Sagt nicht, Ihr hättet es nicht gewusst 659
In der Nacht vom Donnerstag auf Freitag (8.-9. August) schlichen sich israelische Siedlerkolonisten in das palästinensische Dorf Dirat in den südlichen Hebronbergen (nahe der Siedler-Kolonie Carmel) und setzten 50 Heuhaufen in Brand. Sie schrieben „Rache“ und zeichneten einen Davidsstern. So kann jeder asehen, wer hinter dieser heroischen Tat steckt…
Sagt nicht, Ihr hättet es nicht gewusst 659 (The Intimacy of Evil)
What hasn’t already been said and written about the Bedouin village El Araqib in the Negev? These are people fighting for the right to their land and their right to continue living in their village as it existed before the establishment of Israel. On Wednesday August 21st I was witness to the ongoing evil that the authorities perpetrate against them. I arrived there with another human rights activist to maintain a Jewish presence in the village alongside the unwanted Bedouin citizens. And indeed we didn’t have to wait long before vehicles from the Israel Lands Authority (ILA), the Green Patrol and the Police arrived to enforce the law on the „Bedouin criminals.“ When I later thought about what I had seen, it occurred to me that I had witnessed the intimacy of evil.
It turned out that everyone knew everyone else. The ILA man seemed very determined. He filmed everyone present and handed out orders to his workers and to a policeman. I had the impression that he was not only carrying out his mission, but that he identified with it. The workers seemed to just be doing their job. The Bedouin knew him. They told me that his name was Yair and mentioned a disease he was suffering from. At a certain point, when he went to his car, he noticed that I was laughing in my conversation with a local activist. This aroused his anger … that I had dared to laugh. I reminded him of what the anti-Semites had done, and wondered if he understood the similarity between his actions and theirs.
One of the Bedouin women started arguing loudly with the policeman. She was angry that on his last visit he had run after her among the gravestones and tried to arrest her: „If I did something like that in the cemetery of your ancestors you would shoot me.“ Afterwards she showed me a film of the event on her cell phone.
I felt with fury the impotence that overtook everyone present, the Bedouin and us. But we all knew the limitations and acted accordingly. At one point the policeman detained a young man who was giving strong vocal expression to his rage, but he was released a short time later.
The frames of the few shacks that stood on the ground were dismantled, their wooden planks were confiscated, and the invading force returned safely to its base. Only we remained at the site, not knowing what to do with our shame and our anger.
Sagt nicht, Ihr hättet es nicht gewusst 661
Am Donnerstag, 29. August 2019 durchtrennten Vertreter der israelischen Zivilbehörde und der Wassergesellschaft Wasserleitungen, die zur Bewässerung von Feldern beim palästinensischen Dorf Bardala (nördliches Jordantal) genutzt wurden. Vor zwei Wochen schon zerschnitten sie im selben Dorf Wasserrohre und zerstörten ein Wasserreservoir.
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Diese Woche kamen ein weiteres Mal Israelische Regierungsbeamte von Polizei begleitet zur Beduinengemeinde Al Arakib, beschlagnahmten Ausrüstung und zerstörten vorhandene Strukturen. Einer von ihnen bedrohte ein Kind mit dem Messer, als es ihn photografierte.
Am 29. August 2019 zerstörten sie Dorfstrukturen, beschlagnahmten Ausrüstung und verhafteten eine Frau. Sie ließen sie zwei Stunden später frei.