How does the political situation affect your work? | Just Vision تجاوز إلى المحتوى الرئيسي

How does the political situation affect your work?

Rutie Atsmon 10

How does the political situation affect your work?

It does not affect the work in the sense that whatever happens on the political arena we continue with work. But it does affect the openness of the public - I talked before how hard it was for us to establish Windows in the days of the first intifada. We began to receive funding only after the Oslo agreement was signed. There was an atmosphere of hope that enabled us to reach out to both societies. When the second intifada began, it was really hard and people were not open to our work, schools weren't open to listening to what we had to say. But at the same time, the second intifada brought many new people to Windows because very few organizations remained active and we were there to give people a framework to be part of. Also the fact that we were there during the hardest times helped to gain people's trust that we are good and serious. Definitely when the Occupation is harder than it usually is some [Palestinian] families say, "Why should we talk to the Israelis?" When there is no money there is a limit to what we can do, but being what we are, Windows as an organization, usually the more difficult the political situation is, the stronger we become. We get angrier so we work harder. When the second intifada began at the end of 2000, most organizations just stopped working and withdrew, while for Windows it was the best thing that ever happened to the organization - if you can say something like that -- in the sense that not only did we continue with our work, but we expanded. One of the first things was the humanitarian aid project, there was a growing need-- the Palestinians said, we need help-- so we got organized to collect whatever we could, and until now many tons of aid passed through our center to thousands of people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In October, the first month of the intifada, we started a lecture series in Windows; twice or three times a week for a couple of years we invited people to watch a film, join discussions, debates, listen to testimonies and lectures about the situation, the conflict from every aspect of it. At the time it was the only place in Tel Aviv or in the entire country that offered that on a regular basis. To be a board member in Windows is not to sit in a room in a suit and discuss finances and policy issues. You go to the Territories and hold meetings on the ground at checkpoints near the soldiers; you play cat and mouse with the soldiers to reach villages under closure, you wait many hours at checkpoints.... of course this is routine for the Palestinians but most Israelis do not experience all that. Going to Irtah was an upgrade from what we had a year and two years before. Before that, in 2001 we had an assembly meeting at Tulkarm checkpoint. It wasn't as big as it is now. It was just a gate and a few soldiers; Aziz came and others came from Nablus and we brought chairs and blankets and food. We put down blankets next to the soldiers and had an assembly meeting right there! It takes commitment. I think what was missing from the film Encounter Point is that it wasn't clear, or not stated at all, that Israelis aren't allowed to enter Tulkarm by law. It isn't only the fear that you will get hurt by Palestinians who may not appreciate our presence there (things like that do happen); you are breaking the law and can be brought to trial. You don't want a police record and you have to think twice-- at least-- before you're willing to have a police record. Maybe knowing all that can help people understand that it's a very hard decision to make and it explains why we were standing around like idiots and quarreling about whether we should go through the town or not. [to view the scene Rutie is referring to from Encounter Point, click to follow link ]