"Women in Hebron"

We got 2 private service cars to take us directly from Nablus to Bethlehem on Friday morning. Since there was ten of us, it ensured we would reach Bethlehem by 11 or 12. As we drove for the next 2 hours, we crossed dozens of settlements –orange roofs, apartment buildings, suburban homes, and lots of Israeli military. We crossed five checkpoints to reach the ancient city. One of the volunteers had booked rooms in a guesthouse in Deheishe Refugee Camp.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by amazing paintings all over the guesthouse, all symbolic of the suffering of Palestinian refugees. We were also welcomed by Jihad who became our tour guide for the day. In fact, after a quick lunch on the fourth floor, we began touring the refugee camp. Here we were, 10 foreigners walking around the camp with our cameras and video cameras pretending that we understood what it meant to live there. I was honestly sickened. I was ashamed to pull out my camera as kids began following our troupe and I didn’t feel right walking into the home of an imprisoned brother’s family. The experience was very difficult for me. Obviously, I wanted to see and understand the conditions that have been imposed onto these people, but this was not ethical. But based on the timing of our trip, I am not sure what an alternative could be.
We then taxied from the Refugee Camp to the old City of Bethlehem. We briskly walked through the Church of Nativity and the old city of Bethlehem. The city was full of tourists. For a moment, I imagined Palestine without the occupying force –tourists visiting Khalil and Bethlehem, huge hotels around the Dead Sea and an airport near Jerusalem. What a beautiful sight! Next, we hired private cabs to take us to the illegal wall surrounding Bethlehem. We walked along the gratified monster for a few hundred meters, admiring the artwork and the messages of hope. We visited the destroyed home of a Palestinian doctor in Beit Jala. The experience was a grim reminder of the distance between dreams and reality.

The next day was packed. Paul, a volunteer from New Zealand, and I had to make it to Khalil (Hebron) and visit the entire city before making the three hour trip back to Nablus. Khalil is the most divided Palestinian City. Since 1967, the city has literally been cut into two. A road that was funded by US AID to provide access for Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents to the old city, has been strictly used by settlers. Soldiers outnumber settlers 4:1 in the city and even the Ibrahimi Mosque, the second holiest site for Muslims in Palestine after al-Aqsa, has been divided in two. Settlers here are known to be the most fanatic and there is a long history of provocations by the settler community (Youtube: "hebron settlers" for visuals).

As we waited for Saturday's main event, we met Leila and Nawal. Two women who created a women's cooperative to support more than 140 women in need from surrounding villages. With their help, they make kaffiyehs and embroidries, most of them by hand and sold exclusively in the old city of Khalil (Hebron). I bought seven. Oh. The main event. I should describe that. On every Saturday, settlers come down from their army-protected fortresses and appartments to take a tour of the old city, in the middle of the Arab quarters. This provocation is used to demonstrate the existence of Jewish homes in the old city as long as the city has been around. During this tour, settlers have insulted, destroyed cars, spat and fought with Palestinians. In fact, Nawal told me that a settler spat in her face last month. While she was sitting in front of her shop, protecting her belongings, with her children at her side, the settler insulted her, spat on her and ran away. She couldn't control her anger and, as her children pleaded with her to calm down for fear that she would be shot by an Israeli soldier, she threw everything she could find at the group. Nawal is a very special woman. She is so kind and speaks perfect English. If you ever come to Khalil, you must visit her.

Nawal told me more about her history with settlers, some of which live right above her shop. A few months ago, some of the residents of the old city threw rice and fries in the path leading to her shop. Without thinking, Nawal yelled: "If you are going to throw rice and fries, make sure you give me meat as well. Where is the meat? Next time, I want chicken with my rice! Don't be so inconsiderate." Palestinians love to laugh at their suffering. They are always laughing.
I have just five days left in Palestine.