Local News
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Finding peace in the Middle East
FEATURES WRITER
Half a world away, two men sat side by side in a war zone and called each other "brother." By all rights, they should hate each other. One, a Jew, lost his daughter in a Palestinian attack. The other, a Palestinian Muslim, lost his father to an Israeli attack.
It was this moment that gave Jim Bailey hope for peace in the Middle East.
"It was a real lesson in how not to hate. It's easy to hate, but they did not. ... We met many courageous Palestinians and Israelis who have suffered much, including loss of loved ones, but refuse to hate. So there is hope," said Bailey.
A former mayor of Fostoria and retired teacher, coach and athletic director, Bailey recently returned from a trip with Interfaith Peace-Builders to Israel and Palestine. He and 31 other participants from the U.S. and Canada landed in Tel Aviv Oct. 28 and spent two-weeks traveling through the conflict zone. There he had the opportunity to speak directly with Palestinians and Israelis regarding life there, as well as their opinion on the role of the American government to promote a resolution to the conflict.
"I wanted to learn, to further peace, to see the land and get to know its people," said Bailey of his motivation for going. The trip was part of a lifelong interest in the area and promoting peace. He co-founded the Fostoria Area Citizens for Peace and has long been involved in peace activism, this is the most recent step in becoming educated about the conflict-ridden area.
"For me, one who has taken only a few tiny steps down the path of Christian peacemaking, it was the opportunity and experience of a lifetime. ... The experience was richer than I could have imagined because of the wide variety of people whom we heard and with whom we interacted," said Bailey.
The group spent time in Israel and on the West Bank, speaking with Israeli Jews, Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel and other Palestinians, both Muslim and Christians. They spoke with students, former soldiers and fighters, residents of rural and urban Kibbutzes (a collective farm or settlement owned by its members), Palestinian farmers, Israeli and Palestinian women's groups, a spokesman for right-wing religious Jewish settlers, residents of refugee camps, Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent peace activists and many others.
"If we learned anything, it was that the widely held American and Israeli stereotype of typical Palestinians as being 'terrorists' is wrong. We found Palestinians, regardless of economic status, to be overwhelmingly hospitable and friendly. Their concerns are the same as ours -- to be free, to be able to have the opportunity to secure the necessities of life, including education for their children and to live 'normal' peaceful lives. The same could and should be said for many Israelis with whom we met," said Bailey. He added that no one there has had what an American would call a "normal" life since the Israeli occupation began in 1967.
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories captured by Israel from Egypt, Jordan and Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967, consisting of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.
A wall has been constructed along the West Bank and is highly controversial. Opponents of the barrier object that the route substantially deviates from the Green Line established during the Six-Day War and veers into the occupied territories captured by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. Therefore, some argue the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security, violates international law and severely restricts Palestinians who live nearby, particularly their ability to travel freely within the West Bank and to access work in Israel. Less than 20 percent of the wall falls on the internationally-recognized border.
"It makes the Berlin Wall look like a fence," said Bailey. The concrete wall is often more than 30 feet high and with 200 feet on either side. When finished, it will be 400 miles long. "The wall is supposed to be a security wall, but it often doesn't separate Palestinians from Israelis, it separates Palestinians from Palestinians, keeping them from schools, from their fields, from their businesses."
Bailey met one couple who lived on one side of the wall, but their shop was on the other, making their once three-minute commute take hours.
In Hebron, Bailey said shopkeepers had to put thick fencing above their stores because those in the Israeli settlements above would throw waste down on them. He met with Palestinian farmers unable to reach their lands because of the wall.
According to Bailey, the siege of Gaza has had "catastrophic humanitarian consequences." In Gaza, the unemployment rate is 50 percent and the poverty rate is 80 percent. Palestinians are "second-class citizens," according to Bailey.
Millions of people are denied food, water, electricity and other basic necessities. He pointed out the Palestinian homes are differentiated from the Israeli homes because of water barrels on the roof. The Palestinians only get water sporadically throughout the week and when they have it, fill the large barrels.
"We met with Israeli residents in the town of Sderot, which has been hit by Palestinian mortars from Gaza. They told us that the siege on Gaza has not provided them with more security," said Bailey.
He emphasized the Israeli society is "not monolithic" and, in fact, many are not politically active. The main concern for most Israelis is security.
"There are many people who are working closely with Palestinians to end the occupation. We met many brave Israelis who are working for peace. It is important to recognize their work and raise up their voices," said Bailey.
Some voices are rising there, he said. The group met with many people engaged in non-violent resistance.
"It would be good for Palestine, but all it takes is one person to undermine peace. It is easy for either side to do something," Bailey said. There has been a period of relative calm over the last few months, but many of the people he spoke with believe the tensions are on the rise and expect an explosion in the near future. He said the "constantly-hyped fear fuels hatred and keeps the country constantly at 'war.'"
Bailey said many of the people he talked to had no faith in either the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority. One graduate student they met called both "stupid."
"He said Israel's government was stupid and somewhat corrupt and the Palestinian government was very corrupt. We heard that everywhere we went. We heard them both called everything from idiotic to infantile. There is very little faith in the government there and the only hope is the U.S. and the rest of the international community to press for peace," said Bailey.
The U.S. government provides more than $2.75 billion in military aid each year to Israel, which is by far the largest recipient of foreign aid. In 2008, a new 10-year agreement between the United States and Israel promised a further $30 billion in aid, a 25 percent increase over the previous U.S. annual military aid appropriation. According to Bailey, this should give the United States a significant amount of sway over the area.
Bailey plans to continue his study of the area and his efforts for peace. He plans to present the information he collected while there -- nearly 200 pages of notes and hundreds of photos -- to area groups to give a first-hand and non-biased look at what is happening there.
"I am not pro-Palestine or pro-Israel nor am I anti-Palestine, anti-Israel. I am pro-peace, I am pro-human rights," said Bailey.
For more information on Interfaith Peace-Builders, visit www.interfaithpeacebuilders.org.
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Ph: (419) 435-6641 • Fax: (419) 435-9073
113 E. Center St. • P.O. Box 947
Fostoria, OH 44830
The Findlay Publishing Company
P.O. Box 609
Findlay, OH 45839-0609
Phone: (419) 422-5151
www.findlaypublishing.com
Please read our privacy guidelines
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1 Comment
Israel hates the security barrier as much as the Palestinians. But statistics show how drastically suicide bombings have been reduced to practically zero. Would you like to live next door to a country which sent in murderers with bombs attached to themselves, aimed at wiping your family out?
The "wall" is 95% a chain link fence. Only 5 % is a wall.
Palestinians have been offered latest technology in water usage, including desalination etc. They have refused. Why should Israel give water and electricity to a country whose charter asked for the elimination of the State of Israel, anyhow???
The hand of peace has been offered and rejected 9 times since the UN created the State of Israel. Many wars have been started with Israel and she has been punished for DARING to retaliate (Operation Leads Cast)
The world must wake up!!