Let’s begin with nice things, shall we?
We’re going to take a quick walk through a little town called Taybeh, a small town of only about 2000 people. The community is unique in the West Bank in that it’s an entirely Christian population. One of the great things about that, is that alcohol is allowed, and not just allowed, here in Taybeh is where they brew the best beer in the entire Holy Land! On top of that, they have their own winery which also produces some great products, which is conveniently built over a spring which the Palestinians here have complete control over, so the state of Israel can’t hamper their production.
Behold, some wine barrels and a shot of the brewery!
Like so many places in the Middle East, there’s a ruined church here named after St. George. It seems as though almost every city or town has something named after St. George, who is called Al-Khader, “The Green One”, in Arabic. As I was told by the lovely woman who walked me and several others through this place, many peoples respected St. George. He was revered for his nobility and fighting prowess, making him an easy man to respect. Strong, just, and an alleged slayer of dragons. So, because his fame was appreciated far and wide, when erecting a church in a potentially hostile environment people would name it after St. George to dissuade incoming enemies from destroying it.
However, when the Persians came through this land in the early 7th century they didn’t have the same reverence for old St. George. Hence, the church you’re about to look through is clearly in ruins.
This town has some old buildings, maybe not ancient, but old enough to give us a glimpse of how houses were designed. In the upcoming photographs we’ll look inside an old house dating as far back as the 3rd to 2nd century. You’ll see some paraphernalia from the period, and also a glimpse of the cave-like area beneath the main room, where animals would’ve been kept.
Take note of the windows near the top of the room. This is of particular interest for any of you who are familiar with the following bible story:
“And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.””
- Mark 2:1-5
When you look at the hole in the side of the wall, it is clearly not the roof, but a window. It’s possible that this is the way they would’ve let the Paralytic into the home. It’s not for sure, as it’s also possible that the house could’ve had a different style of roof (like wood instead of concrete), but my understanding is that this house is nearly as old as the time of Christ, so it’s quite possible that this gives us an insight into what the writer known to us as Mark was trying to relate.
A fun fact about this town is that the name of the city during the ancient Israelite period was Ephraim. The character Ephraim was a descendent of Joseph who received a major blessing by his grandfather Jacob/Israel, and in biblical prophecy the name Ephraim is often used synonymously, or in place of, the northern Kingdom of Israel.
The definition of the name Ephraim means “Fruitful”. This isn’t too far off from the current name of the town, Taybeh, which means “The Goodly”, which was given many years later by one of the Muslim rulers (Saladin, I believe). The land is still fruitful, and as I mentioned, produces some “goodly” beverages.
Another fun fact about Taybeh, being in that it’s biblical Ephraim, is that this is where Jesus and his disciples stayed to rest when the Pharisees set out to kill him after he raised Lazarus from the dead. I can see why he would chill out here. It’s a very nice place, and its even likely that they brewed delicious wine back then as well! (See John 11:54)
As with many plots of land here in the West Bank, one of the problems faced by the inhabitants of the town has to do with their inherited land being annexed by the Israeli state. There is a law in Israel that any land in the West Bank that lays dormant for more than 10 years can be taken for settlements. The state offers money to the owners of the land, but that’s kind of a slap in the face. For one, families prefer to have their land more than money, but even more frustrating is that if they accept money from the state then their neighbouring Palestinians will see them as selling their land to the Israelis, which is treason, and committing treason is grounds for being hanged. So basically, Israel takes the land, and the owners are stuck. Maybe that will add another dimension to your understanding of the frustration and bitterness that Palestinians feel towards the settlements.
Here’s a couple more shots of this quaint little town for you to digest before we get into discussing the liberal and politically charged city of Ramallah.
Ramallah, as I was told, means God’s Hill. The word Ram, or Rama, is the Aramaic word for hill, and being in that the Christians who founded the city spoke Arabic, they used the Arabic word for God; Allah.
The oldest houses here date from around the 16th century, when the city was founded with a majority Christian population. They resemble the same style as the ones in Taybeh, where an entire family would share one central room above a lower floor where animals may have been kept. The houses are made of thick stone walls, which keeps the interior warm in winter and cool in the summer. Bathrooms are located outside of the house.
Below are a couple pics from one of these houses, which have been opened to the public by a man who’s family used to live in one of them. He has them set up as a kind of heritage museum, so you can see some more paraphernalia in the lower part of the house.
The home itself resides near the old city, which is where most of the cool pubs are. Being in that the city has Christian roots, alcohol is allowed. It’s very strange actually, the core of the new city is more conservative and Islamic, but as I turned the corner to the pub district, before entering the old city, the feeling of being in the Middle East quickly vanished and I could’ve sworn I had entered into Europe. But that’s enough about beer and liberal living. It’s time to discuss the heavier issues here.
These days Ramallah functions as the capital city of Palestine. Yasser Arafat spent his last years here, under siege by the Israelis. There is now a museum built over his home, and next to the museum is where the current PA government buildings are. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, as Yasser Arafat was much beloved by the people, whereas his successor Mahmoud Abbas and the PA are despised.
I was on my way to see the Yasser Arafat museum when I was approached by a guy who convinced me to come for a quick walk through one of the refugee camps in the city centre. Refugee camps in the West Bank aren’t what you picture when you think of a camp. A more accurate word to describe them would be slums.
Because the inhabitants originally lived in tents that were huddled close to each other, when they began to build their homes out of concrete they did it very organically, which unfortunately meant there wasn’t any street planning. As a result, the houses are incredibly close to each other, with windows facing walls that sit only a few feet away. The people here have to build vertically, as they aren’t allowed to build outwards; that is to say, to take up more land or real estate.
Here in Ramallah the situation of the refugees confuses me greatly. The PA doesn’t allow them to hold the jobs of regular Palestinians, because for some reason they don’t have Palestinian citizenship. Why? I asked my guide this, and he seemed as confused about it as I was. But what I understood goes something like this:
Those living in refugee camps were born in Israel, and allegedly have it stamped on their birth certificates. They don’t want to accept Palestinian citizenship because that would close the door on their hopes of returning to their homes, but they aren’t welcome or allowed to return to their villages in Israel. So the PA doesn’t give them the rights of Palestinians, and Israel, of course, doesn’t accept either.
The name of this camp is called Qalandiya. It’s unlike other camps. Here, they have guns. Here, the atmosphere can change in a heartbeat, and Palestinians themselves tell me that they’re careful about walking through it.
Not more than a month before I arrived at here, Israeli soldiers had entered the camp, looking for the perpetrators of an attack on Israeli citizens which left a number of Jews dead. (The unfortunate repercussions to that particular incident were that a couple of teenagers from one of the settlements hurled stones at a Palestinian car, killing one of the riders, a mother of several children.)
Here you can see the thin streets in between buildings in the camp. The other picture shows a spot where the militant refugees used to escape from incoming Israeli soldiers, until the soldiers barricaded the way. Beside the ugly grey building is a messy looking fence, which has a stone wall behind it. You can’t tell from the picture, but there are more refugee homes behind it.
While I was in Jericho, and later Bethlehem, I learned that the refugees there have it better. They are allowed to work, and one guy I spoke with even works with the UN inside Jerusalem. This has been the case with most camps that I’ve visited. In Bethlehem the inhabitants of camps work regular jobs in the city, and as one guy told me, he thought that because there are so many Christians in Bethlehem there’s a more prevelant attitude related to giving refugees equal opportunity.
What I was told before visiting Palestine is that the Arab nations are happy to keep the Palestinians as refugees in order to lambast Israel. Maybe this is the case in other countries, but here in Palestine the story on the ground has little to do with other nations or their influence. Refugees in Palestine are so close to their homes, that even to the detriment of their lives they refuse to give up the dream of one day returning to their former property.
I want to say that they refuse to give up hope, but this isn’t the case for their children. As I was led around the camp by my guide, a resident of Qalandiya, he told me a story of being in jail in Israel with the cousin of a young man who pulled a knife on an Israeli, and was subsequently shot to death. My guide tells me that he asked the cousin why he would do this, to which the young man told him simply, “we want to die”.
Understand the mindset. Better to die a “Shahid”, a martyr, than to live in hopelessness.
For the children of refugees in Qalandiya, there is little to no hope of building a life. There’s basically only one organization that offers them food and education, the controversial UNRWA. Yasser Arafat had a heart for them, and when he was alive they were cared for, but Mahmoud Abbas and his government take money for refugees and distribute it amongst themselves and their families. The people of Ramallah, Jericho, and other cities often take to the streets in protest of the PA for their constant corruption.
The other major organization that used to support, feed, and care for the refugees is Hamas. This being said, every time my guide mentioned Hamas, he said it quietly. Fatah, which runs the PA, arrests and imprisons anyone with ties to Hamas. If you go to mosque and wear a beard, you’re suspected of being Hamas. This puts you in danger of being detained and questioned, if not worse. Seriously. There aren’t a lot of guys walking around Ramallah with beards.
This, amongst other reasons, explains why Hamas was democratically elected by the people in Gaza back in 2007. Palestinian Muslims who don’t currently live lives of relative wealth would likely all vote for Hamas if given the chance. While we in the West have a demonic vision of Hamas in our minds, many Palestinians know them as the arm of the faithful. (Of course, I am in no way endorsing Hamas. Only laying out the opposing viewpoints for your consideration.)
While the affection for Hamas is violently suppressed, the love for Arafat is everywhere. In the West we know Arafat as a dishonest, aggressive leader, who earned himself the unofficial title, “Father of Modern Terrorism”. In Palestine, he’s a hero who brought the plight of a nation to the world stage, and spoke words of rights and resistance reminiscent of William Wallace in Braveheart. He was the beloved hero of an oppressed people, who fought for their rights to self determination. Are they wrong to see him this way? Did he not make great strides for the Palestinian cause? (Again, I’m not endorsing - just laying out a point of view.)
After leaving the camp I visited the Yasser Arafat Museum, and was told that I would find some answers there to the questions that I’ve had regarding the smouldering issues leading up to the 2nd intafada. The only insight I found had to do with the unrealized hopes and dreams which were supposed to materialize from the Oslo accords. The most important part of the accords for the Palestinians was the dubiously worded section that suggested they would see the beginning of their own state in no more than 5 years. See the photo below.
When Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated his work died with him. Effectively, his assassin was rewarded with the result he had hoped for - Judea and Samaria, known to us as the West Bank, would continue to remain under Israeli control.
What’s interesting is that the economic situation before the intafada was WAY better than it is today. Jews and Arabs crossed the checkpoints to visit each other’s cities, settlers employed their neighbors, Israel employed Palestinians, and families who had fled the country many years before were returning to the land because the situation was better. No joke! I met a man who’s family returned here in 1997 from Saudi Arabia because the situation was good, and they were ready to come back and make a living on their old property near Jenin.
Something that confuses me is why there were still so many suicide bombings at the time. I know a woman who’s cousin died with 56 others on a bus that was destroyed in 1996. Even after the Oslo accords there were still many violent rejections of the Israelis, and it has remained the case that without certain demands being met (such as ownership of Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital, and the right of return for refugees), the Palestinian people and their representatives will not be willing to accept any peace deals with Israel.
So when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount in 2000, and refused to remove his shoes in one of the places sacred to Muslims, a major uprising was primed to ignite. For the Palestinians, this was enough to generate a violent response which ultimately led to another war, many deaths, and the erection of the separation wall.
Nothing of what I’ve written even begins to scratch the surface of the underlining issues regarding Islam and Judaism, but that’s intentional. Most of the politically charged people that I’ve spoken with avoid the topic entirely. Why? Maybe because it’s simpler if we can pretend that all religions are the same. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been burned by bad leaders throwing around the name of God for political gains. Maybe it’s because we don’t agree with what God says is righteous. Maybe it’s because what’s written in the Bible and Qu’ran are ultimately at odds with each other, and being honest with the text defeats any dreams of peace.
Or maybe it’s just because trying to know what’s true is difficult when we live in a world built on lies...
If only the things we can relate to with our five senses were the sum of all that is. Then we could relax just a little, and figure it all out through the superficial avenues of beer and politics.
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