Joharah Baker – We should all Celebrate Rosh Hashana
By Guest Post • Oct 6th, 2008 at 21:41 • Category: Features, Israel, Newswire, Opinions and Letters, Palestine, Religion, Somoud: Arab Voices of Resistance, Zionism
Every year I wonder why the Palestinians don't include Jewish holidays on their national calendar. At least those Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem should be afforded a few days off whenever the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine are on vacation.
This may sound strange, of course, coming from a Palestinian Muslim who would like nothing better than to be completely independent of anything Israeli. However, my argument is based on practical premises and not religious or ideological ones.
Take for example the most recent Jewish holiday, which was Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year. For three full days, the Israeli army closed off all checkpoints into Israel to Palestinians, including those around Jerusalem. This means that even Palestinians with permits to enter Israel were not allowed entry during this period. Permits, let me clarify, are issued by the Israeli security establishment itself. For further clarification, these permits are only issued to select Palestinians after a scrutinizing vetting process to ensure that none of these individuals are even a slight security threat to the mighty state of Israel. So, if we are to follow this logic, then the Palestinians who have permits to enter Israel would be no more threatening during New Years than they would be at any other time. Hence, the only other explanation is that Israel simply prefers to have the country as purely Jewish as possible during their holidays, keeping out any pesky Palestinians.
This year, Rosh Hashanah fell on September 30 – October 1, the same days as the Eid Al Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan. For one month, Muslims everywhere, Palestine included, abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset. When the month is done, Muslims celebrate the occasion with lots of family visits and of course, lots of food.
This year, the Israeli imposed closure put a huge damper on Muslim festivities. As we all know, Palestinians in the West Bank are intrinsically connected to those in Jerusalem and even inside the Green Line. Almost every Jerusalem resident has some family member living on the other side of the "border", that is, in the West Bank. Traveling to and from these areas is relatively easy for those with the coveted blue ID card indicating that the bearer is a Jerusalem resident. They can move from Jerusalem to Ramallah or areas inside Israel without the hassle of special permits. However, those with green-covered West Bank IDs are banned completely from entering Jerusalem or Israel except if they are granted a permit, which, by the way, usually only allows the bearer access to Jerusalem or Israel for certain hours a day and only for the "specified purpose." On the back of most permits, there are eight points upon which validity of the permit is contingent. If the bearer breaks any of these "rules" they are prone to arrest, fines and harassment and can, no doubt, kiss any hope of being granted permits in the future, goodbye.
Hence, on the Eid Al Fitr, people who had planned to spend their holiday with family in Jerusalem had to cancel their plans and stay at home instead. It seems absurd that the Muslim holiday should be disrupted because of a Jewish holiday, but in this upside down world called Palestine, nothing can be considered absurd.
To make matters worse, Israel announced that the "closure" [as if to imply that the territories were open at all other times], would be lifted on Wednesday night, that is, the night of October 1. Even after 40-something years of occupation, we Palestinians have yet to learn that we cannot trust the Israelis. That night, which marked the second day of the Eid Al Fitr [which is customarily three days], cars were backed up to kingdom-come at the Qalandiya checkpoint, reaching almost half a kilometer back to the Qalandiya Refugee Camp. Palestinians, who were earlier disappointed at not being able to visit Jerusalem, thought they would try their luck that night when Israel said the closure would be lifted.
If it were not for personal experience, I would have said the Palestinians were exaggerating. For half an hour, our car did not move 20 meters, the ominous Qalandiya crossing not even in sight. Finally, we turned back, giving up any hope of making it that night into Jerusalem. A friend tried even harder, pushing his way for two hours to the nonchalant Israeli soldiers manning the barrier, only to be turned back and told to come again tomorrow.
That is why I say, the Palestinians should decide to celebrate the Jewish holidays each year so the rest of their lives are not disrupted because of them, barring of course this Eid Al Fitr, which was just an unfortunate coincidence. Now that Rosh Hashanah is over, we Palestinians have yet another Jewish holiday to look forward to. In a few days, on October 9, Jews everywhere will observe Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. Traditionally, this is a day when Jews fast, meditate and repent for their past sins. Sounds like a good idea, especially for those Israeli Jews who wear the hat of occupier or settler and have plenty to repent for.
Unfortunately, the day comes with, of course, a complete closure of the West Bank. As if this were not enough, Yom Kippur comes with yet another perk. Because the day is supposed to be dedicated to repentance and meditation, all roads are closed to traffic. In Jerusalem, where there is a large Jewish Orthodox community, this is no laughing matter. If a car is seen on the main streets, Jews will pelt it with stones, regardless of whether it is driven by a Jew or not.
This means work and schools in east Jerusalem come to a standstill on Yom Kippur. Children may rejoice at another day off, but schedules are thrown off, tests postponed and the overall educational process disrupted one more time, not because of a scheduled Muslim or Christian holiday, but one that none of the students in east Jerusalem celebrate.
This also includes those Jerusalemites who work in Ramallah as well. While the West Bank does not take off time for Yom Kippur, their Jerusalemite employees cannot reach their workplaces. Alas, offices in the West Bank will feel the crunch too.
Hence, it seems only logical that we Palestinians should, from now on, pencil in Jewish holidays on our calendars. This way, when we are banned from travel or have to keep our kids at home, we can say, "Well, of course we are off – its, Hanukkah."
Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Programme at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mip@miftah.org
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The ancient prophets used sarcastic wit to arouse their audiences to think deeply and I am most grateful for Joharah Baker'[s prophetic voice.
I am a voice out of the wilderness too- a Christian of the Beatitudes in a land rife with rigid fundamentalism and politicians who claim to be Christians and do NOT follow his teachings.
My spin on the Days of Repentance and Opposition as True Friendship, first published September 30, 2008:
"Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you. Opposition is True Friendship.-William Blake, Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1796
Last week on a campus of higher learning, after a passionate exchange of words with a young man about what seems to most everyone to be an intractable conflict in the Holy Land, he hits me with a left to the liver when he says his brother was murdered by a "terrorist" in Israel.
In my heart/mind I imagined a hopeless Palestinian who targeted innocent people as his way out of a deep sense of hopelessness. I understand the young man in front of me does not see it that way and I lamely mutter how sorry I am and add that I denounce all violence no matter who wears the uniform or how noble they believe their cause and the cycle of violence must end and the strong must be led to acquiesce to the weak.
Of course I was not nearly as eloquent in that moment. And I had stood my ground for what seemed like twenty minutes going in circles with the young man and his friend who had both been hurling red herrings and straw men, quoting the Hamas Charter and Alan Dershowitz at me. It was nearly 90 in the shade and I was in jeans and dehydrated. He disappeared into the crowd before I repented for allowing my impatience and frustration to erupt.
As a Christian who honors the wisdom of all faith paths I also now offer Repentance for all those who ever claimed to be Christian but missed the mark for a Christian is to at least try to be a peacemaker. A Christian must forgive, love and do good to ALL others and so they must talk to their 'enemies' as well as friends. The problem is not with Jesus or Christianity, the problem is that too few who call him "Lord, Lord" follow him in word and deed and I repent for that too.
As Muslims end the fasting days of Ramadan and celebrate Eid, the ten days of Repentance for Jews which begins on the eve of Rosh Hashanah Sept. 29thh and goes to the end of Yom Kippur at nightfall October 9th, which is also the day of John Lennon's birth. May these words that follow help us IMAGINE that while Israel celebrates 60 years, the other side mourns 60 years of Al Nakba/The Catastrophe, an injustice that affects US all.
People of conscience as well as cynics all sigh and wonder what will it take to break the cycle of violence in the Holy Land. The violent spin can only be broken when the strong is willing to compromise and that requires compassion which is inspired by education-learning what one has not yet heard.
Nothing prepared me for my first trek upon the ancient streets with no names in occupied territory. I did not know how little I knew until I saw the view from occupied territory. I am the first to admit I am biased, I am on the side of the poor, oppressed, voiceless and innocent ones who are caught in the cross fire of violence. War is the ultimate expression of terror and it is against/anti- what Christ taught!
In June 2005 I left my sanctuary on ten acres in paradise to fly to Israel Palestine for the first time with the Interfaith Olive Trees Foundation for Peace . I also went to meet a little boy of west Bethlehem, George of Beit Jala.
His centuries old neighborhood is less than a mile from the Jewish only settlement of Gilo, which is illegal under international law for it exists in the West Bank and not on Israeli land.
A photo of three year old George adorns the banner of my website and he has become my icon for all the innocent ones caught in the crossfire of violence any where.
Three year old George stood in the rubble of what had been his bedroom the night before the Israeli army blew it wide open. The shrapnel read 'Made in USA' and was delivered by American made Apache helicopters.
Israeli forces had retaliated against a few hopeless militants who had infiltrated George's neighborhood to snipe into the illegal settlement of Gilo and had fired from a spot around a curve and up a hill from George's home.
The moment I saw that photo of George-two years before I first met him in June 2005- my heart or what some people may call their conscience said "DO SOMETHING!"
What could I possibly do I wondered, but I did make a copy of the photo, put it in a frame and placed it upon the altar [a bar high table] in the upper room of my home. Dozens of times a day, I still stop and gaze into the eyes of that little boy of Bethlehem and wonder what it will take to end the insane cycle for everyone is hurting and most especially the children. George, his mother and younger sister suffer with PTSS as does most of the population. The father cannot find employment at his trade for the economy has dried up in the little town of Bethlehem.
I vowed to myself and then out loud to George that I would dedicate the rest of my life to doing all I could think of to help bring about the end of the occupation of Palestine and that is the only way Israel will be safe and secure.
Of course I had no clue as to how much of an 'impossible mission' I had accepted. But, every day I persist to look into George of Beit Jala's eyes and I also sigh deeply. And a sigh can be a prayer deeper and more meaningful than words.
"We do not know what we ought to pray but the Spirit intercedes for US, with sighs and groans deeper and more meaningful than any words."-Romans 8:26
A few days after meeting George I went to Hebron, the most painful place I have ever been. My guide was Jerry Levin, then a full time volunteer with Christian Peacemaker Teams. In the 1980's he was CNN's Middle East bureau chief in Lebanon. He was captured and held hostage by the Hezbollah for nearly a year, and after he experienced a mystical Christmas Eve, he escaped unharmed for the door of his holding place had been left unlocked.
Jerry told me, "Every time I get ready to return to Palestine, everyone asks me, 'Aren't you afraid?' I reply, of what, the Palestinians? No way! But when it comes to the Israelis soldiers, you bet I am!"
Hebron in 2005 held a few hundred Israeli settlers, three thousand eighteen- to twenty-one-years-old Israeli soldiers and the oppression is visceral. The narrow, winding stone streets of Hebron are centuries old, but in the 21st century; one side is Palestinian and the other Israeli. Their only connection to the other was a thick, deeply sagging netting that is strung above ones head which catches huge rocks, shovels, electronic equipment, furniture, and all manner of debris that have been flung onto it by the settlers.
Jerry told me, "The settlers just throw whatever they want onto the netting; they do what ever they want and get away with it. The CPT's run interference by nonviolent resistance; we get the children and woman to where they need to be going and back again. Sometimes, the settlers curse and stone us all; it keeps it interesting."
Upon formerly Palestinian homes, settlers painted graffiti, such as "GAS THE ARABS" and Stars of David.
A few hours after that scene I crossed paths with Vanunu for the first time. A few hours of listening to Vanunu talk about his childhood as an Orthodox Jew and journey into Christianity would inspire any thinking Christian to do something about the Christian Exodus from the Holy Land; which has reduced their numbers from 20% of the total in 1947 to 1.3% and is still shrinking fast due to the effects and injustices of military occupation and The Wall.
Within a month after my first return home from occupied territory I established my website and became a civilian journalist. A Civilian Journalist is more than a blogger, for we leave our comfort zone to go and report for the benefit of we the people. We follow our heart and not assignments from editors. We spend our own dime and nobody pays us. We do it because we love to write and "Writing…is hard because you are giving yourself away, but if you love; you want to give yourself. You write as you are impelled to write, about man and his problems, his relation to God and his fellows…The sustained effort of writing, of putting [words down while] there are human beings [with] sickness, hunger, sorrow…I feel that I have done nothing well, but I did something."-Dorothy Day
That need to do something for love-and true Christians understand that God is love and "Love is not the starving of whole populations. Love is not the bombardment of open cities. Love is not killing……Our manifesto is the Sermon on the Mount, which means that we will try to be peacemakers." -Dorothy Day
That kind of love is why I wrote two books and have spilled unknown thousands of cyber words all in pursuit of peace which requires justice.
I am fueled by my personal intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, who for me is a social, justice, radical revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior who rose up against the corrupt Temple authorities and challenged their job security by teaching the people they did NOT need to pay the priests for ritual baths or sacrificing livestock to be OK with God.
For God LOVED them just as they were: sinners, poor, diseased, outcasts, widows, orphans, refugees and prisoners all living under the Roman Empire and Military Occupation. What got Jesus and any other rebel, dissident, agitator crucified was for disturbing the status quo of the Roman Empire and Occupying Forces.
The military occupation of Palestine is the status quo and innocent ones on both sides continue to be terrorized and die in the crossfire of violence.
Now is not the time for giving into fear or casting more blame. What is needed now is for reflection and repentance for what we have done and what we have not done for the poor and oppressed.
Now is the time for people of conscience to ask themselves on what do they base their biases on and open up to hearing biases from the other side. That takes common sense and courage.
"Cowardice asks the question – is it safe? Expediency asks the question – is it politic? Vanity asks the question – is it popular? But conscience asks the question – is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
America's most radical founding father, Tom Paine, united a disparate group of immigrants together and ignited the formation of a nation with a forty-page pamphlet called Common Sense.
"Soon after I had published the pamphlet Common Sense [on Feb. 14, 1776] in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion… The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."-Tom Paine
Common sense understands that only justice; which requires equal human rights for all people is the way to security and peace for all.
A true friend will always tell the truth even though it can be brutal.
What is needed in times like these is more not less dialogue about the pain of the other, for education is the way to compassion and compassion the way to change.
"We have it in our power to begin the world again" -Tom Paine
All we need is the will and that is always free.
Pencil in Jewish holidays: Yes. Celebrate? No Thanks!
Do the Israelis/ Jews celebrate any of the Islamic or Christian holidays? This post, if anything, proves that the Israelis will use ANY excuse to further humiliate Palestinians. This is part of their Talmudic teachings I suppose.
And we want to sound "civil" by saying that we should "celebrate" their holidays? Please! Let them first practice justice and equality and we'll consider – maybe. Let them first join the human race and then we can all celebrate.
ATW
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