VJ Movement correspondent Harvey Stein recently filmed a three-part video series for us on two unusual peace seekers in the West Bank, part of the Palestinian Territories. The series revolves around a Jewish settler and a Palestinian local mayor who work together to try to bring about understanding between their communities.
In this blog post Harvey gives us some insight into how this series came about.
The Middle East is one place where it’s very clear that “there is more than one truth.” But most peoples’ truths here are hard, inflexible, and usually predictable. So, usually I’m on the lookout for those that, on the other hand, seem to embrace contradiction, or at least make me think for a minute.
Last year, when I first read about several West Bank settlers who in one way or another were reaching out to their Palestinian neighbors, I was immediately curious. Generally considering myself a “lefty”, I admit that I often jump to negative conclusions about those Israelis who choose to live in a place that I don’t consider a part of Israel. As I began to meet several of these settlers, my mind was definitely opened.
The first settler I met was Eliaz, who has a strong religious attachment to the West Bank – what is universally regarded as “the cradle” of Biblical Judaism. And being a poet, he has an artists’ sensitivity that naturally goes against seeing things in black-and-white. When he took me a mere 2-3 kilometers north of his home to visit his Palestinian neighbor, Mohammed, I was amazed. As he said, “galaxies apart.” The whole Israeli/Palestinian predicament, in microcosm.
As I visited both men more, I saw clearly that this wasn’t an equal relationship though – another illusion held by many in the naïve mainstream. I summed it up to myself that Eliaz was helping Mohammed on a material level (battling the local Israeli authorities to get permission to expand the Palestinian village’s school, or pave the single road). And Mohammed was helping Eliaz on a spiritual level (opening his eyes to a difficult reality that he and his brethren have been insulated from for many years).
The next Palestinian I was referred to, also named Mohammed, lived in a large town south of Eliaz’s settlement. This town was in “Area A” of the West Bank, which meant, when I drove into the town, I passed the red sign warning Israelis (I am an Israeli and American citizen) it was illegal to enter. Sure, during the intifada that ended in 2005, it may have been dangerous for an Israeli to enter here, but now, this had morphed into an ironclad separation that helps make the current frozen situation stay frozen.
Having dinner with Mohammed (you should never refuse an invitation for his mother’s cooking), sitting with his sisters and brother – I had a minor revelation: face-to-face meetings (especially over dinner, and not separated by an Israeli soldier’s gun) are exactly what the average Palestinian and Israeli never experience. And exactly what is needed to overcome those walls of fear represented by that “illegal to enter” red sign.
Up until this point in the story, most of my footage had documented individuals and 1-on-1 relationships. We (several of the settlers and Palestinians I had met) decided on what we thought would be a great idea for a final scene: to come together for a group meeting/discussion in a settlement livingroom. While most of the settlers had reached out to visit Palestinians in their homes, many of the Palestinians hadn’t done the same in reverse. This imbalance seemed symbolic of the whole situation: Israelis have more freedom of movement (among other freedoms) than their Palestinian neighbors. For there to be some kind of resolution to this mess, it seemed there must be SOME kind of equal relationship. Having made this video, it seems to me this journey to an equal relationship is going to be a long one though.
by Harvey Stein
