Booking their journey into harms way
By Tom Wall
Sarah and Anna are reluctant to give their full names in case the Israeli authorities stop them at at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. They are not criminals, but peace activists following a well-trodden path from Britain to the West Bank. Since 2001 more than 4,000 volunteers have travelled to the occupied territories with the International Solidarity Movement. The numbers are down this year, however, because it is harder to get there - the movement says that between 50 and 100 British activists have been refused entry or deported on spurious grounds.
If Sarah and Anna do get past the airport officials, they will then face checkpoint guards, aggressive settlers and army snipers. In 2003 two members of the movement, Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie, were fatally injured in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. Hurndall was shot by an Israeli soldier as he tried to rescue three children. Corrie, now the subject of a play at the Royal Court in London, was crushed by an army bulldozer as she protested against house demolitions. Do their deaths not worry those who follow in their footsteps?
"You just hope for the best," says Sarah. "You hope that the deaths of Tom and Rachel will have put the Israel Defence Forces off trying to harm internationals because it received such adverse publicity."Anna, an American studying in London, admits it's a risk - "but it's a calculated risk. It is important to go over there, otherwise Israel wins."
They met at a workshop run by the International Solidarity Movement. Sarah went because she was shocked by what she saw when she visited Israel three years ago. "I travelled to Israel because my grandfather is Jewish. I came back with the view that Israel is giving the Palestinians a raw deal." Anna has not visited Israel before, but she is just as angry. An exiled Palestinian professor had impressed upon her the plight of his people.
She is not proud of her country's record. "The financial and military support the US gives Israel helps to perpetuate human rights abuses," she says. "As an American, that is something I am deeply ashamed of."
The movement was founded in 2001 by a group of people who met while protesting against the occupation. They included Neta Golan, an Israeli from Tel Aviv. "Palestinians were taking to the streets to demand their freedom and they were being murdered," Golan says from the movement's office in Ramallah. "There was no outcry, so we decided to bring Israelis and internationals on demonstrations so it wouldn't be so easy for the military to open fire."
The movement has sections around the world, largely staffed by volunteers from past campaigns. The British section, funded by individual donations, has branches across the country and a presence on many university campuses. It recruits mainly by word of mouth.
The workshop Sarah and Anna attended lasted two days. They took part in role-playing exercises and a discussion about the history and politics of the Middle East. "It was such a diverse group," says Anna. "There was lady from Venezuela, an elderly Englishman, a woman in her sixties from Newcastle, and a guy about my age from Cambridge."
According to the Israeli embassy in Britain, Israel turns away only people who intend to break the law. It says that if the International Solidarity Movement were really committed to human rights it would offer solidarity to Israeli civilians travelling on buses. Golan, who lost a cousin in a suicide bombing, counters: "We do offer solidarity to Israelis, by supporting alternatives to violent resistance. A Palestinian who is peacefully demonstrating against the occupation - often with Israelis - is a lot less likely to blow himself up because he cannot bear the despair any more."
The Israel Defence Forces say they do what they can to protect human life, but cannot be held responsible for people who choose to enter a "closed military zone". Sarah, Anna and hundreds like them are not deterred. "I'm aware a mortar shell could go off and damage my hearing, or a rubber bullet could blind me," says Sarah. "But sometimes you have just got to make a stand and face the risks."
Original article
Sarah and Anna are reluctant to give their full names in case the Israeli authorities stop them at at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. They are not criminals, but peace activists following a well-trodden path from Britain to the West Bank. Since 2001 more than 4,000 volunteers have travelled to the occupied territories with the International Solidarity Movement. The numbers are down this year, however, because it is harder to get there - the movement says that between 50 and 100 British activists have been refused entry or deported on spurious grounds.
If Sarah and Anna do get past the airport officials, they will then face checkpoint guards, aggressive settlers and army snipers. In 2003 two members of the movement, Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie, were fatally injured in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. Hurndall was shot by an Israeli soldier as he tried to rescue three children. Corrie, now the subject of a play at the Royal Court in London, was crushed by an army bulldozer as she protested against house demolitions. Do their deaths not worry those who follow in their footsteps?
"You just hope for the best," says Sarah. "You hope that the deaths of Tom and Rachel will have put the Israel Defence Forces off trying to harm internationals because it received such adverse publicity."Anna, an American studying in London, admits it's a risk - "but it's a calculated risk. It is important to go over there, otherwise Israel wins."
They met at a workshop run by the International Solidarity Movement. Sarah went because she was shocked by what she saw when she visited Israel three years ago. "I travelled to Israel because my grandfather is Jewish. I came back with the view that Israel is giving the Palestinians a raw deal." Anna has not visited Israel before, but she is just as angry. An exiled Palestinian professor had impressed upon her the plight of his people.
She is not proud of her country's record. "The financial and military support the US gives Israel helps to perpetuate human rights abuses," she says. "As an American, that is something I am deeply ashamed of."
The movement was founded in 2001 by a group of people who met while protesting against the occupation. They included Neta Golan, an Israeli from Tel Aviv. "Palestinians were taking to the streets to demand their freedom and they were being murdered," Golan says from the movement's office in Ramallah. "There was no outcry, so we decided to bring Israelis and internationals on demonstrations so it wouldn't be so easy for the military to open fire."
The movement has sections around the world, largely staffed by volunteers from past campaigns. The British section, funded by individual donations, has branches across the country and a presence on many university campuses. It recruits mainly by word of mouth.
The workshop Sarah and Anna attended lasted two days. They took part in role-playing exercises and a discussion about the history and politics of the Middle East. "It was such a diverse group," says Anna. "There was lady from Venezuela, an elderly Englishman, a woman in her sixties from Newcastle, and a guy about my age from Cambridge."
According to the Israeli embassy in Britain, Israel turns away only people who intend to break the law. It says that if the International Solidarity Movement were really committed to human rights it would offer solidarity to Israeli civilians travelling on buses. Golan, who lost a cousin in a suicide bombing, counters: "We do offer solidarity to Israelis, by supporting alternatives to violent resistance. A Palestinian who is peacefully demonstrating against the occupation - often with Israelis - is a lot less likely to blow himself up because he cannot bear the despair any more."
The Israel Defence Forces say they do what they can to protect human life, but cannot be held responsible for people who choose to enter a "closed military zone". Sarah, Anna and hundreds like them are not deterred. "I'm aware a mortar shell could go off and damage my hearing, or a rubber bullet could blind me," says Sarah. "But sometimes you have just got to make a stand and face the risks."
Original article