Feedback from Voyage

I wish you all luck on getting back into the normal swing of things. I would rather have sneaked into Gaza and joined the resistance. But hey, even my sense of adventure is limited...and hence I am back at Penn State for this semester, where I pan to continue resisting with my rhetoric and activism.

I had an awesome time in Palestine. It was certainly great to be back to the fatherland and reconnect with its land and people. The trip was indeed emotional in many ways. I am glad that I was able to go back and see first-hand the conditions over there. And what I noticed is that the past year of pro-Palestinian activism had prepared me for what to expect. For this reason, the knowledge that I acquired on this trip reinforced the convictions which I had resulting from research on the subject before going into the trip and has made me even more determined to fight for Palestine. Basically, I am more pro-Palestinian because of what I saw.

But there is indeed much hope in the future. From what I saw, I can predict that the future of the Holy Land land lies with its indigenous people. It is indeed a matter of time before the land returns to those who are a PART of it, and not those who merely live ON it.

The Israelis in power, namely the European Jew-run government, have nothing to offer but a dreary status quo full of racism and contempt for "the other." Their racist mentality, which was never welcome in that region, will be short lived and eroded by the test of time and a decrease in Western involvement and power. The typical Israeli citizen illustrates brainwashed qualities, which result in their apathy for the conditions of the occupation. All the Israeli people need is knowledge on the Palestinian situation and they will realize the madness of their government. Fortunately, many of the Israelis that I met on this trip have reached this step.

Contrasting with the comfort of the Israeli people, the suffering and hardship undergone by the Palestinians as a people, on the other hand, has allowed them to become both mobilized and enlightened, from what I have witnessed. As one resident of Dheishah refugee camp noted most wisely: The Palestinian people, despite their physical oppression, are outside the loop of media bias and hence are mentally more free than their Western counterparts (roughly quoted). This means that they have the ability to think for themselves and resulting from this, are ripe with new and progressive ideas for the development of a new and progressive society, if given the chance.

I have also noticed a general consensus among Palestinians that a one state solution is the most viable option for resolving the unfavorable conditions of occupation. After seeing all the roadblocks and checkpoints, not to mention the countless Jewish settlements in the West Bank, I have come to realize that a two-state settlement is near impossible to implement. For this reason, after the trip I am very much for a one "democratic" state solution. The Palestinian and Jewish people should take over that country from the racist elitists in power and establish a progressive state based on law which satisfies Muslims, Christians, Jews, and seculars. I may sound radical, but if you really think about it and SEE with your own eyes the backwardness of the Israeli regime, you just may come into accordance with my views and realize that they are meant in the name of progress.

A first step for the Palestinians could be as another Palestinian from Ramallah noted (again roughly quoted): Tell the Israeli government, "Alright you won, now give us our rights."

Evil at the Airport

I sit here at the airport, past security
Breathing more lightly than 5 minutes ago,
When I was stressed and tired.
But now I am tired, but my stress is gone.
And it does seem so trivial, the whole thing
Of feeling stressed at the airport:
Why I must fear, at the airport, being singled out
Because of my conscience, and not even that
But because my appearance resembles someone who holds
A conscience that is shunned at the airport,
A conscience that is dangerous at the airport,
A conscience that turns me evil at the airport
But I am not evil:
I am in fact a human, who wants to travel overseas and visit
What I call home: the land where my ancestry runs deeper
Than the oceans over which we travel.
Yet nevertheless I must fear that I may be detained
Because someone fears that I may detain them,
With my conscience,
My “evil” conscience.
But my conscience does not detain them
It is indeed their actions which detain me,
And release my conscience, at the airport.
And make me feel evil, at the airport.
And make me think evil, at the airport.
And make me act evil, at the airport.
So maybe they should detain me after all
And prevent my conscience from contaminating this airport
For maybe I am evil after all
And so maybe, because I am evil, I do not deserve to be at peace,
And I do not deserve to be peaceful
Hence out of their irrational fear of me being evil,
They have rationally turned me into just that: Evil.

-Isaac Kassis

The Refugee Children

My first encounter with the children occurs in downtown Ramallah, where they are trying to make a couple shekels selling gum. One of them is extremely aggressive in his salesmanship: I had bought a stick of gum from another child for 1 shekel, so I assume that that price is what this aggressive little entrepreneur wants for his gum as well. So I quickly give him a shekel and take a stick of gum so as to pacify him. I walk away with the group and about 2 minutes later, the boy confronts me and yells “I told you 5 shekels!” He tries to intimidate me so I yell at him in Arabic to “Get the hell out of here.” The sternness indeed works and the child went away, only to abruptly encounter me again later on that day. These children are truly audacious and the harsh realities of their daily lives seem to have made them fearless.

My second and indeed more emotional encounter with refugee children occurs during our excursion at the Qalandia, the main Israeli checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem. Upon our arrival at the line of Palestinian cars waiting in front of the checkpoint, we receive a cold welcome from some children hanging out in the rubble beneath the separation barrier, or apartheid wall. One of them wears an angry grin on his face, and another hurls a stone at our vehicle. One could tell that they are angry at us as Western tourists, who are able to cross the checkpoint within a couple of minutes, while these boys are stuck wistfully on the other side. Hence, when we actually disembark from the bus, we are in for a treat. The refugee boys at the checkpoint, as the ones in Ramallah proper, are selling cheap gum in order to make a couple of shekels. They are too pushy to a point where they begin harassing members of our group who are unwilling to purchase their gum.

One of our group members is nice enough to offer them money. However, I tell her not to give the money to the kids because they are acting like little brats. Doing this, I had successfully diverted the little thugs’ attention away from the rest of the group and towards me. One of them yells at me desperately, “Why did you not let her give us money?!” and punches me in the back. Sternly, I yell back at him in Arabic and tell him that it is shameful to beg for money, especially from guests in our country. I tell them that I, like them, am Palestinian and that the members of this group are my friends. Once they realize that I am one of their compatriots, they begin to warm up. I embrace two of the boys; both could not have been more than 10 years old, in each arm and attempt to calm them from their rage. Subsequently, one could sense the shame that they hold for their initial behavior. They are not taught to act like angry little thugs, like beggars. This is indeed considered shameful in our culture. But these little boys are hungry and desperate for money, something which can turn even the best-behaved child into an angry little savage.

Hence I embrace these children, my Palestinian brothers, and calm them. They are my people, and I love them. I need to see through their anger and their desperation in order to realize this. And in the end, I give them what is left of the coins in my pocket. I hold my hand high and drop my coins, for they had jumped at my hand like a flock of seagulls eager for a bite to eat. The youngest boy is left empty handed, for his two older friends catch the change first. He cries for me to give him some change. I tell him that I had given it all away and then I look at his friend. They resemble each other and I asked if he is his brother, which he affirms. I tell him to give some of the money to his little brother. He nods reassuringly and I turn away and walk towards the checkpoint in order to catch up with the rest of the group.

Whether or not that boy gave his younger brother a portion of the money which I had given them, I cannot say. These boys are being tested as are no other boys their age. They are allegorically linked to the whole of Palestinian society, which like them, is strangled into anger and desperation. I cannot blame these children for their bad conduct, for they are hungry and downtrodden. Nor can I blame the Palestinian people for the behavior resulting from their indignation at the injustice brought upon them by the Israeli occupation. There is an underlying cause beneath every desperate action which surfaces, and few times have I analyzed this concept more than in my encounter with the refugee children.

I had indeed dealt sternly with these children, for this is the language that they are used to and sadly, the language which they understand. However, after the event my sternness melted away, and I could not sleep that night. For me not to feel sorrow for these children would be a betrayal of my people, and a betrayal to humanity. Hence I wept, out of the deep sadness which engulfed my heart, and prayed for justice to be brought to these downtrodden siblings of mine.

-Isaac Kassis

Finkelstein Talk this Friday

Hopefully, I am going to see Prof. Norman Finkelstein at another of his inspirational talks this Friday in DC:

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/content.php?pg=9


Then on Sunday, I head out from DC to Vienna, Austria, chill there for half a day, and then finally connect to Palestine.

On My Terminology

So, after 8 years, since the Second Intifada, I am returning to the land of my forefathers, the land with which I bleed and with which my heart beats. But, for the sake of this neutral blog, what should I call this land? It is evident that I usually chose to call this land Palestine. However, some readers may be troubled by the apparent bias in my terminology. Do not be troubled, for within my "bias" lies nothing but simple everyday logic.

The term Israel has no ancestral significance to me. Apart from what is mentioned in the Holy Texts (the Bible and the Qur'an), I have no ties to that name or the identity that surrounds it. My family has hundreds of years of history in the Holy Land. And for that time, the land was considered not an independent state, but a prized province in an immense monotheistic civilization, where Jew, Christian, and Muslim lived in peace for hundreds of years.

To me, Palestine is part of something greater than a strip of land between the Jordan and Mediterranean. It is part of the Middle East, and in no way apart from it. It is part of the region on Earth that has been visited numerous times by revelations from God, which culminated in the creation of the three main monotheistic religions today: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

I submit to God above all things, and I attempt to be the most inclusive for all peoples of all races, and of all faiths. I hope to see the Middle East become inclusive and united one day. Then I believe progress will ensue. The term Palestine used for the land of my ancestors seems to me more inclusive than the term Israel, which denotes a solely Jewish state based both on race and religion. I am not a Jew, and I am not Jewish, so where do I fit in here? What do I acquire from submitting to the label of Israel?

Hence, attempting to use objective reasoning, I have come to terms with the fact that even if I weren't Palestine, and had no ties to the Palestinian people at that, and despite the global consensus on this issue, I would, out of the attempted progressiveness of my heart, chose to call the land Palestine because that term satisfies the unbiased, non-racist, inclusively humanist nature within me.

I hope you all are convinced and non-offended by my choice of labels.

Take a Stand (Excerpt)

How can I sit back,
And watch my people die,
Or worse,
Live in humiliation,
With no life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
How can I simply view,
The atrocities that my people are subjected to,
And say, "I don’t live there; I am here in the U.S."
But I am not here, with my heart, with my spirit,
Both my heart and spirit belong to Palestine,
The land of my forefathers, the land of olive trees,
The Dead Sea, Jerusalem,
The land of Birzeit, my home.
How can I sit back
And let foreigners steal my identity.
The land is not theirs, it never was,
And let me say this, it never will be
In my eyes and in my heart, spirit and mind,
Palestine is mine, and always will be,
And I am Palestine’s, I will always be,
In the rocks, the sea, the trees
Without it, I am not,
With it, I am.

-Isaac Kassis