Background: I had a phone call from Adam Keller of Gush Shalom, telling me that a science conference was about to commence at a college in the settlement of Ariel. He gave me the e-mail addresses (discovered through the Internet) of some of the invited guests, and we each wrote to them. As a result of the interchange, many foreigners cancelled their participation. Here’s my correspondence with one:
Dear Dr. Mendez,
I am not sure you are aware that the conference you will be attending in Ariel is taking place in an Israeli settlement in the occupied territories. By your attendance, you are actually supporting – unwittingly, I am sure – the continued conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. I am hoping you will reconsider your attendance. I would be happy to provide any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Gila Svirsky
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I’m definitely interested in more information. E-mail is a good way of communicating with me.
Patricio Mendez
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Dear Prof. Mendez,
A word about Ariel. It is one of the largest Israeli settlements, just outside the border of Israel, but very much on land that was confiscated from Palestinian villages nearby. Clearly, its existence is in violation of international law (the Fourth Geneva Convention, which precludes the movement of civilian populations into areas taken by military force). The sponsoring institution, ‘Judea and Samaria College’, was established by the settlers movement in an effort to claim legitimacy by setting up an academic institution within Ariel.
As you are no doubt aware from the news broadcasts of the past month, the West Bank has become a virtual war zone, with Israeli forces using gunfire, tanks, and helicopter gunships in an effort to put down the Palestinian uprising, leaving more than 150 Palestinians dead and thousands wounded. The specific area around the settlement of Ariel is no exception; armed confrontations as well as demonstrations and protests, put down by gunfire, abound there as elsewhere on the West Bank. Just two days ago, a 13-year old Palestinian boy was shot dead by the Israeli armed forces at the village of Hares, a few kilometers from Ariel. Moreover, inhabitants of Hares, who spoke to activists of the Israeli peace movement, tell of constant harassment and actual night-time attacks on their homes by Ariel settlers.
The mayor of Ariel is Ron Nachman, who has been invited to open the conference which you are scheduled to attend. Mayor Nachman, a Likud Party activist, is famous for two incidents. In one, he declared that foreign workers who enter Ariel must wear badges or armbands to that effect, shockingly reminiscent of the armbands and stars that Jews were forced to wear in Europe. In reaction, many Jewish human rights activists protested by entering Ariel wearing bands that said ‘Foreign Worker’, forcing the mayor to cancel his decree. Second, he announced to the media that if he catches peace activists entering Ariel, he will ‘break their arms and legs’.
The Palestinian towns throughout the occupied areas are under ‘closure’ – meaning that Palestinians are not allowed to enter or leave. This includes the towns and villages near Ariel. You would be traveling to Ariel from Israel on ‘bypass roads’ constructed by Israel to avoid contact with the Palestinian population, and undoubtedly under the protection of the IDF. The Palestinians you pass would not be able to use these roads. Indeed, they would need a special permit to enter Ariel, and those employed in the construction and sanitation professions there all carry these.
Professor Mendez, if you share the concern that we in the peace camp have about giving legitimacy to the Israeli occupation and the attendant discriminatory phenomena, I would ask you to share this letter with others who might wish to have this information.
Respectfully,
Gila Svirsky, Jerusalem
[I recently wrote to Professor Mendez to ask if he ever went to the conference. Here’s what he wrote back: Hi Gila, based on your previous e-mail and what I learned of the facts, I decided at that time not to attend the conference you mention. The organizers only asked me to send them back the plane tickets.]