Much Ado About Palestine and Iraq in Oregon

By Sister Elaine Kelley

A noticeable increase in attendance at Middle East educational events and planning meetings, and higher media attention to the issues of Palestinian and Iraqi matters was evident in Oregon during October and November, according to members of the Oregon Coalition for Justice in Palestine. Movement leaders attribute this to the growing fear of an imminent attack on Iraq and a simultaneous attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to expel large numbers of Palestinians from the West Bank.

“Even people I talk to at the gym and on the bus speak spontaneously and have quite a bit of anxiety and concern,” said Doug Willbanks, who has been participating for more than a year and a half in weekly Coalition vigils held in downtown Portland’s Pioneer Square during weekday lunch hours and on Friday evenings.

A Nov. 17 demonstration in Portland opposing an attack on Iraq brought an estimated 10,000 into the streets, according to local press reports, while special events, debates, workshops and teach-ins are being held with more regularity. Also giving impetus to local efforts to prevent a war and end the occupation are more frequent visits to Oregon by Palestinians as well as visits to Palestine by Oregonians participating in trips sponsored by local groups. According to Rev. Richard Toll, national chairperson for Friends of Sabeel–North America, the first visit to Portland in 1996 by Rev. Naim Ateek, director of The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, resulted in a number of individuals participating in Sabeel’s “solidarity visits.” These are organized tours that provide both pilgrimage for Christians as well as immersion in Palestinian society through visits to refugee camps and meetings with Palestinian and Israeli peace groups. “Usually people who go on these trips want to return,” Fr. Toll stated. “They come back with a commitment that does not go away.”

Among Portlanders visiting Palestine with Sabeel in October and November were Rev. Albert and Katherine Krueger and John Grosvenor—all of whom have indicated their intentions to be part of the March 2003 Sabeel solidarity visit. Upon his return Al Krueger, vicar of St. Andrew Episcopal Church in Portland, wrote, “We trust we will be able to give of ourselves in return for the experience and look forward to presenting the truth we have seen and heard whenever and wherever it becomes possible.”

Grosvenor spoke to a gathering at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in the Portland suburb of Beaverton, where he and his wife Jennifer initiated and coordinated a six-part educational series on the Middle East. He shared what he saw in Palestine. “Everyone I met was a peacemaker,” he said, “and I also met some people who are heroes.” Grosvenor was particularly impressed with the work of of Rev. Bob Holmes, a priest from Toronto who heads the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron. CPT members, Grosvenor explained, “place themselves between soldiers and Palestinians and try to transform soldiers into friends.” He also described a family living in Bethlehem’s Dheisheh Refugee Camp whose 13-year-old son, Khalid, had been distraught over the death of his 14-year-old best friend, who was shot by an Israeli sniper. Posters of the young martyr were all over the camp, Grosvenor said. “Khalid’s parents were horrified to find a note scribbled on the back of one of Khalid’s own photographs that said, ‘If I am martyred, I want this picture to be on my martyr poster,’” Grosvenor told his listeners.

A number of Palestinians representing various church and civic organizations in Palestine visited Oregon this fall at the invitation of local groups. In October and November Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek addressed crowds at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon and, in Washington state, at Whitman College in Walla Walla and Whitworth College and Gonzaga University in Spokane. He also addressed church gatherings in those towns urging Christians to seek more understanding of the crisis in the Holy Land and to give support to the people living under occupation by visiting their towns and churches.

On Nov. 12 Eugene Bird of the Council for the National Interest in Washington, DC spoke to a group of about 50 Oregon Coalition members on the subject “Are Israeli Policies Endangering American Security? Washington and the Role of the American Public.” Part of the purpose of his visit was to solicit support for CNI’s advertising campaign in major American newspapers and magazines. The full-page ads, stating that it is “Time to Tell the Truth,” focus on Israel’s occupation, the cost to American taxpayers, and the need to “rescue Middle East policy,” according to the organization’s literature. Following Bird’s presentation the Oregon group decided to work with CNI on a full-page ad to appear in the Oregonian newspaper.

Three Jerusalem Women

The World Affairs Council of Oregon co-hosted with Partners for Peace of Washington, DC an event featuring three women from Jerusalem—an Israeli Jew, a Palestinian Christian, and a Palestinian Muslim. Held at Portland State University Nov. 13, “Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women—Three Faiths—One Shared City,” was presented as “a tour of three ordinary women living in extraordinary times.” The speakers were: Jean Zaru, a Palestinian Christian who is the presiding clerk of Ramallah Friends Meeting and a founding board member of Sabeel in Jerusalem; Adi Dagani, an Israeli Jew and staff member at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem; and Muna Shikaki, a Palestinian Muslim working with Defense for Children International.

Shikaki, 22, who graduated from Birzeit University in journalism and has received a Fullbright scholarship to study for an MBA in magazine journalism, said she has great anger and fear—a “fear of transfer.” People “don’t have to be either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian,” she said, “but should be pro-justice and anti-occupation.” Shikaki agreed with the need for more talks and reconciliation, but, she maintained, “you can’t expect people to go through the process of forgiving when we’re still being subjected to oppression.”

Dagan, 31, an Israeli Jewish woman who served in the army in cultural activities and also worked for Adva, a center for research on social equality in Israel, explained that she is now “working for a just peace.” She recently joined Machsom Watch, an organization of Israeli women who go to checkpoints around Jerusalem to document and influence the actions of soldiers toward Palestinians. Groups of women document incidents of harassment, violence, humiliation, and human rights abuses, she said, then report their findings to the Israeli public as well as to organizations worldwide and the international media. “It is very important for me not only to try to help the [Palestinian] people in the checkpoints,” Dagan has written, “but also to hear from them and to witness with my own eyes what is going on under the Israeli occupation.”

To illustrate the prisonlike conditions under which Palestinians live, she displayed maps showing checkpoints and Jewish settlements. Describing the effect of the situation on Israelis, Dagani stated, “There is a huge dark cloud over our heads, it is impossible for us to live ordinary lives, and it is draining our resources.”

Jean Zaru, 62, is a leader in Palestine’s Quaker community who has spoken widely for 25 years on the issues related to Palestine/Israel. As a Palestinian woman, she noted, she “is struggling on a national level, on a social level and on a religious level.” Theology and the bible have been used “as a tool of oppression in my land,” she said, adding that she struggles with what it means to be a pacifist. “Yes, I do rage against injustice and I do not sit in silence,” she said, “but I refuse to destroy.” Explaining that “every aspect of life is framed in humiliation” and that “people are tired, depressed, and traumatized by violence,” Zaru said that her hope is that “the Israeli public and the international community will realize the extreme danger of their policies before it is too late.”

On the Ground in Palestine

In addition to these visitors from Palestine, George Rishmawi of Beit Sahour, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), spoke at Portland State University on Nov. 21—the same day a suicide bombing in Jerusalem killed a dozen Israelis and the Israeli army reoccupied Bethlehem in retaliation. In his presentation, entitled “On the Ground in Palestine,” Rishmawi noted that “There’s a small debate inside Israel right now over what will bring security for Israel.” As he then pointed out, “All negotiations now focus on Israeli security, as if Palestinians don’t have security needs.”

Rishmawi discussed Beit Sahour’s reputation as a center of nonviolent resistance, beginning in the first intifada with a tax revolt in which the townspeople refused to pay taxes to Israel. He gave a brief history of U.S. intransigence in the United Nations and its penchant for using its Security Council veto as leverage to forestall condemnations of Israel. “We are proud that the U.S. vetoed Beit Sahour at the U.N.,” he stated, referring to Washington’s veto of a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli taxation policies. Beit Sahour had initiated a nonviolent tax revolt in 1988, and taken its case to the U.N.

ISM is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and international activists working to end Israeli occupation through nonviolent, direct-action to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies. Participating in ISM actions and being an eyewitness is “choice number one” for individuals wishing to have a real effect on protecting Palestinian civilians, Rishmawi said. “If we have 10,000 Palestinians marching I don’t think the media will pick it up,” he explained. “But if a lot of Americans are involved, the media will show up to report it.”

Touring with Rishmawi was Hekmat El Sarraj from Gaza, who works with the women’s affairs division of the Palestinian Trade Unionists. Israeli authorities prevented two other Palestinians scheduled to participate, Mohammed Saleh and Abdel Khateeb, from leaving the West Bank.

Numerous other Mideast-related events and special programs have been held in Oregon and some are ongoing. A number of discussion groups and educational programs have been established, and a new Muslim/Arab Police Advisory Council chaired by Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker held its first meeting on Nov. 4. Co-chaired by the Muslim Education Trust’s Wajdi Said and Imam Mohammad Najieb of the Muslim Community Center of Portland, the council will meet regularly to facilitate dialogue between the Police Bureau and Portland’s Muslim/Arab community.

From Sept. 26 to Nov. 7, The Northwest Film Center held a Human Rights Watch film festival and, thanks to high participation, added an additional segment called “Palestinian Perspectives,” which featured three films: “Gaza Strip,” “Frontiers of Dreams and Fears,” and “In the Shadows of the City.” Among many other local opportunities for citizens to educate themselves on the issues, Portland State University co-sponsored “The Roots of Terrorism” with speaker Stephen Zunes, Middle East editor for Foreign Policy in Focus and associate professor of political science at the University of San Francisco. The City Club of Portland New Leaders Council sponsored “Power Shift in Iraq” with Azod Saddiq, a former Iraqi fighter pilot and lawyer in Baghdad.

Residents of the Pacific Northwest seeking information on area Middle East events may visit the Web site of Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights at <www.auphr.org>.

Sister Elaine Kelley is administrative officer for Friends of Sabeel–North America.