Comedian Jon Stewart on Gaza
For those of you who like humor
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
Strip Maul
Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview
Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video
From my previous post you can gather that I feel strongly about this issue from time I have spent in the West Bank. I have pictures from my time spent there, that probably makes this all more concrete. I have to figure out how to post pictures in livejournal still.
Anyhow, I have mentioned that what I saw really influenced me but I haven't yet said what I saw. Here we go with that.
It's hard to wrap your mind around the situation unless you've actually been there and seen it. Some of the everyday things I witnessed were:
1. Checkpoints. Everywhere. Standing checkpoints, flying checkpoints, terminal checkpoints. There is no such thing as free movement. It is very clear you are in an occupied territory.
2. Guns and soldiers. Lots of them. They constantly ask for your ID and have been know to shot at unarmed Palestinians. In fact, when I got to Nablus my collegues were late to meet me because they witnessed an unarmed 14 year old get killed by soldiers and had to notify the boy's family. I did not meet one Palestinian who had not lost someone. Despite Israeli rhetoric, many of those killed are civilians, and many are children.
3. Settlers. There are illegal settlements all over the West Bank. These settlements are not on vacant land but rather are on people's farms and right in Palestinian neighborhoods. In Hebron I walked schoolchildren past a settlement that was built between their home at their school just up the road. Outside Nablus I observed settler children attacking Palestinians harvesting their olives. There are in facts roads all over the West Bank that are for settlers only to drive on. Nice big expressways whereas the roads Palestinians are made to drive on are small and not maintained as well. Can we say apartheid? Except according to the observers from South Africa who actually lived through it, this is more severe than apartheid.
4. The Wall and division of families. The “security wall” Israel is building is not in fact on West Bank borders. I can show you UN maps I have of the wall. In many places it digs deep into the West Bank, often putting water resources on the Israeli side of the wall. It literally divides families- especially families where some members live in east Jerusalem and others live in West Bank towns. When I was in the West Bank I visited one family who had their farm taken from them for a settlement. They continued to live in their house but the wall is between them and the settlement built on their land. The wall is also between them and the town that their farm is on the outskirts of. The Wall surrounds the house on all sides. The children in this family are reliant upon soldiers to let them leave to go to school, and return home from school. Sometimes the soldiers don’t let the kids leave or return home. This isn’t something far off or made up, I have meet these kids and spoken with their mom.
5. Non-violent Protests. Despite the stereotype of violent Arabs that we have in the United States there is in fact a very strong non-violent movement in Palestine. One of the most notable non-violent movements is an on-going protest each Friday afternoon in Bi'iln where villagers and Israelis gather weekly. They gather to protest the construction of The Wall that is dividing the town from it's olive groves, the economic base of the town. These protests really aren't that different from all the recent Prop 8 protests. You have people holding signs, marching, and chanting. What is different is that you have soldiers with tear gas and guns.
So yes, I feel very strongly about what's going on. Any rational person with a heart would feel the same if they saw what I have seen. I'll try to post pictures later if I can figure it out.
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
Strip Maul
Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview
Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video
From my previous post you can gather that I feel strongly about this issue from time I have spent in the West Bank. I have pictures from my time spent there, that probably makes this all more concrete. I have to figure out how to post pictures in livejournal still.
Anyhow, I have mentioned that what I saw really influenced me but I haven't yet said what I saw. Here we go with that.
It's hard to wrap your mind around the situation unless you've actually been there and seen it. Some of the everyday things I witnessed were:
1. Checkpoints. Everywhere. Standing checkpoints, flying checkpoints, terminal checkpoints. There is no such thing as free movement. It is very clear you are in an occupied territory.
2. Guns and soldiers. Lots of them. They constantly ask for your ID and have been know to shot at unarmed Palestinians. In fact, when I got to Nablus my collegues were late to meet me because they witnessed an unarmed 14 year old get killed by soldiers and had to notify the boy's family. I did not meet one Palestinian who had not lost someone. Despite Israeli rhetoric, many of those killed are civilians, and many are children.
3. Settlers. There are illegal settlements all over the West Bank. These settlements are not on vacant land but rather are on people's farms and right in Palestinian neighborhoods. In Hebron I walked schoolchildren past a settlement that was built between their home at their school just up the road. Outside Nablus I observed settler children attacking Palestinians harvesting their olives. There are in facts roads all over the West Bank that are for settlers only to drive on. Nice big expressways whereas the roads Palestinians are made to drive on are small and not maintained as well. Can we say apartheid? Except according to the observers from South Africa who actually lived through it, this is more severe than apartheid.
4. The Wall and division of families. The “security wall” Israel is building is not in fact on West Bank borders. I can show you UN maps I have of the wall. In many places it digs deep into the West Bank, often putting water resources on the Israeli side of the wall. It literally divides families- especially families where some members live in east Jerusalem and others live in West Bank towns. When I was in the West Bank I visited one family who had their farm taken from them for a settlement. They continued to live in their house but the wall is between them and the settlement built on their land. The wall is also between them and the town that their farm is on the outskirts of. The Wall surrounds the house on all sides. The children in this family are reliant upon soldiers to let them leave to go to school, and return home from school. Sometimes the soldiers don’t let the kids leave or return home. This isn’t something far off or made up, I have meet these kids and spoken with their mom.
5. Non-violent Protests. Despite the stereotype of violent Arabs that we have in the United States there is in fact a very strong non-violent movement in Palestine. One of the most notable non-violent movements is an on-going protest each Friday afternoon in Bi'iln where villagers and Israelis gather weekly. They gather to protest the construction of The Wall that is dividing the town from it's olive groves, the economic base of the town. These protests really aren't that different from all the recent Prop 8 protests. You have people holding signs, marching, and chanting. What is different is that you have soldiers with tear gas and guns.
So yes, I feel very strongly about what's going on. Any rational person with a heart would feel the same if they saw what I have seen. I'll try to post pictures later if I can figure it out.