A Lone Voice
Solomonia posted a link to a report by Khaled Abu Toameh on the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs web site. In it Toameh outlines the difficulties he finds in reporting what is really happening in the Palestinian Authority.
In addition he describes sitting in the cafes in Nablus (Shechem) and hearing the following:
"You know what? We really hope the Jews will come back and re-occupy Nablus. It's not because we love Israel, but because we're fed up with the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian corruption."
Before September 2000, when the Intifada started, Arabs from the nearby villages would come to work in our yishuv. Some worked as housecleaners, some worked as handymen, and some built a number of houses here.
The relationships developed between my neighbors and these workers were sometimes nothing more than cordial, but occasionally they were warmer than that, and in one case a real friendship developed.
This all changed in the fall of 2000. I remember a neighbor telling me how upset she was at the story her cleaning lady told her. It seems that she had to keep her sons home from school, and she instructed them to hide if anyone came to the door. "Arafat's men" (her words) were looking for young boys to send out against Israeli soldiers, hoping that they would be fired upon so that there would be more pro-Palestinian publicity. She was afraid for them and had to take these measures. (I can't help wondering if this same mother is trying to hide her sons for those recruiting suicide bombers).
Not long afterwards it became too dangerous for these villagers to come to work in our settlement.
Toameh's words ring true. He is a courageous man for reporting as he does.
Solomonia posted a link to a report by Khaled Abu Toameh on the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs web site. In it Toameh outlines the difficulties he finds in reporting what is really happening in the Palestinian Authority.
In addition he describes sitting in the cafes in Nablus (Shechem) and hearing the following:
"You know what? We really hope the Jews will come back and re-occupy Nablus. It's not because we love Israel, but because we're fed up with the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian corruption."
Before September 2000, when the Intifada started, Arabs from the nearby villages would come to work in our yishuv. Some worked as housecleaners, some worked as handymen, and some built a number of houses here.
The relationships developed between my neighbors and these workers were sometimes nothing more than cordial, but occasionally they were warmer than that, and in one case a real friendship developed.
This all changed in the fall of 2000. I remember a neighbor telling me how upset she was at the story her cleaning lady told her. It seems that she had to keep her sons home from school, and she instructed them to hide if anyone came to the door. "Arafat's men" (her words) were looking for young boys to send out against Israeli soldiers, hoping that they would be fired upon so that there would be more pro-Palestinian publicity. She was afraid for them and had to take these measures. (I can't help wondering if this same mother is trying to hide her sons for those recruiting suicide bombers).
Not long afterwards it became too dangerous for these villagers to come to work in our settlement.
Toameh's words ring true. He is a courageous man for reporting as he does.
posted by westbankmama at 4:21 PM
1 Comments:
I know - but I can't imagine the courage that would take.
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