My visit to Gaza last month was mostly wrenching, but there were generous and compassionate moments, too. This post is about one of those moments.
On June 2, the UN Relief and Works Agency set up a meeting between the Code Pink delegation I had ended up with and the families of prisoners held in Israel. When we got to the government office on the south side of Gaza city, late as usual, we were surprised to discover that 40 or 50 family members had gathered (representing a fraction of the 10,000 families affected). We sat down in a row of chairs reserved for us and did our best to represent.
One after another, family members went up to the front of the room to tell their stories. Some tottered on canes. I was too stunned by the anguish to know what to do much more than stand there. Of all the pictures I carry away from Gaza, none may have affected me more than this little girl, holding a photo of her father. The climactic moment of the press conference occurred when the government minister of detainees asked the families what they would do with Israeli prisoner Gilad Shalit. They all shouted and waved their hands—Let him go. (A different response from the joke we heard somewhere else: during the Gaza war, Hamas was trying to capture a wife for him.)
The press conference also left me uncertain. The testimonials included nothing about what the imprisoned men had done, or were charged with. "Their only sin is that they resist occupation." OK, but I wanted more specifics—no matter what your opinion is of the legitimacy of resistance. I adopted a journalistic approach, and made this video of the crowd. I went up to many of the women and girls. Maybe I smiled a little. But I was more overwhelmed. The tour really starts 1:30 in.
How different Kit Kittredge-Siemion approached the same situation. When I saw what she was doing, I went over and followed her. A member of the antiwar group Code Pink, Kittredge-Siemion is an EMT, firefighter, farmer, mother of three, and massage therapist in the Olympic peninsula in Washington. Her approach to suffering was not pity or words or judgment. But see for yourself…
Weiss, you think murdering and plotting murder is not a sin? Or is that only when the victims are Israeli Jews?
Detainees are not only in Israel: Followup: Daniel Maldonado
I was overwhelmed merely watching the videos, Phil. The eloquence of mute testimony captured on camera. Kit Kittredge was wondrous to me. Can one possibly convey respect and empathy more than she did? Did you learn any particulars regarding what the prisoners were charged with, or what they did?
I worked off and on in Israel and the OT from late 1989/early 1990 until the end of 2002. Palestinians (especially Palestinian males under 40) are guilty by Zionist definition, and the Shin Bet seizes Palestinians in order to break them psychologically as part of a system for turning Palestinians into collaborators. No charges are required to hold a person under administrative detention. The father of a Palestinian working on infrastructure projects in which I was involved was seized because settlers wanted the father's property. It was very difficult to get the father freed.
Did you meet with Gilad Shalit? Did you meet with the family of Gilad Shalit? Did you meet with his captors, Palestinean terrorists in violation of Geneva Conventions, big-time? Did you ASK about Gilad Shalit? Did you even THINK about Gilad Shalit? Do you EVER think about the suffering of Jews at the hands of your friends in the Palestinean Terrorist groups? MondoLies is a Jew-hating, propagandistic, intellectually dishonest, morally depraved home for all manner of kooks and antisemites that you so naturally attract. Maybe this is what makes you feel good….
Who cares? He is an illegal combatant from a murderous genocidal criminal terrorist state.
The ICRC seems to disagree with you: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/isr... "In the case of Gilad Shalit, we deplore the fact that political considerations have outweighed humanitarian concerns, and respect for basic humanitarian principles, making it virtually impossible to help him or his family. As a humanitarian organization, we have limited leverage in these matters. All we can do is to remind those who control the situation of their obligation to act in accordance with the spirit and letter of international humanitarian law. The parties to an armed conflict, be they States or non-State groups, have to uphold the law."
One gilad vs 10,000 palestinian. Nothing illustrates better than the gilad case how much israelis (and many american jews – NOT ALL – as this post illustrates) care ONLY about their "own". Just like the Mumbai bombing – all Israelis cared about was the chabbad house victim. People like jake – and the many many Israelis who are like him (ie, the entire russian emigre population plus all haredi and most orthodox) – illustrate the extreme form of tribalism. It's only a crime when it's one of ours. Blood spilled only matters when it's ours. Gilad has been used for propaganda purposes for the longest time now when the facts indicate that he is a legitimate captive soldier of the occupation. By no means an "innocent" – unlike the thousands of palestinian prisoners who are used as political prisoners, most of whom have not done anything that rises to a level of a "crime'. I'm glad to see posters like jake though. because they help illustrate the highly selective attribute of compassion that is so typically tribal. The warning from seeing his kind of writing (of which we have a sprinkiling here but the haaretz Talkback is full of) is that Americans should not think for a moment that israelis lose a second sleep over their welfare. How much do Israelis care about the dead American soldiers in Iraq (I won't even mention the 100's of thousand of Iraqis – those dead are cause for celebration in Israel)? It is absolutely essential for Americans to start internalizing the fact that Israelis are profoundly selfish. That 'special" relationship means one thing to Israel – they are 'special' and so it's their due. There is no two way love here – and Americans in their eternal optimism and positive thinking fail to see their "love" for israel is unrequited. BTW, couldn't help notice – I actually saw reference in haaretz to a dead American soldier in Afganistan. He was, apparently, jewish. There were several others who got killed in the same day. Their death obviouslty doesn't merit a mention and so shall they remain nameless in the Israeli press.
i'm so glad you captured this video of Kit. it really demonstrates the same nature of the women i experienced all over gaza. when you look people in the eyes and extend even a glimmer of warmth they radiate with reciprocation. all over gaza every day people were so open and generous of spirit. it blew my mind because they have endured so much. at first there was shyness, but if you opened your heart in the slightest they just opened. it was that easy. i felt so showered with love. that is what stays with me the most, even more than the memories of the destruction. i'm so glad for this video of Kit..