[Jacob-Israel-Palestine]


F: Final Tea

Date: Monday, March 22, 2010

A final missive to my dedicated readers:

The night before departure I stay up late indulging in internets, on a kibbutz made rich by the accents of wars and the associated need for armor (their major source of income is an armor factory), with a Hebrew name taken directly from the Arabic town that was here before 48.

This place is beautiful. Years of dedicated landscaping, lavender betwixt rosemary stacked along Jerusalem stone pathways and structures. A child who grows up here knows the first name of every adult that lives here.

What will this place teach me about my own Jewish Commune I hope to start, also on land that once belonged to Someone Else? My questions gnaw at my hosts, so gracious in their regard for my care, offering advice, if not card tricks, in a spare moment.

And what a success this trip has been. I've probably brought about 100 people to Palestine who wouldn't have otherwise felt comfortable to go, up to two or three trips per week! Twice as many as last year, which is twice as many as the year before that.

I'm finishing my time here with a picnic dinner send-off of my own design: on Abed's land, out by his cave which may or may not be in Jerusalem, and I've arranged to have kosher food there and therefore all my cool Jewish friends, and it's technically still part of the West Bank (for the moment) so my cool Palestinian friends get to come too. The promise of a land where everyone is welcome: Abed has this much going for him.

What's been going on? Lots of soldiers around the old city, for a week solid, Palestinians, even those who have passed security scrutiny and received extended permissions to be in Israel, to work, study, visit relatives, churches, hospitals, were all blanketly disallowed from entering the Land of the Jews. Besides them, all Palestinian men under the age of 50 were not allowed into the Old City, specifically the area near Damascus Gate.

"What's the reason? You have to have a reason," one fellow protested, as I sauntered past. Apparently they didn't.

I spent some time with the family of Rachel Corrie in Haifa, while their lawsuit against the State has been ensuing. I've gotten to see parts of the trial, some of which were laughable, some not understandable (due to my marginal Hebrew proficiency), all of it confused. I did my best to offer them some support, but they are quite swamped: with media, with feelings, with people at every step. Yet they maintain the ability to stop now and then and ask me, and my fellow straggle-alongs: "How *are* you?" and "Tell me about yourself?" to those they were not yet acquainted with.

And what do I think about the current political dramatics? I'm somewhat pleased. It's a good step, the US government *actually sticking by something that they have asked of Israel.* It may be a year or two until there is political will to frame high-dollar military aid against the question of Israel's compliance in a peace process-- the United States will have to hold out a requirement that Netanyahu will be unwilling to cave to, meanwhile the Israeli public will tire of the conservative unwillingness to "join the world" or in this case, bow to US demands, shifting the power to the left? Just a hope, a possible glimmer of a "way out."

Israelis here are pissed about having to bow to US demands. As they should be. As if the US knows from peace.
But for now, with these silly politics of back-and-forth nothings, hopefully the US can force the conditions for negotiation.

I would like to wish each one of you great freedom from the things which tug at your mind and weigh down your soul.
May the time of liberation sweep you adrift:
May your coming out of Egypt offer you greater meaning than you could ever have imagined! Even when it's hard.

Love,
Jacob

Feel free to follow the trial updates on the Rachel Corrie Foundation website: http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org
J Street has no shortage of armchair activism you can participate in. http://jstreet.org/

Sleep will take me away rather soon, and in a day or so a magnificent horizontal metal building will speedily fling me into Germany where I will spend my next shabbat, and be back in Portland for Pesach.
Start making your plans now to intersect with me in Israel/Palestine next winter!

RedSolid > Writings > Israel/Palestine Writings > 2010 > F: Final Tea