One year ago, Changing Ireland Community Media Ltd's chairperson, Gearoid Fitzgibbon, then a reporter for our magazine project, worked in Palestine as a volunteer.
In memory of the late Juliano Mer Khamis, we republish Gearoid's article which focused on a camera project involving Israeli and Palestinian youths.
The article is also available online in PDF format at: http://www.changingireland.ie/Issue32.pdf
Lessons in Community Work - Gearoid Fitzgibbon reports from Hebron
If you think of Israel/Palestine, your first image may not be of a Community Centre in the heart of the occupation, jointly funded and run by a group of Israelis and Palestinians.
Mich’ael Zupraner is a Harvard graduate and Israeli documentary maker. For nearly 2 years he has shared his skills in Hebron with other Palestinians and Israelis to oppose the occupation. Here, in the middle of Hebron, with its checkpoints, detentions, house searches and army patrols, Mich’ael, and local Hebronite, Issa Amro, a lecturer in Electrical Engineering, have worked to develop an innovative community project right next to an Israeli settlement. They and a group of committed Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent activists set up a community centre and community television station (www.heb2.tv) in an ‘ordinary’ house in Tel Rumeida, in Hebron, that Israeli settlers were planning to take over.
According to Mich’ael “The principal idea is to empower members of community to communicate outwards. This part of directly occupied Hebron (H2), is under political, economic and cultural closure and few people on the outside get to see or hear what is happening here.”
As someone with a background as a volunteer and latterly paid community worker in Ireland, the centre in Tel Rumeida is an inspiration. The activists are training and empowering the community of Tel Rumeida, how to resist the occupation nonviolently, and deal with the intimidation of the soldiers and armed settlers. If the residents respond aggressively it only serves as an excuse for further harassment. The Heb 2 Community House offers training in nonviolence, video editing, and foreign languages to young and old members of the local community.
JUST BEING THERE IS RESISTING
The very existence of the Heb 2 Community House, in itself, is an achievement. Located at a strategic point, near one of the Israeli settlements, in a Palestinian neighbourhood, the house was occupied by the Israeli army in 2001, at beginning of 2nd Intifada, or uprising. The owner, originally from Jerusalem, was told that he would lose his Jerusalem residency if he stayed. When the army finally left in 2005, the house lay in ruins.
In 2007, local activist Issa Amro, concerned that a group of settlers would take over the house, met the owner, and offered to rent the house, and keep it from being occupied. With support from Israeli Human Rights organisations (B’Tselem and the Israeli Council Against House Demolitions – one of the organisations funded by Irish Aid), the activists managed to get the tenancy recognoised in the Israeli counts. The settlers tried to scare them off. The army even detained Issa saying he wasn’t allowed to be there, despite having all the correct legal papers.
Eventually, when they finally managed to move in, they found themselves under constant attack by the settlers. The would-be community house had to be monitored 24 hours per day, to prevent it being destroyed or burned. Settlers, armed with M16s, had to be physically blocked by the local Palestinians, supported by Israeli activists, armed only with cameras. With a grant from an Israeli NGO, a group of Israelis and Palestinians renovated the house. It is only in the last 18 months, that the attacks have decreased to the level of verbal argument.
FROM DERELICT HOUSE TO COMMUNITY CENTRE
With the house now becoming a more secure base, those involved began to discuss how to use it. According to Issa, from the very beginning the idea was to have a space open to all the community. Although the House now has huge support from the community, at the beginning every one said that it was impossible. People felt powerless to change the nature of the occupation, and thought that the Israeli army would punish them more because of it.
Within a short time of my arriving in Hebron in August 2009, it was clear to me that something very innovative and brave was going on here. Issa asked me to help out and over the next 2 months, and together with another human rights volunteer (an American Jewish man originally from New York) we ran English classes with the local children there. As part of this, we set up an exchange with Villiers School in Limerick City, and the young students recorded a tour of their area in English. (see ‘teamhebron’ videos on youtube). Since then, the young people I taught have gone on to start a film and video class with documentary maker Micha’el.
COUNTERING MAINSTREAM MEDIA DISTORTION
Speaking to Mich’ael, I am surprised to discover that he does not see himself as an activist: “I am NOT an activist. The occupation is the defining circumstance of Israelis and Palestinians’ lives. I am lucky that I have the possibility to do something practical to directly affect the situation.“
Mich’ael is highly critical of what he calls the virtualisation of the conflict, in a way that could apply to conflicts in Ireland also: “There is too much symbolic action in the West Bank, and a virtualisation of the conflict takes place. The media coverage overwhelms what is actually happening on the ground. It’s become a sort of public relations war. You are merely producing images for the media. It becomes all about spokesmanship and not the reality.”
The Heb 2 Community House, Mich’ael stressed, was not about making vain symbolic gestures: “Most video activism is just videoing of demonstrations. This project isn’t a demonstration, or a symbolic act, like holding up a sign. What we’re doing in Tel Rumeida isn’t a photo op. Here in Tel Rumeida, we are giving concrete skills to the community, communication skills, videoing skills etc.”
ARABS AND JEWS CELEBRATE COMMUNITY WORK
New Year’s Eve 2009. Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Instead of the usual deathly silence, and climate of fear which pervades the neighbourhood, the cold air is set alight by the sound of music and dance in the garden in front of the Heb 2 Community House. A group of former Israeli soldiers are dancing arm in arm with the local Palestinian activists. The Israelis, founder members of Breaking The Silence, (a group of ex-soldiers who have collected testimonies on the behaviour of the Israeli Army in the West Bank) have been invited to celebrate the first year in existence of Heb 2 Community House. A P.A. system has been set up, and Issa Amro calls over the microphone, and one by one, Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals, come and accept a small gift of thanks from the community. There must be over 100 people here tonight, Palestinians, Israelis, and Internationals, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and nonbeliever. When peace at last is created in this beautiful land, these people here will be among its heros. But how long more will they have to travel? As with South Africa, international solidarity with the peace makers is crucial. Find a way, any way you can, to contribute to the peacebuilding of these people.
* To volunteer visit www.eappi.org OR to find out more, contact Gearoid. E: fitzgibbong@gmail.com
M: 0857409023.
SHOOTING BACK – A CAMERA DISTRIBUTION PROJECT
Issa Amro and Mich’ael Zupraner founded the ground-breaking camera distribution project in Hebron. In March 2007, Mich’ael and Issa gave out cameras to neighbours in Tel Rumeida. The first cameras were purchased by an Israeli group called Children of Abraham. This group asked Mich’ael to buy cameras, and come and train people to use them. “We gave cameras to people initially to document their suffering, and harassment by settlers or soldiers. But of course, people also filmed birthdays, weddings, and celebrations!” Now, there are dozens of cameras in Hebron.
According to Issa: “These cameras are a tool to document the human rights abuses and improve people’s security and safety. At the same time, they allow the Palestinians here to express how they live.”
SHOOTING BACK – A CAMERA DISTRIBUTION PROJECT
Issa Amro and Mich’ael Zupraner founded the ground-breaking camera distribution project in Hebron. In March 2007, Mich’ael and Issa gave out cameras to neighbours in Tel Rumeida. The first cameras were purchased by an Israeli group called Children of Abraham. This group asked Mich’ael to buy cameras, and come and train people to use them. “We gave cameras to people initially to document their suffering, and harassment by settlers or soldiers. But of course, people also filmed birthdays, weddings, and celebrations!” Now, there are dozens of cameras in Hebron.
According to Issa: “These cameras are a tool to document the human rights abuses and improve people’s security and safety. At the same time, they allow the Palestinians here to express how they live.”
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