A blow to the ribs is the small token I received from the soldiers for coming once again to accompany people to their land in Umm al-Ara’is. This time we staged some resistance. We approached the land from three different directions. In a sub-group of five we entered from the south and met confused soldiers telling us we are not allowed to go further. We told them there is absolutely no legal justification to stop us as we kept on roaming through. They demanded our ID’s but we dismissed them […]Wednesday, June 19 2013 The Struggle for Being by Amitai Ben-Abba
In the insane, maniacal strive to live life at its fullest I have found the most meaning in the perseverance and generosity of the Palestinian strugglers in the South Hebron Hills. The mechanics of disenfranchisement are so horrendously well-oiled, that the strugglers of the Wild South resist simply by being. And so, the rest of us, that come from safe(r) surroundings and secure(r) socioeconomic backgrounds, resist simply by being with them. That is the meaning of Ta’ayush – living together, living the end of apartheid and separate-ness. Waking up at […]Saturday, July 31 2010 A Solidarity Visit and Work Day in El-Arakib
On Saturday we went on a solidarity visit and work day in El-Arakib. This unrecognized village north of Beer Sheva was demolished to its foundation four days before. Eye witness accounts of the demolition can be found here and here; the village was razed in order to plant a JNF forest. When we arrived in the village it seemed like the a parking lot at the seashore, full of the buses and cars which had brought the hundreds of activists from all corners of the country, those who came to […]Saturday, January 9 2010 Repair workday in Bir- al-’Id
Last Saturday some ten activists, Israelis and Internationals, went to Bir al-id in order to help the residents with local repair work. On this Saturday work was concentrated on two cisterns which had to be emptied of the dirt which had collected in them over the years, when the residents had not been allowed to live in this place. The work proceeded with no problems except for sweat, sore muscles and the growing exhaustion from filling baskets with obstinate muddy earth. However, the very fact that on this day the […]Saturday, December 26 2009 Water-wells renovation and escorting shepherds
On Saturday morning a group of Ta’ayush activists were vigorously working on cleaning and renovating a water well in Bir al’Id. Another group was cleaning and renovatin a well in Susya. A number of activists accompanied shepherds in Mufakara.Saturday, December 5 2009 Road clearing in Bir al’Id During the day we cleared a mountainous road to facilitate access for vehicles and tractors. At about 13:30 a single settler from Havat Ya’ir tried to expel the shepherds from one of their grazing zones. The Palestinian shepherds refused and we joined the altercation, as well as the army and The Civil Administration. When things calmed we returned to the road work, but some remained with the shepherds . At this stage a military patrol arrived and demanded that we leave the area. We explained that as long as there […]
Saturday, November 7 2009 Planting, herding and settler violence in Umm al-Khir Today 13 Ta’ayush activists set out to the South Hebron Hills. One group accompanied shepherds in the area of the outpost of Avigail. The herding went quietly and upon completion the activists visited Umm al-Khir, where they helped in renovating a gravel road. Most of the activists went to Susia. The planting began quietly but was delayed by a technical problem with the tractor. At this point an army jeep arrived from the direction of the settlement. Four reserve soldiers exited their polite commander asked us what we were doing […]
Saturday, September 26 2009 Water Convoy to South Mt. Hebron
Some 100 Israeli activists left Tel Aviv and Jerusalem today to bring water to several isolated villages in the South Hebron Mount. These villages suffer more than anywhere else from Israel’s racist water policy, as they lack connection to water pipes, and suffer from army attacks on what few water wells and deposits they have. Buses where harassed several times on the way, and stopped completely near the Carmel illegal settlement, where soldiers claimed the area was a closed military zone, though no warrant was shown. Activists got off the […]
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