April 12, 2002

The reports coming out of Jenin are growing more disturbing almost in proportion to the resolve of human rights' workers and the media to get in and learn the full story.

We met up with a friend today in the Old City of Jerusalem to have lunch. He studies at Hebrew University, but this summer we got to know him while we were studying Arabic together at Birzeit University. He still tries to maintain contacts on both sides of the Green Line, a more and more difficult prospect these days. He spoke with his roommates from Birzeit and learned that his summer quarters had been severely damaged by Israeli explosives - just around the corner from our summer quarters. He is finding himself more and more unwelcome among many Jewish colleagues at the Hebrew University, too, as the situation gets more and more entrenched. As Israeli society collectively takes a big step to the right, he (essentially a moderate) is being branded a radical. The student union at the university has voted to exclude Arab Israeli groups because they are too political and because they are organizing relief efforts for people in the West Bank and Gaza (those who would compare Arafat to Bin Laden would do well to remember that the Americans at least worked on getting relief into Afghanistan).

The moon hovers above Jerusalem’s Old City walls.

As we came back to our temporary dwellings, we sat back down to our work and MTV's mind-melting music videos. Mid-afternoon, we heard a loud bang echoing off the Old City walls, then the sound of helicopters and lots and lots of ambulances. We turned on the news to discover that our fears were not unfounded - a suicide bomber on a bus in West Jerusalem. The fourth young Palestinian woman in the last few months to take her life and the lives of those around her. That, combined with the apparent massacre in Jenin, makes an ominous welcome for Powell who has an almost insurmountable task in front of him. The right-wing radical nationalism and unfettered military assault of Israel and the desperate radical anger and violence of Palestine are colliding, and lucky Colin gets to step into the middle.

We shared dinner with friends in the media and diplomatic fields. Some diplomatic staff went into Nablus today to bring desperately-needed supplies to their dual-status citizens. While these nations treat their citizens as equal in the eyes of the law, the Israelis do not grant them the same status - thus they are stuck under the same collective punishment as everyone else there. These staff were bringing water. Water to European citizens trapped in their homes, unable to leave because Israel does not recognize their European citizenship. The toll of destruction they witnessed in Nablus, particularly the Old City, sounded just so sad. So very sad. It's really hard to hear about and see (on the TV) cities that we love getting ripped to shreds.