Sunday, July 30 2017 Saturday, 29.7, in the South Hebron HillsToday at the South Hebron Hills – accompanying shepherds and construction work. We joined the shepherds of Um el Amad to their grazing lands near the settlement of Otniel, could have been really pastoral if not for the soldiers and settlers watching us all morning. In Um el Kheir we cleaned the ruins of the community center that was destroyed (again), while the houses of the colonialists of Carmel are still standing without interruption. Written by Li, photos by Michal.
Saturday, April 8 2017 Saturday activity, 8.4 in Um el AmadWe accompanied Palestinian shepherds to their lands in Um el Amad, near the Israeli settlement Otniel. The settlement guard in his Jeep looked at us from above and went away. Was a beautiful day, perfect weather, an army Jeep up on the hill but he left us alone as well. We continued to chat and even opened a chess game while the sheep eat grass, another Jeep arrived. Four soldiers came down to us, showed a closed military area warrant and drove us out of the land. So frustrating.
Saturday, April 1 2017 Saturday activity, 1/4 at the South Hebron HillsToday at the South Hebron Hills – accompanying Palestinian shepherds from Um el Amad to their herding lands near the Israeli settlement of Otniel. Was beautiful weather, and quiet besides one visit of a lord-of-the-land settler (his words) and a few soldiers popping behind the hill. Without them, without the occupation, true pastorality exists. text and picture: Li Lorian
Sunday, March 12 2017 Saturday, 11.3.17Saturday, 12.3, we accompanied shepherds in Um-el-Amad in the South Hebron Hills – was quiet, partly windy with a bit of sun, we set and had a nice chat, one of the shepherds showed me a video of an interesting theater play they produced in the university in Nablus, and then the soldiers came with a closed military warrant and told us to take off. We went out of the “closed area” and after a while got back to the village. Later same day we went to Avigail so to […]
Saturday, March 4 2017 Saturday, 4.3.17 – activity in the South Hebron HillsToday at the South Hebron Hills, we accompanied Palestinian shepherds from Um el Amad to their grazing land near the Israeli settlement Otniel. It has been two years since we visited this beautiful place, until this week soldiers arrested two young shepherds, they beat them and in the middle of the night they dropped them somewhere to look for their way home. Was a quiet day where we arrived with the herd everywhere we wanted. Could have been completely pastoral if not for the line of soldiers guarding we won’t […]
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, November 23 2013 An Organized Attack in Umm el Ara’is, and MoreA 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 […]