Update

On January 2, 2009, The American International School in Gaza was destroyed by the IDF during its winter campaign against Hamas. Yet the school survives. They are not meeting in another location attempting to continue the education to Gaza's children.

Still a Target

If you haven't heard, even though the western teachers are no longer in Gaza, the school is still targeted because of American in its name. On Saturday morning, April 21, barely more than a year after militants attacked the school in search of westerners to kidnap, once again armed men entered the campus. At 4:00 in the morning, they overpowered the night guards, soaked the bottom floor of the building with petrol, set three explosive devices and destroyed major parts of the ground floor (the principal's office, cafeteria and reception areas). Once again cretins with some crazed ideological agenda have tried to destroy something positive in Palestine.

I thought that I was finished with the blog, but apparently (as I am learning lately) once Gaza gets in your blood, you can never escape.

Gaza West

Let the games begin again. I debated with myself long and hard about whether I should start another blog, especially since I am still so involved in writing about Gaza. The answer finally came to me after I got word at school that we were getting a day off at the end of the week in celebration of the Egyptian victory of the Israelis in 1973. Victory?! I think that I'll scrammble for my history book. (This year I'm teaching history.) Okay, how stunned was I when I found that the 1973 War (the one that they're claiming victory in) was nowhere to be found! Amazing! No wonder these kids are so easily fooled. Even the history textbooks used in the American school (written in America, published in America and sold in America) does not have the true history of the region that they live in.

Okay God, I get your point. "Let the truth be told though the heavens fall." Let the games begin again.

See you at the new address: cairo-diaries.blogspot.com

The End

Well folks, thats about it. I'm back in the United States. I'm sure that I'll give a few updates here as I write the book. Hopefully, those of you who I've heard from over the months will continue to keep in touch and keep giving me feedback. It has been great debating, discussing and deliberating over the situation in Palestine.

May the God of Abraham bring peace to all of his children.

Refugee Status

For those of you that have been wondering, I am currently safe and enjoying (not) refugee status in Cairo, Egypt. The future of the school is still very much in doubt. As an American, the prospects of me returning to Gaza in the near future are very slim. The American Consulate has said no, the umbrella organization for the school has said no, and the part of my brain that holds my sanity is saying no.

On that note, the two years in Gaza has turned into just a short nine months, but the book has been started. I'll keep the updates to the site going until the last chapters have actually been written, but it looks like that won't be far off. I'll keep writing, you keep reading.

Fill up the mailbox and the comments areas. I'll get answers out to everyone.

Why taking taxis is safer!!!

Here we go again, more evidence that idiocy reigns supreme. Israelis security caught ten men in a van along with the explosives destined for a suicide bombing. (Click here for the full story.) Fun times since I was just on that road a few hours before and was about to get back on it again before I found out what had happened.

All I ask is for just a little bit.

Please read the answer to the comment I left for sp in the last blog entry. There are a lot of things that I'm feeling right now. There are a lot of things that I want to put here right now. Most of them however would not be constructive and would most probably add to the hard feelings on both sides. I'm sure that when I do write something about how I feel, there will be those that will still find it harsh. So be it. The rage I feel could fill volumes; but the only weapon I have are my words, sapientia mundus regatur (little wisdom rules the world).

Reason for Silence

Well blog readers, we are out of Gaza and no one knows when we will be going back in. There has been a mass exodus of westerners out of the Strip because of what has happened. Along with the mass kidnappings, an armed force of terrorists attacked the school.

We had word early on Tuesday (March 14th) that there might be a problem due to the Israeli capture of the six Palestinian militants from the jail in Jericho, so it was decided that school would be turned out early. We had the kids out for the buses, but two of the buses were late so about half of the kids were still sitting on the edge of the soccer field waiting. I heard shots being fired just as one of the Israeli drones went overhead, so I thought that someone was just shooting at the drone, but then I saw the security at the top of the hill running toward the shots. Then the shots started going overhead and we started to herd the children back to the building. As I ran to the building, I saw someone with his arm around one of the teachers; I mistook him for one of the security forces people until I was about 15 yards from him. He was holding the teacher hostage while the real security was advancing on him. I took the kids that were with me and got behind something for cover.

About that time, one of the other teachers started yelling for the kids and I to pull back behind the generator shed about 60 yards or so behind us, so with gunfire still going off, another teacher and I pulled the kids back behind the building. Almost immediately, one of the security guys and one of the Palestinian teachers ran out to us screaming for us (the two western teachers) to come with them to safety. I told them to take Stephen since I would not be automatically picked out as westerner and I was the only one left with the kids. But they came right back after they got him in the building and were ordering me to come with them. When I refused, the older high school boys started yelling at me to get to safety and that they would take care of the younger children. So the security guys and I made the sprint for the building through middle of the fight. Unknown to us, about 10 of the militants had gotten into the building, so we spent the first few minutes hiding in the building, a few teachers with students in rooms spread all over the school, waiting for the security forces to retake the building.

When the militants started to leave, they grabbed two of the other teachers (two Australians that they thought were Americans). When two of the Palestinian staff tried to prevent them from leaving with the teachers, the militants shot them. It took about 20 minutes for the security forces to retake the building. During that time, the American Consulate in Jerusalem was on the phone to me every few minutes getting updates. They immediately liaised with the Palestinian Authority to get the four Americans out as soon as possible, but by the time they were ready to go, ALL of the western teachers were ready to be taken out (with all of the foreign embassies getting their people out).

We were taken out the back way to avoid the militants who were trying to cut off the route to the Erez Crossing. Even when we got there, things did not calm down. The UN contingent was just behind us and were stopped before they got to the crossing and had to be freed by the security forces. We crossed over to wait on the release of the two kidnapped teachers. As soon as they were through the crossing, the Israelis immediately started to pound the hell out of Gaza.

The upshot is, there has been a mass exodus of westerners out of Gaza. Even western women who are married to Palestinians are no longer safe. The militants even tried to kidnap a woman who has been living in Gaza 15 years and is married with kids. Even she is not safe there now.

I don't know what this will mean for the school next year, but at the moment we're about to meet to talk about what’s going to happen next. I will keep you posted.

The Guns of NavaSharon

BOOM!!! And again I say, BOOM!!!

Operation Northern Thunder

The Israelis call it Operation Northern Thunder. Amazing how that name is so apropos to what it actually sounded like when their missiles, mortars or tank shells hit the ground near the school. For about a week we have lived with the constant sound of shelling. It didn’t matter where you were in Gaza, you could hear the shelling going on near the borders. There were a few nights where the shelling sounded like it was right outside. I know that I have repeated it often, but its amazing what you’ll get used to if you’re put in the right situation. We've had nice dinners during the shelling. We held final exams for our students during the shelling and some of us have even had barbeques while being serenaded by explosions. The roof of the apartment building has become the place to be at night during the shelling. On a clear night we can see the shells exploding across the not so distant landscape.

Erez is even more fun, since we can hear the shells on the outbound and then hear them hit. Yet, I’m still trying to figure out how this is going to help the Israelis gain peace. So this is just a question in the wind, “How does the violence and deprivation suffered by the innocent citizens of Gaza help to gain even the remote possibility of peace?” Along with that question I would like to send a direct message to the decision makers in Israel, “Your bombs and explosions are not changing any minds on this side of the green line, only entrenching them.”

Get this, I’m complaining and I get to escape this place on the weekends. Damn, I must be a spoiled westerner.

The Importance of Cookies

Never forget the importance of cookies!! After over a month, imprisoned in our apartments, let out ONLY with an escort, it is the small things, the minute things, that we find when we’re out in our class field trips (also known as ‘the shopping pack’, ‘the crazy teachers make bigger kidnapping targets consortium’, ‘the pseudo-safety out of the house essentials grabbing traveling group’, etc. etc, etc………you get the picture), that keep some of us hanging on to our sanity. The longer this goes on, the more unbalanced the bulk of us get. Just the need to sit in a place and have a coffee without the rest of the pack surrounding you becomes an absolute need. I know and understand completely why Marlene Dietrich wanted to be alone (or at least to have the ability to exclude all but the nearest and dearest from her living space).

But for some of us, it is something as small as a brand of chocolate chip cookies from home. It was amazing to see the excitement caused by one package of cookies. Who am I to judge? If I found a can of Dr. Pepper in Remal Supermarket (if you could see the place you’d fall out laughing at the humor of this place calling itself super), the people in the store would probably wonder why I’d screamed and passed out on the floor.

So, to keep this Texas boy from a homicidal rampage, brought on by the sheer tediousness of tower imprisonment, I have a few demands. And here they are (not in order of importance):

• Dr. Pepper!! (Come on guys, if you can sneak in qassam parts, you can surely get in a few cans of Texas water)
• Ben and Jerry’s
• More books!
• A&W (What good is vanilla ice cream without the lord of root beers)
• God!!! Doesn’t anyone make a respectable pizza in this place!!!
• And finally…………..Bernadette Peters (I’m sure the Israelis would coordinate that and yes people, I know that dates me, but what can I say, some women never lose it!)

I will accept these demands in full OR a substantial amount of cash (however, if the powers that be choose the cash option, it must be in an amount that will balance my need for relief). To those in charge, get together, get gathering and start delivering!

Addendum: At the writing of this entry, I didn't know what brand the cookies were....now I know!!! They're Pepperidge Farm!!! And DAMN they're good!!!

Here you go Ari

I was asked to post this from Ari's Blog concerning Paradise Now. You know how much I push people to see this movie. This is the first positive comment I've seen concerning the movie from someone on the other side of the green line. Pay Ari's blog a visit.

Weekend Furlough

I spent the weekend in Jerusalem. Every time I go over and stay a few days it amazes me that I’m only about an hour from Gaza. Last night I spent time sitting on the balcony of my room in the hostel looking down on the people in Zion Square, marveling at the freedom of movement that I had. Nothing stopped me from sitting in there with my computer trying to get the WIFI connection that feeds Ben Yehuda Street. If I’d had a working battery on my computer, I could have sat down on the pedestrian mall made up by Ben Yehuda and surfed to my heart’s content. My friend in Jerusalem seem to think that I’m afraid to take the bus but that’s not the case. (The reason that I tend to take taxis is that I don’t know the Jerusalem bus system well enough to get exactly where I’m going most of the time.) Riding the buses is not a frightening thing for me (at the moment at least). I guess that I just get a little hyper-vigilant, which I’m sure that is something that is common in Israel among the bus riding public.

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv don’t have the feeling of cities under siege that people in the West seem to think that they have. I feel infinitely safer walking the streets of Jerusalem and riding its buses than I do in Houston, Oakland or Boston, EVEN with the terrorist threat that hangs overhead. I still have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than having to deal with terrorism, even here in Israel/Palestine.

People of the Book?

This was sent to me yesterday from a friend in Jerusalem:

Dear Friends:

I have just received a call from Jerusalem and Gaza informing me that this morning we have received another very serious threat. Few masked and armed militants distributed fliers around the area where the Bible Society's centre is located in Gaza this morning. The flier included the following:

1. A threat to the landlord that if he does not evict us by the 28th of Feb they will blow up the whole building

2. A warning to the tenants in the building that they should leave before that date if we are still there

3. A warning for us that we should completely close down our operation in Gaza and not to try to relocate as we are being watched closely

4. Accusations that we spread a doctrine against Islam and that we are a Crusaders' evangelistic operation supported by the Crusaders' West

5. A strong worded warning about their seriousness proved by the bomb which they blew up at the door of the Bible Society last week.

I immediately asked on of my colleagues, a Christian Palestinian, what she knew about it. Last night, she called the Bible Society to confirm it and has found out that it is entirely true. This is going to be a true test for the new Hamas led government. Will they be representatives of ALL Palestinians, or will they head down the road to becoming a religious theocracy? From what we’re hearing in Gaza, they’re going to try to have it both ways; letting the religious wackos threaten and coerce here in Gaza, while leaving the West Bank to its freer ways. How they expect this to work I’ll never know. However, if they fail to stand up for the religious rights of their own citizens, the message is clear, “Christian Palestinians would have it better living under Jewish rule and protection.”

The Sound of Distant Thunder

After one week of shelling I’m barely actually hearing the explosions anymore. I’m amazed that the point hasn’t been made yet. I’m sure that if they wanted to, the Israelis could just broadcast loudly throughout the Gaza Strip, “for every qassam that falls on us; we will send three tank shells (mortars, missiles, whatever represents the artillery of the day) to you.” Although I’m sure that this wouldn’t help in the long run, at least that would be out there in the rhetoric cloud that floats constantly over this southern Meggido. Last night and most of today I experienced my first real thunderstorm in Gaza. Strange how you sit there for a little while trying to determine whether what you just heard was shelling, an outbound but failed qassam, or thunder (today it was mostly thunder). No wonder that after six years of this Palestinians don’t even look up when they hear an explosion. That could be the answer to why the Israelis believe that the sonic booms are necessary. It’s just a way to get the jaded Gazan attention.

Well Said!!!

Well said!!!! Get to this page and read someone that is right on the point. Of course, those that most need the message aren’t going to get it. Although I disagree with Ms. Darwish’s politics in general, sometimes you just have to call it as it is.

Nonie Darwish Article from The Telegraph (London)

Take that trip to Blockbuster!!!

I have a movie reference for you. Does anyone out there remember who Snake Plissken was? If you don’t remember, I can tell that you aren’t a B movie fan. You know the movies, the ones that Kurt Russell specialized in during the 80’s. Why would I be writing about early 80’s B movies? EASY…….I’M LIVING ONE!!! Escape from New York to be exact; (thus the Snake Plissken reference)! For those of you who still don’t get it. Escape from New York was about a sane man who was dropped on Manhattan Island. The island had become a futuristic super max prison that made Alcatraz look like day camp. There were no guards, no law, and no organized society, except for that created by the inmates.

If you want to imagine Gaza, go down to Blockbuster and rent yourself a copy of Escape from New York. Now that Erez has been closed again and I can't get out of the place, I’m quickly finding a great affinity for Snake, our erstwhile hero. But he was a little luckier than I am………..at least he was well-armed. Tomorrow, I think I’ll check on changing that.

Okay, okay…….don‘t get excited, its only hyperbole. I’ll be satisfied with just being armed. I’ll work on the ‘well’ some other day.

SNOW DAY!!!

I feel sorry for all of my colleagues that I left in Houston. They only get a snow day about once in a generation. When I left for Gaza, I thought that my chance at getting a snow day was even more remote. How was I supposed to know that there is a Gaza equivalent!! This morning the phone tree was enacted at about 6:00am (thank you Ryan). We were told that there was no school today because the P.A. Security forces had not been paid - an instant recipe for disorder in the streets. So there……….a Gaza snow day!! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!! Hmmmmmmmm……..sounds like a song.

The Calm Version!

Okay, I’ve got the message. I usually let several people see the article that I plan to put on the page. They do several things for me. First, they proofread for me (hey, even English teachers are prone to grammar errors when they’re typing on the fly) and second, I get a small sampling of opinion on what I’m putting out there. On this occasion, I have been told by no greater authority than the woman that feeds my children that I might need to rethink publishing it to the blog. Personally, I think that it’s great, a little strongly worded, but still great. But who am I to judge. Therefore, you’ll get a watered-down version of how I feel about the protests that have erupted following the revelation that MONTHS ago a Danish newspaper ran cartoons which depicted the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH-better safe than sorry). But before that, let’s get a little Gaza update. (Don’t take away my English teacher credentials, I’ll stay on task.)

Yesterday I sat by my classroom window watching the Israelis ‘getting even’ for the steady diet of qassams being sent their way (which of course the senders claim are in retaliation for IDF killings of those Israel calls terrorists). For most of the day, the IDF shelled the ridge about two hundred meters from the school. It was a completely surreal experience. I sat there watching Palestinian workers tending the strawberry field right in the front of the school as the shells hit the ground just over the ridge from where they were standing. There was even a time when several of them walked up to the top of the hill to watch. If that wasn’t strange enough, those of us from the protected West have grown so used to the battlefield that is Gaza, that we kept teaching without paying it much attention (even when students and teachers in the far end of the hall could hear the qassams on the outbound). It is amazing what you can get used to.

Now what does that have to do with the cartoons? There is an incredibly easy answer to that question. Here you have a nascent nation (inshallah), with a newly elected government which the entire world sees as proven terrorists. They’re being shelled daily by their incredibly more militarily powerful neighbor. They have a fifty (50) percent unemployment rate. The disparity between rich and poor is a huge gulf. Every idiot and his brother is walking around with an automatic weapon. AND YET, the first internationally recognized thing these fledging leaders of government do is to hold a rally at which they condemn another nation for allowing freedom of expression. They allow other idiot factions amongst them to threaten to kidnap the few Westerners who brave the danger of working in this hell, in order to assuage their insulted little being. All of this because ONE guy, in ONE country drew a few cartoons?! Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the cartoon(s) were disturbing to adherents of Islam. But the response has been totally unwarranted. As a former (and present) resident of several of the third world backwaters where these protests have occurred, believe me, I know that that these people have a laundry list of problems that are hugely more important about which to protest. So, my message to them would be; Try protesting that your governments don’t educate your children. Try protesting that most of your economies are still mired in the 14th century (largely due to the fact that huge quantities of your national GDP’s find its way into the pockets of the ruling elite). Try protesting the fact that your people are still subject to deprivations created almost entirely of problems instigated by the stupidity of your own leaders. What should be insulting to you is NOT that some idiot decided to taunt the Moslem world with a cartoon, but that your leaders used your righteous anger at your hideous condition to create an entirely senseless, foolish, impotent orgy of rage that does nothing but cause the deaths of fellow Moslems.

As a Westerner, with the inbred biases of years of Western schooling, I can tell my Eastern friends that you just don’t get it. No one controls an individual in the West. We do whatever the hell we want to do. We don’t care who we insult. Committing sacrilege is the point. It is the through the committing of that sacrilege that we MAKE our point. That is entirely the point of freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Without this right, there would be no democracy and without democracy the West would be just like the bulk of the “Islamic world”, a reactionary, might-makes-right, tribal, revenge oriented societal hell. If my choices are the West with its occasional insults or the poverty-stricken, religiously over-zealous, mobs of the East, believe me when I tell you, I’ll have absolutely no problem living in the freedom of the West where all I have to worry about is having my religious beliefs insulted every once in awhile.

Now for those of you who would like to see the article that I have been told that I can’t publish………..let me know. After you have been screened for security, emotional stability and the ability to understand sarcasm, I'll then consider whether you're stable enough for me to forward it to you.

One Month Later!!!!

I know, a month between posts is a little over the top. It's not that I have been shirking my duty or anything, it's just that I've been away from the action. But this post is to catch everyone up to the happenings before I left Gaza and what has greeted me upon my return.

The last week of school was the week from hell. Travel restrictions, shelling by the Israelis, idiots firing qassams EVEN IN DAYLIGHT.............you name it, it was happening. To top it off, our principal and vice-principal were kidnapped on the last day of school, the ultimate Gaza experience you can say. They were held for about eight (8) hours before they were let go. A group claiming to be part of the Palestinian Force for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility, but the PFLP was really quick to say that it wasn't them. Poor kidnappers. They thought that they had a couple of Americans. Imagine their surprize when they found out that they had an Australian and a Dutchman. I teased Brian afterwards, asked him if they were ready to trade him for a biscuit when they found out that he was Australian.........LOL.

Around the first of January (after hearing that some idiot group had destroyed the UN Club, stupid bastards, can't stomach the idea that someone, someplace might be having a sinful good time), we were informed that school was going to be suspended until February 5th. But because of the nearness of my ticket and the fact that I was meeting a new teacher coming into Tel Aviv, I kept my original plans.

I returned to a very subdued Gaza. It seems that people are on pins and needles, awaiting the coming elections on the 25th (one of the main reasons that school has been suspended). I spent about three days in my apartment, doing delivery food for the most part, but I did get into the streets a little. The changes in the feel of the street are subtle, but very noticable. Once, the taxi I was in was stopped by a group of teenage boys who had erected a makeshift checkpoint where they were demanding a toll from each car that passed. Another group of boys were stopping cars to warn them about the first group. My driver just went another direction, but when we came out near Al Diera, the first group of boys was getting busted by the PA Security, but there was a lot of discussion (Arab style) since they didn't want to give up there little business.

To be continued............

Damn These Guys are Good!

Thursday night either the IDF (with shelling) or the IAF (from an F-16) showed just how accurate they are. There are only a few roads that les frères de qassam can use to get into the northern part of Gaza in order to fire their little toys into Israel. We use one of those roads in order to get to school in the morning. BUT, we won't be using it for awhile it would seem (I don't have a lot of confidence that the PA will get the repair crews on the job in a hurry). The Israelis took out the road in such a perfect way that the crater stretches JUST from one side of the road to the other.

A lot of my friends ask me why I'm not afraid here, dealing with the constant Israeli strikes. One more time; I never see them, only hear them. These guys hit exactly where they aim. As long as I don't join Hamas (and have them proclaim me the leader) I'll stay safe.

How Can They Not Get It???

"The movie put the whole blame on Israel and uses film tools to create empathy and understanding to the bombers motives. Israelis are only portrayed as a military threat. The civilian victims of the bombings are not even seen in the movie and as a result the act of suicide bombing is portrayed as nothing more than a harmless, sterile revenge fantasy"

----Eldad Z. Bek, Film Critic of the Israeli Newspaper, Yediot Aharonot in his review of Paradise Now

Okay, how can you not get it? Why would the movie only show the Israelis as a military threat? Dear Israeli populus, open up your eyes. To the mass of Palestinians, your military might is all that they see! Living down in Gaza, my students are amazed at the pictures that I show them of my trips outside. They don't believe that "Palestine" looks so modern on the other side of the fence. But its not like this should surprise you. When I show my pictures of Gaza to Israelis, they are amazingly surprised that there is anything but rubble in the streets. The are surprised by the nice buildings, the greenery and the normality. Neither side knows enough about the other to fill a short pamphlet. If the only real face that you show the Palestinians is the one standing behind a gun, don't act surprised if that's the one on which they focus.

There's No One to Talk To.

Tel Aviv - I went to see Paradise Now. Never before have I seen a movie affect an audience as profoundly as this minimalist Palestinian directed movie. At the end of the movie, the credits rolled without music or fanfare of any kind. For the first two to three minutes of those credits, not a soul stirred nor spoke. The audience just sat there in stunned silence. One person stood to leave and the rest of us then followed like lemmings, but still, there was not a sound. People left the theatre as if they were leaving a gravesite; silent, reverent and stunned by loss.

If the chance presents itself, you need to walk, run or crawl to your nearest theatre when this film is offered. It will damage your soul when you see it, you will leave the theatre, with a sinking feeling in your spirit, wondering how this could possibly be going on in a civilized world. But knowing that, get to the movie, and deal with the soul damage later. Dealing with that damage is part of the experience. In the film, the director does not take a stand pro or con, he leaves that to the audience. It will create an argument in your soul, how do you balance the true horror of suicide bombing with the totally ordinary people that carry it out. It will challenge you. It will horrify you. It will change you. There is no way that you can be the same after the experience. The silence that it invokes at the end is the beginning of the discussion. Paradise Now is a must see movie for anyone interested in understanding all sides of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Before I got into the building to see the movie, I got into a discussion with an Israeli lady. She asked me the same question that seems to be the focus of all Israelis actually in favor of peace with the Palestinian, "Who do we talk to in order to get peace?" I answered her with the same answer that I always give. "There is actually no one to talk to you." The Israelis are deluding themselves in their vain search for the one group that they can talk to, the one person that they can talk to that will give them chance for peace with the Palestinians. Even the erstwhile great leader of the Palestinians, Yaser Arafat, did not actually have the proxy of the entire Palestinian people. The Palestinians are too tribal, too fractured, too focused on the small picture to really be counted as a ONE people in search of a nation.

Does that make me sound like I believe that the situation is hopeless? Probably. At this point I would say that the situation is hopeless. The Israelis do not have a real partner for peace, since there is not one group that they can talk to which can guarantee that the entire "cabal Filistini" will refrain from committing acts of terror against Israel, especially since there are large numbers among the Palestinians who will only be satisfied when the entire population of Jews have moved their State to Brooklyn. Yes Virginia, the situation is hopeless, unless the Palestinians go through a transformation that borders on fantasy. They must realize that their chances at statehood hinges on the ability to look past the internecine squabbles in which they are so prone to engage and they must realize that they must be Palestinian first, above all other.

Therefore Israel, mighty Israeli, your peace does not in the long run depend on anything that you do. It depends on a fantasy, the fantasy of Palestinian unity. Just like the Islamic Nation, the Arab Nation, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, it is something that just does not exist. There is no one out here for you to talk to.

But I Haven't Seen George Clooney Yet!

Gaza City - Once again the weirdness of Gaza has opened my eyes to the myriad possibilities of third world entertainment. Now realize, that entertainment doesn't always have to mean something that is funny, informative, or even helpful in combating boredom. Sometimes the entertainment value just comes from the fact that you can sit back and say......'Damn, I didn't know that people still acted like this on this side of the 19th century.' I was starting to rest again, thinking that Gaza was becoming (dare I say it)............normal. The pseudo-detente that exists between the Jews and Arabs had lulled me into a sense of calm. But just when I was just about asleep, Gaza goes and creates its own version of "the perfect storm," the convergence of two events that makes me again realize that when I cross the boundary at Erez, I'm not only traversing space, but time itself. I enter a medieval world of family fueds and tribal retributions. AND if I were ever to forget, Gaza will jerk me back to my senses. Witness the last couple of days.

First, when we arrived back after the weekend of taking it easy in Haifa (school-sponsored trip) we were told that we couldn't use the usual route home from Erez, as two Palestinian families were engaged in a dispute. As we walked through the tunnel going from the Israeli side to the Palestinian side, we could hear small arms fire in the distance. Hey, but so what, situation normal in Gaza. We didn't find out until the next day WHY they were fighting. It seems that there was a car-donkey cart collision. Yeah, you read it right............a CAR.....DONKEY CART..........collision. An argument insued, it escalated to shooting, then basically into a full-scale battle between the two families. From what we're hearing, there have been somewhere between 9-11 fatalities and apparently, its not over.

Second (اتاني), once again, a few idiots with home chemistry sets decided that they would lob their latest creations towards the Israelis. Now of course, the chances of them actually hitting something with these HMR's (homemade rockets) were slim to none. In fact, thats what they hit..........nothing. So, in quick retaliation, the Israelis launched rockets attacks on northern Gaza and with deadly accuracy, they hit their targets, empty parking lots. Of course, this sends a basic message. 'You fire some, and we'll fire some. Now we're even.' But for the fact that this "strike" was accompanied by the return of the hated sonic booms, who the hell cares..

So there you go, the Gaza Strip Perfect Storm, the convergence of retaliation and retribution once again bringing on waves of no-damn-sleep for the innocent bystander. But that's entertainment!!!.

Addendum: Last night, the IDF decided to retaliate a little more, and with deadly accuracy, they killed the Palestinian Unknown Soldier Memorial statue. Damn these guys are good!

(Still to come, post and pictures from the Haifa trip. As soon as my laptop comes back from the shop.).

Covered

Sometimes, prose isn't fluid enough. Things just have to go down in a different form. I was thinking about how mundane even the exotic can get after being around it for awhile. I was once told that you would know when you were in the middle east too long when you started to judge the beauty of a woman just by the beauty of her eyes. But, can the realization that the mystery isn't there all the time change the attraction...............who knows.

Covered

She does not wear that at home you know.

That gossamer veil,
Her face, covered,
Hidden
concealed from the world.

Revealing only her striking eyes
Two dark pools
drawing you deep into the abyss,
void,
unknown passions
black lined temptations, silently
summoning,
snaring

A forbidden lure
secretly calling
from a face, shaped by desert generations
the mystery of desert heat,
a desert heart
secreted 'neath silk allure
Like Victoria's
secret
do
the secrets
of an
Arab princess
Promise the passions of depths
Unseen.
Untouched.

But

She does not wear that at home you know

Laughter is Good for the Soul!

Yahoo News: Palestinian police and security services are today starting a security campaign to uphold the rule of law in central Gaza," interior ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khussa told AFP Sunday

The campaign, which will start in Deir al-Balah and neighbouring areas, will be extended to the southern city of Khan Yunis next week and after that, to Gaza City and to Rafah, which lies on the southern border with Egypt.

"By the end of December, the campaign of imposing law will be completed and will put an end to all illegal activities," Khussa said, mentioning car theft, weapons and drug smuggling, and illegal construction on government land. (Nov. 27, 2005)

I am definitely happy that I was not eating or drinking anything when I read this article. I probably would have choked to death laughing. Recap. Go back and reread the article which heads this commentary. The Palestinian Authority is going to crack down on crime on lawlessness in Gaza. In other words, they are going to deal with the radical related kidnapping, gun-toting and internecine conflicts arising out of the tribal nature of the Palestinian people.

Now remember; this is the same group that said that they were going to disarm everyone who was not a member of the official police forces of the Palestinian Authority (because, according to Abu Mazen, the Palestinian people must be represented as One People, One Nation, and One Gun). Now those of you that have been loyal readers of these pages, will remember the description of the three hour gun battle between members of Hamas and the P.A. police forces (see the entry from Oct. 3, Thou wilt not take the beach road!). Those three hours were brought to you courtesy of the P.A. police attempting to take ONE handgun from ONE Hamas member! YET, the P.A. has announced that they are going to clean up ALL of the crime in the ENTIRE Gaza Strip AND they are going to do this BY THE END OF DECEMBER NO LESS?! But why am I laughing. They say that they have a plan………………………Okay; now I can hear YOU laughing.

Addendum!!!
When I informed our esteemed vice-principal of the blog topic, he told me that I needed to read the security update for the day. Sooooo......I read it. If I had laughed any harder, they would have had to call an ambulance. The update is as follows (verbatim-errata included):

Khan Yunis: Police stationed at the Abu Houli crossing area carrying out normal search operations stopped a car carrying an Abu Rish and Aqsa Brigade member. The two refused to show their documents and drove off. The police followed, catching up with the car when it crashed into a car from the Al-Astal family in Khan Yunis. the police again requested the personal documents but the men called friends. The Abu Rish and Al-Astal family members stole three rifles, a handgun and the police vehicle (emphasis added by blogger). They said that they would hand back the stolen items if the police paid JD8000 for the repair of the Abu Rish and Al-Astal vehicles. At 2210hrs the police paid $6000 to the Abu Rish and Al-Astal families and their weapons and equipment were handed back.

There need be no comment from this author (however, if I WERE going to comment, that comment would be; now I know how to raise a little extra Christmas cash)...............the laughing may now continue!!!

Give Me Dr. Pepper or Give Me ..................

Now is the winter of my discontent……NOT made summer by these sons of Abraham. (To help the Shakespeare-ily challenged, that was a reference to Richard III Act I, Scene 1). For some reason this week I have been amazingly more restless here in the Land of Uzi. I think the Dr. Pepper cravings are starting to thrust me into madness. It is hard to believe that in this entire country of transplants, that there are no Jewish Texans. For if there are Texans, by definition there MUST be Dr. Pepper. The Texas Constitution has about 300 amendments, that must be one of them. (What do you yankees know; it could be true.) Thus, a week anon, when I have once against escaped from the archipelago of occupied (who are we kidding that this place is under the real control of the PA) Palestine, the quest for Dr. Pepper will be on. Let the grocers of Israel take notice, I cannot rest, lest I tilt my lance at the myth of "No Dr. Pepper." It exists in far flung Arab emirates; therefore it must exist in Israel.

Now those of you came here today to read my usual literary brilliance and have become upset with the topic du jour; then your order of priorities must be immediately altered. There is an order of importance given things which must be upheld in the life of any TRUE Texan and at the top of the list are 1) the Alamo, 2) Longhorn Football (unless you attended one of those lesser schools), and 3) Dr. Pepper. All other things, including geopolitics, the economy and what building you inhabit on Sunday mornings, all come tumbling after.

Therefore, Viva Texas and Remember the Dr. Pepper!!!

Up the Comments!!!!

This is just going to be a short entry. Sometimes the responses that you get are more fun than the actual blogging. Everyone needs to go back to the November 17th blog entry. Read the comment left by the young Australian (at least she sounds young), then read my response. I can only hope that I continue to get these kinds of comments. This is what writing is all about. Make me earn my inflated ego.

The War of the Stamp

Its time for the constant reader to celebrate. I have finished reading Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem. Those of you that want a coherent BALANCED view of the problems in the Middle East, I advise you to run out to buy yourself a copy (or run to your local keeper of publicly-owned books). It’s a little dated, being as it was finished in the late 80’s (even the update he writes is before the death of Rabin) but it is still one of the best books I have read on the conflicts in the region. Okay, now that I have shamelessly plugged someone else’s work, let’s get down to MY update.

Sometimes I forget that the reason that I said that I was going to keep this record online was so that my friends and colleagues back home could follow my exploits in the Holy Land. I have tended to go off on my rants more and more. However, today is going to be a return to the original purpose. I won’t promise NOT to rant, but I’ll keep it to a minimum.

I went on another Middle East adventure this weekend. When we arrived in the country, we were given three month tourist visas. Although the Israeli authorities know what we’re doing in Gaza, we suffer under the three month curse. Every three months we have to somehow get our visas renewed. Now, if you will, add to this dilemma the fact that there are those of us who would like to get a chance to see certain other Middle East countries, but must operate under their restrictions as well. Most notably, Syria and Lebanon will not allow anyone to enter their country who holds a passport which has been stamped with an Israeli visa…………yes I know, petty bastards. So although it is possible for one to turn in one's passport to obtain a new visa, THAT method necessitates the (shudder) stamping of the passport. I REFUSE!!!!!! Thus, with my three month permission to travel within the confines of Israel running out AND suffering from an acute case of stampophobia, I had to leave the country, re-enter, and hope that the border control officers were feeling magnanimous (as there were several teachers that ran into a wench at passport control that decided that she was going to screw with the teachers from Gaza and saddled them with ONE WEEK visas!!!).

This was the first time that I was actually traveled in Israel alone. Getting up early saved my trip. I got to the first Erez checkpoint to find it blocked. After half an hour or more sitting and waiting and watching the cars backup behind my taxi, I was recognized by one of the P.A. Officers at the barrier. He cleared my taxi through (another case of it paying to be nice to people as you never know when you’ll need them). I was the only one present when I got the actual Erez crossing. While I was in the tunnel Brian called to see where I was and to inform me that he had been told that Erez was closed and the rest of the crew had to call off their Ashkelon jaunt…………lucky me, I was halfway to freedom…………It is good to be the king. Cleared by the Erez border guards (and reminded again that my visa was expiring) I beat it to Ashkelon, caught the bus to Jerusalem and sat comfortably contemplating my good fortune, for again the stamp was being averted.

Central Bus Station (Jerusalem) – You know, it’s sometimes the clothes you wear. I was wearing an Australian cricket jersey and when I sat down after picking up food from McDonald’s, I was besieged by about twenty Jewish girls from Melbourne. Go figure. They were all students from a university in Melbourne. Their parents had let them come to Israel as a group. Of course, they got the 'Gaza is not actually hell lecture'…………those of us that live here know that this is lecture 101 when you’re visiting Israel. After class was dismissed I grabbed a taxi and made the long drive up to Sheik Hussein, to the northern most border-crossing with Jordan. It is amazing how relaxed the West Bank security is compared to that of Gaza. There were NO border guards when we entered the West Bank. It was a leisurely drive through Arab villages and past Israeli settlements. I could even see the Dead Sea glimmering in the distance. There was just a drive through checkpoint posted as we left the West Bank into Israel proper. There was no hassle at all.

As I approached the Jordan River, the magnitude of where I was was massive. Even the relative small size of the river (okay Texans, believe me when I tell you that the thing wouldn’t make a good size Texas creek) was not enough to dampen my wonder at standing on the banks of the Jordan. While checking out of Israel, I ran into another American and we shared a taxi from Sheik Hussein to Amman. And while the river might be small, the Jordan River Valley is incredible (sorry, didn’t get any pictures since my camera was in my bag in the trunk of the taxi). To shorten this up a little, let's just say:

Jordan Valley – Awesome
Amman – Awesome
Time in the city – Awesome

Got that? I won’t bore you with details. The use of hyperbole would be too tempting and may the Lord spare you from me on a hyperbolic rant.

The next day it was back into the Jordan Valley, back to the border crossing, back to the Israeli side and the attempt to get a new visa. It was time to answer the vex question; could I get my three months MINUS a stamp in my passport. It only took a thirty minute interrogation by two border guards, with whom I ended up the interrogation on a first name basis, a stop at passport control, where the girl that was questioning me listened to my reasons for being in Gaza, for not wanting my passport stamped and even genuinely smiled when I made a joke about countries not wanting me because of the stamp. She even withstood pressure from another girl who wanted to give me a hard time. And in the end...............Welcome to Israel, here’s your three month visa, and best of all…………..NO STAMP!!!

So, if you’re keeping score (and of course, you know I am) that score would be:

Traveling Gentile - 1 Israelis - 0

Short Addendum to Yesterday

Addendum to Nov. 16 - I woke up this morning to an avalanche of email from Israelis, telling me that this border agreement is the thin end of the wedge; that it is the beginning of their destruction in Israel...........I stand amazed (well, actually, I'm sitting, but you get the point). Here they are, with one of the most powerful militaries (per capita) in the world, yet somehow, this is the beginning of the end. I'm sure that today, I'll get the Palestinian view as to how the agreement means nothing, and the Israelis will still be torturing them. What they need here is just TWO real leaders, a statesman for each side, both willing to step up and lead their people. But until them, I'll just sit back and enjoy the rhetoric. Its the only entertainment I'm going to be getting for awhile it seems...............hell, I live in Gaza, what else am I going to do. (Okay, okay, don't take that wrong. I love the hell out of the place. Its cheap, its historic, and where else could I get paid to sit on the sidelines in the cheap seats watching a country size version of Jerry Springer).

Welcome to the Zoo Ms. Rice

Gaza City - Well Condoleezza, since I'm sure that you don't know whats actually going on in the minds of the Palestinians and Israelis that you think you helped, let me help you out. I've talked to several Palestinians today about the agreement that you helped negotiate on their behalf. Guess what babe...............the ingrates are saying that you're still an Israeli lackey and your trip didn't help anybody. And the Israelis? I got a call from one of my friends in Jesrusalem, and she was almost in tears because now the terrorist will be able to get out of their cage to attack jewish children. She wanted to know why America would sell them out like that. Welcome to the zoo Condie baby!!!.....you might feed the animals everyday, think that you're doing them a favor, you might even fool yourself into thinking that you love the animals and that they love you, but in the end, they're still caged and they still hate the hell out of you. The best thing that you could have done was to be the politician you are, land Airforce Three (or whatever number you were one this trip), express your condolences to the Jordanians, kiss a few babies, gotten back on your plane and taken your butt right back to Washington; leaving these "idjits" to clean up their own mess. Believe me, neither you nor America will get credit for anything good that MIGHT come out of this.

A Day of Epiphanies

Tel Aviv - Those of you that read this on a regular basis are probably getting tired of my references to From Beirut to Jerusalem. But more and more it has been the gateway to epiphanies. Yesterday we had that day off for Palestinian Independence Day (yes, I know, but I’ve dealt with that issue already, besides, who is going to argue with a day off). I was meaning only to take a short trip to Ashkelon, but when another teacher showed up at Erez on her way to Tel Aviv, I decided to tag along. So I got to add another first to my Israel/Palestine experience, riding on the Israeli bus line. Of course, I did what I always do on a bus, I read. At every stop on the way from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv, young Israeli soldiers came aboard; some of the young ladies carrying M-16’s that appeared to be larger than they were. Just as we came to the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Friedman gave me one of those great quote moments. Even now, over thirty-six hours after reading it, the impression is still fresh; so fresh in fact that I can still remember exactly which page of the book it was written. Friedman was relating a story in which a Druse villager was showing great pride in his son for basically dropping out of school and becoming a terrorist. The incident bothered him so badly that he talked about it with a psychiatrist from the American University of Beirut.

……………I was asking Richard what kind of psychological revolution would be required to bring peace to Lebanon. Richard, part of whose job was to counsel Lebanese students whose minds had been warped by the war, just threw the question right back in my face. “When will there be peace in Lebanon?” he asked in a voice larded with cynicism. “When the Lebanese start to love their children more than they hate each other.”

EPIPHANY!!! That was it. The same could be said of the Palestinians and the Israelis. As I watched more and more infants get on the bus carrying weapons of semi-mass destruction, I flashed back to standing beside the road last Saturday watching the members of Fatah go by carrying their AK-47’s (yeah, I know…………the symbolism and contrast are very Cold War-rish). It was just another case of infants with weapons, a generation raised with a hate, by societies that have demonized ALL of the members of the other; eighteen year-old Palestinians willing to murder eighteen year-old Israelis (and vice-versa) based on the stereotypes perpetuated by their fathers and grandfathers. (I shared this epiphany with my Year 12’s. I was amazed that they were totally in agreement with me.)

The second epiphany of the day came when I was getting on the bus for the return trip last night. When we were getting on the bus to return to Ashkelon there was a young Israeli girl getting on the bus in front of me. She was wearing her obligatory green IDF uniform, but she was also carrying her backpack. On the backpack was a Care Bear. Looking like she wasn’t too many years from playing with Barbies, the State of Israel was content to hand her a weapon and set her guarding against the 1.7 million “potential terrorists” surrounding them. The state thus completes the education of its youth, teaching them to see all Palestinians as potential criminals and terrorists. Both sides, both societies completing the warping of their children in order to keep the struggle going over land that they were both promised.

The first epiphany, followed by this one in the same day only solidifies my view of both sides as people who don’t actually want peace and wouldn’t know what to do with it if it were suddenly thrust upon them. So here we stand, with another ruined generation on both sides, destined to rail against one another, lacking of men of vision, willing to lead them to a better way; with societies geared for one thing………vilifying and trying to destroy the other.

Thanks you Thomas Friedman

I’m still reading that book, From Beirut to Jerusalem. More and more I’m getting to see a kindred spirit, someone that sees the Middle East for exactly what it is, a place where western logic is something that will never see the light of day. Thomas Friedman is actually giving me hope that I’m not the only American with an IQ over fifty. It still amazes me (I know that it shouldn’t) how amazingly blind the leadership of the United States is to the realities of the Middle East, given that the information needed to understand the place is staring them right in the face. I know that it’s not a lack of information. In the last seven years I have talked to State Department personnel from all over the region. They see the contradictions that make up Middle Eastern logic. I know that they transmit the facts back to their superiors in Washington. Only the truly imbecilic could ignore the realities that exist here. What is more frightening is the possibility that they may actually see the realities but, for some cynical reasoning, be ignoring them. I don’t know which one of these reasons I’d abhor more.

Because of that, with no disrespect to Edward Said, I’ll be changing the quote at the top of my page. Finally, there’s an American worth quoting in reference to Middle Eastern politics. Thank you Thomas Friedman, you have restored some of my faith in American intelligence. At least now I know that there is at least ONE correct (can’t use the word right, since some of you might take it the wrong way and think I’m getting soft) thinking American in the world besides me.

The new quote framed above was made in reference to hardcore Zionists in general and Manachem Begin in particular. While I get Friedman's point, I would further extend his description to include the vast majority of present day Palestinians as well (at least the ones that I've met here in Gaza anyway). Cloaked in their victim-hood, they forgive any terrorist inspired atrocity as long as it said to have been committed in the name of Palestinian nationalism. I have heard over and over that “Hamas protects us.” I’d like to know what they think that Hamas protects them from. Does Hamas protect them from Israeli naval power blockading their coastline? Does Hamas protect them from the indignity of being a captive population in their own land? Does Hamas protect them from the dangers of factionalized government? As far as I can see, the only things that Hamas actually protects them from are the chances of getting peace or statehood in the lifetimes of their grandchildren.

Tomorrow is “Palestinian Independence Day”, yet another myth of the Palestinians; along with the Arab Nation, the unity of the Palestinian people and a future without Israel. Until they examine themselves and the rest of the world realistically, they will stay a people without a country. Looks like the Americans are not the only ones without a rational concept of reality in the Middle East.