Break Down That Wall

A final score of 1:1 may not be the most impressive,but for the youngsters of Bil'in it was a glorious achievement. For them, it wasnot the result that was important, nor even the match itself (against a teamfrom the nearby town of Betunya). What was important was where it took place: onan improvised football field that was hastily leveled on the land that wasstolen from the village by the Separation Wall.

The match was a part of a unique event. In the poor, little village, with its1500 inhabitants, which few had ever heard of before the start of its heroicbattle against the Wall, an "International Conference on the Joint,Non-violent struggle Against the Wall" took place. In the framework of thisevent, which lasted for two days, a range of activities was organized: reportsand debates about the struggle, the award of honor shields to the families ofthe nine people who lost their lives in the fight against the Wall, the plantingof olive saplings on the stolen land, the inauguration of the football field andthe match itself.

I had the honor of being invited to deliver one of the opening speeches,before an audience of 300 people - inhabitants of Bil'in, members of thePalestinian parliament, representatives of the struggle in several areas alongthe Wall, Israeli peace activists and delegates from European solidarity groups.This is what I said:

Dear Friends,

Every time I come to Bil'in, I am excited and happy.

This village, this little village, has become a symbol in Palestine, inIsrael, indeed throughout the world. Your fight reflects the struggle of theentire Palestinian people.

Three traits distinguish the struggle of Bil'in, three characteristics thatcomplement each other and together make Bil'in as extraordinary as it is:

First, the tenacity, persistence and courage of the Palestinian people..

Second, the partnership with the Israeli peace camp.

Third, the support of solidarity movements all over the world.

To these one can add another characteristic that marks Bil'in as a shiningexample: the complete non-violence of the fight.

A few days ago, the Dalai Lama visited this country. He met important peopleand celebrities and had his picture taken with them. I would have advised him tocome to Bil'in and learn a lesson in non-violence.

When we try to analyze the struggle, we have always tocome back to the essence of the matter: In this country, there live two peoples,two nations, and the aim of our endeavors is to create peace, peace based onjustice.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not resemble any other struggle in theworld. It is not a repeat of the South African ordeal, nor a second edition ofthe Algerian War of Liberation. This is a unique conflict, brought about byunique circumstances.

A famous historian described it this way: A person lives on an upper floor ofa building in which a fire has broken out. To save his life, he jumps out of awindow and lands on top of a passer-by, who is grievously hurt. Between the two,a mortal enmity ensues.

Who is in the right? The person who jumped out of the window to save hislife? Or the second person, who was hurt and ruined without having done anythingwrong?

The Zionist movement was born because Europe was becoming a hell for the Jews- fifty years before the Holocaust, the terrible Holocaust that killed millionsof Jews, and in the wake of which the State of Israel was founded. The firstZionists believed that the country was empty. Their main slogan was: "Acountry without people for a people without a country." When the Zionistsdiscovered that there was a population already living in this country, theytried to push it out. This effort continues until this very day - and so doesthe tenacious struggle of the Palestinian people for its existence and its land.

That is the reality of the conflict - two peoples living in the same countryand fighting each other. The struggle of Bil'in against the Wall that isstealing its land is a part of this historic conflict.

Thirty two years ago, right after the Yom Kippur War,the Ramadan War, Yasser Arafat drew the conclusion that there is no militarysolution to this conflict. He resolved to seek a political settlement.

A small group of Israeli peace activists decided to join this initiative. Weset up the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Arafat instructed hisemissaries to contact us - first Sa'id Hamami, then Issam Sartawy, two seniorFatah leaders. Both were later murdered by the enemies of peace and the enemiesof Arafat. May their memory live with us.

In 1982, in the middle of the Lebanon War, I crossed the lines and met withArafat in beleaguered Beirut. In the middle of the battle, in the middle of thebombardments, Arafat talked about peace between our two peoples.

Arafat was already laying down a strategy based on three principles: topersist in the struggle of the Palestinian people, to hold out the hand to theIsraeli peace camp and to call for international solidarity. These are also thethree principles of Bil'in today.

You may ask - indeed, you must ask: What has theIsraeli peace movement achieved?

On the face of it - nothing. On the contrary, since the Oslo agreement, thesituation of the Palestinians has worsened from year to year. The economicmisery is deepening even further. Every day, people are being killed. Theconstruction of the monster Wall is continuing. The racist settlements arespreading rapidly. Just now we learned that the Jordan Valley - a third of theWest Bank - is being cut off from the Palestinian territory and practicallyannexed to Israel. The victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections is a resultof these actions.

All this is happening in plain view. But below the surface a contrary processis at work.

Fifty years ago, only a handful of people in Israel and around the worldrecognized the existence of the Palestinian people. Even 32 years ago, GoldaMeir could declare that "there is no such thing as a Palestinianpeople". Nowadays there is no normal person in Israel and the world whodenies the existence of the Palestinian people and its right to a state of itsown. That is a victory for the tenacious Palestinian struggle, but also for theIsraeli peace movement.

Twenty years ago, when we called for negotiations with the PalestinianLiberation Organization, we were a small band. We were told that Arafat was amurderer, that the PLO was a terrorist organization, that the PalestinianCharter called for the destruction of Israel - exactly the same phrases whichare now being used about Hamas. But a few years later, the State of Israelrecognized the PLO, negotiated with it and signed an agreement with it. That wasa victory for the tenacious Palestinian struggle, but also a victory for theIsraeli peace movement.

Dear Friends, it is very easy to despair. Every one ofus has moments of depression. But I am convinced that peace will win, justicewill win.

A few weeks ago I was in Berlin. In the shops there, pieces of the BerlinWall are on sale. I paid 2.50 Euros for one of them. The day will come whenhere, in Bil'in, in the free State of Palestine, one will be able to buy piecesof the Wall that we are fighting against today.

Every time when I am in Bil'in and other places in occupied Palestine, Ican't help thinking what a paradise this country would be if there were peace,peace based on justice and mutual respect.

This peace will come. And when it comes, the last wish of Yasser Arafat,whose picture hangs here, will be fulfilled: his remains will be interred inJerusalem.