October 18, 2001 — Mudeif Productions

Some, but not all, of the students from Jenin and beyond came to school today - Israeli tanks surrounding the city had something to do with it. Word filtered through later in the day that an eleven year old girl had been killed on her way to school by Israeli soldiers who had invaded Jenin. Needless to say, those of us responsible for the safety of students are concerned by such reports.

*The older children reassuring the younger Jenin kids.*

We adjourned school one hour early today to give students enough time to get home. The vice-principal accompanied the bus to Jenin and asked Marthame to go along as an "international presence." The driver steered clear of all roads with tanks and of all places where clashes might be. The children were agitated, especially after we turned around from the fifth dead-end and headed off into the dirt "roads" near Burqin, our last chance to get the kids home. The older kids were clearly worried, but they also took very seriously their job of making their younger siblings feel safe. The younger children pointed out the tanks and the cows with equal excitement.

*An Israeli tank stands at the blocked entrance to Jenin.*

We entered Jenin to find everything completely shut - it was the first time Marthame had seen it like this. The streets of Jenin, even on a Friday, are usually full to bursting and bustling with excitement. Today, it was dead. Worried parents flagged down the bus, grateful that their children had made it home safely. At one point, we had to drop off some young children at their homes less than 100 yards from Israeli tanks. The adults on the bus all got off to help them feel safer in their shadows.

We could also see the destruction from the last incursion into Jenin, and the Palestinians had set up make-shift roadblocks to slow down the tanks should they come further - old car parts, dumpsters, rocks...All in all, it took almost two hours to get there (from one dead-end to another), and an hour to come back - normally a half-hour round-trip.

*The burned out remains of a Palestinian car, blown up by an Israeli helicopter.*

On the road home, outside of Misilye, we saw the burned-out wreckage of a car. Three suspected Palestinian militants had been inside when Israelis assassinated them with Apache helicopters back in June when we were in the States. Everywhere there's a reminder of what the reality of this place is.

Marthame stopped for lunch at the vice-principal's home, calling Elizabeth - who by this time was rather worried. She had tried the cellphone, but was told all circuits were busy. Not the most reassuring news at the time. Zeevi's funeral was being broadcast on Israeli TV in the background.