Palestinians today mark 64 years since the Nakba (catastrophe). They are not commemorating a historical event that has long passed, or a sad moment in their past. Many of the Palestinian people are living the reality of the Nakba today. The pain of the open wound has not healed.

Sixty-four years after the Nakba, Palestinians still have no state and no equality. Refugee camps still exist all over the world and a majority of Palestinians live in the diaspora. Against their will, the Nakba divided the Palestinian people between Palestine and diaspora, between Gaza and the West Bank, between those who hold a refugee identification card and who don’t.

The Nakba has a dual meaning today. On one hand, it is about the hundreds of villages that were razed in 1948 and the hundreds of thousands of refugees who lost their homes. I remember taking a group to Qubeibeh, a Palestinian village on the outskirts of Hebron. Qubeibeh was destroyed in 1948. On the trip, I asked two Palestinians who lived there before the war to join us. They walked around the destroyed village telling the stories of each house, each family, the gossip of the town, funny and sad anecdotes. The tears streaming down their faces were tears of longing and passion, about loss and love.

Palestinian school at a refugee camp in 1948 (photo:flickr/gnuckx)

However, this is only one aspect of the Nakba. Palestinians today feel that the Nakba didn’t end in ’48. They suffer the Nakba daily – the separation of families, continuous confiscations of land and the settlements choking every Palestinian village and town.

The Nakba is the present as much as it is the past. To my parents who built their house in Bethany, which is five kilometers outside Jerusalem, the Nakba is as real today as it was 64 years ago. But my parents aren’t allowed to live in their house if they want to keep their Jerusalem ID. They must rent an apartment in Jerusalem. Yet the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement is walking distance from my parent’s home in Bethany. It is perfectly “legal” for Israeli Jews to live there, but not for my parents. Every time my father travels through checkpoints to water the garden he planted and to take care of the empty house – while not being allowed to spend a night there –  he relives the Nakba again. When my aunt, who was born in Jerusalem but lives in Hebron, cannot come and visit us in Jerusalem because she is a “West Banker,” we live the Nakba again.

This year, Nakba commemoration is no different than in previous years. Despite many Israeli historians whose research shows that the Nakba is not a figment of the Palestinian imagination, but a real tragedy, many Israelis prefer to ignore it or not believe it. They prefer to cover their eyes and close their ears when it comes to the Palestinian story, the Palestinian pain and the Palestinian narrative.

I understand that it is hard to learn about the narrative of ”your enemy” and the suffering of that enemy, especially if it is due to your country’s practices. I remember having to walk this uncomfortable path and learn about the Israeli and Jewish narrative. At first everything in me rejected the idea and refused to sympathize. However, if peace is ever to be realized between the Palestinians and the Israelis, this must happen. Dr. Sami Adwan, Dr. Dan Bar-on and Dr. Eyal Naveh have undertaken the breakthrough work of presenting the two narratives in a joint book published recently, titled “Side by side.” The importance of recognizing the story of the other is crucial to any real peace. This is true for both Israelis and Palestinians.

However, the reality paints a different picture. The Israeli government not only ignores Palestinian history, but is also trying to force Palestinians to forget their own narrative, by forbidding commemoration of the Nakba. Are they so ignorant that they believe a law can strip a person of his identity, memories and passions?  Jews who came to Palestine  boasted about their longing for the “holy land” for thousands of years. How can such people ignore the longing and love of the land of many Palestinians who lived on that land just 64 years ago, many of whom cannot even visit anymore?

While Nakba day is about mourning the destruction of historical Palestine and facing a continued unjust reality, it is also about the future. The Palestinians on this day look ahead and try to figure out a way for Nakba Day to become about the past and not the present. We cannot change the past, but we can make tomorrow different. Nakba Day is also about finding a way to bring peace to a people that lived in catastrophe and long for peace, freedom and security.

Read also:
Rightists disrupt Nakba ceremony at Tel Aviv University
Why the inconvenient truths of the Nakba must be recognized
Israel’s n**** word: efforts to teach it, and attempts to erase it

This high-profile visit to Jerusalem was thus seen as a violation of this boycott policy, and has stirred much debate. Even the late Coptic pope, Shenouda III, forbade Christian Egyptians from traveling to Jerusalem.

The mufti’s visit comes only a few weeks after Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president and chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, called upon Muslims at the recent Al-Quds Conference in Doha to visit Jerusalem. He argued that such a visit would reinforce the city’s importance to Muslims and Arabs all over the world, and show support for its residents. In his speech, Abbas argued that visiting Jerusalem is not normalization, asking, “Would visiting a prisoner constitute normalization with the prison guard?”

An American group meets with Victor Batarseh, mayor of Bethlehem (photo: MEJDI TOURS)

However, 45 years after Israel first occupied East Jerusalem, I am still unable to understand how boycotting the Palestinians in East Jerusalem is beneficial to the Palestinian people. Muslims around the world expect Palestinians in East Jerusalem to stand firm, but they leave them alone in the larger Arab context. They are expected to survive and remain steadfast, to hold onto their residency in the city, while socially and economically they consistently face increasing challenges.

The argument for boycotting Jerusalem is one of the weakest I’ve ever heard. Prophet Muhammad led Muslims after the Hudaiba reconciliation to perform the first “Umrah” - a Muslim ritual in Mecca – while under non-Muslim rule. The Ka’ba, which is the holiest Muslim site, was surrounded by idols, and yet Muslims were permitted by the prophet to worship there. So how do Muslim leaders justify boycotting Jerusalem because of the occupation? I doubt they can back their decision with a religious or historical precedent. The well-known Muslim hadith about spiritual travel says, “One should travel only for visiting three Masajid (Mosques): Masjid-ul-Haram (Mecca), Masjid-ul-Aqsa (Jerusalem), and this (my) Mosque (at Medina).”

American Imam Yusuf Salim with an interfaith group at the Dome of the Rock (photo: MEJDI TOURS)

There is also a practical consequence for the Muslim and Christian Arab boycott of Jerusalem. When western Christians and Jewish tourists visit the city to take in its significant cultural and religious attractions, they are more likely to stay in hotels in the more developed area of West Jerusalem, with better infrastructure and amenities, than to stay in East Jerusalem. They are also more likely to spend their money shopping in West Jerusalem and throughout Israel, as opposed to spreading the economic impact of their expenditures to Bethlehem, East Jerusalem or Ramallah.

The truth is that Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank need the visits from the Arab and Muslim world, not only for solidarity and support, but also for their economic impact. Tourism has always been one of the main income generators for these communities, and the boycott hurts the Palestinian economy, while Jewish and western Christian pilgrims just bolster the Israeli economy. As someone who brings hundreds of tourists to East Jerusalem annually through MEJDI enterprise, I know how valuable the tourism industry is in supporting the local Palestinian community.  In effect, not coming to Jerusalem hurts the Palestinians and makes it harder for them to remain in their native land. Those who refuse to come to Jerusalem and support the local community give a blank check for the Jewish extremists to take hold of the city.

An Arab proverb says, “Far from sight far from heart.” Muslims and Arabs around the world have little understanding of living conditions and struggles of Palestinians in Jerusalem. About half of the settlers who moved to the West Bank since 1967 are located in East Jerusalem. This proves that the Arab world has led a failed policy. Continuing this policy reflects corrupt ideology and decisions based in emotion and detached from reality. Perhaps the boycott is due to the fact that it is easier to stay away and turn a blind eye. However, if more Arabs come to Jerusalem, they might be reminded of their responsibility and be confronted with reality, rather than dreams and myths.

Palestinian guide Husam Jubran giving a tour to Americans in Bethlehem (photo: MEJDI TOURS)

This is why the controversial visit by Egypt’s Grand Mufti is important, because it challenges the widely accepted discourse, and rejects the notion that visiting Jerusalem is a “sin.” The mufti was right in saying on his Twitter account (Arabic) that this symbolic visit was meant to show support to the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, he has not been spared from criticism and many Muslim leaders in Egypt have openly criticized his visit. The political religious groups in Egypt have launched a campaign against him and his visit, and are calling for his immediate dismissal from his position.

On the one hand, I appreciate the care and attention given to Palestine, but in reality, this position is catastrophic to Palestinians here. Boycotting Palestinian cities because of the occupation is not logical anymore. Israel is not the one suffering from this boycott; it is  Palestinians who are bearing the brunt.

May I ask those calling for boycott – have such position ever been taken before? Did Muslim leaders stop visiting Iraq and Afghanistan when the U.S. Army invaded? Why not boycott countries that were or are run by dictators? How would the community react if the oppressor under scrutiny was an Arab or a Muslim? Would visiting the land of this ruler legitimize his rule? How does this policy apply to Syria, where many Muslim leaders have dined and convened, while there are massacres happening? How about Libya, where the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi has always been known to be a murderer and corrupt leader? Why is Jerusalem being singled out and blacklisted for travel during the occupation? In effect, that position weakens Palestinians and their struggle for existence. I wonder if they also think we, the Palestinians of East Jerusalem, should leave until the end of the occupation. This mindset alone will not grant us freedom.

Over the past few days, I traveled to Haifa, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem. I asked over a 100 Palestinians about their thoughts on whether or not they want Arabs and Muslims to come and visit now, or whether they should wait until the end of the occupation. The vast majority of the people I met considered the position of those who refused to come as irrational and self-righteous. It doesn’t support Palestinians, but rather contributes to political polemics and fulfills the desires of those who deny Muslim or Christian Arabs the connection to their holy land. To my Muslim and Arab brethren, I urge you to reconsider this position.

Ma’an News suggested that Fayyad didn’t want to meet with Netanyahu on the same day that 1,000 Palestinian prisoners launched a hunger strike. However Alquds Alarabi reported that the real reason behind the refusal to take the letter is that Fayyad was not consulted on the content of the letter.

The conflict between Abbas and Fayyad is seen as part of a larger disagreement between Palestinian leaders over what the strategy regarding Israel should  be. Alquds Al-Arabi reported that Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary general of the PLO, supported Fayyad in his refusal to deliver the letter. Abed Rabbo was also dissatisfied that Fatah leaders formed the letter content only.

Abbas and Fayyad had major disagreements in the past. For example, Fayyad was one of few Palestinian leaders who opposed the PLO decision to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state last September. In general, since Fayyad’s appointment as prime minister, he has worked on building Palestinian institutions and focused on internal governing responsibilities while other issues such as negotiations with Israel and negotiations with Hamas were headed by President Abbas.

Fayyad’s prior disagreements with Abbas over strategy, negotiations and the UN move didn’t seem to prevent the two from continuing their partnership. It is unlikely that Abbas will fire Fayyad at this moment especially in face of the reconciliation with Hamas being stalled.  However, Since Fayyad’s rise to power, many Fatah leaders have seen him unfavorably and might use this incident to lobby for his dismissal and replacement with a Fatah official.

American Jews hear much about Palestinians but many have not had the chance to meet them directly and ask about their views, beliefs and passions. These panels are important if we are to correct stereotypes about the Palestinian community. Even lefty Jews must not just speak about us or “learn” about us, but speak directly with us and learn about our lives from us.

Therefore, it is essential for more Palestinians to come to these kinds of events. I know that some Palestinians criticized us for speaking at J Street. However, shifting public opinion and spreading awareness about the Palestinian cause will not happen without engaging Jewish and Christian communities.

I have attended the J Street conferences for the past 3 years and have met many Jewish, Arab and international activists who work tirelessly to end the occupation. I am not always in agreement with J Street. I spoke at the panel of my disappointment at J Street’s decision not to support the September 2011 Palestinian statehood bid at the UN. Last year, I wrote about feeling that J Street wasn’t open to hearing other voices, and too focused on the two-state solution. However, I was encouraged to see some changes this year.  J Street was willing to invite speakers who do not support the two-state solution or didn’t fit neatly within their political views. For an organization that supports an open conversation within the Jewish community, it is vital that they don’t silence those who disagree with them.

J Street’s efforts are remarkable, but it is organization swimming against the current. The two-state solution is losing momentum on every side. Many Israelis see no harm in the current status quo. Palestinians are shifting toward the one-state solution and America has not been leading the peace process for over a decade. The challenges before J Street and two-state solution supporters are monumental.

The Arab West Report has focused on misleading publications about Muslim-Christian relations. It’s cheif editor, Dr. Cornelis Hulsman, spoke two weeks ago to a group of students in Cairo from the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution of George Mason University, where I work. He lamented current journalistic practices in Egypt, which do not investigate accusations of hate crimes. His organization tracks media reports on Muslim-Christian incidents, and sends investigators to verify accuracy and biases. They found that many conflicts that do not originate as faith-based get branded as religious conflicts without thorough investigation.

But perhaps what gives the impression that Christians and Muslims are in a constant struggle is the lack of positive news about Muslim-Christian relations. After the death of the Coptic Pope, Shenouda III,  The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported on Wagdy Ghoneim, a radical Imam preaching against Christians and the pope. The Arab West Report pointed out that numerous Muslim Imams spoke positively about the pope and of Marshall Tantawi’s decision to give Christian government employees three days off to mourn Pope Shenouda III.

A Muslim Woman giving water to Christians in Egypt (Photo: facebook)

The picture above  was posted on the Egyptian revolutionary  ”Kolena Khalid Sa’id” Facebook page. The picture shows a Muslim woman with a hijab lowering a bucket of water to Christians mourning the death of Pope Shenouda III. According to the page, she did this for several hours. This woman presents hope and the potential future of Christian-Muslim relations. Publicizing this woman’s action will rob the extremists of their legitimacy and strengthen coexistence efforts in Egypt.

George Mason University students had many other meetings with Christians and Muslims, and both sides spoke positively about  Christian-Muslim relations. The group met also with Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders. Mohammad, a Salafi, surprised the class by claiming that Christians and Salafis were equally persecuted under Mubarak’s regime. He accused the former government of limiting the freedom of worship to both groups. Mohammad’s vision for Egypt includes freedom for all, with security for Christians and Muslims alike.

But Mohammad didn’t brush off existing problems, and admitted that some clerics have taken extreme positions. He pointed out a Salafi cleric who spoke against soccer, proclaiming the game as forbidden in Islam. As a response, a group of young Salafis organized a joint soccer game with Christians to protest the religious ruling. The game proved that Christians and Muslims can stand together against extremism, and that they are not natural enemies.

Christians and Muslims in the Arab world are facing a rapidly changing political environment. There will be radical groups that want to sever the relationship between Christians and Muslims. However, on both sides, many are working tirelessly and together to challenge these attempts. Christians and Muslims have lived side by side for centuries and have gone through many similar challenges. Coexistence will again triumph over any attempt to divide them.

[T]he members of the Florida House of Representatives commend Israel for its cordial and mutually beneficial relationship with the United States and with the State of  Florida and support Israel in its legal, historical, moral, and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon the entirety of its own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others, and that peace can be afforded the region only through a whole and united Israel governed under one law for all people.

The bill’s bottom line is not that different from what many Palestinian activists have been calling for: one law for all people in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. But what is ironic about this resolution is the absence of Pro-Israel groups’ rage against it. When Palestinians advocate for a one-state solution, they are quickly accused of plotting to destroy the state of Israel.  Florida’s House and Senate are using Bible references, denying the occupation, and proclaiming Israel’s right over the “unified land to endorse a one-state solution and there’s  no backlash.

Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti Defamation league (ADL) said in a recent op-ed condemning Palestinian activists advocating a one-state solution:  “Let’s be frank. The term “one-state solution” is a euphemism for the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel.” However, the ADL and Foxman didn’t give attention or condemn the Florida house resolution.

Perhaps Foxman and other supporters of Israel realized the stakes in clashing with those in support of the bill. After all many Evangelical Christians support for Israel is based on “Biblical interpretations” that sees Jewish control of the whole land as a must and compromising that belief that would be heresy. Also, this wave of support for a one-state solution is not limited to Florida. Last January the Republican National Committee passed a resolution similar to Florida’s bill.

J Street, a Jewish American lobby group advocating for the two-state solution realized that this is a major shift in America and tweeted that the resolution “confirms the decades-long bipartisan consensus on a two-state solution is shattered.”

However the wind of change regarding the one-state solution is also storming Israel itself. There are a growing number of Israelis talking about alternatives to the two-state solution. Some settlers, nationalists and even politicians are now openly talking about the one-state solution. Israeli Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin, a leading member of the Likud told my colleague Noam Shezif that he supports one state:

There is a conflict in the Middle East between two entities, and they’re both right, each in their own way. This is our only home, and therefore all kinds of solutions can be found. One could establish a system in one state in which Judea and Samaria are jointly held. The Jews would vote for a Jewish parliament and the Palestinians for an Arab parliament, and we would create a system in which life is shared. But these are things that will take time. Anyone who thinks that there are shortcuts is talking nonsense. As long as Islamic fundamentalism thinks that Jews are forbidden to settle in the Holy Land, we have a problem. It will not be resolved by an agreement, even if we obtain a promise from all the Arab states that it will be fine.

So if people say to me: Decide − one state or division of the Land of Israel, I say that division is the bigger danger.

For the two-state solution supporters, time is not on their side. More Palestinians are losing faith in the Palestinian Authority and Hamas promises of an independent state. They don’t see the 20-year peace process to have brought them any closer to independence. Many Palestinians see the last decade of negotiations to have only worsened their life conditions. Facts on the ground are changing perceptions for Palestinians, Israelis, and foreigners alike. Time is running out and chances of creating a Palestinian state are becoming slimmer day after day. Some doubt that we might have crossed into the no turning point. Others like J Street and the American Task Force on PAlestine  believe there is still hope for two-state solution. If they are right, they have very little time to make it happen.

 Read also:

Republican party appears to officially back one-state solution
Settler MK Uri Ariel call for one state
At Harvard conference, a one-state vision Israelis can live with

Yesterday, Pastor Chuck Kopp of the Baptist Church in West Jerusalem woke up to find his church vandalized. The Jerusalem Post reported that police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld suspects that Jewish extremists are responsible for the act. According to the Post, Rosenfeld said, “Officers are investigating a strong possibility of a (Jewish) nationalist motive, but no one has been apprehended yet.”

Cars that were parked outside the church were also vandalized, and their tires slashed.  Graffiti left on the church walls included the famous term “price tag,” which has been used by settler extremists in attacks on mosques in the last few years. Other graffiti in Hebrew reads, “Death to Christianity,” “Jesus son of Mary, the whore.”

February 20: Anti-Christian graffiti found on walls of the Baptist Narkis Street Congregation in West Jerusalem, reading, "Jesus is the son of a whore" (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler)

The church actually shares a parking lot with a synagogue, and ironically, one of the cars that had its tires slashed and was spray painted with graffiti belongs to a congregant of the synagogue.

The Baptist Church includes a number of Messianic believers, and the leadership has historically had connections to top Israeli political officials.

Jerusalem, Feburary 20: Anti-Christian graffiti found on cars, and their tires slashed at the Baptist Narkis Street congregation in West Jerusalem. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler)

The “price tag” radicals are well known to police as products of the most extremist settlements. The irony in this case is that right-wing Christian support for settlers is a major source of income for even the most radical settlements, constituting a thorn in the side of both the American government and the Israeli military for years now:

A New York Times examination of public records in the United States and Israel identified at least 40 American groups that have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the last decade. The money goes mostly to schools, synagogues, recreation centers and the like – legitimate expenditures under the tax law. But it has also paid for more legally questionable commodities: housing as well as guard dogs, bulletproof vests, rifle scopes and vehicles to secure outposts deep in occupied areas. “I am not happy about it,” a senior military commander in the West Bank responded when asked about contributions to a radical religious academy whose director has urged soldiers to defy orders to evict settlers. Kimberly Troup, director of the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities’ American office, said that while her charity’s work is humanitarian, “the more that we build, the more that we support and encourage their right to live in the land, the harder it’s going to be for disengagement, for withdrawal.”

So now we have Christian funds from the United States that have effectively supported the misguided second and third generation settler youth who are actively attacking churches and referring to Jesus as a son of a whore. If this is what Pastor John Hagee and other radical Christians intended, then it suggests a rather bizarre theology of interfaith love and care. It seems in reality that these funds are intended to foment conflict, to promote a confrontational, apocalyptic and messianic end to the State of Israel.

Is this a pro-Israel Christian position? Are these the allies that Jews and Israelis really want? Would it not be better to stand in solidarity with a church that was attacked, which exists side by side with a synagogue in Jerusalem in respect and mutual toleration? Even better, would it not be wise to embrace and support interfaith peace and tolerance?

This is the choice that is facing Christians who love Israel, and Jews who welcome Christian support for Israel. It is the commonsense approach to the interests and values of both religious communities, Jewish and Christian, that they support only those forces on the ground that are fostering coexistence and nonviolent forms of engagement and even disagreement.

The strange culture of “price tag” Judaism is a sad stepchild of the occupation. It will ultimately hurt Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, and it will compromise the viability of any state that Jews want to live in and feel safe in. This strange new reality of Christian funds going to support attacks on Christian churches is something that should cause some real soul searching, both among Jews and Christians.

Pastor Chuck Kopp mentioned that following the attack on his church, the synagogue next door gave flowers to the congregation.  That is worth remembering. Also, the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued the following condemnation:

The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land condemns the acts of desecration of the Baptist Church in West Jerusalem this morning. The Council calls upon people from all faiths – Christians, Jews and Muslims – to respect all Holy Places and sites for all three religions, and strongly discourages extremists’ behaviour that exploits or involves religion in a political/territorial dispute. In the name of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, The Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs at the PA, and The Heads of the Local Churches of the Holy Land.

It is also worth recalling the parallel verses in the New Testament from Peter, and from the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Psalms.

“For whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil, and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.” “Who is the person who desires life, who loves the days of life to see only good? Guard your mouth from evil, and your lips from deceit. Veer away from evil and do only good, seek and pursue only peace.”

The New Testament and the Hebrew Bible got it right here. When will today’s Christians and Jews get it right?

For more pictures of the church vandalization click here

Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin is director of George Mason University’s Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and co-owns MEJDI Tours with Aziz Abu Sarah

Even politicians couldn’t ignore his existence anymore. President Abbas was reportedly making calls on behalf of Adnan to Russia, China, Britain and the European Union. Hamas Prime Minster Ismail Haniyeh led a massive protest in Gaza and made calls to the Egyptian government asking it to intervene on behalf of Adnan.

Adnan has the potential to inspire the masses and breathe life into the indifferent majority. After all, it was one man called Bouazizi who inspired thousands in Tunisia and caused a regime change. The struggle of Adnan according to what he told his lawyer is not about himself but as he told his lawyer, he wants his hunger strike to generate an awakening for the Palestinian people and specifically Palestinian prisoners. He doesn’t consider his hunger strike a tool to save himself but rather an example to inspire a nation that has been under military occupation for decades.

However, half way through writing my post, I realized I was missing the point of Adnan’s hunger strike. I asked myself, will writing another article make my conscience clear? Have I done everything to help Adnan and the Palestinian prisoners? Forty percent of Palestinian men have been in prison at one point in their lives. Adnan’s story is the story of all Palestinians and the struggle of Adnan is the struggle of all Palestinians. So, what should I do?

I remembered that two weeks ago, after I published an article about Khader Adnan, someone from Tel Aviv emailed me and asked  about suggestions of what she should do to help Adnan.

Quickly I responded. I told her that emails, faxes and statements would make no difference. I suggested that Israelis who want to help should join Adnan’s hunger strike. Israelis might not care about a Palestinian doing hunger strike, but if Israelis join him, that will bring much more attention to his cause. After all, I believe that the best way for Israelis to help make a difference is by fully joining Palestinians not by words but by actions.

Today, I realized that I couldn’t write about Khader Adnan with a full stomach. So, I am not eating in solidarity with Adnan. I talked to a few friends  and I was pleasantly surprised that many of them decided to join me.

I am convinced that those who want to help Khader Adnan and his cause, must first try to empathize with him, walk in his shoes, feel the pain of being hungry, at least for one day or one week. Last Friday all Palestinian prisoners joined Khader Adnan in his hunger strike. In different places in Palestine and the diaspora, groups of Palestinians are fasting in solidarity with Adnan.

I haven’t heard of any Israelis who joined Adnan in hunger strike but I hope there are some that weren’t reported or I haven’t heard of. So, if any of our readers, Jewish, Arab, Palestinian or Israeli are joining Adnan in his hunger strike, email me about your experience. Tell the world why you are standing with Adnan. The stories of those who refuse to stand aside watching injustices without lifting a finger might inspire many others to join in an action for justice and humanity.

In Israel, many simply brush away the issue of Palestinian prisoners by declaring them all to be terrorists. However, they may be surprised to learn that Khader Adnan has not been charged in court, but rather is presently in administrative detention.

There are some 300 Palestinians in Israeli jails under administrative arrest. This form of arrest can last for years without trial. The prisoners do not know what are they suspected of. While holding prisoners indefinitely contravenes the 4th Geneva Convention, you won’t find international leaders calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners, as they called to free Gilad Schalit from the hands of the Hamas government in Gaza.

But even those who do end up in front of a judge find themselves in military courts where the judge, the prison guard and the prosecutor wear the same uniform. They quickly learn there is no hope for justice.

The story of Khader Adnan, who launched his hunger strike in prison 52 days ago, is not unique. A hunger strike is one of the few tools that Palestinian prisoners can use against the injustice they face in Israel’s penal system. Last October, 2,000 Palestinians launched a hunger strike against prison conditions. Khader Adnan, however, has become the face of the Palestinian prisoners’ dignity. Posters of his likeness have become common, with statements like, “My dignity is more important than food,” or ” For every gram you lose from your weight, we gain a thousand grams in our dignity.” Khader Adnan has become a Palestinian symbol against administrative arrest and against the norm of humiliating Palestinian prisoners.

Prayer in support of Adnan, Palestinian prisoners, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 03.02.2012 (photo: Anne Paq / Activestills)

However the price for resisting the prison administration is high. Many times those who engage in hunger strikes are punished with solitary confinement, through other physical means, or they are simply ignored.

What Khader Adnan is protesting brings painful memories to me. I remember Israeli soldiers breaking into my home to arrest my older brother Tayseer (18 years old at the time) on suspicion of throwing stones. He was also held for interrogation without anyone knowing his whereabouts until the Red Cross informed us 18 days later about his prison location. A year later, Tayseer died as a result of torture in prison. I remember that I was allowed to visit him once before being told that visitation is no longer allowed. The conditions in which Palestinian prisoners are held are inhumane and unjust and the silence of the Israeli community and the international community is shameful.

The Shin Bet has been allowed by the Israeli High Court to use “moderate physical pressure” against Palestinian prisoners. In a paper written by lawyer Allegra Pacheco, she details some of the physical pressure permitted for use against Palestinian prisoners:

Shackling interrogees in contorted painful positions on a titled footstool (known as shabeh), chaining in bent positions to pipes protruding from the wall, tying or holding in painful stretching positions with hands raised behind the back on a table (qas’at a-tawla), forced exposure to extreme temperatures of cold or heat, forcing the interrogee with kicks and blows to bend forward on the tips of his toes with his hands handcuffed behind his back, (qambaz), .stretching over a backless chair causing enormous pressure on the stomach until vomiting begins.

All this in addition to subjecting the interrogee to blaring loud music 24 hours a day, sleep denial for days, and covering his head with a thick army sack for nearly the entire interrogation period. Enhanced moderate physical pressure includes body and head shaking -violently rattling the interrogee’s body and head until at times the interrogee falls unconscious. This last method has been linked to the death of Palestinian interrogee Harizat during his interrogation in the Russian Compound.

Twenty years after Tayseer’s murder, it hurts the same to see other families going through this experience. The conditions that killed Tayseer are still in practice, and receive very little attention.

Solidarity action in support of Palestinian prisoner Adnan, Gaza City, 05.02.2012 (photo: Anne Paq / Activestills)

Two days ago, Jalal Abu Khater published a call to help Khader Adnan. This call is for all – Palestinians, internationals and Israelis alike. Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets for abducted soldier Gilad Schalit’s freedom. It is time to open our eyes and bear witness to what many prefer not to see. The solution to this conflict is not to close our eyes from what is depressing or hard to look at, but rather to be willing to realize the gravity of the situation. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

I look at the Israeli community and see thousands who are willing to talk about justice, peace and dialogue. They went out in droves to call for the right of one Israeli soldier to freedom. Now, I ask myself – where are those Israelis when it comes to Palestinian freedom? Where are they when it comes to Palestinian rights in their prisons? Where are the justice seekers and morality preachers?

Read also:
Palestinian on 48th day of hunger strike chained to hospital bed
Palestinians jailed on secret charges based on secret evidence
Hunger strikes declared in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners
Military court: Protest organizer to remain in jail, indefinitely

Clashes in Issawiya, East Jerusalem on Dec 3, 2010 (photo: Mairav Zonszein)

Clashes erupted late Tuesday when the Israeli army entered the town in order to arrest a resident on charges of throwing stones. The arrest caused heightened tensions in the town and dozens of young residents gathered to confront the soldiers.

The clashes between the soldiers and the residents concentrated in Hai Abeid, which is downtown Issawiya, and continued until the early hours of the morning. According to witnesses, over a dozen Palestinians were injured. One of the wounded residents was hit with a rubber-coated bullet in his head and is currently in critical situation.

The Israeli border guard reported two injuries of Israeli soldiers who were taken to Hadassah hospital.

The army has deployed more soldiers to the area and the current situation is still tense.

Confrontations between the Israeli army and residents of Issawiya are very common, especially when the army enters the town. In the past two years dozens of residents have been injured and arrested and one child was killed from inhaling tear gas.

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Issawiya, a Jerusalem neighborhood behind concrete barricades