The Words We Use

November 13, 2015 | Meta Peace Teams, Phoenix | Occupied Palestine

Word /wəːd/ Noun

a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.

I have chosen to lead with the definition of “word”, because the wrong words are being used in connection to Palestine.

Over the course of the last two weeks young men  were arrested in Bil’in

NO!

Over the course of the last two weeks young men were illegally detained in occupied Bil’in

We all must speak and write the truth when speaking of injustice, oppression and the current occupation of Palestine.  The meaning of the words we use should show the full extent of what day to day life is for Palestinians under an apartheid system and occupation.

Palestinians do not die from being shot by Israeli soldiers.  Palestinians are MURDERED at the hands of the Israeli Army, that has OCCUPIED Palestinian land.

In using the incorrect words oppression is dismissed, struggle is discredited, voices are muted and injustice is embraced.

Our liberation is bound together, and your solidarity is mandatory!

First-hand Accounts of Oppression in an Occupied Nation.

Today the Meta Peace Team completed the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) training. It was another wonderful experience in learning about solidarity, non-violence and responding to violence, concensus decision making, self-care, sexual harassment, cultural differences, weapons used against activists and Palestinians by the Israeli Military and the legal implications of being arrested by the Israeli Police.

I continue to witness first-hand experiences of oppression like the military checkpoints stopping buses and hauling off all Palestinians under 30 years old, lining them up at gun point and questioning them before allowing the bus to continue. With M16's pointed at the young men the Israeli military made them all pull their shirts up and their pant legs up and then hand all of their passports to one boy who brought them to the military to inspect. As the international peacekeepers on the bus watched and filmed the oppressive behavior, the military threatened us to not photo them. I also heard first hand experiences of other international peacekeepers that witnessed situations like the ISM apartment in Hebron being raided by the Israeli military  and the international peacekeepers were forceably removed today.

I look forward to being a witness and helping with the olive harvest tomorrow. I find it amazing that most of the trees and most of the birds I see are olive trees and doves, both symbols of peace in one of the most violent places on the planet.

Solidarity is Mandatory

November 12, 2015 | Meta Peace Team, Phoenix | Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine

Brother, of murdered Palestinian being illegally arrested 

The idea that police would not shoot someone without reason is an idea many people would like to hold onto.  After all, police are put in place to protect and serve, and if they are killing us, who will then protect?  I met two young women (one from Germany and the other from Australia), outside of the Damascus Gates, after a Palestinian man was murdered by Settler Security and his brother illegally arrested by the Israeli police yesterday.  The women made their way over to us, because they noticed us speaking English, and were curious to know what was going on.  The women shared that they heard the gunshots, but did not remember how many shots were fired.  Immediately after hearing the shots and collecting themselves, they looked up on their phones to see if they could find out what happened.  They found in the news that the Palestinian man had been shot because he stabbed an Israeli.  We tried to explain to the German woman that what she read was not true and asked her if she had seen a knife or an Israeli being stabbed.  She replied “No,” but that is what they read.  She believed that the police would never shoot someone without reason.  In assuming good intentions, a lie had become her truth and a Palestinian voice had been muted.  Palestinians are being murdered every day, their homes are being illegally demolished, their land is being stolen and their country is under occupation.  

Assuming good intention in the media is encouraging injustice.  

Our liberation is bound together, and your solidarity is mandatory.

Israeli Settler Security murders Palestinian man, Israeli news reports inaccurate account

This is Bud. Technical difficulties have prevented me from getting into the blog and activating my cell phone. Flew in very late yesterday and only slept a few hours before I got up for breakfast in Jerusalem. No complications getting into Israel and I took a jet lag nap after breakfast.

Damascus Gate Closing

The Team decided to visit the old city and as we walked through the narrow streets, Israeli Police and Israeli Military began running to the Damascus Gate from all directions. So we went towards the gate and the military had blocked the gate preventing anyone from getting in or out.

We worked our way up to the wall above the gate to get a view of what was happening on the other side and were able to see the police and military refusing anyone passage. In the distance it was clear to see that there was some commotion with police cars and a large group of people.

Damascus Gate Closed

After some time the military allowed the Damascus gate to open and we decided to go up to the site of the activity. There we witnessed the police handcuffing and hauling away two individuals with media sources and people around watching. After talking to an eye witness and reliable source we discovered that over the past week or so the Israeli Military had been randomly beating Palestinians in the area. On this particular day a Palestinian man that was drunk accidentally bumped into and knocked down a Jewish woman and Settlement Security began to chase him and shot him in the back four times with a stray bullet injuring an innocent bystander. After the Palestinian man died, the police arrested his two brothers and father.

We also spoke to two international students that informed us that the media was already reporting that the Palestinian man had a knife and that he attacked and stabbed security before they shot him. The eyewitness we spoke to said there was no knife attack. Before long the police and military were gone and the streets were back to normal. Well normal for an occupied nation.

Police arrest brother of murdered Palestinian man

Palestinian brother being escorted to police car

Later that day, we also witnessed the Israeli Police completely emptying a Palestinian merchant's truck and empty every package all over the streets. This shocking and eye-opening experience should be witnessed by anyone who supports peace, non-violence and wants to really see what apartheid looks like. Please send your prayers to the people of these countries.

Police searching Palestinian merchants truck

MPT Team Members Arrive

It feels good to be in Jerusalem. I did not know what to expect. While there has been much in the news about violence breaking out, I know from other times that the news seems unrelated to what is actually happening on the ground. Since last year, there were no new or newly activated check points between the boarder with Jordan and Jerusalem.  While there is a lot of Israeli police presence (carrying M-16s) here in Jerusalem, I don’t think that it has increased since last year. Talking with long-term travelers, it seems that generally there is less grilling people as they enter Israel.

Peace Among Colors

Preparing to remove violence from conflicts MPT members gather to train and practice skills.  Over the course of a week of intense work 4 members prepare to go into areas of violence and take positive actions to build peace in areas of conflicts. Many MPT trainers converged on Coulmbiere, Clarkston, MI to train MPT members through hands on training in the tools of "third party non-violent intervention."

Fall Training for Peace Team

A colorful autumn setting in Clarkston, MI is the ideal location to prepare an International Team for third-party non-violent intervention in Israel/ Palestine during olive harvest season, 2015.

Meta Peace Team has trained hundreds of people in non-violent action based on the teachings of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Team building, interpersonal communication, and consensus decision-making are a few of the topics included in the training and opportunities are offered for role play with team discussion following.

Team members deploy next month.  While there, the team will network with other international teams to act as a calming presence to help reduce potentially violent situations.

Meta Peace Team (formerly Michigan Peace Team) began sending teams to this region in 1995.
International Teams have been sent in response to invitations from areas of conflict around the world.

• To contact Meta Peace Team or make donation to support their efforts, go to www.metapeaceteam.org

The Beginning of a Journey to Solidarity

Yesterday, while getting ready for bed my peace team mate asked "Phoenix,

why do you want to go to Palestine?"  I thought for a moment before answering, but it wasn't really anything I had to think about. My answer,  I see Detroit in Palestine.  As a black-woman from Detroit,  I know what it feels like to be pushed out of space and then erased from that space as if I never existed, to have my voice silenced and my mind beaten.  I go to stand in solidarity and my journey begins here.  

Meta Peace Team prepares for International Placement

Nestled in the colorful autumn trees of a beautiful Indian Summer, Meta Peace Team prepares an international team to deploy overseas in a few short weeks. Intensive team building exercises, non-violent communication skills, personal safety and security, cultural considerations and fundraising are on the agenda for members.

Individuals wishing to be of service and committed to nonviolence are taking time out of their lives to help stabilize conflict zones around the world. Meta Peace Team has sent teams into Chiapas and Juarez, Mexico, First Nations, Canada, Haiti, Bosnia and West Bank, Palestine. These teams have and continue to save lives and make differences in lives across the globe.

If you are interested in helping to support this team or teams in the future financially or by being on an international team please contact Meta Peace Team at (517) 489-2607. Namaste

9 December house occupation

We received a call that soldiers had occupied the roof of a home in Huwarra. We rushed down, after finding out what the residents of the house wanted us to do, we went up the stairs and tried to talk to the soldiers through the closed door. They would not talk so we decided to stay there. The family brought up chairs for us and started to prepare us tea. Before the tea was even warm the soldiers barged off the roof, pushing by us silently and left the house. The residents were so grateful we felt compelled to stay for the tea even though we were on a tight schedule. Also wanted to give us some wonderful roles with spinach in side and cookies.

Situation:

There had been a knock the door, when the lady of the house answered the soldiers, rifles ready, pushed their way in, went up the stairs and occupied their roof.

The soldiers had been on the roof about an hour when we arrived.

We counted 9 residents in house three were small children one appeared distraught and handicapped

What we did:

We talked with the residents of the house to see what they wanted us to do. We went up to the top of the stairs where there was a metal door which opened on to the roof and the door was slightly ajar. (By ajar I mean it was just open enough I could see the barrel of an M4 through the slot. It was not raised and pointed at me, it was at say a 45 degree angle so I could see the flash suppressor at the end and look up the barrel a little way, not as far as the breech, until it disappeared in the darkness.) We all had HiVis vests on. This was at 6:15pm. We tried to engage them in a conversation which went about like this:

Elfie: We are international observers and would like to talk to you.

The door closed more. (Which posed the temptation to simply slide the bolts shut and leave them on the roof. While it leaves one wondering why they would expose themselves to that it would obviously have been and escalation.)

Silence

Elfie: We are international observers and would like to talk to them about why you are on this families roof.

No response.

Elfie: Is there an English speaker who can talk to us about why you are on this families roof?

From the other side of the door We don't speak English.

Elfie: We would be happy to talk with one of your commanders who does speak English about this. Silence.

Elfie: We would be happy to talk to one of your commanders who speaks English about why you are on this families roof.

Silence.

The family brought us up chairs and asked if we would like coffee or tea. We chose tea and sat down. My chair was in the middle of the door way, back to and touching the door. Elfie was to my right at the side of the door way. We chatted a bit waiting for the tea. The door opened and unannounced a soldier pushed his way out. It was actually a bit of a squeeze between my chair and Elfie's and we did not move our chairs as they came out. They pushed through in a rush, with a little stumbling. This was at 6:24PM. They all had their masks pulled up, didn't say a word, didn't look left or right. With weapons (they only had M4s) at ready they were leaning forward and just looked ahead at the stairs which were about 8 feet from the door. Six came out. The next to last one fell on the stairs. They went down the stairs, directly out the front door and, off into the night.

The room the soldiers just barged through to get on the roof - one wonders how the child felt

The door to the roof with soldiers on the other side as we bagan to setup chairs