A female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time.
So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site.
She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.
“Pardon me, sir, I’m Rebecca Smith from CNN. What’s your name?
“Morris Feinberg,” he replied.
“Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?”
“For about 60 years.”
“60 years! That’s amazing! What do you pray for?”
“I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims. I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop. I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults, and to love their fellow man.”
“How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?”
“Like I’m talking to a fucking wall.”
Moral: I guess that Israelis should stop talking to walls and start to talk to people around them. Alternatively, if they are brave enough, they can also take a look in the mirror. By the time they do that peace will prevail.
I met the family of Mohammed by accident as I offered them a ride back from Gush Etzion colonial offices where they were seeking (unsuccessfully) a permit to enter Jerusalem for medical treatments (and I was called for questioning). What I learned about this family is almost unbelievable and could certainly be material for a whole book or at least a documentary.
The father was 12 year old when Israeli soldiers shot him in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet fragmenting his skull and damaging part of his brain. Ten years later, Israeli army officers severely beat and tortured him.
He got married to his cousin immediately after. The family originally comes from Al-Walaja village, the village was destroyed and ethnically cleansed in 1948. Most of this village land came under Israeli rule. The part that came under Jordanian rule was used to build a new Al-Walaja where some of the relatives returned and built homes in the early 1960s.
After having their first child, the young couple received a blessing in the form of a donation of a very small plot of land from their uncle and they built a humble one room house (literally one room) in Al-Walaja. Both had jobs.
They moved out of the refugee camp and lived in this house for 3 years during which time, they delivered their second child who then died at 18 days of age (by SIDS).
Then the Israeli army demolished the home saying that it was built without permit (Israel gave no permits for any houses in the village since the occupation began in 1967). The family rebuilt the house but Israeli threats forced them to abandon it and not live in it (Israel wants also some NIS 20,000 for the cost of destroying the home and wants to levy other fines on the family). So the young family lived in a small dwelling underground and without windows in the refugee camp of Dheisheh.
There, the third child (second who is alive) was born and they named him Mohammed. He turned out to have Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (a genetic disease characterized by obesity, eye problems, kidney problems, hexadactyly or six fingers and toes, developmental delay etc).
An uncle and an aunt of Mohammed (refugees in Jordan) died before age 20 with this condition). The first snow in years came and the roof collapsed. The husband had developed a psychiatric disorder and was treated at a local hospital. Both he and his wife were unable to hold jobs anymore. They had one more son (healthy) and she is now pregnant.
Thankfully, UNRWA rehabilitated the home in the refugee camp and the home in Al-Walaja remains unoccupied and unfinished (and no water or electricity). The family is loving, hopeful and steadfast (we call it sumud in Arabic). We spent a few hours during Eid Al-Fitr together and visited the home in Al-Walaja. I personally witnessed how the family cares for each other.
Their eldest son Khaled (in 5th grade) is simply brilliant and very loving for his two younger brothers. This is one of millions of Palestinian stories of tragedy and persistence after ethnic cleansing and under colonial occupation.
Hewlett Packard sells the Basel system technology to the Israeli military, so activists targeted stores in California asking back to school shoppers not to buy HP products.
Journalist Lauren Booth was on the first Free Gaza voyage and stayed to work in Gaza after the boats left. Her heartfelt letter to the people of Israel should be read by everyone who hopes for peace in the Middle East. This stunning video tribute to her words was designed and produced by the Free Gaza movement.
