By Uri Avnery, 25.2.06
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 was not the result that was important, nor even the
match itself (against a team from the nearby town of Betunya). What was
important was where it took place: on an improvised football field that was
hastily leveled on the land that was stolen from the village by the Separation
Wall.
The match was a part of a
unique event. In the poor, little village, with its 1500 inhabitants, which few
had ever heard of before the start of its heroic battle against the Wall, an
"International Conference on the Joint, Non-violent struggle Against the
Wall" took place. In the framework of this event, which lasted for two
days, a range of activities was organized: reports and debates about the
struggle, the award of honor shields to the families of the nine people who
lost their lives in the fight against the Wall, the planting of olive saplings
on the stolen land, the inauguration of the football field and the 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 the Palestinian
parliament, representatives of the struggle in several areas along the 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, in Israel,
indeed throughout the world. Your fight reflects the struggle of the entire
Palestinian people.
Three
traits distinguish the struggle of Bil'in, three characteristics that
complement 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 shining
example: the complete non-violence of the fight.
A few
days ago, the Dalai Lama visited this country. He met important people and
celebrities and had his picture taken with them. I would have advised him to
come to Bil'in and learn a lesson in non-violence.
WHEN
WE try to analyze the struggle, we have always to come 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 on justice.
The
Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not resemble any other struggle in the world.
It is not a repeat of the South African ordeal, nor a second edition of the
Algerian War of Liberation. This is a unique conflict, brought about by unique
circumstances.
A
famous historian described it this way: A person lives on an upper floor of a
building in which a fire has broken out. To save his life, he jumps out of a
window 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 his life? Or the
second person, who was hurt and ruined without having done anything wrong?
The
Zionist movement was born because Europe was becoming a hell for the Jews -
fifty years before the Holocaust, the terrible Holocaust that killed millions
of Jews, and in the wake of which the State of Israel was founded. The first
Zionists believed that the country was empty. Their main slogan was: "A
country without people for a people without a country." When the Zionists
discovered that there was a population already living in this country, they
tried to push it out. This effort continues until this very day - and so does
the 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 country and
fighting each other. The struggle of Bil'in against the Wall that is stealing
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 military solution to this conflict. He
resolved to seek a political settlement.
A
small group of Israeli peace activists decided to join this initiative. We set
up the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Arafat instructed his
emissaries to contact us - first Sa'id Hamami, then Issam Sartawy, two senior
Fatah leaders. Both were later murdered by the enemies of peace and the enemies
of Arafat. May their memory live with us.
In
1982, in the middle of the Lebanon War, I crossed the lines and met with Arafat
in beleaguered Beirut. In the middle of the battle, in the middle of the
bombardments, Arafat talked about peace between our two peoples.
Arafat
was already laying down a strategy based on three principles: to persist in the
struggle of the Palestinian people, to hold out the hand to the Israeli peace
camp and to call for international solidarity. These are also the three
principles of Bil'in today.
YOU
MAY ask - indeed, you must ask: What has the Israeli peace movement achieved?
On the
face of it - nothing. On the contrary, since the Oslo agreement, the situation
of the Palestinians has worsened from year to year. The economic misery is
deepening even further. Every day, people are being killed. The construction of
the monster Wall is continuing. The racist settlements are spreading rapidly.
Just now we learned that the Jordan
Valley - a third of the West Bank - is being cut off from the Palestinian
territory and practically annexed to Israel. The victory of Hamas in the
Palestinian elections is a result of these actions.
All
this is happening in plain view. But below the surface a contrary process is at
work.
Fifty
years ago, only a handful of people in Israel and around the world recognized
the existence of the Palestinian people. Even 32 years ago, Golda Meir could
declare that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian people".
Nowadays there is no normal person in Israel and the world who denies the
existence of the Palestinian people and its right to a state of its own. That
is a victory for the tenacious Palestinian struggle, but also for the Israeli
peace movement.
Twenty
years ago, when we called for negotiations with the Palestinian Liberation
Organization, we were a small band. We were told that Arafat was a murderer,
that the PLO was a terrorist organization, that the Palestinian Charter called
for the destruction of Israel - exactly the same phrases which are now being used
about Hamas. But a few years later, the State of Israel recognized the PLO,
negotiated with it and signed an agreement with it. That was a victory for the
tenacious Palestinian struggle, but also a victory for the Israeli peace
movement.
DEAR
FRIENDS, it is very easy to despair. Every one of us has moments of depression.
But I am convinced that peace will win, justice will win.
A few
weeks ago I was in Berlin. In the shops there, pieces of the Berlin Wall are on
sale. I paid 2.50 Euros for one of them. The day will come when here, in
Bil'in, in the free State of Palestine, one will be able to buy pieces of the
Wall that we are fighting against today.
Every
time when I am in Bil'in and other places in occupied Palestine, I can'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 in
Jerusalem.