"Israeli" harassment of Al-Khalil orphans
Source: guardian.co.uk, 30-06-2008
By: Seth Freedman
Sitting in the courtyard of one of the orphanages facing closure by the 'Israeli' Military Force, Rasheed admitted he'd all but lost hope of preventing demise of the institution in which he's worked for 12 years.
"I want to ask the 'Israeli' public one simple question," said Rasheed, who teaches English to the orphans. "'Do you want to live in peace with the Palestinians?' If the answer is yes, then they need to know they're not taking the right track here [by shutting down the orphanages and attacking the Islamic Charitable Society, which administers them]. This method plays into the hands of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the other extremists; no one here will just sit back and watch the collapse of their community."
The ongoing saga of the orphanages has seen several raids by the army on ICS-affiliated businesses and schools, and severely weakened the charity's ability to continue its desperately needed pastoral care in 'Hebron' (al-Khalil). The army claims ICS is a front for Hamas, but has not provided a shred of evidence for the assertion.
"Sometimes they say we're funded by Hamas, other times they say we're funding Hamas," noted Rasheed drily. Despite an appeal to the 'Israeli' courts, the judge handling the case has refused to discuss the matter again until October. In the meantime, the army's punitive measures against the charity continue.
"They've served more eviction notices on the schools and welded shut the doors; they've raided nurseries and taken away the children's birth certificates; and at the same time ICS is facing financial [meltdown]," said Rasheed. "Last month we only got 40% of our salaries, and this month we may not get paid at all." Even if the army doesn't physically shut down the entire ICS network, he said, they would eventually force its closure via a process of economic strangulation.
"The boys have been asking me if they'll ever see me again after the summer vacation," he added, "|and I don't have an answer for them." Rasheed anticipates further raids over the holidays, despite the ceasefire brokered between Hamas and 'Israel' in Gaza. "The military are very stubborn, and they aren't prepared to back down on this issue."
Despite the crippling tactics of the 'Israeli' authorities, Rasheed is keen to differentiate between the actions of 'Israeli' officialdom and the man on the 'Israeli' street. "Rabbi Ascherman [of Rabbis for Human Rights] has been fantastic in his support, and so have many others from within 'Israel'."
"I believe that the soldiers who raided the sewing workshop and threw the equipment in the city dump are not truly Jewish. We in ICS know the difference between Zionism and Judaism. However, when it comes to the army, I believe that if all of the Palestinians left the West Bank and fled to Jordan, the 'Israeli' Military would follow us all the way to Amman."
"It's not a case of 'the Arabs will throw the 'Israelis' into the sea',", he said, "but more a case of them throwing us into the sea." He added that the 'Israeli' government loved to complain of Palestinians sending their children to be suicide bombers, "yet they do everything possible to encourage this to happen".
"I have never even thrown a rock; I just want a peaceful life," said Rasheed. "I've got a wife and two daughters to look after, but the army are suffocating us. This used to be a rich city; now over 70% of the residents live in poverty. I don't let myself dwell on my daughters' future, because it's too depressing. If one of them met a man living abroad who asked me for their hand in marriage, I would say 'mabrouk, yalla' and be delighted for them."
Making life so intolerable for the Palestinians that they up and leave their ancestral home is as effective a tactic as any to cleanse the land of undesirables, and leave the field open for 'Israeli' settlers to fill the void.
Rasheed believes that the 'Israeli' authorities are doing everything in their power to undermine the moderates in Palestinian society in order to drive the public into the welcoming arms of the extremists. "When [prime minister] Fayed - sent PA police to patrol Jenin, the 'Israeli' Military raided the area the same night," he said. "They do whatever they can to weaken the PA in the eyes of the Palestinians. Is this how to support the moderates?"
Similar thinking appears to be behind the case of the orphanages. Appeals by EU politicians, UN representatives, activists in 'Israel', and even 'Israeli' judges have all fallen on deaf ears, leaving the residents of 'Hebron' under no illusions about the type of opponent with which they are dealing. If all proper channels of intervention turn out to be culs-de-sac, then it's little wonder that the locals turn to the only groups offering to defend their honour, namely the militants of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
That the hounding of ICS and its charitable work in the community is abhorrent is in no doubt. What is questionable, however, is the mindset of the officials who are giving the army carte blanche to carry out such a cruel operation. Instead of weakening Hamas (who they have still not proved are connected to ICS), they are strengthening them with every raid on the weak and defenseless orphans.
Assuming those in the upper echelons of power are no fools, it would seem there is something far more sinister behind their desire to radicalize the Palestinian public. As I wrote last week, it appears that there is a burning desire to create what they fear, in order to give their relentless campaign of occupation and oppression at least some modicum of justification. How long they can continue to fool all of the people all of the time, however, is another question.
By: Seth Freedman
Sitting in the courtyard of one of the orphanages facing closure by the 'Israeli' Military Force, Rasheed admitted he'd all but lost hope of preventing demise of the institution in which he's worked for 12 years.
"I want to ask the 'Israeli' public one simple question," said Rasheed, who teaches English to the orphans. "'Do you want to live in peace with the Palestinians?' If the answer is yes, then they need to know they're not taking the right track here [by shutting down the orphanages and attacking the Islamic Charitable Society, which administers them]. This method plays into the hands of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the other extremists; no one here will just sit back and watch the collapse of their community."
The ongoing saga of the orphanages has seen several raids by the army on ICS-affiliated businesses and schools, and severely weakened the charity's ability to continue its desperately needed pastoral care in 'Hebron' (al-Khalil). The army claims ICS is a front for Hamas, but has not provided a shred of evidence for the assertion.
"Sometimes they say we're funded by Hamas, other times they say we're funding Hamas," noted Rasheed drily. Despite an appeal to the 'Israeli' courts, the judge handling the case has refused to discuss the matter again until October. In the meantime, the army's punitive measures against the charity continue.
"They've served more eviction notices on the schools and welded shut the doors; they've raided nurseries and taken away the children's birth certificates; and at the same time ICS is facing financial [meltdown]," said Rasheed. "Last month we only got 40% of our salaries, and this month we may not get paid at all." Even if the army doesn't physically shut down the entire ICS network, he said, they would eventually force its closure via a process of economic strangulation.
"The boys have been asking me if they'll ever see me again after the summer vacation," he added, "|and I don't have an answer for them." Rasheed anticipates further raids over the holidays, despite the ceasefire brokered between Hamas and 'Israel' in Gaza. "The military are very stubborn, and they aren't prepared to back down on this issue."
Despite the crippling tactics of the 'Israeli' authorities, Rasheed is keen to differentiate between the actions of 'Israeli' officialdom and the man on the 'Israeli' street. "Rabbi Ascherman [of Rabbis for Human Rights] has been fantastic in his support, and so have many others from within 'Israel'."
"I believe that the soldiers who raided the sewing workshop and threw the equipment in the city dump are not truly Jewish. We in ICS know the difference between Zionism and Judaism. However, when it comes to the army, I believe that if all of the Palestinians left the West Bank and fled to Jordan, the 'Israeli' Military would follow us all the way to Amman."
"It's not a case of 'the Arabs will throw the 'Israelis' into the sea',", he said, "but more a case of them throwing us into the sea." He added that the 'Israeli' government loved to complain of Palestinians sending their children to be suicide bombers, "yet they do everything possible to encourage this to happen".
"I have never even thrown a rock; I just want a peaceful life," said Rasheed. "I've got a wife and two daughters to look after, but the army are suffocating us. This used to be a rich city; now over 70% of the residents live in poverty. I don't let myself dwell on my daughters' future, because it's too depressing. If one of them met a man living abroad who asked me for their hand in marriage, I would say 'mabrouk, yalla' and be delighted for them."
Making life so intolerable for the Palestinians that they up and leave their ancestral home is as effective a tactic as any to cleanse the land of undesirables, and leave the field open for 'Israeli' settlers to fill the void.
Rasheed believes that the 'Israeli' authorities are doing everything in their power to undermine the moderates in Palestinian society in order to drive the public into the welcoming arms of the extremists. "When [prime minister] Fayed - sent PA police to patrol Jenin, the 'Israeli' Military raided the area the same night," he said. "They do whatever they can to weaken the PA in the eyes of the Palestinians. Is this how to support the moderates?"
Similar thinking appears to be behind the case of the orphanages. Appeals by EU politicians, UN representatives, activists in 'Israel', and even 'Israeli' judges have all fallen on deaf ears, leaving the residents of 'Hebron' under no illusions about the type of opponent with which they are dealing. If all proper channels of intervention turn out to be culs-de-sac, then it's little wonder that the locals turn to the only groups offering to defend their honour, namely the militants of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
That the hounding of ICS and its charitable work in the community is abhorrent is in no doubt. What is questionable, however, is the mindset of the officials who are giving the army carte blanche to carry out such a cruel operation. Instead of weakening Hamas (who they have still not proved are connected to ICS), they are strengthening them with every raid on the weak and defenseless orphans.
Assuming those in the upper echelons of power are no fools, it would seem there is something far more sinister behind their desire to radicalize the Palestinian public. As I wrote last week, it appears that there is a burning desire to create what they fear, in order to give their relentless campaign of occupation and oppression at least some modicum of justification. How long they can continue to fool all of the people all of the time, however, is another question.
