Finished Training

So today i finished my ISM training. I woke up, with no time to shower because I wanted to sleep as much as possible due to the fact that I went out for some pints with some friends last night until the wee hours of the morning. Quick face wash and it was on.

The training today consisted of six main sections: Culture, Security, Legal, Privelege, Self Care and Regional Updates. The areas ISM works in tend to be very conservative muslim areas. It can be very easy to offend even doing things that we think are fine. Women are to wear longsleeves and both sexes are to sleep in seperate areas. I think its in my best interest to walk around with longsleeves as well. Im finding it much easier to walk around when i keep my tattoos covered. Im less of a sideshow spectacle.

The security training consisted of some basic common sense things. Leaving contact numbers on your phone or having numbers written down can jeopordize the ISM operation if you try to cross a border with them. The legal delt with our rights as they relate to the main Israeli security juggernaut. We dont have to give our passport to the Army. We dont have give it to the police. If we get detained the army can hold us for three hours and the Police for 24. Generally if you are arrested, you wont get any charges against you. If its a violent offense they can deport you but it doesnt tend to go that way. More than likely, your friends can come get you with your passport (one of the techniques used is to have someone away from the front lines of the demonstration with the passports) and then your name gets recorded and you go home. Im still going to try my best not get arrested mind you.

Privelege, self care and regional updates, all went pretty fast. Privelege basically dealt with the fact that we internationals can leave so our actions can sometimes make things harder for palestinians in the end, even though we mean well. For example, if a checkpoint is moving extremely slowly or not at all and we start yelling at the guards to hurry up, they can end up closing the checkpoint for two hours and then the palestinians are even worse off. The one thing ISM maintains is that we are palestinian led. If the palestinians want our help then we are there. If not, we wait and observe.

After the regional updates i found out im going to be doing the bulk of my time in Hebron. Its an area in the south of the west bank that has some seriously ideological zionist settlers that are particularly nasty to the palestinians that live there. Its the second holiest sight in judaism. I think its where they think Abraham was burried. Their warped zionist mentality prompts them to believe that they can abuse the palestinians that live there. Ive heard one of the techniques they use is to get the settler children to throw rocks at them because they are unpunishable according to israeli civil law.

Im learning a few arabic phrases. Im hoping that my time in Hebron is somewhat chill so i can have time to brush up on my phrases. Im excited to meet the Palestinians from that area.

Some interesting facts about Palestinians. There are actually four types living in Palestine. The 1948 ones that have full Israeli citizenship, Israeli passports and all the amenities that go with it. They represent about 20% of the Israeli population. Then there are the East Jerusalem Palestinians. They have an Israeli ID card but arent allowed to have a passport or vote. Yet they live in Israel. Some democratic state they claim to be. There are then the West Bank/Gaza Palestinians. They have an ID card issued by the Palestinian Authourity. They can only come into Jerusalem via Qualendia checkpoint. They can be denied movement in their own country. They are forced to endure Main Checkpoints, Sub Main checkpoints and rolling checkpoints. The latter only really being there to hassle them, although its claimed its to try and track down wanted fighters from the armed Palestinian Resistance. I ask you this though: WHY THE FUCK WOULD A FIGHTER GO THROUGH A CHECKPOINT HE CAN SEE A MILE AWAY AND JUST GO AROUND? he wouldnt. its just put there as a collective punishment for the average person in the west bank. The last kind has no ID whatsoever. there are 12,000 of them. 8000 in gaza and 4000 in the west bank. They have absolutely NO ability to move within their own country. Unreal.

Heres a video of the settlers in Hebron: