Contrasts and contradictions: two conversations

Two powerful conversations on Wednesday. One with a Zionist Jewish settler (settlements are illegal Jewish invasions of Palestinian land in the West Bank). The second with a Palestinian shepherd and community leader in Atuwani, a small Palestinian village near Ary’el’s illegal settlement.

Jewish settler:

“God calls all Jews back to the Promised Land. This is the Land of Israel. I want peace, but I don’t know what will bring peace. We have the obligation to protect ourselves, our children. When we know that someone is going to attack us, we need to kill first. This is from the oral Torah.”

“Only a very few Palestinians want peace, 5%. Arabs want all Jews to be killed. I carry a weapon. We have to protect ourselves. We have 2000 years of history of people wanting to kill us. Trust in God, yes, but we have to act.”

Atuwani resident:

“Since 1976, Israel has had a policy of evacuation, to drive us out of our land. We Palestinians in this area are simple peasants. Settlements started in 1980, on land taken from us. Settlements brought aggressive and violent settlers. They are Orthodox Jews who target all Palestinians with threats, injuries and even killings.”

“Two weeks ago, a settler attacked Palestinian on the road. He was riding his donkey, he was an old, sick man. Usually international observers [Christian Peacemaker Teams] watch the road. This settler was waiting until Mahmud was out of sight of CPT to attack him; they beat him, and stabbed him.”

“When a settler attacks a Palestinian, Israeli authorities say ‘he was masked, we don’t know who did it, there’s nothing we can do.’ But when a Palestinian attacks a settler, every man and boy in village is arrested.”

“We are in a new stage in our resistance. Before it was hidden. Now it’s more in view: legal and media focus on our non-violent direct action. Non-violent resistance is like a tree: it needs to be watered everyday. If you don’t, it will die. This is what we are doing. This for all who believe in peace and justice. You can make changes without violence.”

Why non-violence?, I ask. And he answers with this story.

“My biggest influence is my mother, she is 80. Eight years ago, when she was 72, she was attacked by settlers, they injured her badly. I was busy in a meeting; she was with the sheep. People came toward me screaming. I ran to where three settlers were beating up my mother on the ground. One armed settler yelled at me to go back. He pointed his gun at me and shot at me, at my feet…. For me as a human, seeing my mother being beaten, I couldn’t even think. I was crazy. In five minutes, the security forces came. We took my mom to hospital. I began to think: ‘I have to get revenge.’ Then she came back from hospital. She said to me ‘I know what you are thinking. Is it worth it? If you go in this way, you’ll destroy yourself and your family.’ So I thought a lot about this. She made me promise to not go in that way. I realized that the Jewish Occupation wants me to go for revenge, to give them an excuse.”

“Now the peaceful, not-violent resistance is effecting the armed resistance. Our successes are impacting the armed resistance and many of them are joining us. And the Israeli authorities are more worried about the non-violent resistance than the armed resistance. They are arresting us, and looking for excuses to take action against us, push us out."

"My mother’s way is the good way. When my mother talked to me, I realized I want to live in peace. The future is peace. And we have to start to make peace. Like the tree, non-violence is something we have to live [water] each day."