New outpost of Givat Sorek. Photo by Amir Bitan. September 20, 2014 7:00. Ezra leaves me off near the ‘Awad tents on the steep slope north of the wadi. It’s another one of those times when he says: “Just keep walking, and you’ll find the shepherds.” He also tells me that last week there was a violent attack on them by settlers from Mitzpeh Yair; the shepherds and two international volunteers were beaten and a camera smashed. For now, I’m on my own. It’s autumn: sharp wind, a timid sun, […]Saturday, August 30 2014 Wadi Simsim, Tequ’a by David Shulman
There is innocence, and there is the smug delusion of innocence. It’s not hard to tell them apart. I saw a lot of both today. Suhail was born in the tents of Wadi Simsim and has lived his whole life here, in the wadi, with the goats and the sheep. This is his world. He knows every rock. He never studied. He speaks only Arabic (the lush, musical dialect of the south). Yet he is a man of the world, and he knows right from wrong. He’s holding in a […]Saturday, August 16 2014 The Good News by David Shulman
1. Umm al-’Amad. Many of you will remember the long struggle to reclaim this fertile valley, the Maraga Lands, for their rightful Palestinian owners, after 12 years or more in which they had no access to them. The wadi at Umm al-’Amad is situated just beneath the large, cruel settlement of Othniel, whose settlers are sitting on the lands of Umm al-’Amad and neighboring villages; these settlers have done whatever they could to drive the owners away, often attacking them physically and subjecting them to the usual regime of […]Saturday, July 12 2014 Umm al-Ara’is, Susya, Bi’r al-‘Id, Ma’asara by David Shulman Business as usual in the South Hebron hills. There’s a war on in Gaza, but that too is business as usual, the meaningless biannual ritual in which both sides gleefully smash one another before reverting to the status quo ante. The Israeli media are drowning us in words, a vast and raucous flood, and the government is putting out its familiar, mendacious statements; perhaps in recent days only Abu Mazen has spoken the truth. The only solution, he said, is a political one, and Netanyahu is no partner. Meanwhile, […]
Saturday, November 23 2013 An Organized Attack in Umm el Ara’is, and More A sunny Saturday in South Hebron hills, and for some reason, not many activists have registered. Some of us headed from Jerusalem, in Ezra’s car, to the lands of Umm el ‘Amad. One shepherd took his sheep to graze, and another plowed his land accompanied by us, fortunately without being disturbed by settlers or ‘”Security Forces”. The farmers have finished their work pretty early, and the one who had been plowing reminded us that his access to his lands has been denied for many years, until we started coming along with him. The rest of us headed in a van from Jerusalem to […]
Saturday, November 2 2013 An article in “Le Monde” about Ta’ayush http://www.taayush.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/TAAYOUSH.pdf TAAYOUSH Written in French by Luc Beaudoin In the Paths of Occupied Palestine—Part 1 of 2 Photo Captions (clink the link, above, to see photos in the original article): Bedouins from Um al-Hayyari having difficulty watering their flocks: the settlement in Carmel (right) expanding their military defense. Bottom: Ta’ayush’s Tamar confronts soldiers defending the settlement consuming Palestinian lands. The Oslo Accords (1993) between Israel and the Palestinians predicted that a five-year interim period would lead up to enacting the permanent agreement in which the West Bank (and Gaza) would be […]
Saturday, October 26 2013 A soldier using physical and verbal violence in Umm el ‘Arais Saturday morning, ‘Awad family lands in Umm el ‘Arais. These lands had been invaded by the settlers of Mitzpeh Yair, an illegal outpost they founded near by, then some illegal green houses were built there as well, in which organic vegetables have been growing and producing some nice profit. In the last couple of years, parallel to struggling in court, the ‘Awad family has been attempting to reach it’s lands each Saturday, accompanied by Ta’ayush activists. Each time, they have been blocked by soldiers and policemen, and sometimes detained or arrested as well. In this video, a soldier […]
Saturday, October 19 2013 Umm al-Ara’is and Susya by David Shulman
Autumn in the South Hebron hills. Thick sun, in and out of cloud. Wind: a taste of winter. Blue hills trimmed with green. Crstyal light, unearthly clarity. Mauve ridges rushing in waves down into the desert. Scattered rocks that look like sheep, and sheep that could be rocks. The smell of wood ovens in Twaneh; someone is baking pitta. It’s good to be back. I’m here, among other reasons, as a way of remembering, a quiet, intimate gesture for my mother, Deana, who died last month at 96, lucid, witty, […]
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