences in Nitzan 2. Nitzan 1 will then be used for housing for new immigrants. It's remarkable that only 3 months ago all of this land in Nitzan was just desert - SA could definitely learn from Israel about providing quick and affordable housing for homeless people. (In fact SA is learning a lot from Israel - on my second day in Jerusalem I bumped into a public official from SA who is on a programme in Israel to learn from the outstanding agricultural achievements that Israel has made. More on this later if the guy responds to an email interview I sent.)

Okay, back to Nitzan...the main problem for these people is getting new farmland and employment. Money is scarce. Though they received compensation for the loss of their hothouses, that compensation was only 60% of the total value. I can't emphasise enough just how difficult this has all been for these families. These people are used to being self sustaining. They are not used to being in a position where they have to receive and be needy. They want to be able to do something...to be productive. People there are sad and disillusioned but there is an overwhelming sense of hope that eventually these pioneers will be able to rebuild their lives and start again.

Families with 4 or fewer members are getting 60 square meters. Families with more than 4 people are getting 90 square meters. Large families (and most of the families are large) will find it difficult to adjust to these new conditions. In Gaza most of these families had large beautiful homes filled with furniture that cannot now fit into the new homes. The families need to find storage areas for all their old furniture that they can no longer use.

At the moment there are no general community structures besides for synagogues. There is no public hall where people can gather and have meetings. Plans are however being made to deal with these problems.

Despite all this, the person giving us the tour of Nitzan did emphasise that most people realise that the government is not heartless...they are trying. He also made mention of the thousands of volunteers, young and old that have given up their time to help build the community in Nitzan, asking for nothing in return.

Land of Protests

It seems like there are always protests in Israel. This photo is of a protest for the people from Gush Katif (Jewish residents forced to leave Gaza) outside Ariel Sharon's house. The sign reads something to the effect of "100 days in a hotel, give the people housing!"

750 families are living in tiny hotel rooms. 500 families have been placed in temporary housing in Nitzan (see above post - Gush Katif in Nitzan for more).

Here's a protest from the notorious "women in black" who protest the "occupation" every Friday. They call for a complete withdrawal to the 67 lines and don't think Israel should expect anything in return. The photo was taken from the balcony of the hotel I stayed at.

There was even a protest (unfortunately no pic) of people calling for an end to the slaughter of livestock for meat. Their slogan was "Basar rotzeach". ("Meat is murder!")

Back in SA

I’m back in sunny South Africa after three terrific weeks in the Holy land. It only took a short while at JHB international to remind me that I was back. Not even all the stringent security checks at Ben Gurion airport could compare to the madness of JHB intl where we waited in a queue for over an hour because there was just one person there to check the customs forms from all the flights that had just landed!

As I said, I spent my first week as a participant on an Israel Hasbara seminar organised by the World Zionist Organisation. The seminar included people from the US, Australia, Sweden, UK and SA. Before I left I wondered if any of the participants were bloggers and it turns out that there was one who runs a very successful blog in Sweden.

There is way too much to write about the seminar. Every now and then I may post a summary of some of the lectures (I have tons of notes) but for now I will just post some photos. The seminar was action packed and would have been exhausting but for the energy generated from the excitement of the places we went to and from the experts we heard speak.

Following the seminar I spent the next two weeks on a South African Ohr Someyach tour. Ohr Someyach is a yeshiva in Israel – we spent the mornings learning, toured in the afternoons, and had free time during the evenings. Mike was also on the Ohr Someyach tour which made for many memorable political analyses :) Mike officially revoked my right wing status (which I still claim to hold)…maybe I’ll get it back one day. I didn’t know Mike before he started writing on this blog so it was great to get to know him in the place that we both spend so much time trying to figure out.

Jerusalem is definitely my favourite spot in Israel. Walking the streets of Jerusalem, so many thoughts filtered through my mind. What does it mean to be a Jew in Israel? What is the Zionism of today? Is it about the settlements or is it about consolidating what we have? Does establishing new synagogues and schools in the disputed territories take preference over building new synagogues and schools in Tel Aviv? Is Israel supposed to be a state in all of the Jewish land or a Jewish state in some of the land? Is it normal for people to discuss where in a restaurant is the safest place to sit incase there is an explosion?

Of course, I don’t have answers to these questions, but I do think I have become more pragmatic than ideological. Someone on my Ohr Someyach tour commented that it’s a lot easier to be an ideologue living in disputed land than a politician that is faced with the complex realities of keeping that land (unless of course those residents are forced to leave their homes). I am not capitulating – I think it’s essential that we retain all of the major settlement blocs as well as our small corridor in Hebron with the Holy sites there – all I mean to say is that people tend to readily criticise our leaders for the decisions they make without really considering the nauseas parameters from within which they must operate.

But it wasn't all political wonderings. Israel is really a fun and exciting place to visit. The nightlife is never boring - there is always something to do or see. I loved the small random conversations I had with taxi drivers, Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, Ethiopians, foreign workers etc etc. I loved speaking (ok, trying to speak) Hebrew! I loved seeing a vibrant and happening society that is really working and building, making outstanding contributions to the world in the arts, agriculture, science, etc. I was proud to see how young ordinary youths are transformed into astute soldiers who carry the responsibility of a nation on their young soldiers...giving up 3 years of the best part of their life so that we can live in this tiny country of ours. And why do they do it I asked? "Because," replied one soldier, "If I don't, who will?"

And it warmed my heart to see how many Israelis adorn their windows with Israeli flags as if to shout "This land is ours and we are here to stay forever. We shall not be moved."

Israel Advocacy Seminar

Next week I will be lucky enough to be attending an Israel Advocacy Seminar in Israel. It’s run by the World Zionist Organisation and runs for one week in Israel for 20 English speaking “advocates” from South Africa, Australia, USA, United Kingdom, and Sweden. The itinerary looks exciting and interesting. It includes a guided tour of the security barrier so I will be sure to bring my camera along to snap some shots.

It will be interesting to see if any of the other attendees run blogs or know of the blogosphere.

If I have the time to find Internet Café’s then I will post some updates about the seminar otherwise I will write about it when I get back. I will also be attending a wedding between all this so time will be scarce.

After that I will stay in Israel for a further two weeks. Mike will also be in Israel for 3 weeks so IAS will probably be very quiet for the next while.

Until then I wish everyone that passes by this blog a peaceful, relaxing, and fun December.

The Troops Must Stay

From the WSJ, here's an impressive article from Democratic senator Joe Lieberman reminding us that there are still some in the Democratic Party who have not flip-flopped on their initial support for the war: "America can't abandon 27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists".

I have just returned from my fourth trip to Iraq in the past 17 months and can report real progress there. More work needs to be done, of course, but the Iraqi people are in reach of a watershed transformation from the primitive, killing tyranny of Saddam to modern, self-governing, self-securing nationhood--unless the great American military that has given them and us this unexpected opportunity is prematurely withdrawn. Progress is visible and practical. In the Kurdish North, there is continuing security and growing prosperity. The primarily Shiite South remains largely free of terrorism, receives much more electric power and other public services than it did under Saddam, and is experiencing greater economic activity. The Sunni triangle, geographically defined by Baghdad to the east, Tikrit to the north and Ramadi to the west, is where most of the terrorist enemy attacks occur. And yet here, too, there is progress.