The village of Al-Ghayar lies just northeast of the Golan. In 1967, the Israelis assumed it belonged to Lebanon and left it alone. Instead, it had been a Syrian village and was now cut off from the rest of Syria by the Israeli presence in the Golan. Now it is under full Israeli military control and guarded by quite the bevy of troops.
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The Palestinian villagers say that they left the older people of the village gathered in one house at the edge of the village since they couldn't run fast enough to escape to the hills. They returned to find them all shot and killed. The Israeli soldiers deny this part of the narrative.
Read MoreWhile confiscation in Israel mostly stopped then, the systematic repression and control of Palestinian lands continues, mostly through zoning laws (which Arab Israelis have very little influence on).
Read MoreWe had learned about the bombing the way most Palestinians do - disconnected from it personally (the bomber apparently was from 'Aqaba, not far from Zababdeh, but very far from Birzeit) but living the consequences of the punishment.
Read MoreKahane's followers are essentially calling for the ethnic-cleansing of Israel of all Arabs. They have made bumper stickers that read, "No Arabs, No Terrorists" in Hebrew - in other words, you get rid of all the Arabs, you get rid of all the terrorists.
Read MoreOK - we've only got a little more time in Ramallah, so we're going to make the most of it.
Read MoreOne of their friends who is from Birzeit came over and recounted his story of getting grazed by a bullet in the skull at the Birzeit checkpoint a few months back. Nothing like that to sober us up from our dreaming.
Read MoreWe caught our taxi from Damascus Gate, which is always such a Eastern cultural counterpoint to the Western feel of the New City.
Read MoreTonight there was a large Peace Now demonstration in Tel Aviv, which was calling on Sharon to stop escalating the situation, asking him to move away from war and return to the negotiating table.
Read MoreLater on we connected with friends for a couple of games of cards before heading off to the Ramallah pool hall.
Read MoreNo one in the Palestinian human rights camp seems to be ignoring PA violations, as can be seen in their very thick year 2000 annual report. However, the human rights problems with the PA have clearly taken a back seat as the PICCR is fighting to keep up with the overwhelming number and scope of infractions of the current Israeli seige.
Read MoreComing home, there was an Israeli jeep between the two roadblocks, with soldiers shining bright lights on all of us who were walking across
Read MoreIn 1987, during the first Intifada, the entire camp was surrounded by a twenty foot concrete and barbed wire wall, and all of its entrances were closed off. There was one opening, a grilled revolving door gate, manned by the Israeli army. The gate remains a memorial to those years, and to the hope that they can return to their villages.
Read MoreAnother day of reasonable relaxation before gathering for lunch with friends.
Read MoreThere was particularly creepy article in the Jerusalem Post today, the city's right-wing voice box (this in addition to the front page, where a photo of graffiti saying "Death to All Arabs" was accompanied by the headline: "A Time for Vengeance?"). An editorial was commenting on press coverage of the siege and violence here, saying it was typical anti-Semitic bias. They gave some specific examples, but said the winner of the "Black Boot Award" (a not-so-subtle reference to Nazism) went to the reporter for the UK Guardian. The final line said, "Congratulations on winning the award. And we're looking forward to delivering it to you in person."
Read MoreThere's something refreshing about a chain-smoking Palestinian feminist who has great affection for Quakers.
Read MoreHamas (which claimed responsibility for the Dolphinarium Disco bombing in Tel Aviv among other things) sprang out of the ruins of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s. Our professor said that they were strengthened by the PLO's loss of influence (particularly after Israel's attacks on Lebanon, where the PLO was in exile) and by an intentional choice of the Israeli government to allow their growth (i.e. not suppress their political actions and pursue their leaders as they were doing with the PLO) in an attempt to nurture discord in Palestinian resistance.
Read MoreAcross the road, we could see the continued construction of Har Homa, the Israeli settlement on the Arab land of Jabal Abu-Ghneim, once a thickly forested hill, renowned for the beauty and respite it offered to the Bethlehem area.
Read MoreAbuna (Father) Iyad made a point of introducing us to the community and welcoming us in their midst. The community was most warm, and we stayed after to chat for quite a while.
Read MoreToday was a day for nerding out. We haven't had much of a chance recently to really dig into our studies, so a day without anything to do was most welcome.
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