Yafit Gamila BisoThe Olive Tree |
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Personal Story and Identity and Religion:
“ I was born in Damascus. My neighbors were Palestinians, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and the majority were Jewish, but it varied. Most of my friends were Palestinians from the two largest refugee camps there, al-Yarmukh and al-Palestine. In Syria there are schools for Jews up to junior high school. After junior high, whoever continues studying goes to government schools. So I went to high school with Palestinian and Syrian girls - girls like me. I never thought about it, except during religion class, when we were told, "You're Jewish, get out." There were only two of us Jewish girls at that high school. Christian girls went to Christianity classes and Muslim girls went to Islam classes and we Jews sat outside. When I got married and began working, I had Palestinian partners; I worked alongside them in many fields, in sales, fashion, marketing - in every field - and they became my friends. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Personal Story and Identity:
“ When I arrived in Israel the first business I opened was a large sewing factory in Tel-Aviv. I had almost twenty workers from Gaza. I got on very well with them. There was a period when I even had a partner from Gaza. Look, I'm a daughter of the Arab culture. I'm Israeli and Jewish, and I don't know whether I'm proud of it or not in view of the operative policies. I'm sometimes ashamed of being Israeli when I see that an Israeli killed a little girl, whose only fault was that she went to school that morning. That's what brought me to all these activities. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Personal Transformation and Personal Story and Democracy:
“ As an Israeli who paid a high price for coming to Israel, I care; I care to see the State of Israel as exactly what I envision. Obviously I don't expect a state according to my personal characteristics or desires but it is important for me that Israel come across to the world as a democracy and truly humanitarian - but not only nominally, or in quotation marks-- not a democracy of Jews over Arabs. I think that contradicts the laws of nature and humanity. I got involved with our Palestinian neighbors - I call them my brothers-- and I felt that they were being discriminated against. That's how I slowly became involved in this work. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Economic/Environmental Resources:
“ I will demonstrate when lands are appropriated and olive trees are uprooted; for me every olive tree is a child. I told that to Chaim Yavin when I took him up to Jayous. There were still olive trees lying about. They take the big ones to sell and the little ones are thrown aside. I stood there and shivered and tears came, real tears, and he said, "What's wrong?" So I said, "It hurts me every time to see this sight. Every tree is a child. It's the corpse of a child. The tree was uprooted, at least take it. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Economic/Environmental Resources and Suicide Bombing:
“ What I can say is that we make their lives hell. The trees are simply left there for all to see, testament to Israel's murderous policies. An olive tree feeds a child for a whole year and once you take it, he dies! Dies or becomes a terrorist. Don't ask later what made a twelve year-old child go and explode at a checkpoint. Don't ask where he came from. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Conceptions of Peace and Human Rights:
“ In order to establish a just peace we must ensure the other side's human rights as well as ours. You can't differentiate human rights work from peace work, it's ultimately connected. In order to build peace, or what is termed "trust," with the other side we must ensure their rights. We can't just impose our will. Full rights must be ensured, whether it is for children, women or men. It's all linked; you can't separate human rights from peace work. This is what I am doing when I work to promote children's rights to receive medical attention or get an education. It is a brick in the wall of the peace we aspire to construct. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Identity and Perceptions of the Other and Language:
“ To this day I'm in touch with boys for whom I was the first Israeli they could even understand and speak to. I spoke to them in their language and explained things to them. At first they were under the impression that I was Arab, so I stood up to them. I said, "No, I'm not Arab, I'm Jewish-Israeli. I do speak Arabic, it makes both my life and yours easier, but I'm Jewish-Israeli. There's nothing you can do, you can't make me an Arab. You must accept me as an Israeli Jew. Then I'll be with you all the way then. If you continue insisting that I'm Arab, I'm not here." ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ It's important for me to prove to the other side that there are people in Israel who are concerned for them. There are humanitarian people in Israel, we Jews are merciful people. It's important for me to explain that all my mercy and compassion and goodness and assistance and consistency and stubbornness stems from my being Jewish. It is Judaism that taught me to be merciful and help my neighbors. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Economic/Environmental Resources:
“ It's been very bad for us since the intifada began. The economic situation here in Israel has declined, in terms of tourism but also other things. We're tied to them in terms of tourism, but not only that, we're tied to them in every way. When the State of Israel doesn't permit the establishment of any factories in Palestine for people to work in then they're certain to infiltrate the border and come work here, so that the Israeli policeman will have work catching them and throwing them in jail. Let them establish factories there and be economically independent. I need them; the minute they have work there they won't be coming here, they won't infiltrate the border, they won't need us. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Community Responses to Peace Work and Perceptions of the Other:
“ People think that I go there and push because I love Arabs too much, that I like being among Arabs too much. No. I do love being with Arabs, but I'd like to pay them friendly visits, not fight their battles. I'm driven to show them and prove that there are people in Israel who really want peace and truly care. There's nothing I can do with the older ones because they've been to Israel already and they know what Israelis are. I care about the young children. I collect used toys and go to a kindergarten and gather 100-200 children and speak to them in their own language, in Arabic, and give out the toys. I tell them that the toys are from people in Israel, from Jews, Israelis, that this toy is from a child who gave it up so that they could have a toy, because maybe they have a little more than them. It does something. I came across villages that had never had contact with Israelis apart from soldiers, and it matters. It changes opinions. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Obstacles and Challenges and Community Responses to Peace Work and Religion and Family:
“ I didn't see my grandchildren, my son's children, for a year. He is religious and the rabbis told him -- I don't know who told my son's rabbis, though during the activities we attend we're photographed everywhere we go -- that "your mother associates with Arabs." They thought they would apply some pressure. I kept calling my son for a month saying I was coming to see the kids and he found reasons, "mother don't come, we're going, we're coming, we're cleaning." Finally I said, "What's the story? Can't I come visit my grandchildren?" And he said, "To tell the truth mother, I'm miserable, it's hard for me, and one of the rabbis said last week that as long as my mother associates with Arabs my life won't get easier." I said, "You know what? You, and your children and your rabbi won't change my opinion." ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Vision and Human Rights and Israeli/Palestinian Power Dynamics and Lessons Learned:
“ In order to build peace you need to take the steps - human rights is one step for instance. Over the past few years, peace movements would come to a village for demonstrations. Very few keep in touch, and that's usually the organizers or people who have close relations with the village, but the 300-400 participants who come to the demonstration don't. […] Keeping in touch means slowly building a relationship with our neighbors; it's not just coming when we are needed and playing the role of the stronger older brother. I want us to be in touch regardless of whether I'm strong and you're weak, or the opposite. […] Palestinian people appreciate that-not people coming, demonstrating and running away. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ I remember from studying international trade that in the EU common market they don’t count Israeli produce made in the Territories as Israeli. I think that it’s a wise move to say to Israel, look, listen, stop! These Territories aren’t yours; they are Palestinian. This product isn’t Israeli but rather Palestinian. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
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