Separate But Equal—never happened, never will

Back in the days of my youth (yes, I’m that old) bus stations in the southern part of the United States had four bathrooms and two water fountains.  Today my adult children look at me with puzzled expressions on their faces at the idea of segregation.  I might as well be telling them stories about dragons and sea monsters.  I like that.

Yes, I know that racism is still rampant in this country, but now there are so many issues on which to discriminate that any halfway decent bigot can get up a good rant without breaking a sweat.  I’m not even sure race is at the top of the list any more.  Abortion, sexual preference, religion, political preference... the list goes on and on.

The point I’m trying to make here is that we have made progress in this country.  We’re far from perfect, but we’re working on it.  The "Christians Only" sign, posted in the United States, was not dated, although the blogger said that until the late 1960's Jews were still being discriminated against in many places in the southern United States.  http://attendingtheworld.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/blacks-chinese-japanese-blacks-jews-muslims-whos-next/

Racist groups, cults, fanatics, skinheads, etc. do exist in this country and in many other countries, but most people agree that it brings shame on the country and we must continually fight against it.  It is NOT legally sanctioned; it is NOT national policy.

Apartheid is alive and well and living in Israel.

Earlier this year, Israeli courts upheld a controversial marriage law that bans Palestinians who marry Israeli Arabs from obtaining Israeli citizenship or even residency rights.  Quoting ABC News:

Under current Israeli law, when an Arab Israeli marries a Palestinian they either live apart or must move to another country to live together long-term.

Various human rights groups challenged the law in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it violates the rights of Palestinian spouses to a proper family life.

But the court has ruled that human rights cannot override Israel's security concerns, with one judge writing that: "Human rights are not a prescription for national suicide."

Human rights groups have attacked the court decision, and accused the court of stamping its approval on a racist law that will harm the lives of families whose only sin is the Palestinian blood that runs in their veins.

"It is a dark day for the protection of human rights and for the Israeli Supreme Court," attorneys Dan Yakir and Oded Feller from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said in a statement.   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/israeli-court-upholds-controversial-marriage-law/3770458

Reading about a law is very different from reading about an individual whose life has been changed by the law. A wonderful op-ed piece in the New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/opinion/not-all-israeli-citizens-are-equal.html?_r=1tells of a couple who are self-exiled to the United States—far from their respective families because the law prevents them from living in the husband’s home.

This makes me wonder what would happen (Heaven forbid!) if a non-Arab Israeli citizen married a non-Israeli Palestinian. Would the same law apply? Maybe one of my readers can find an answer.
 

Hunger Strike for Dignity

More than 1600 Palestinian prisoners are on a hunger strike in Israeli jails.  They are protesting against solitary confinement, detention without charge, and restrictions on family visits, education and other aspects of their treatment.  Two of the prisoners, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, are on the brink of starvation, having been an incredible 74 days without food.  

These men have now refused food longer than Kieran Doherty, the longest surviving of the 10 Irish militants who died in a hunger strike in 1981.  Bobby Sands, the best known of the 10, died after 66 days.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9258264/Israel-facing-major-West-Bank-uprising-over-Palestinian-hunger-strike.html

On May 8, 2012 The International Committee of the Red Cross asked that six prisoners be transferred to hospital and allowed visits from their families.  All six of these men are being held without trial as administrative detainees, which can be renewed six months at a time.  They are in jail because Israel suspects they may be guilty of security offences. (The Chicago Tribune from Reuters  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-08/news/sns-rt-us-palestinians-redcrossbre8470ub-20120508_1_hunger-strike-detainees-palestinians)  These men are “at imminent risk of dying.” 

The bravery and dignity of these prisoners has captured the hearts and minds of people throughout the world, but the Palestinians living under occupation have taken up their cause with particular fervor.  Protests in many cities of the West Bank and Gaza in support of the prisoners show tremendous and wide-spread support.  The feeling of solidarity with the prisoners is so high that the death of one or more of these brave men could easily trigger another Intifada or uprising.

And where is the United States while people are dying in protest of imprisonment without trial and harsh treatment?  There is talk that Israel is negotiating in an effort to end the strike, and Robert Naiman writes in an article in Huffington Post, that it is possible that a word of support from the US could turn the tide. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/palestine-hunger-strike_b_1506279.html

The article by Ali Abunimah in the Electronic Intifada tells of the current state of Thaer Halahleh’s deteriorating health and the lack of adequate medical care for the prisoners.  http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/thaer-halahleh-told-he-could-die-any-moment-hunger-strikers-condition

What can we do?  At the very least, we can sign a petition.  There is one from Just Foreign Policy, and Jewish Voice for Peace has a petition in solidarity with the Hunger Strike for Dignity.  The US Campaign to End the Occupation has joined with the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee to sponsor a petition going to the State Department on Monday. 

This is a matter of extreme urgency. 

To all of the brave souls who are enduring unimaginable pain and loss to bring their plight to the attention of the world, I quote the words of Susan Abulhawa, author of the international bestselling novel Mornings in Jenin:

Take heart and do not despair. We have not reached the end of history. There is still blood in our veins, air in our lungs and brilliant souls in our wombs. They have but the cold steel of death machines and the moral void of lies, which cannot and will not prevail against naked hearts and empty stomachs taking up the good fight for freedom.  
 Susan Abulhawa  (from http://electronicintifada.net/content/united-methodist-churchs-shameful-failure-divest-injustice/11249 )

   

Palestinian Food Under Occupation

One aspect of the Israeli Occupation that Palestinians feel strongly about is the co-opting of many of their national foods by the Israelis. Every time Palestinians hear falafel described as “Israeli veggie-burgers,” they cringe. 
Every time they hear hummus described as a national dish of Israel, they shudder.  These things are aggravating, but not life threatening, or even life altering.

Other aspects of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, however, have a great impact on the food Palestinians eat, and on their nutrition.  Extended curfews, for example, force people to eat what they have stored in their own homes—no fresh fruits or vegetables.  Since many of the refugee families do not have refrigerators, no meat, poultry, milk, or other food that requires refrigeration.  Canned foods are usually imported and too expensive for most refugee families.  The curfews are a prominent feature of daily life in my novel Born a Refugee.

Poverty in Palestine, like poverty anywhere  in the world, often leads to poor and insufficient diets.  Malnutrition, especially in the area of micro-nutrients is especially rampant among the children of Gaza.  A study by the Palestinian Medical Relief Society found that 52% of the children in Gaza suffer from anemia and severe deficiency in many vital nutrients.  http://www.imemc.org/article/59031

Checkpoints and road closures make travel within Palestine difficult.  People and vehicles face long delays moving from town to town as Israeli soldiers search them.  This aspect of the occupation plays a critical role in my novel, Refugee Without Refuge.

Now there is an additional impediment to the transportation of food supplies within the country—The Apartheid Wall.  The Wall winds its way through over 750 kilometers of Palestine at a cost of approximately $2 million per kilometer.  The Wall separates friends; it separates families; it separates farmers from their land.

It also separates the land that produces one of the signature dishes of Palestinian cuisine from the Palestinian consumers. 
Mloukhieh (or molokhia or molokheya) is considered an acquired taste by some, but Palestinians often refer to it as their national dish.  Mloukhieh is typically cooked in chicken broth and served with chicken.  In my house, the chicken is removed from the broth and browned in the oven, but that is a personal preference.  We also mince the mloukhieh, while the dish in the video below uses whole leaves.  This is a regional difference.  The blog posted the video below and includes recipes as well.  http://vegetarianterroristcookingjournal.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/soup-over-bethlehem-how-apartheid-wall-affects-palestines-famed-mloukhieh/ 

Another blogger uses a different spelling in her blog Food, Nostalgia, and Adventure and gives a good recipe.  She says Palestinians use the whole leaf rather than minced.  Regions differ--even within Palestine. 

Minced or whole leaf, fresh or dried, the Wall makes it is more difficult for the Palestinians to enjoy one of the few pleasures left to them.