Michele, a United Methodist church worker, recently visited us in
Bethlehem. Here's her story...
Peace,
Bob

===============================================

Hello,

I have returned to Cairo, Egypt and the home of my aunt. I arrived
last night and I am feeling the last days. Thank you for reading
these emails and for your concern for my safety. This email is
another long one! So many details to share and so little of this
comes out through the media.

Tuesday, after I sent my last email, I left the office to begin my
journey home. It was about 5pm and I needed to be home before
sunset -- not so safe to be out much after dark, when more Israeli
soldiers come out of the shadows and onto the streets. As I stepped
out onto the street, I looked up and saw smoke billowing up. My
route home would take me near the smoke, so I asked some guys on the
street if it was safe to walk that way. They said yes, but I
was not entirely convinced. The air was thick with the smoke and
smells of tear gas. I waited, watched to see if others were walking
that way, and indeed they were. I saw women walking that way, so
thought I could as well. (As an outsider and a woman, I watch the
women in particular to see where I should and should not be.) I
began to walk, in the direction of Rachel's Tomb, and into the area
where on Monday our non-violent protest had turned violent. I saw
young boys throwing rocks towards the guard towers. They were
not real threat to the guards, their rocks against the high tower and
against men loaded with weapons. I walked passed, and rounded the
corner to see a tire on fire, the cause of the smoke, and also a
Reuters photographer. He was armed with two cameras, a bulletproof
vest, and a hard hat. I asked if it was ok to take photos, he said
yes, and I took a photo of the burning tire, with the guard tower in
the background. I asked him what he had seen -- he had only recently
arrived to the scene, having recently been in Gaza. He is
Palestinian and from Hebron. As we talked, we kept our eyes on the
kids and the situation. He walked over closer and invited me to go
with him. I did.

We were there for about 15 seconds before we heard shooting and saw
about ten soldiers run out, shooting up and out, I think just above
the kids, but into neighboring homes. (not sure if it was live
ammunition or blanks) The soldiers grabbed every child they could,
twisting these 7-12 year-old boys in their strong arms. Many
children got away, at least one did not. All through this the
Reuters man and I were taking photos. The Reuters man ran closer
into the action, taking pictures as he ran. And he ran around the
corner with the soldiers and the caught 7 (or so) year-old boy. The
soldiers where beating up the little boy. After several seconds, the
Reuters photographer returned and reported to me what was happening
behind the barricade: soldiers beating up the boy and taking him
into a building. I asked what we could do to stop this. He did not
know. I said can we go and make the soldiers uncomfortable with our
presence. He did not know. So we inched forward, coming ever closer
to where they had caught the boy. I was torn apart -- go ahead and
challenge he well-armed soldiers in efforts to protect the boy, or
hold back. I did not know what to do. But seeing the Reuters man in
his vest and helmet helped me understand that this is a very
dangerous situation and that I should be very careful with my
actions. I asked if maybe we could get someone to intervene. He
thought that maybe. So I took off running, away from Rachel's Tomb
area and towards the Bethlehem Bible College, where I had been
earlier. It was several blocks of running; I passed some of the
kids who had been throwing the stones, passed people who had stopped
to watch what was happening, passed Palestinian police, and passed
shop owners. Along the way I asked the adults if they spoke English,
all said "No." I finally arrived at the College, desperate to reach
someone who might know what we could do. I met a couple from the USA
who work in the area and have lived in Bethlehem for several years.
I explained the situation and asked what we could do. The woman said
that there was really nothing that we could do. I had
feared this response and said "Brilliant!" She took that to be a
personal attack rather than my response to the frustration at hearing
what I feared. We spent about 15 minutes talking this through. She
explained to me how painful it is for her to see such violence
frequently and not be able to stop it or to intervene. She also said
that foreigners, who come into the situation, not understanding its
complexity, often intervene in damaging ways. I understand this and
have tried to be very careful -- taking care when taking pictures to
do so responsibly while capturing the situation to share with others
outside of that place. Her comments were helpful and instructive.
She said that basically when you see this violence, you can help by
praying and also sharing this information with others. Often there
is nothing you can do in that moment, because by intervening the
child will probably be hurt worse. It is not likely that the
soldiers would hurt me or the one intervening terribly
badly, but instead would take out their anger on the child.

As we were talking, students and professors told us that it was
likely that within an hour there would be an incursion in Bethlehem.
This means that Israel comes in with tanks and more soldiers and
shuts down the city. People are put under curfew and homes are
entered as the soldiers look for whatever it is they are looking
for. In the process, destroy homes and hurt anyone they deem in
their way. It is brutal and often without much apparent logic.
We heard this as the sun was setting and I knew that I had a long way
left to walk, through the checkpoint and to the place I was staying
in Jerusalem. I was torn by wanting to stay and be with friends in
Bethlehem, yet wanting to take care of myself and knowing that the
next morning I was to board a bus back to Cairo. I was also unsure
if it was safe for me to be alone on the streets. I wondered if it
was not better for me not to just go straight to the home of someone
close by in Bethlehem. I decided to try to leave; I got a
taxi and made my way to the checkpoint.

At the checkpoint, the soldiers were letting people and vehicles in
and out at a very slow rate. I waited for about 15 minutes, as the
soldiers attended to other business -- smoking, chatting, laughing,
eating, and perhaps official business that I could not see from where
I was. (It normal for the soldiers to take their time, particularly
when things are more tense.) As I waited, I saw about 20 Palestinian
men being detained against a wall. They are made to stand with their
arms up and out and their legs spread apart, forming an "X" with
their body, and not move while facing the wall. They may be forced
to stay like this for hours. One man came out of line to pray, it
was the Muslim time for prayers. I tried to stop from crying at his
defiant act. The soldiers could have easily chosen to punish him or
the others with him for this act. While there, I saw no such
response by the soldiers. I do believe that there are Israeli
soldiers who are not in agreement with their orders. I have seen
times when the soldiers could have been cruel and they were not. I
would like to see more times of tolerance! Also, while standing and
waiting, I saw flares shot up in the air. I first thought: maybe
this is a shooting star! I have never seen a shooting star, and
maybe this is one. A small sign of hope! It was not a shooting
star, but a way to shoot light into the air, and where it falls, to
see the surrounding area to see if there were Palestinians there
sneaking through holes in the fence. Finally I was called up to the
desk. I was asked several questions by the soldiers, but let
through fairly easily. I thought that they would not want to keep me
in Bethlehem because they would not want me to witness their acts
that night.

Right by the desk I saw a young boy, about 7 years-old, facing the
metal wall, blind-folded, with his hands tied behind his back. It
was awful. He was not the same boy I had seen taken by the soldiers
by Rachel's Tomb. I do not know why he was detained. I wanted to do
something, but did not think it wise for me to do anything. I slowly
walked by, soldiers must have seen me see the boy. I said a thousand
prayers. As I walked out of Bethlehem, I was somber and sad. I met
Palestinians walking towards the checkpoint and greeted them by
saying "Salaam" (Peace).

There was a heaviness in the air; I wanted to shoot out, to scream,
to cry, to say STOP to all the violence. I also wanted to tell these
people who were likely returning from work to go home in Bethlehem,
don't go! Things are getting worse. But it is their home, and they
were going to meet their family and to try to survive another day. I
walked silently home.

When I reached home, I was shaking. I talked with the family who was
hosting me and they said that what I had seen is not unusual. They
asked if I regretted coming to learn more about the situation. I
paused to think about the question. My response ultimately was that
I do not regret going. I wanted to learn about the situation and I
am learning about it. What I now know is that it is far more complex
than I could have imagined.

Basically, Palestinians have no rights. My reactions to situations
were assuming that they have rights. I come from the USA where
children have rights, awful things still happen, but there is a
system to address them (not perfect, but a system).

I think that the soldiers were fed up with the rocks being thrown by
the kids, so they stormed out in some kind of game. Their show of
force against these kids was absolutely ridiculous. I can imagine
that from their tower, they were tired of the knocking of the rocks.
Sure, it is annoying. But not worthy of coming out shooting and
beating up the children. The kids are fed up -- they have seen their
parents beaten by soldiers, had relatives killed, had school canceled
due to curfew, have no where to run and play, many don't have enough
to eat, and they are growing up knowing war and terror.
They are responding as they know how. Which is not to excuse their
throwing rocks, but to give it a context to their daily
lives....Adult men with guns against children with rocks.

I am in Cairo now and feeling....not sure how to say how I am
feeling. This morning there are reports of two Palestinians killed
in Gaza -- and this is just what CNN is choosing to report, there is
much they are not reporting. I fear how things might escalate.

I ask that you continue to follow events in this area. The USA is
supporting the Israeli occupation with funds and weapons. Israelis
and Palestinians are suffering. Palestinians are living in a prison,
under Israeli control. With the continued construction of the wall
around Bethlehem and other areas, the prison of Palestinians is
becoming smaller. The agricultural land of Palestinians is being
swallowed up by Israel and settlements are being built on it. The
geography of the Bethlehem region is rolling hills. Hills once
covered in trees and used for crops are covered with settlements. We
have a responsibility to pay attention to where the US government
spends our money. Purely economically, what is happening to
Palestinians is wrong. Of course the layers of injustice are much
deeper than economics, but that is at least one way that we are
involved and can call for change. If you would like other ideas of
things to do, please let me know. I have some ideas and can put you
in touch with others.

Thank you for reading this long email. I hope that I have given you
a picture of what I saw and what life is like for Palestinians and
Israelis. My reflections are more focused on Palestinians. I also
met Israelis who are in opposition to this occupation and who are
actively working for peace for both sides. This is a bit of hope --
when Palestinians and Israelis come together and speak together about
this destruction.

Salaam, Shalom, Peace,
Michele