Hebron, South Hebron Hills

Are you a Jew?

On road 60 all is as usual. The entrance to Abda and Deir Razah are closed.  Everywhere  piles of big rocks and of dust wait just in case. Everywhere else is open and to the entrances to Hebron as well.

We  went to Sa'ir to see what is happening there and to meet a person whom we are trying to help in ordr to remove his security ban.

Muhammad tells us that Tamimi has asked that we come again so we went.  To see the destruction of the caravan which is next to Givat Gal . To see  that in the midst of the jettison stand hives. To see the surrealism which is called life in Hebron through to through the fresh eyes of Ariela. 

At the entrance to the Cave of the Patriarchs Muhammad is again put through a questioning. If you are a Moslem park somewhere else. Our protests did not help even with the IDs and racism racism. The border police ask us to let them carry out their duties and to understand them. Muhammad understand and parks in the parking lot and not in the area of the Cave. 

Three young women are detained by a young woman of their own age. She is a soldier and they are students of the University of Hebron. Women against women. We wait to see when they will be released. A long time passes and they sit on the ground. Abed runs  and brings them chairs. In the meantime a group of tourists from Mexico wants to learn about us, who we are and what we do. So we began to tell them. The three students get their IDs and at Abed’s advice come to us. They widen their eyes. YOU ARE JEWISH. YOU ARE REALY JEWISH.  Yes, you see we do not have horns or a tail. We have never seen good Jews before . We truly have not. 

The tourists are in shock and it seems  that  they are Jews. Their eyes fill with tears (and so do ours). The woman whispers to us: We are after the holocaust. We act like this and what must they think of us? So did I also think after what  had been done to us. We should have become the most just among the peoples. Her husband looks at me and cannot get a word out of his mouth. Then I understood why we come here, amongst other reasons. I said  all that had to be said to the tourists and said everything I thought was correct. The young women look with happiness at us. This meeting really changes something for all of us. They tell us about themselves, from where they are and we exchanged telephone numbers. We spoke as women to women, in spite of this terrible place. Hard to digest the question and the shock. Young  Palestinian women meet good Jewish women for the first  time.