Since announcing the Constructing Peace Campaign in early June, ICAHD-USA, in partnership with ICAHD UK and ICAHD Israel, has already finished construction on 25 Palestinian homes demolished by the Israeli government. There are currently another 18 homes under construction and many more in the pre-planning stages. Support for the campaign has come from across the country and around the world.
Below are two stories of families whose homes have been rebuilt through the Constructing Peace Campaign. Each family has a story, and we are grateful to them for letting us share their stories with you. Their names have been omitted to protect their privacy. Click here for more updates from the campaign.
M Family
Mr. M, right, with 2 sons & laborers.
Mr. M comes from an old-time Anata family. Anata, situated on the northeastern fringe of Jerusalem and dating from ancient times, is reputed to have been a Canaanite village in biblical times. Village lore claims that Anata residents originated from the same ancestor, Sheikh Abed Asalam Mohammed Al Rifai, who established a school of thought, Al Rifai Sufi-school, which is famous in the Arab world. During the Crusader wars, the Muslim leader, Salah Eddin Aiyoubi [Saladin], situated his administration in the village before he proceeded towards Jerusalem. Today Anata is administered in part by the Jerusalem Municipality and in part by the Israeli Occupation Authorities. However, all of Anata is east of the Green Line and was Occupied in 1967 by Israel.
Mr. M owns land on the eastern edge of the village in an area designated Area “C” under the Oslo agreements. He was refused a building permit by the Israeli authorities because the land was “zoned” as agricultural, but went ahead and built a home for his wife and 11 children. The police and paramilitary troops arrived without warning on the September 21, 2006, surrounded the neighborhood, and brought in the bulldozers. The family was given less than an hour to pack and remove their possessions from the house. When the time was up, and the house wasn’t emptied, the police sent in a contractor with African foreign workers in orange jumpsuits. They proceeded to throw the remainder of the family’s property out of the house. The Israeli government has had a policy over the past decade to replace Palestinian workers with workers from developing countries who are willing to work for low wages. They are also used for “dirty work” such as helping with house demolitions.
When Mr. M’s neighbors saw what was happening, they protested without violence and were met with gunfire. Three were wounded. The soldiers also shot out the tires of Mr. M’s tractor in an act of pure vindictiveness. Thus the family became homeless and virtually destitute. Mr. M is a laborer and part time farmer. In an ironic twist, the authorities have told him that the plastic covered greenhouse he uses for seedlings and growing tomatoes is illegal and will be demolished – despite the so-called agricultural zoning. Mr. M has also built a cistern where he collects rainwater in the winter and pumps it to his plants in the summer. The cistern is also under threat of demolition.
Mr. M’s home ready for window installation.
Mr. M says he wants a fair peace between the two peoples: “Why can’t I live in peace on my own property when Israelis can live anywhere they want? Why do I need a permit to go and pray in Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem when Jews from all over the world can come and pray at their holy places?”
Click here for more pictures from the rebuilding of the M family’s home.
K Family
Mr. K and four of his sons in the rubble of his previous house.
Mr. K is a Bedouin from the Be’er Sheva area in Israel’s Negev Desert. He migrated north in 1981 in search of work and a better life. He was also tired of the government’s treatment of his community in the Negev and was hoping for more opportunities and less interference from the authorities in the Jerusalem area. Like many Bedouin from the south, he settled in Anata, East Jerusalem, just beyond the municipal boundaries in what became known as Area “C” after the Oslo Agreement.
During the 1980s and 90s he married, raised a large family, worked hard as a construction laborer and gradually built a good size home for his family. The house he built eventually grew to more than 400 meters (3,600 sq. ft.) including a basement. This was a large house built over a very long time, with every penny of Mr. K’s savings going to the construction. The land under the house had been legally purchased but was “zoned” as agricultural land despite the fact that the growing village of Anata was burgeoning with people. Mr. K was refused a building permit by the “Civil Administration” (Occupation Administration) but went ahead and built his home. A demolition order was issued on his home in 1997.
Without warning on October 29, 2004, at 7:00 am, more than 200 soldiers and paramilitary police sealed off the neighborhood and ordered everyone to stay in their homes. Volunteers from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) were alerted and arrived at the house just before the demolition. However, the bulldozers arrived, and protected by police and army troops, went ahead and demolished the house. The family was rendered homeless, with their life savings gone and little hope for the future. The social services of the Israeli government offered no help to the family.
The rebuilt K house is almost finished.
Mr. K is grateful to ICAHD for building a small 30 meter (288 sq. ft.) house next to the ruins of his former home. Another house will be built for his son and his family in the near future. Mr. K asks that the American government stop supporting Israel and the horrors of the ongoing Occupation. Only then, he says, can we start to build a peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The campaign continues
In the last month, the Constructing Peace Campaign has seen an outpouring of support from across the United States. Peace is possible and it will come through the kind of cooperative, nonviolent, community building that this campaign represents. ICAHD-USA is committed to challenging the Israeli Occupation and strengthening the joint, Israeli/Palestinian resistance that occurs everyday.
For information on how you can support ICAHD-USA and the Constructing Peace Campaign, visit our donation page. The 5th annual ICAHD Israel Summer Rebuilding Camp just kicked off and you can find more information on that here.
