Word launderers and peace wanderers
Akiva Eldar
Haaretz, November 13, 2003
Word laundering
The separation fence has created a new line in
the industrial word laundries of the
occupation. The Israel Defense Forces, for
example, makes sure to refer to the walls and
barbed wire fences with the "clean" term, "seam
area." That sounds a lot better than concrete
and fences that prevent children from getting
to school or old ladies going to a clinic or
hospital.
The limitations on movement inside the "seam
area" now contributes to an even more
problematic new term: "types of people." Meretz
MK Zahava Gal-On found the term in the articles
of "an order regarding security regulations,
for admission to the seam area and presence in
it."
Since it is not nice to say that a specific area
inside Palestinian territory is only accessible
to Israelis and those the Israelis allow into
the zone, the order issued by Maj. Gen. Moshe
Kaplinski, commanding general of the Central
Command, says "this hereby grants entry to the
seam area, as defined by the declaration, and
allows presence in it, to any person who is
among the type of person detailed in the
appendix to this permit."
The person who authored the language of "type of person" deserves a medal for word laundering.
The document then goes on to list three types
of people - those with foreign passports and
permits, people with permits to work in Israeli
communities, people with a permit to leave the
area.
Gal-On wrote to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
that the document is proof of indifference to
morality and values, and that only in dark
regimes that no longer exist, like Apartheid
South Africa, were people categorized according
to "type."
Another order issued by Kaplinski, expropriating
a 47-60 meter wide stretch of land for the
fence, declaring it "a closed military area"
starred at weekend demonstrations against the
fence that took place Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and
Suwahara, where the fence will divide about
20,000 residents from another 10,000 residents
of the same community, placing the cemetery,
for example, on one side of the fence,
inaccessible to the other side.
"It's not a fence to separate Israelis from
Palestinians, it's a fence to separate
Palestinians from Palestinians," said Osama
Zahalka. At the Tel Aviv demonstration, held at
the Cinematheque plaza - and like the other
rallies, downplayed in the Israeli press - maps
were handed out showing what the fence would do if it ran down the length of Ibn Gvirol
Boulevard. In Suwahara, about a thousand peace
demonstrators, including many Israelis and
foreigners, painted anti-war and pro-peace
slogans on the wall. A group from Japan, led by
a Buddhist priest, painted the word peace in
Japanese 50 times on the fence. In the coming
days, similar demonstrations will be held in
the U.S., England, Scotland, France, Germany,
Italy, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Sweden,
Australia, South Africa, Canada, Brazil,
Argentina, Chile, Bangladesh and Jordan.
What investigation?
Ever since the olive harvest began, David Nir
from Ta'ayush has shown up practically every
day in the olive groves of the little village
of al Sawaya, surrounded by the outposts put up
around the settlement of Eli. Nir also heard
the weekend radio report about how Prime
Minister Sharon was shocked by the TV images of
uprooted and chopped down olive trees and gave an "order" to investigate.
On Sunday, Nir showed up at the grove, with a
dozen other human rights activists, to find
what remained of Ibrahim el Halil's olive trees
in al Sawaya. Apparently, the prime minister's
"shock" and "order" for a police probe did not
make much of an impression on the thugs on the
hills, nor on the Israeli security services.
According to Halil, a few minutes before the
Israeli human rights activists showed up, a
settler stopped his car beside two elderly
women harvesters, one 70 and the other in her
80s, and ran them off. He took their buckets of
olives, got in his van and drove off. Four or
five settlers picked olives from a grove owned
by villagers near the settlement. When they
noticed the human rights activists, the
settlers ran off, leaving behind tools and a
bit of food. Nir says he reported this to the
policeman who has been the liaison to the human rights groups since the harvest began, and the police showed up with other Binyamin
sub-district police. Later more troops and
police showed up.
They were followed by two people from Eli,
including Dudu, the security officer from the
settlement. "They demanded we leave," said Nir,
"since they said the harvesting (by the
Palestinians with Israeli civil rights activists) was not coordinated with them, and we were not allowed to cross the security road that surrounds Eli. But I was present when the harvest was coordinated with the District Liaison and Coordination Office. The Eli security officer was there as well. Last Monday, by the way, he told me he was once a Kach activist."
The police ordered the peace activists to move
100 meters away from the security road, just as
the Eli security officer demanded. The
Palestinians decided to give up and went home.
That afternoon, a major from the civil
administration showed up and after some
conversation announced that only Jews - more
precisely anyone except the Palestinians -
would be allowed to pick olives in that area.
The prime minister did not need the media to
learn that many of the youngsters he has sent
to the hilltops over the years are hooligans
and thugs for whom Palestinian lives and
livelihood are worth less than a single olive.
Security officials reported last year on the
systematic harassment of olive harvesters
throughout the territories. But the Israeli
authorities are much more interested in
enforcing the building laws - when it comes to
Palestinians, not against the "illegal outposts."
Unless something comes up to change things, the
day after tomorrow, the army will get permission from a military court to demolish half the small village of Aqaba in Samaria, including its kindergarten and mosque, which the authorities refused to grant permission to build.
