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TechnoratiPictures From Summer Camp
July 27, 2008
At 6:45 a.m. this morning, our friend, Joel Gulledge, called from At-Tuwani, a village in the West Bank where he and another Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) member were escorting Palestinian children to a local summer daycamp, protecting them from hostile Israeli settlers. A masked settler, carrying a slingshot, was threatening the children. While Jan Benvie, the other CPT team member, raced the children to safety, Joel paused to film what was happening. The masked settler caught up with Joel and attacked him. "He smashed my head again and again," said Joel, "with my video camera, and punched me in the face, repeatedly, with his other hand." Joel managed to remain standing. He didn't fight back, but he screamed for help. The attacker broke Joel's glasses, and Joel was bleeding from a gash over his eyes. When he called, he was waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
Earlier this week, CPT's website, (www.cpt.org), reported that on Wednesday 23 July, "three Israeli settlers, one masked and wielding a stick, pursued fourteen Palestinian children who were on their way to a summer camp in At-Tuwani. The children from the villages of Tuba and Maghaer Al-Abeed waited thirty minutes for the Israeli military escort that should have accompanied them on the most direct road between the villages of Tuba and At-Tuwani. When the military failed to arrive, the children began walking along a long path through the hills to At-Tuwani. When the children neared the Israeli settlement outpost of Havat Ma'on, three settlers with two dogs came out from the outpost and began walking in the direction of the children."
"Members of the At-Tuwani team yelled at the children to alert them that settlers were coming at them from behind. The children ran down and across a valley to a location further from the settlers. They continued to At-Tuwani. The settlers remained on a hill top near Havot Ma'on, watching the children as they walked toward the school."
"The previous day, Tuesday 22 July, the military escort never arrived to escort the children to summer camp. Seven children took a long path to the school. They told the At-Tuwani team that at least eight other children did not attend summer camp because they were too afraid to come to school without an escort. The mayor of At-Tuwani spoke with Israeli military to coordinate the escort for the children. However, several military spokespersons and soldiers on the ground denied receiving orders to escort the children."
"In 2004, the Israeli Knesset recommended that the Israeli military carry out a daily escort of the children of Tuba and Maghaer Al-Abeed to their school in At-Tuwani because settlers repeatedly attacked them."
Yesterday's New York Times carried a front page article, "Dear Parents: Please Relax, It's Just Camp," about parents in the U.S. who experience separation anxiety when their children go to sleep-away camps. Summer camps frequently post videos and still photos of the children on their websites, allowing parents to keep in touch with the children's activities. But now it's customary for many camps to hire a full-time "parent liason," because the parents become very involved in their children's lives at the camp, so much so that some camps are bombarded with phone calls, daily, from anxious parents. Could these parents understand the terror of Palestinian parents whose children are at risk of being beaten and killed as they walk between their village and the local summer camp, each day.
"Nobody goes to school for how to send your child away from you," said Maria Coleman, a past president of the American Camp Association. "We help the parents become independent. And especially post-9/11 in today's society, that's definitely a heightened need." Clearly greater than American parents' fear of terrorist attacks, we hear of Israeli parents and their fear that their children will fall prey to terrorism, but human rights groups like Israeli B'Tselem (www.btselem.org) tell us that Palestinian children are far more likely -- by a factor of over eight to one in recent years -- to die by violence in the conflict, often by weapons provided to Israel, without significant human rights oversight, by the United States. All lives are precious, especially children's lives, from whatever community they make their way out into the world. How must the parents of Palestine, the parents of Iraq, the parents of Iran, feel knowing that not only they but their children are at the wrong end of American weapons?
I feel such a concern for my friend and co-worker Joel as he and his fellow CPT team members try to protect endangered Palestinians and their children in the West Bank. The example they set, in their dedication to nonviolence and their refusal to carry weapons, can help all of us gain independence from the cycle of threat and violence which the U.S. has driven in its support for and arming of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Kathy Kelly (kathy@vcnv.org) is a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, www.vcnv.org
29 Comments so far
Show AllKhiam: Israel's Torture Centre For Children.
Closed down and "relocated' (hidden) after it became embarrassing and infamous.
Google 'khiam' It is documented.
Still say Rachel "belly-flopped' in front of that Caterpillar Himmler?
I hope you are-because you engender hate for Israel when you do-and that death camp deserves it. Carry on little Nazi.
lisa, haha you are arab? How can you support idiots like Corrie? Real arabs support strength, which is why israel can't ever be seen to back down in the face of arab aggression, as it only encourages more aggression.
Torture children? Come the fuck on lisa...
I think (I know) the above ZionistApologist said Rachel "Belly-Flopped" in front of that Bulldozer in a previous hate-post.
But she was Murdered.
Like Hamad Mussa was yesterday. Maybe 14. Murdered.
Israelis=Murderers.
Khiam is where the Jews used to Torture Children.
Anyone doubt me, Google 'khiam' for details of NaziIsraeli ChildTorturing Documented.
Signed, an Araboushkin.
WTF: I don't believe it. But I'm not a supporter of those sorts of settlers anyway. They didn't "kill jesus", and they aren't going to kill the people who are standing around with cameras.
They are cowards and belong with the arabs, not in israel.
And you seemed to miss the part of the article that clearly states: "In 2004, the Israeli Knesset recommended that the Israeli military carry out a daily escort of the children of Tuba and Maghaer Al-Abeed to their school in At-Tuwani because settlers repeatedly attacked them."
Clearly, the government that tries to protect palestinian kids from violent settlers is "worse then the nazis" as so many of you have claimed.
Man, you lefties have me mad today.
Alex, I read a steady stream of lefty bullshit from you guys and don't say much, but on some of your comments I feel the need to respond. You claim "corporatism" is behind israel, and I find this very untrue and offensive. Israel is built on the strength of its people, and has always been, and always will be, a nation under seige. THIS is what holds them together, and if anything corporatism will destroy israel. The wealthy globalists who have so damaged america have also caused problems in israel. They build homes outside of the country to avoid paying taxes, and their children somehow always seem to get out of military service. Fuck them.
Lisa, you know damn well "the killers" in that case didn't mean to kill that kid. However, the lebonese killer Israel recently released certainly did, and he was CHEERED IN THE STREETS for it! Israel is going to investigate and may punish this soldier. There's absolutely no comparison.
A Youn Palestinian Child, Hamad Hossm Mussa, was Shot In the Head.
And Killed. Tuesday, 7/29/08, in the village of Ni'Lin.
The Killers, not aprehended, were Terrorists wearing the uniform of the Israeli Army.
The boys' body was small in the stretcher and blood pooled around his head, soaking it.
For the full story, and the picture, go to Informed Comment by Juan Cole, today 7/30, it's down a bit, there is a link.
jesusofjonesboro...
"Obviously, B'T selem will be attacked as self-hating Jews. Were they not a Jewish organization then they would, of course, be anti-Semitic."
Actually, I think that the pro-Israeli people are ultimately self-hating or anti-semitic. Look at what a lightning rod for resentment Israel is. Read into what those Christian Fundies have to say about Israel, and their pro-jewish facade melts away. I mean, does anyone honestly feel that Pat Robertson or Dubbya loves the jews?
Old goat says
"Abusers have been abused."
I think that's true also. Had there never been a Holocaust or anti-semitism, would there even be an Israel?
Not to condone violence on either side, but there are times when I feel that at least in part, the violence Israelis often visit on the Palestinians is borne of paranoia in the name of "Never Again." There's a desperation that I can't help but pick up on. Victims victimizing? Victimizers being exploited in order to serve the imperial goal of Westernizing the Middle East? Is Israel a gateway towards realizing that?
Should the US just boycott Israel entirely? Or would that be irresponsible? I for a long time have believed that the West should stay out of the ME's affairs completely. Or does the US have a responsiblity to be a moderator?
Can Israel and Palestine co-exist? Am I wrong in thinking that Israel should not exist? All I see is Israel serving the interests of Empire and actually putting Jews and Arabs alike in peril and pitting them against one another.
If I were jewish, I don't think I'd want to live in Israel.
This is the great "Miracle" that Obama proclaimed it to be? A country that murders children-- both with its military and its quasi-civilian settlers. There's a great song that you can find on YouTube and elsewhere by the Palestinian hip-hop group Dam called "Who's the Terroritst" in English. I think this article suggests at least a partial answer to that question. Let's face it, Israel is not going to give up its settlements, not without a change in US policy. The US is the only government in the world that recognizes the illegal settlements. Barack Obama has already cynically pledged his friendship to Israel, meaning he won't pressure Israel to live up to international standards of decency. It seems that Ehud Olmert is going to be proved right in his estimation that a failure to come to a settlement will lead to a South African-like struggle for civil rights in all of historic Palestine. Unfortuantely, this bloody conflict is only going to grow bloodier, as Israel has proved that it "only understands the language of force."
One sentence in this piece says all you need to know.....
"at least eight other children did not attend summer camp because they were too afraid to come to school without an escort."
That's sick.
PS ... I grew up in the Appalachian area at the end of the era when open segregation and racism was socially acceptable. I'm constantly struck how if I look at the Israeli - Palestine conflict in the right way, I feel like I see exactly the same situation. In this case, I picture a group of black children afraid to go to a school because they might be attacked by white racists.
When I see exactly the same thing going on in Palestine, its very obvious to me that I am seeing the same hateful, evil mentality as what I saw growing up in the south.
I'm sure not all Israelis would attack little children on their way to school. Just like how in the south I grew up in, not every white person would attack children on their way to school. In the south I grew up in, there would also be some whites who would be trying to help keep the kids safe. But its rather obvious that there is a very violent, hateful and frankly evil element in Israel today that mirrors the violent, hateful and frankly evil element I grew up around in east Tennessee.
"The CPT concept would seem to warrent a story on the training that participants experience and we would all probably benefit from a regular presence of short accounts and quotes/observations from those engaged."
Google says .... www.cpt.org.
Corporate America's unspoken rules...
Never, ever question America's unconditional support of Israel
Never, ever question the benefits of 'globaliztion'
Never, ever suggest reducing the size of the military budget
Never, ever question whether we truly live in a democracy
Never, ever question the importance of the 'War on Terror'
Never, ever suggest 'nationalizing anything'
Never, ever question the 'impartiality' of our press
and never, ever question the morality of corporate decisions!
Corporatism is responsible for the attack on those Palestinian school children as Israel is a major cog in the American MIC. The demonization of the Palestinians and the support of racist ideals fuel the militarization of the region resulting in large profits for a handful of predatory companies.
s163; Nice links.
"We killed Jesus. We'll kill you too."
A true murderer's chant. Sound like the KKK.
Nazi Thugs.
Khiam.
Thank you for the witness, Kathy. Readers should know that Rabbis for Human Rights-- www.rhr.israel.net -- has been documenting cases like these for over 2 decades. They are in and out of court constantly in defense of Palestinians and Jews against the existing Israeli Military legal system.
Abusers have been abused. Mimetic violence begets itself over and over again. The CPT concept would seem to warrent a story on the training that participants experience and we would all probably benefit from a regular presence of short accounts and quotes/observations from those engaged.
I'm one of thos people that hope the 'rapture' happens soon, taking Israelis along with the 'rapture' believers and let the rest of us live happily ever after without their hatred and divisiveness.
It must be the similarities that make Americans look the other way as regards Israel. After all--and there I agree with Ward Churchill--most westerns were nothing but the cinematic celebration of a genocide akin to the holocaust, albeit less industrialized.
There is something to what you're saying as the author of Nazi Violence: A European Genealogy also pointed out. It may even be the real difference between Nazis and earlier European settlers is that "the modern totalitarians know what they are doing, and the nineteenth-century English [or Americans] did not know what they were doing." But, for us in the twenty first-century, the "horror is that the lie is obvious and yet it persists."
Penscot,
It must be the similarities that make Americans look the other way as regards Israel. After all - and there I agree with Ward Churchill - most westerns were nothing but the cinematic celebration of a genocide akin to the holocaust, albeit less industrialized.
The problem is that if you insist on being the nasty kid on the block, more and more people will gang up on you eventually. If I were so few and the others were so many, I'd try to behave decently, quite frankly.
It would have been America's duty to stop Israel in its nasty kid tracks, being the prime money source for Israel.
The American Right, though, helped the Israeli Right (because we are talking of right-wing people! There are many Israeli human rights groups who are trying to battle this insanity) in being nasty and condoned all human rights abuses. Aided and abetted by right-wing Jews in America.
It's the Israeli and America Right who've got a hell of a lot to answer for.
Also for Palestinian children, but in Gaza:
RachelCorrie Soccer Tournament
Thanks Kathy for another great piece of work. You are a great woman, and the strongest person I know, as you keep on being there to tell the stories. As painful as they always are.
Is this the kind of Israel that deserves Mr. Obaman's unconditional support? The Knesset recommended protections of these kids by the military because they were repeatedely attacked by settlers; that's all very nice, but shouldn't these settlers be prosecuted or something? It's time the US stops helping Israel the way it has been doing for a long time now.
^^^ You might indeed think so, and you'd be right in many cases. But you'd never know it based on U.S. media reports. It's interesting to note that Israel's own media are much more openly critical than anything that would ever be allowed in the U.S. Even Meirsheimer and Walt got a more respectful hearing in Israel than they got from many of their own academic colleagues.
It should not be thought that all Israelis (and certainly not all Jews) are supportive of the ongoing repression and maltreatment of Palestinians. In fact, a significant number oppose Zionism itself. Unfortunately, the opposition seems as ineffectual there as it appears to be here.
My kid went to a camp last week in Pennsylvania for a week, but the big difference is that no group of adults was chasing after him with sticks and stones.
When a "war" is visited on kids, perhaps its time for the rest of us to smack down the brave warriors.
Because I for one am getting tired of seeing Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians, just because they are Palestinian, and no-one noticing that it was the self-same thing that the German Nazi administration did to the Jews and Gypsies of Europe.
It's a pathetically small country, and its about time everyone in it either sorted out how to get on together, or blew themselves off the face of the planet.
I'm aware of the history, more maybe than most people, and I'm also aware that the similarity in historic terms is America driving the Indians to the middle of nowhere and letting them die.
But you'd think a nation whose history stems from mass execution would want to NOT see that visited on some other group.
@sl63
Good link. The following words in the article stand out....
"..about 100 settlers in small groups, who started chanting in Hebrew 'We killed Jesus, we'll kill you too!', a refrain the settlers had been repeating to internationals in Tel Rumeida all day."
I wonder what that repub turd Ariel_Sharon (a CD contributor) will have to spew about this?
The masked settler caught up with Joel and attacked him. "He smashed my head again and again," said Joel, "with my video camera, and punched me in the face, repeatedly, with his other hand."...The attacker broke Joel's glasses, and Joel was bleeding from a gash over his eyes. When he called, he was waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
Not sure why the settler bothered to wear a mask. He could have bloodied Joel's face--or for that matter the face of a girl barely out of high school--in full view of dozens without fearing any repercussion.
Israelis are being cruel to children and other innocents and "another" Christian organization is there to "help"-----
The Christians are supplying Billions via the USA annually to Israel, in preparation for the "soon to come" "end", when JESUS RETURNS when they will all go to heaven, (except of course those Jews that DO NOT BELIEVE AND THE MUSLIMS THAT WILL NOT ACCEPT) because the Israelis need the help from the world, because they deserve to live there after the Holocaust and the Muslims are standing in there way because Allah needs the help----------------to keep the land for Muslims-----and not let the "Infidels" live there.
Now all of this trouble is as a result of the differences these people have over their common GOD, and territory. Keep in mind that this is the 'G-O-D', that they believe created their "Universe", (and all of the things they don't even know about it yet"), the highest mountains on the planet (which are under water by the way), the many wonderful natural creations on this planet------and even those pesky human beings that are making the place a mess....for all the other life forms---their GOD created..........
but IS the same "GOD", that needs help in writing the "books of rules"--- Old- New Testament, Koran-------and the same "GOD", that seems to pick favorites, and just can't seem to get rid of the "others"---without the help of the "believers"-----who need to send some more money by the way----things being tough all over the world in the money department----
Actually I would WORRY about a "GOD" that needed so much help from so many humans, just to get a few relatively small things done here on earth.
Thanks for your time....
So many of our government officials hold Israeli passports that I believe assaulting schoolchildren must be in the American interest. It's our 'foreign' policy.
Thank you Kathy for this article.
You are indeed an inspiration to those of us who have recently awakened to the horrors committed by our fellow men/women.
To all other CD readers - if you feel so inclined - please donate to CPT. They are always in need of funding for their full-time people. None of your money goes to expenses to support outside groups in foreign lands. CPT is against monetary support for the people in the areas where they work.
You can normally reach their site at www.cpt.org but at present it seems to be not working. There is something strange that comes up telling you to download something. I would not suggest doing this. Wait until the site is fixed and connects normally.
Blessings and Peace,
Phyllis
Obviously, B'T selem will be attacked as self-hating Jews. Were they not a Jewish organization then they would, of course, be anti-Semitic.
These settlers are the people that both major party candidates have sworn to protect.
Most American parents will never know about the dangers faced by the Palestinian children because the US mainstream media is determined that these stories will receive no coverage at all.
Republican stooges can flood this site all they want. As long as CD keeps posting the kind of material in this post then I'll keep reading and supporting this site.
jj