Beit Sahour Update

by Ellen Morris

On Nov. 5, in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, over 100 Americans marched against the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians living in Beit Sahour. Betsy Esch, U-M student and opinion page editor of the Michigan Daily was among them. The home where Esch stayed the evening before the demonstration was raided in the early morning by Israeli soldiers "dressed in riot gear," she said.

"They were very surprised that I was there," Esch said, "and their first question was, was I Jewish? For one split second I felt an incredible surge of pure anger, with complete defenselessness. I was totally powerless."

The soldier's attitude toward her, she said, was very different than toward her Palestinian hosts. "They had no recognition of the Palestinian' s humanity," she said. "Would it have made a difference if I were Jewish?" Her bag and identification was confiscated.

In January 1988 the people of Beit Sahour stopped

(see BEIT SAHOUR, page 10)

BEIT SAHOUR

(from page 2)

paying taxes to the Israeli government. In response the lsraeli army: seized medicines from pharmacies, took cars, tvs and furniture from homes; placed the town under curfew; cut all of the town's phone lines; and demolished several houses. Since then the army has sealed off Beit Sahour. The Nov. 5 protest followed an Oct. 23 "plea to the world" sent by the town, according to Esch, for pressure on the Israelis to lift the siege.

The organization of the community is "incredibly strong," said Esch, despite the recent mass confiscation of property by lsraeli officials. "The most important thing is unity - cross-class, cross-cultural unity."

The homes have been completely emptied of furniture and appliances, Esch said. The middle class has been targeted by the lsraeli government in order to pressure the Intifada (the Paleslinian uprising). "It hasn't been successful," she said. "The people aren't leaving."

"The Beit Sahour protest is very important because it's very threatening to Israel," Esch said.

lsraeli defense minister Yitzhak Rabin admitted in The New York Times that the Israelis want to teach Beit Sahour a lesson, according to Esch.

Members of Roots, the Washington, D.C.based Palestine solidarity organization which sponsored the march, were allowed into the town because the siege was lifted just before the scheduled action. When the group gathered at the city's perimeter for the march, most people were allowed to pass through the checkpoint station. Television cameras and some reporters were detained, and others were asked not to take pictures.

Originally the group planned to break the blockade of Beit Sahour as a material aid brigade by bringing food and supplies to the townspeople. That did not happen. Changed security and organizational problems caused the brigade to falter at times, said Esch.

"It wasn't clear if the town was open or closed," Esch said. Also, the brigade was formed by people of all different kinds of political positions. Besides Palestinian solidarity supporters, there were nonpolitical human rights activists, Vietnam veterans, religious groups, peace activists and students. "There were different ideas of why we were there, and so there were different ways of organizing a protest."

Once through the checkpoints, the group ed through the town. They were joined by hundreds of residents of Beit Sahour. As they reached an intersection of three streets, they were surrounded by Israeli troops.

During curfew periods, people are not allowed to walk on the streets, and must stay in their houses or risk being shot at.

"The Intifada has given people another picture of the Palestinians," Esch said.

The week we were there, said Esch, thirteen people were killed in the West Bank, and Congress still sends $2.5 billion in aid to Israel.