Last Thursday we were driving in the Jeep in the main area of the cave dwellers in south Mt. Hebron. The locals call it Massfarat Yatta (or Massafer Yatta, i.e Yatta’s frontier). The occupiers call it Military Zone 918. The different names tell it all: It’s the difference between life and death, between peace and war.
The weather was excellent and the scenery was beautiful – a desert area a few weeks after a great rainfall. Another great sight was the Comet-Me wind turbines arising from some of the Massfara’s hamlets. From a hill in the middle of the Massfara you can see how complicated this area is: the few small hamlets in it are divided to clusters and are very vulnerable to both the army and settlers’ invasions. Indeed, settlers from the outpost of Mizphe Yair invaded Beer al-Ed, one of those hamlets, on that very same day.
Our mission in the Massfara was to bring a considerable donation collected by our friends in Rhode Island for the sake of supporting the studies of two women students, Ruwan and Arwa, from the hamlet of al-Fakhit.
While Ruwan was still in university in Hebron on the day we came, Arwa was already in the middle term vacation. Studying nursing in the University of Bethlehem, Arwa is the only representative of Yatta’s area in this university.
We are dealing with supporting students in south Mt. Hebron for seven years now. During those years we came to understand how complicated it is to be involved in this matter. The many obstacles and difficulties we encounter are bringing us to the verge of despair. What keep us hanging on is the seriousness and the devotion of students like Arwa, and the great and ongoing support we receive from our friends abroad.
The next stop in our weekly visit this time was the hamlet of al-Mufaqara, where we had the opportunity to meet another student supported by us – Sausan. Sausan is a young woman who (as some of you may remember) was arrested and spent 10 days in a cell in a police jail in Jerusalem after her house was demolished, about two years ago. Now, with our encouragement, she initiates enrichment sessions with kids from al-Mufaqara, exposing them to topics they won’t encounter in school. Indeed, Sausan, with her exceptional personality, is setting an example for what a student can do for his/her community during the period of studies.
The last stop in our visit this time was in the village of al-Tuwani. At Umm Jum’a’s house, Erella was sitting with Nasser from Susiya and Jum’a from al-Tuwani to discuss the practicalities of the workshop the veterinarian Gabi scheduled for the following week. Outside, Jum’a’s son was revealing to us the secret of it all with his ‘do it yourself’ object (see the photos attached). Between Massafer Yatta and Military Zone 918, between life and death, we choose to continue coming in contact with life pole of this area.
Between Massafer Yatta and Military Zone 918, between life and death, we choose to continue coming in contact with life pole of this area.
Ehud on behalf of the Villages Group
The Villages Group: Cooperation in Israel-Palestine 
Comments
Uri Avnery says that Jews in Israel are psychically incapable (or words to that effect) of envisioning a secular state for themselves. I think such a state speaks for itself as contrasted with “Jewish state”, but I would include in a definition at least “separation of church and state” and “equal treatment under the laws”. I just scanned the first paragraphs of Max Blumenthal’s essay in The Nation about Sharon, wondering if he was ready to condemn Israel’s Jews at large for its aggressive security policy. Remarkable enough, you might say, for The Nation to even touch Max Blumenthal with a ten foot pole.
But it seems the real way for you, the authors of this very nice essay about a Jeep trip you took recently, to touch the life pole in the tension between life and death is to talk about law, legality, legitimacy back home where you live. It seems “Jewish state” stands not for any legal arrangement (what could there be that isn’t absurd on its face?) but for not talking about law, legitimacy, and justice. What does it mean to say someone is psychically incapable of talking about something that prima facie, at first glance, seems to deserve their attention if not demand it?
It seems to say that their neighbor does not want to get THAT involved.