6/23

two other internationals and I patrolled the old city of Hebron this morning and everyone says things like, “welcome” and “what’s your name?” the Palestinian children kicked a soccer ball at me and I kicked it back as we were walking out of our building this morning, then they gave me high fives and hugs just for being around.

We were patrolling the checkpoints next to the mosque, observing the way the IOF and israeli settlers were treating the Palestinians. Every time someone was detained, we waited for them to be released. The soldiers are always rude and treat Muslim people like animals that they don’t want to be around. We asked one of the soldiers why a passer by was being detained and the soldier said, “We are looking to see if this man is a terrorist”, obviously he was just an old man walking through HIS OWN neighborhood.

Soldiers kept stopping us and asking what our religion was; where we were from, passport please, move on. they are nothing but big dorks with american machine guns.

I never answer the religion question. For the record, I am catholic, but it doesn’t really matter and I don’t really know how catholic I am. If we tell the israeli soldiers that we are Muslim, we will be detained. maybe they don’t ask me because I have a rosary around my neck? israel is a very racist nation; the evidence is right here on the ground of palestine. israel is also brainwashing the world with their PR compains.

We met up with members of CPT and they showed us around east Hebron. We walked through a nieghborhood over 8000 years old. facist sharon wanted the area to be demolished, but thankfully, archeologists won the good fight. We were in the west bank, area H2, a Palestinian location, occupied by zionist-israeli settlers. on the roof of a Palestinian owned home being occupied by israeli settlers, illegally, soldiers sat with their m16 rifles and sniper rifles, fantasizing about killing poor people. the israeli government, that asked them to leave twice, still protects their rooftops from harmless people, yes harmless. islamic people are not allowed access to the main roads, only jews can use the main roads in this part of the west bank. soldiers and settlers all walk around like maniacs with their machine guns. We left the members of CPT and made our way to a Palestinian youth center.

At the youth center we were welcomed with open arms. One of my colleagues is from germany and he speaks Arabic fairly well. The youth center workers poured us tea and we sat around eating apricots and smoking Jamal cigarettes with the men. On the wall was a picture of yasser arafat shaking hands with the man sitting next to me, he was stamping cards of some sort.

I kept my attention outside of the window. There was a donkey tied to a post. I watched the animal try to balance himself and I watched him pulling at the leather ropes wraped around his face, today was very hot. I haven’t had anything alcoholic to drink in, what feels like, a million years. I thought about sitting with brad, making gg allin jokes, talking freely about PC situations, and drinking until we throw up on the porch in tempe.

while I was day dreaming, one of the women took us into a room and we watched a play put on by seven, young, Palestinian children. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but I pretended. One of the men that spoke little english tried to explain the play in my bad ear but I couldn’t hear him over the music. After we left the youth center, everyone invited us into their homes for Arabic coffee and we had to decline because we needed to observe the checkpoints.

Tonight i will drink tea and listen to gun shots and fireworks on the roof top. hopefully the israeli settlers don't slingshot stones large enough to hurt anyone, just relaxing.

some of the events that happen here in the west bank, I am better off keeping to myself, because I don’t know how I would be able to write about it or explain it to even my closest friends.

<3

b