This past Saturday evening the Jerusalem Police lost the weekly demo in Sheikh Jarrah. When we started walking from the public park, where all the demonstrations are held, towards the Um Haroun section of Sheikh Jarrah the police ignored us an let us go on our way. As far as they were concerned, as long as we don’t go near the compound of the evicted families, everything is fine.

But we didn’t stop at Um Haroun. We walked west for another two minutes until we came to Jerusalem Road Number 1, the main road that separates East and West Jerusalem. There we carried out most of the demo, hundreds of protesters chanting, drumming and calling out to Free Sheikh Jarrah on that busy road.

The police never turned up. Perhaps they’re still looking for us.

Here’s a hint for them: They can find us in Silwan on Wednesday at 3:30 PM

They’ll find us when they try to destroy al-Araqib

They’ll find us when they try to evict people in Dahamash.

And they’ll find us whenever they act like facist thugs against democracy            and human rights.

Protest Vigil – Silwan, Wed. 1.9

Meeting: Givati parking lot at 15:30 | for details,

Sara: 054-6543955

This Wednesday, 1.9, the Elad association will hold a day of tours to new excavation sites in Silwan, to be followed by an archaeological conference.

We will be there to greet the visitors, tell them what they are really taking part in, and tell them facts that visitors are not being told in the “City of David” tours.

We will be there to remind everyone that the Elad association is not a research institution interested in archaeology, but a political tool for the Judeaization of East Jerusalem through the expulsion of the Palestinian inhabitants. We will remind them that they are in an occupied village called Silwan, and not in the Biblical tourist site “City of David”.

Various state organs that are supportive of Elad’s project, like the Israeli Police, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and many others, are trying to hide these facts. They attempt to hide from the public eye the fact that these excavations are carried out in the service of the settlements. We will be there to remind them of this.

Background

The special day of tours, as well as the annual archaeological conference, has been held by Elad for several years. In these conferences, Elad and its supporters wish to convince the public under a false pretense that Elad is only a research association. It is all the more important now, after it has been revealed that the Jerusalem Police and the Ministry of Law regard themselves as partners of Elad, that we be present there and stand in solidarity with the residents of Silwan. The settlers in Silwan keep trying to raise the tension level in the village. Last week they trespassed into private property near the Silwan Mosque and carried out a violent provocation which included shots being fired at Palestinians by security guards, as well as other actions. Settler activity disguised as research and cultural activity is a routine method of deception employed by right wing associations in East Jerusalem, especially Elad. It is because of this deception that we have decided to be there and remind everyone what this is really all about.

“Jews and Bedouins refuse to be enemies”

As the demonstration seemed about to disperse, a Palestinian demonstrator who was participating for the first time clambered up onto a rock and gave an impromptu, emotional speech. He was half way through before someone handed him a megaphone. His voice and enthusiasm over the unimagined novelty of protesting alongside Jews projected wonderfully without it.

Yesterday morning, Al Araqib, an “unrecognized” village in the Negev, was destroyed for a fourth time in less than a month. Previous demolitions took place on July 27, August 4 and 10, 2010, each of which was followed by immediate reconstruction by the villagers aided by Sheikh Jarrah activists and other local and international activists and volunteers. 

The date of the latest demolition just happened to coincide with a festive Ramadan Iftar (fast-breaking dinner) offered by President Shimon Peres at his residence in Jerusalem yesterday to distinguished notables from Israel’s “Arab sector” and other guests. The Sheikh of Al Araqib sent an urgent letter to President Peres inviting him to cancel his official dinner and come dine with the once-again-homeless villagers instead.  

“How do you expect anyone to honor your invitation to dinner when the State of Israel and the Israeli government disrespect the holiest month for Islam and order the eradication of an entire village during the fast itself?” he wrote. “This is an unprecedented act. Israel has never before demolished homes during Ramadan.”

The Al Araqib Iftar that villagers proposed as an alternative to the President’s was graced by Arab Knesset members and local authority heads and Muslim and Christian clergy members from across the country some of whom gladly passed up on President Peres’s invitation, as well as Jewish activists supporting Negev Bedouin rights. 

Back at Jerusalem’s Presidential residence, guests such as Egyptian Ambassador Yaser Reda, South African Ambassador Ismail Coovada, representatives from Jordan and their retinues assembled under a canopy in their festive finery along with representatives of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel and other local notables, to be processed for entry through the gates, while around 40 Sheikh Jarrah activists using megaphones reminded them of what was happening in Al Araqib from the opposite sidewalk, to the rhythm of the drums. Sarah Benninga and Ezra Nawi shouted direct questions to the increasingly uncomfortable-looking waiting guests and addressed rhetorical ones to their imminent host, asking how injustices like these affected the appetite of the President and his guests and how they are able go ahead with a festive meal with a clear conscience on such a day. We had drafted our own letter to the President and requested it be conveyed forthwith. The letter was refused. 

Once most of the guests had been processed and were safely ensconced inside, the police announced that our demonstration was illegal and that we must move further away. When the alleged illegality was contested by several activists seemingly better versed in the rules than the police, the police and border guards moved in and removed the us by force. See clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elMODDYi-Hk&feature=player_embedded#!

Whereas one resident of the upscale area (you can see her in her panama hat and glasses in the above clip) objected vociferously and lengthily to the vulgar “left-wing” protest that was so undermining her right to peace and quiet in the neighbourhood, another, pale and close to tears, expressed shock at the actions of the police. She observed that the last comparable demonstrations outside the Presidential residence had taken place during the final days of Moshe Katzav’s tenure and that then, the police had never acted with such brutality.

Four of our activists were arrested, but later released with an order banning them from the area for five days(!).

But our message, despite being relieved of its amplification by the police half way through the proceedings, appears to have penetrated the halls of the Presidential home loud and clear last night. 

“When The Jerusalem Post asked Peres to comment on the demonstration, he said that it was time that the Bedouin problem was resolved and that the government should formulate a viable policy rather than continue destroying homes.

He was also of the opinion that demolition work should not have been carried out during Ramadan.”

In a parallel development, Israeli author Amos Oz visited Al Araqib early yesterday morning after the latest demolition, to express his solidarity and support. He warned:

“Tens of thousands of people live in inhumane conditions, without running water, without electricity, without jobs. The state doesn’t provide the Bedouin people the most basic infrastructure it gives to its citizens. The village I visited this morning is the most radical example of a ticking time bomb.” 

This Saturday, the Negev Coexistence Forum, Culture Guerrilla and Zochrot are organizing a protest at Al Araqib and Arab and Jewish poets will read poems to express their solidarity with the residents of the village. Those of us who can will be down there with them.

Other relevant links: 

http://jfjfp.com/?p=16132

http://www.zochrot.org/index.php?id=767

A year has passed since the eviction/expulsion of the Ghawi and Hanoun families from their homes. A year in which we have struggled together, not only in solidarity with the families, but also for the future of us all: against the attempt to bury the possibility for a just solution for our peoples; against the injustice and oppression, which are part and parcel of so many in the reality we live in; and against the anti democratic current that is taking over Israeli society.

Over 1,000 men and women marched at the Solidarity Day event that we held in Tel Aviv yesterday — one of the hottest days of the year. At the same time, Arabs and Jews held solidarity vigils in over ten other locations in the country: Kufr Yasif, Haifa, West Jerusalem, Bil’in, Dahmash, Taybe, Nazareth, Wadi Ara, Gan Shmuel, Ranana and Beersheba.

At the end of the march and various vigils, hundreds of us joined the main demonstration in Sheikh Jarah, where the resident’s representatives and the activists gave speeches.

The events of the Solidarity Day can be seen in this video and in this photo slide show that document most of the demonstrations that took place.

The Solidarity Day is another milestone in the long way we have traveled together and a new stage in the struggle. Yesterday we showed that the solidarity that was created in Sheikh Jarah is not limited to Jerusalem only, in the same way that the injustice which we are fighting against is not confined to a single neighborhood. What began as a protest against a local injustice turned into the battlefront for the struggle for a just society, against occupation, against wrongdoing, against discrimination and for equality.

We still have a long way to go, but we will not give in to the hard and difficult reality around us, and we will keep up the struggle, knowing that together, through solidarity, we shall prevail.

In the meantime, we would like to invite you to watch the media coverage from today:
Report in English by Ynet, a report in Arabic, another report in Arabic.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every resident of Sheikh Jarah and each and every activist. Thank you all, for a year of persistent, energetic and optimistic struggle. Thank you for the Jewish-Arab cooperation, and thank you for instilling the hope of a better future here one day.

For your information, during the month of Ramadan (starting next week), the Friday weekly vigils will not take place, and activities in the neighborhood will take place on Saturday nights. Further updates will be sent soon.

Yours
The Sheikh Jarah Solidarity Activists

THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST MARKS A YEAR SINCE SETTLERS TOOK OVER THE GHAWI AND HANOUN FAMILY HOUSES IN SHEIK JARRAH

AS PART OF A DECLARED PLAN TO PREVENT THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY

PEACE AGREEMENT IN JERUSALEM

THE EVICTION OF THE FAMILIES UNDER THE AUSPICIES OF A DISCRIMINATORY LAW SPARKED A DETERMINED CIVIL PROTEST THAT HAS SINCE BECOME A SYMBOL OF OPPOSITION TO THE OCCUPATION, TO RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION AND TO THE POSSIBILITY FOR JEWISH-ARAB COOPERATION IN JERUSALEM.

ON FRIDAY AUGUST 6, 2010 WE WILL ALL JOIN TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY WITH SHEIKH JARRAH – BECAUSE THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE, FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PROTEST, AND AGAINST THE OCCUPATION AND DISCRIMINATION, AND FOR THE CHANCE OF RECONCILIATION IS A STRUGGLE FOR US ALL.

SOLIDARITY VIGILS WILL TAKE PLACE AT 1 PM AT THE FOLLOWING PLACES:

TEL AVIV: PROTEST MARCH BEGINNINNG ON ROTHSCHILD NEAR HABIMA

HAIFA: HAGEFEN ST. CORNER OF BEN GURION BLVD.

BE’ER SHEVA: REGER ST. CORNER OF SZOKD ST. (NEXT TO THE COURTHOUSE)

KAFAR YASIF: THE CENTRAL SQUARE (AT 4 PM)

RA’ANANA: THE CENTRAL RA’ANANA JUNCTION

WEST JERUSALEM: PARIS SQUARE

GAN SHMUEL JUNCTION

DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR:

‘ARA; TIRA-TAYBE AND RAMLE-LOD

AFTER THE VIGILS TRANSPORTATION WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THE CENTAL PROTEST IN SHEIKH JARRAH AT 4 PM

FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS: solidaritysj@gmail.com

It has already been a year since that night, when policemen broke into the houses of the Ghawi and Hanoun families in Sheikh Jarrah. It has already been a year since that morning when settlers entered the houses that were never theirs, and left dozens of people to sleep in the street. It has already been a year, and the families evicted from their homes still sit beneath the fig tree in front of the house that was stolen from them.

Yet they did not sit there alone. Together with thousands of supporters from Israel and abroad, one of the most important struggles of recent years has begun. It is a steadfast struggle – yet a non-violent one;  it is a joint struggle that will not give in to that which divides us – rather it strives to bring us together.  It is a struggle that demanded a right so basic – to let the families return to their homes – that no one can remain indifferent.

This struggle would not have been possible had it not been founded on true Israeli-Palestinian partnership. This partnership was built beneath the fig tree in Sheikh Jarrah, at the protests, at the marches, in the jail cells, in the alleys of Silwan, at the street theatre shows, the art performances and the coffee klatches. This true partnership grew bigger and stronger as time went by.

All along we have tried not to forget, not even for a moment, that there are many more trees, many more families, and many more places where people stand up to say “enough”! Like the slogans at our protests, which link together Silwan and Beit She’an, Sheikh Jarrah and Dahamash, national oppression and economic oppression; we too are trying to weave the struggles in this land into a network. One network which may in the future be able to withstand the flood of Fascism and nationalism that threatens us all.

This is why, one year later, we call upon everyone throughout the land to stand with us in a series of solidarity vigils for the evicted families of Sheikh Jarrah. This will not be a single massive demonstration, but a large network of smaller ones – in the neighborhood, city or junction near you; it will be held in a place you know, in which you struggle and in which you can have an affect.

This Friday, August 6th 2010, is a day of solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah, yet it is the day of solidarity for us all. This is because Sheikh Jarrah is a struggle for all of us.

Demonstrations have already been scheduled in Haifa, Kafar Yasef, Tel Aviv, Ramla-Lod, Beer-Sheva, Ra’anana, Jerusalem, Bil’in and Jaffa. Want to add another location? Contact us at 0546-236609 or at solidaritysj@gmail.com.