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Connection
INTERNATIONAL
PRESBYTERIAN
7
presbyterian.ca
FALL 2018
Life Under Occupation:
Calling the Church into
“Costly Solidarity”
EAPPI was created in 2002 by the World Council of Churches based on a letter and an appeal from local church leaders in Jerusalem to create an international presence in the region. Sixteen years later, there is a continuous presence of 25–30 volunteers on the ground to provide protective presence and witness life under occupation. Upon returning home, Ecumenical Accompaniers share their first-hand experience within their church and civil society networks to advocate for a just peace in Palestine and Israel, based on international law.
By Amy Zavitz, PCC EAPPI mission staff
“The Holy Land is the best place to lose your faith,” a preacher said dur- ing my first worship service in Je- rusalem. I was sitting in a pew with individuals from around the world. We had just arrived in Jerusalem as part of the Ecumenical Accompani- ment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), unsure of what our next three months would hold, but knowing that none of us would leave unchanged.
We were preparing to venture out to our placements, to begin the work we were sent to do. Our mission as Ecumenical Accompaniers was to witness life under occupation, to en- gage with and support Palestinians and Israelis pursuing a just peace, and work to change the international community’s involvement, urging them to adhere to international law and work for justice in the region. We use the model of accompanist as the framework for the work that we do. This model is guided by Interna- tional Humanitarian Law and requires both a strategic local presence and international pressure in order to be effective.
EAPPI has teams across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. I spent my three months working in the Jordan Valley, a fertile strip of land along the Jordan River. Comprised mostly of rural communities and largely out of public view, Palestinians in the Jordan Valley are some of the most oppressed communities in the West Bank.
In April I arrived back in Canada from EAPPI and nearly every person and community that I met asked me to “share their story,” “tell the truth back home” or “speak of the injus- tice.” To tell of the home demolitions, the settler violence, the children in prison; to share about the forced dis- placements, the military harassment, the lack of access to water, land, education, livelihood and worship; and to speak out against the Israeli
occupation, the dehumanization and the persistent violence.
In the Jordan Valley, we would fre- quently report on cases of Israeli set- tler harassment and violence against Palestinians, stories such as this one:
Earlier this year two Israeli set- tlers approached Bassam (name changed), a 16-year-old boy in the Jordan Valley who was shepherd- ing and tried to steal his sheep. The livelihood of the family is reliant on the ability to graze their sheep; like many other Palestinians in the Jor- dan Valley, access to their land is paramount. When the boy resisted, the settlers followed him and called five more to join. They followed him to his community and beat him with iron bars. When his mother ran to help, they hit her as well. The police were eventually called, and the set- tlers faced no consequences.
Their family lives in constant fear. When we would go visit the family, we were offered a cup of tea and were told about their experiences. The mother of the boy said to us, “Can you imagine what it feels like to be unable to protect your children? They are the most precious thing we have.” The father of the boy said, “Israel is talking about democracy and human rights, but we don’t see this on the ground. I don’t have any rights. We live in injustice.”
Stories like this are not unique. I could speak of Yasmin, a nine-year- old girl who was struck and killed
by a settler car. I could write about Ahmed, an eight-year-old boy who was physically assaulted by a set- tler as he was walking home from school. I could tell many more sto- ries like these, but I did not hear of one where the settler faced conse- quences.
I can share stories of Palestin- ian children who are imprisoned on suspicion of throwing stones and labelled as terrorists. I can share ac- counts of how these children are tak- en from their homes in the middle of the night, psychologically and physi- cally tortured into confessing without a parent or lawyer present. I can cite the 99% conviction rate of children in Israeli military courts.
Palestinians in the West Bank must face the complexities of daily life, navigating through checkpoints, roadblocks and an overall permit re- gime that settlers do not. For the past 51 years, Palestinians have lived under military control, while settlers live under Israeli civil law. Meaning, Palestinians, legally, have very few rights. And in practice, from what I’ve seen, arguably have no rights at all.
Stories such as these speak to the reason that settlements are illegal un- der international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention. For Palestinians, settlements result in threats to physi- cal security, loss of property and livelihood, lack of access to basic services, and inadequate, or nearly nonexistent, law enforcement to en-
Access restrictions for Palestinians.
Waging peace. PHOTO CREDIT: EAPPI NATA- SHA D.
An EAPPI member witnessing a Palestin- ian home demolition.
Palestinians crossing through a gate to access their agricultural lands that have been divided by the separation wall.
sure their safety. They result in vastly unequal legal and political systems between the occupied population and citizens of the occupying state.
We are much more likely to hear about a Palestinian attack on an Is- raeli rather than an Israeli attack on a Palestinian, whether military or ci- vilian. This creates the perception of an entire people as being violent. And yes, there are a minority of Palestin- ians who have engaged in violent resistance; but we must remember, these are cries to the world. They are outcomes of 70 years of oppression while the world stood by. Violence is loud, and violence gets the attention of the media. The voice of nonvio- lence is quiet, but it is persistent and resilient. Nonviolence is the language of the Palestine that I know, but non- violent resistance requires the world to listen and take action.
During these three months the preacher’s words kept coming back to me. I would walk throughout the
Holy Land, literally where Jesus walked, and see so much pain and suffering. I felt angry, sad and hope- less. But I also had moments of joy and moments where I have never felt closer to God. But these moments did not happen in biblical ruins, they did not happen in the dead stones. I felt it among the living stones, the people of the land.
We are in an impossible mo- ment. The global church is called into “costly solidarity” with the lo- cal church, to boldly accompany those facing injustice. A ministry of presence cannot be passive, it must speak out in the face of oppression. Accompaniment is daring, by speak- ing truth to power. We are called into God’s mission. A mission of justice, a mission of peace, a mission of hope and a mission of love.
To participate in
this program, go to presbyterian.ca/missiontrips
Settlements are Jewish-Israeli only cities, towns and villages that have been established in the occupied Palestinian Territories (and the Golan heights). According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, settlements are in violation of international law. Settlement outposts are settlements that have, in theory, been established by individuals without the authorization of the Israeli government but benefit from services that Palestinians are denied and backing from the Israeli military. Those living in settlements are Jewish-Israeli citizens, called settlers.