I Traveled to Palestine-Israel And

Discovered There is no
'Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'
Posted: 02/10/2014 6:38 pm EST Updated: 04/12/2014 5:59 am EDT
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The mind has a way of making traumatic experiences seem like distant dreams to
those who survive them. As it goes, the more traumatic the experience, the quicker
the paramedics in one's mind rush to dress wounds, resuscitate and stabilize the
victim; the victim being you.
Since returning from Palestine 36 hours ago, I find myself confronted with feelings
of detachment and minimization of what I encountered. My subconscious has
decided the horrors I witnessed in the 'Holy Land' were nothing serious-horrors
which include a 26-foot-tall concrete wall enclosing the Palestinian inhabitants of
the West Bank, and the sniper towers seemingly on every other corner of this open-
air prison.
This was my first trip to Palestine-most westerners call it Israel, but I'll address that
topic shortly. I had never been to the country, but I read enough to know the basics:
Palestinians and Israelis were fighting over land. The Israeli government was formed
in 1948 as part of a vision set forth by a secular European colonial political
movement called Zionism, founded by Hungarian Theodor Herzl in 1896. Herzl, an
atheist, sought to free the Jews from European oppression and anti-Semitism, with
the ultimate goal being the creation of a Jewish state. He first proposed East Africa's
Uganda as the location of the Jewish state. This proposal also found the approval of
the British government which controlled Palestine since the First World War. Herzl,
however, later identified Palestine as the country of choice. I knew this.
The history of Palestinians was something I was familiar with as well, only because
in high school, my friend's parents were Moroccan Jews with staunch right-wing
Zionist views. They'd go on about how Palestinians were worth shit and how they
were sucking off the land they stole, and how they were not from Palestine, but
Jordan. Truth be told, my friend's parents' passion about their 'homeland' made me
sick. As a black person living in the United States, I could not relate to their love for
their proclaimed homeland because I never had one. My ancestors were captured
from various regions of Africa and forced onto ships bound for the Americas.
Therefore, when questioned about the geographic origins of my ancestors, my
answers were as vague as Africa is big.
Blurt
Before I go further, I must put to rest a misnomer. Contrary to what's been reported
in the news for years, there is no Israeli-Palestinian conflict. None, zero, zilch,
diddly-squat. I can say with confidence that Palestinians have no agency. The Israeli
government controls everything in the country. This total control which is most
magnified in the West Bank, concerns everything from where Palestinians are
permitted to travel, to how much water they consume per month. Currently, there is
no 'conflict,' only the omnipresent power of the Israeli government and those who
resist it. This is important to understand.


Where was I?
I began researching the history of Palestinians in my senior year of college and
discovered that my high school buddy's parents weren't only functionally insane, but
they were completely incorrect in their claims. Palestinians had not fallen from the
clouds and landed on Jewish land, (interpretations of certain religious texts would
suggest otherwise) but had inhabited the country for thousands of years. In fact,
Palestine hosted several occupations throughout history: Ancient Egyptians,
Canaanites, Israelites, Philistines, Tjekker, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient
Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans,
British, Jordanians- a gang bang of military occupations. Nasty.
American author and Professor of Political Science Alan Dowty put it best when
hewrote, "Palestinians are the descendants of all the indigenous peoples who lived in
Palestine over the centuries." Moreover, studies suggest, that part, if not the majority
of Arabs living in Palestine, descend from a core population that dates back
thousands of years.
Perhaps it would be easier for me to believe the story of Palestinians falling from the
clouds, or crossing into Palestine from Jordan shortly before the creation of Israel --
that is, if my perception were formed by mainstream western media. In the years
prior to the events of 9/11, including the initial months of the Second Intifada, media
outlets such as Fox, CNN, and BBC, unfolded one dimensional narratives which
included bloodthirsty Palestinians blowing themselves up in public places, killing
innocent people. Never did they examine the societal constraints and conditions
which might drive people to commit such atrocities.
In order for colonialism and occupation to be successful, previous inhabitants of a
region must be dehumanized, labeled savages, and finally, their very existence
denied. Once this paradigm has been established, any and all acts of horror can be
inflicted upon them without recourse. Thus, the stories of the oppressed become
irrelevant.

Members of our delegation show passports at checkpoint entering illegal settlements in Hebron, West Bank. Jewish Israelis are permitted
entry, internationals must present passports and endure interrogation and Palestinians are not allowed. Photo: Thomas Dallal
Getting in and out
In the weeks preceding my departure from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to
Tel Aviv, I received travel warnings from The Carter Center, the organization
responsible for sponsoring my trip. Our delegation, which consisted of prominent
African-American journalists and artists, was provided suggestions of how to
increase our chances of getting into Palestine-Israel. It is not uncommon for
travelers to be denied entry into the country for absurd reasons such as their father's
last name sounds Arab, or they criticized Israeli policy on a social networking
website. I decided I would tell my Israeli interrogators the truth, but be as vague as
possible.
If denied entry, travelers could be detained for hours, interrogated and forced to
board an airplane back to where their flight originated. Other visitors to the region
advised me to avoid saying words like "Palestine," "Palestinian," "solidarity," and
"West Bank" inside of Israel's airport. I was also advised to sanitize my email in the
event that Israeli officials requested my password in order to rummage through my
inbox. Unfortunately, this is a common experience for Palestinian-Americans
attempting to visit the country. Additionally, I was warned that Israeli authorities,
on occasion, provoke visitors by being rude, or asking inappropriate questions-they
aim to cause one to feel as though they've done something wrong. In my case, this
tactic was working. I felt I was committing a crime by wishing to enter the West
Bank to talk to Palestinians. Israel was getting to me already, and I hadn't left my
apartment.
How things work
I reached Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport and made my way up a flight of stairs
leading to a long, wide, windowed corridor filled with travelers speed-walking
towards their destination. To my left were palm trees of a country I was hoping to
enter, and fixed high above was the sun, whispering the arduous tale of humankind.
I had made it to customs. It resembled a race track betting area with fifteen booths
and neon signs fixed to them which read, "Israeli Citizens" and "Foreigners." I got
into the foreigner line. Inside the booth sat an Israeli woman, maybe 20 years old.
She looked sad and beautiful.
"Passport," she said in a dry tone.
I gave it to her.
"What is the reason for your visit?"
I smiled and replied, "A tour of the holy land."
She examined my passport, then she examined my face,"Will you be visiting the
West Bank or Gaza?"
I said, "No," without thinking.
"Where will you be going?" she asked.
"Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth," I replied.
She examined my passport again, "Do know any Palestinians?" she asked.
I smirked and lied, "No."
I was officially permitted into the state of Israel. I found my taxi driver, loaded my
carry-on bag into the trunk, and we were off. Leaving Israel would not be so easy, but
I'll save that story for another time.
Riding from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the first thing I noticed, besides the breathtaking
Palestinian landscape with its palm trees, olive trees and immense hills and valleys,
were walls and barbwire. There were literally hundreds of miles of concrete walls
and barbwire-not the kind one sees on a Los Angeles off-ramp, but those belonging
to a prison
I'd later find out that a portion of my 90-minute ride from the airport to Jerusalem
gave a brief look at "Area-C." As it goes, the occupied West Bank is divided into three
parts: "Area-A," "Area-B" and "Area-C." "Area-C" is controlled by the Israeli
government, while "Area-A" is supposedly under the control of the Palestinian
Authority (or PA), a self-governing body established to govern the West Bank and
Gaza Strip ("Area-B" is under glorified Palestinian municipal control and Israeli
security control). The reason I say "supposedly," is because after spending a week in
the country, I began wondering if the area classifications were simply a broad public
relations campaign to convince the world that Palestinians have a degree of military,
political, and economic power they do not have. This is not a far-fetched inquiry.
Since the second Oslo Accords in 1995, the Israeli government has asserted, and the
international community has accepted, the notion that "Area-A" is under PA control,
but on the ground, the PA acts as a subcontracted enforcer to the Israeli occupiers.
The Reality
In Jerusalem, I witnessed great religious and ethnic diversity. I saw Arabs, Asians,
Europeans, Africans, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Christians, all scrambling in Old City
Jerusalem towards their various destinations. It was postcard worthy.
The variety of cultures in Jerusalem is outstanding. Similar to many societies
however, Palestine-Israel presents a polished version of itself to tourists, where 5-
star hotels in Tel Aviv and tourist attractions in Jerusalem cloak its brutal realities.
The fact remains that our delegation was subject to a type of racism I've only
experienced in the southern states of the United States of America. Of course, to a
Jew or a middle class Palestinian living in Jerusalem or Nazareth, my observations
may sound like exaggerations, but for the African migrant sleeping on the ground in
South Tel Aviv, or for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, my evaluations are
dead on.
The blatant, systemic subjugation and profiling of Arabs was most pronounced when
our tour guide, a middle class Palestinian woman, was forced by IDF soldiers to exit
our tour van and pass through a checkpoint on foot. As all Palestinians must do, she
was told to place her thumb on a scanner to pass through a turn-style at a
checkpoint. The members of our delegation were no exception to IDF scrutiny. The
light skinned blacks in our delegation were interrogated and asked bluntly if they
were Arab, and if not, what the last names of their fathers' were.
Palestinians and progressive Israelis told our delegation story after story of the
abuses and degradation they've suffered at the hands of Israeli settlers or soldiers,
and we witnessed some of this treatment first hand. Along with the rampant home
and land confiscation in the West Bank (in which settlers receive state subsidies),
agricultural violence is on the rise, as settlers uproot and destroy the olive trees
Palestinians rely on for income and nourishment. More sinisterly, public beatings,
arrests and shootings are common, particularly in the West Bank. Without charges, a
Palestinian can be imprisoned and held for months or years under administrative
detention. The same law does not apply to Jewish Israelis. In fact, Israeli citizens can
commit a range of crimes against Palestinians with near impunity. Furthermore,
Israelis benefit from being under police and civil courts jurisdiction, while
Palestinians are under military jurisdiction. Human Rights Watch has documented
the "Separate and Unequal" legal situation endured by Palestinians.

Yehuda Shaul (seen in orange shirt) lectures our delegation near village of Susya. Photo: Thomas Dallal
Our delegation was introduced to Yehuda Shaul, a former commander in the Israeli
army and current Foreign Relations Director for Breaking the Silence, an
organization of former IDF soldiers who have dedicated themselves to revealing the
atrocities committed against Palestinians, as well as the general corruption of
higher-ups in the Israeli government. Yehuda, a heavyset man wearing a yarmulke,
still moves and speaks like a soldier. As we drove up and down the hills of South
Hebron, Yehuda's lecture quickly began to feel like a general preparing a platoon for
an offensive. He even revealed Israel's plan to force rural Palestinians away from
their land and into West Bank cities, making them dependent on the government.
As a liberal Israeli, Yehuda believes in granting rights to Palestinians and developing
a two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution. Yehuda is still a Zionist, and beyond
lecturing about various land grabs, violence and injustices committed by Israeli
settlers and the government, the 31-year-old steers away from revealing his personal
story, which likely involves his journey as an IDF commander who terrorized
Palestinian neighbourhoods, to the activist he is today who accepts that Palestinians
are human.
Yehuda commanded our Palestinian driver to stop on the side of a road near an
illegal Israeli settlement in the village of Susya. I point out that our driver was
Palestinian because stopping in Susya was extremely dangerous for the three
Palestinians in our van. Susya is home to armed, right-wing Israeli settlers who as
Yehuda admitted, would "beat up" Palestinians on sight. Our Palestinian colleagues
stayed in the van.
For some reason, Yehuda was compelled to conduct his lecture outside of the bus
while our delegation shivered from a mountainous chill. It was then that a dusty car
stopped feet away from us, engine running, with the driver focusing a murderous
stare on our group. Yehuda kept lecturing as though nothing was happening, and our
delegation pretended to listen as we remained vigilant for the deranged onlooker.
The man examined us for a minute more, then sped off violently to return moments
later to repeat this action. Sensing danger, I suggested to Yehuda we get back in the
van and leave, but he ordered us to remain outside.
"This will only take a few minutes more," he said, before continuing his lecture.
The rapid fire gunshots we heard in the distance gave us our cue to finally return to
the van. The moment we were about to drive off, Israeli army vehicles pulled up, and
a few soldiers peered in at us. They took a quick inventory of the van and then sped
off. Apparently, during our lecture, Israeli settlers were attacking a group of
Palestinians. I had seen enough.
Zionism has convinced many Jews that they are preserving themselves. The common
thought is that if the "savage" Palestinians stop resisting, stop shooting rockets, stop
fighting Israel's inevitable domination, there can be peace. I find this peculiar
because during my visit, I felt no danger from Palestinians, only from Israeli
soldiers. Perhaps it's because I'm accustomed to being hunted in America. There is
no Palestinian-Israeli conflict; there is only oppression.
I will never disregard the Holocaust which left millions of European Jews dead or
scrambling for survival. There is nothing that will ever right the wrongs committed
by the brutal German regime. On the same note, I will never minimize Germany's
first, and little-known, genocide against the Herero and Namaqua of Africa, or King
Leopold's bloody reign on the continent. Tragedy is tragedy, one should not be
placed above the other, nor should a past tragedy justify the next.
Ferrari Sheppard is Editor-in-Chief of Stop Being Famous

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ferrari-sheppard/i-traveled-to-
palestine_b_4761896.html