Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence is the name of an organization of Israeli soldiers who talk about their experience in the Occupied Territories (West Bank, Palestine). They offer two tours in the West Bank: Hebron and South Hebron Hills. The first is a bit more of an urban tour, while the other is very rural. I was wait-listed last summer to go to Hebron, but I did manage to get a confirmed place on a tour to the South Hebron Hills in early September. It was a trip I'll not easily forget.

The tour meets at, departs from, and returns to the International Convention Center (ICC, Binyanei Ha’uma, near the Central Bus Station). Everyone boards a tour coach and the guide starts talking. Our guide, Avihai started telling us about how he'd always wanted to be a combat soldier. His father and older brothers had been combat soldiers, he too would be one and how important this was to him. The military begins sorting and recruiting soldiers when they are still in high school. Aptitude tests are administered for selection into the special forces -- pilots, spies, and the like. And forever after, Israeli men, in particular, are subject to being identified by where they served (combat, artillery, air, navy, etc) and they make lifelong bonds with their platoon (serving on reserve until 40 or 42 makes a difference too). I've been told by a few Israelis that being part of the Israeli Defence Forces is really important, partly as the making of Israeli identity and partly as the rebranding of the Jewish people that were very differently characterized in early 20th Century European propaganda and of course later as victims of the Holocaust. I don't know if all Israelis agree with this, but it seems like a reasonable statement. 

Avihai told us about his training in the IDF: How he learned to use all sorts of weapons and only a little bit about how to interact with civilians. And then how he found himself serving in the Occupied Territories, in the South Hebron Hills, dealing daily with civilians.  He told us about how he and his colleagues interacted with Palestinians and with settlers in the West Bank. And, he told us that a key job of the IDF soldiers in the Hebron Hills of Area C is preventing Palestinians from delivering their agricultural goods to the town of Yatta.

Area C under the Oslo Accords is under the control of the Israeli military. These days Israeli soldiers patrol Area C and if you are in it, they will likely pull you over for a chat - it happened while we were on tour. Of particular interest, and visited on our tour, in the South Hebron Hills are (1) the line taken by the separation barrier (intruding at points into the West Bank by running north of the Green Line); (2) the village of Susiya; (3) the ring of hilltop settlements; and (4) Military Training Zone 918 (which is a polygon east of Susiya and Hwy 317 and wholly within the West Bank).

Briefly:

1. The Line of the Separation Barrier. Apparently, the low barrier that runs along Hwy 317 (a road that runs from SW to NE sort of through Susiya) was the planned site of the separation barrier, but the incursion into the West Bank was later abandoned for a line further south that more closely traces the Green Line.
2. The Village of Susiya (Palestinian) and the Settlement of Susiya (Israeli settlers). The village of Susiya experiences continuous water insecurity and has to have water trucked and to pay market rates (partly the politics of Israel and partly the politics of the Palestinian Authority are at play here). The settlement does not experience water insecurity and is serviced by pipes.
3. Lucifer Farm and the ring of hilltop settlements. Settlements in the West Bank can be big like a suburb (e.g. Maale Adumim near Jerusalem) or they can be solo farmers (like homesteaders in the Canadian west) (e.g. the ring of settlements near Susiya and Firing Zone 918 - these are known as unauthorized (illegal) outposts). Evidently, under an arcane bit of Ottoman era law (which still operates in Palestine/Israel, along with some British and Jordanian law) hilltops couldn't be owned, thus they are not private property, and are available for settlement (I remain a bit fuzzy on this, it sounds almost as if you can obtain ownership by squatting).  Settlements have begun to ring small Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills and, unfortunately, conflict between the two groups is not infrequent.
4. Military Training Zone 918 (aka Firing Zone 918) is an area from which about 700 Palestinians were evicted in 1998 and 1999 on the grounds that they had taken up "illegal residence in a live fire zone".  B'Tselem (the Israeli Human Rights Organization) has more on this story here.

Looking at Firing Range 918 (in that valley to the left of the hill behind Avihai)

Susiya Village

Susiya Village

Susiya Village

Susiya Village

A workshop in a tent at Susiya - permanent dwellings are torn down

Susiya Village

Susiya Village Tractor

Settlements on the hilltops

The take away of all this is that if it looks and smells like a fish, it probably is a fish.  These four observations added together leave a strong impression that Israel is land grabbing in the South Hebron Hills of Area C of the West Bank. This is not a happy conclusion; however, it fits well within the current dominant political discourse to "create facts on the ground" that will lead to certain conclusions about dividing up land when (never mind the "if") the two state solution arrives.

Breaking the Silence is not uncontroversial. Some Israelis do not believe the testimony of these IDF soldiers and they consider this effort to be disloyal to the state. Breaking the Silence doesn't offer a solution to the conflict, but they do want to tell Israelis what IDF soldiers (the 18-21 year olds of Israel) are doing when in service in the West Bank. In this sense they share the questioning narrative of the movie The Gatekeepers which asked Israelis to consider the Occupation in terms of what it is costing Israel. What does it mean that your youth serve in an Occupied Territory and carry out the chores of an occupying state? None of this is to suggest that ending the Occupation will be an easy task. Israel does face an existential threat in its neighbourhood and it is a small country (this has implications for its defence): the security threat is real. Nevertheless, the cost of the Occupation is too high for everyone: it needs to end. But, just how to do it? 

If you want to know more about Breaking the Silence visit their website to hear some of the IDF testimony.  If you plan to be in Jerusalem consider taking a tour, but be sure to sign up well in advance.

Visiting the Halls of Justice

In November, I visited the Supreme Court of Israel which is located just north of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament - where Stephen Harper spoke last week). The picture below is taken looking (mostly) south; the Supreme Court is in the front, the Knesset in the middle of the picture. Free English tours of the Court go at noon from Sunday to Thursday. The building is relatively new - finished in 1992 - and full of symbolism. From 1948 to 1992, the Supreme Court presided in rented quarters in the Russian Compound (further south and east of the current location of the court in Kiryat Ben Gurion). 

Source: Flickr: Israel Supreme Court (israeltourism)

There are two other levels of courts below the Supreme Court. The Magistrates' Courts (there are about 30 of these) that have original jurisdiction for lesser claims in civil cases and for lesser offenses in criminal cases. The District Courts (there are 6 of these) are courts of original jurisdiction for civil and criminal cases beyond the jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Courts.

The Supreme Court has two main functions: (1) as a Court of Appeal and (2) as a Court of Justice (a function Canadians know as judicial review of government office or agency decision making).  Most cases at the Supreme Court proceed with a panel of three justices selected from the court's complement of fifteen. Judges are nominated and elected by a committee (made up of Knesset members, Bar Association members, and other judges); mandatory retirement is at 70 years old.

The building incorporates three main contrasts:

• inside and outside -- features like walls and windows give one a sense that they are inside and outside at the same time. There's so much natural light in the courtrooms the lights need not necessarily be turned on.
• old and new -- elements from the history of Jerusalem (including some stones) are found in the building. The main foyer entrance is filled with old Jerusalem stone.
• lines and circles -- are a visual representation of law and justice.
• lines represent law: "You are righteous...and Your laws are straight" (Psalms 119:137)
• circles represent justice: "He leads me in circles of justice" (Psalms 23:3)

I'd recommend a visit to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, it is a unique building. I think this courthouse does something to reify the Israeli national identity. I may have to revisit the SCC in Ottawa or the USSC in DC to reflect on whether those courts do something similar for their national identities.

Canada's PM goes to Israel

As you may (if you live in Canada and possibly if you live in Israel, but unlikely if you live in the USA) have heard, our PM has gone to Israel. Why? Well, in part, since Canada is a middle power, we might never be entirely clear on what he's up to. Clearly, Canadian persuasion is not going to shift the peace talks in any particular direction. On the agenda (according to the CBC) are the free trade agreement, some transport agreement, and maybe a research institution partnership. Plus, the Canadian delegation will meet with Abu Mazen.

Bibi has welcomed Harper "as a great friend of Israel and the Jewish people" and thanked him for his support, that is his staunch and unquestioning support of Israel. And, perhaps the real reason for the trip: A park will be named after our PM. The Jewish Community of Toronto has fundraised for this honour and it's not just any park, it's a bird interpretive centre: the Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre. For a Canadian with an environmental bone in her body there is some irony in our PM -- who has been actively dismantling all the domestic environmental law he can via obfuscating omnibus budget bills -- having his name tagged to a major ecosystem rehabilitation project.

The Hula Valley marshlands were drained in the 1950s by the Jewish National Fund as part of its Zionist mandate to green and make bloom Greater Israel/Palestine. In time it became obvious that the drainage of the swamps was not such a great idea, not least because it diminished the quality of the water flowing into Lake Kinneret (Israel's major freshwater lake and reservoir). Concern with the draining of the Hula precipitated the creation of the Society for the Preservation of Nature in Israel (SPNI) which remains a leading environmental NGO in Israel. Emek HaHula is a key stop on the route of migratory birds from and to Europe, Africa, and Asia. We might only hope Harper will be inspired enough to bring enthusiasm for ecosystem rehabilitation back to Canada with him. The Great Lakes Basin could use his support.

Biking in Jerusalem (no) and Tel Aviv (yes)

Some rental bikes in Jerusalem

If you've been reading this blog for a while you may remember I called it "Is there biking in Jerusalem?" because I had hoped to ride a bike to get around town. And, you may be wondering what the answer to that question is.

It turns out biking in Jerusalem is an extreme sport. (Unless you rent a bike and pedal along the linear park that goes south from the (new) Old Station. But that's not exactly cycling.) Those that commute by bike in Jerusalem are fearless warriors and will tell you to stop being such a wimp and get on your bike...and they might recommend you ride on the sidewalk. Those who don't ride in Jerusalem will give a long lecture on why not to bike in Jerusalem --- there's no space on the roads, riding on the sidewalks is illegal and rude, it's too hilly (why would you ride up hills?) --- and list off the top 3 worst (most recent) bike accidents in town (they are blood curdling).  I was easily convinced that travelling by foot and bus would be a better option for me.

I walked everywhere in Jerusalem and really got to know the city in a way that only a pedestrian can. Of course, on the days that we did rent a car and had to find the highway to get out of town it took superior navigating (or patience when the navigating was inferior and we had to take a few loops) to not get caught up in the one-way streets that are irrelevant to the foot traveller.

Fortunately, the cosmopolitan and (mostly) flat metropolis of Tel Aviv-Jaffa has a wonderful bike share system and loads of bike paths so I did get some riding in.

Bike share in Tel Aviv

Whenever I arrived by bus in Tel Aviv, I would hire a bike at the bus station and ride wherever I was going. Key destinations in Tel Aviv include (OBVIOUSLY) the beach, Jaffa (it's fabulous and not just for its oranges), the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the awesome neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek (although now Florentin is where it's at). Biking in Tel Aviv is probably not "safe" (it is as hazardous as in any city) but it is way more inviting than Jerusalem. This is in part because Tel Aviv is filled with wide boulevards (the legacy-benefit of being a new city), has many bike lanes, is flat (yes, that bears repeating), and drivers are expecting to see cyclists.

Despite its hills and lack of infrastructure, Jerusalem could be a great biking city. The traffic in the city is horrible and often vehicular traffic is reduced to a crawl along the two lane (one each way) arterial roads (Haneviim, Shivtei Israel, King George, King David, Keren Hayesod, Agrippas) at rush hour. I'm sure more than a few Jerusalemites would be happy to have a shorter commute (and a bit of exercise). The climate in Jerusalem has few days that really preclude cycling: possibly a few snow days, and a few really horribly rainy days that only ducks would enjoy, and a few stifling hot days. Owing to its placement on top of the Judean Hills and its lack of industry, the air quality in Jerusalem is among the best of Middle Eastern cities (granted riding alongside traffic at rush hour will likely render a poor air quality profile). Plus, the city is geographically not that big. Still, I think its unlikely that Jerusalem will be ground zero for biking in Israel anytime soon. (Although, west of the city, on fine weather days, on some of the most scenic roads of Israel you can stumble upon pelotons of MAMILS (middle aged men in lycra) on fancy roadbikes.)  For now the Tel Aviv is the seat of bike commuting and culture in Israel, despite its long and very sticky summer.

A few pics of biking in Jerusalem:

Cyclists on road!

Cyclists on sidewalk!

You can hire a bike, park a bike, and ride it on a path from the (new) Old Station

Bike parking

Exceptional in Jerusalem - a bike path

Happy New Year!!

Forgive my tardy greetings!

I've been very busy while in Vancouver and I've neglected this blog (since it isn't really about life in Vancouver!). My days have been filled with contract work, visiting family and friends, and networking around town. The busy holiday season is over and now it's on to the business of quotidian life. For me this means some serious changes.

I've decided to stay in Canada and transition out of my postdoc in Israel. I'll be wrapping up my project work there from here while I look for a job in Vancouver.  In my home province of British Columbia many natural gas projects are either under proposal or in development right now. I want to be involved in shaping those projects and environmental policy in ways that benefit our economy without harming long term human well-being and ecosystem health. There is much work to be done in Canada.

The upshot of this is that I'll be winding up this blog shortly. My fifteen months in Israel were unforgettable and amazing; I have a few more stories I'd like to share. So, I plan to post until the end of the month. After that my blogging future is uncertain.

More posts soon! Thanks for reading.

Sheleg! (Snow!)

As you've no doubt heard or seen by now, there was a big winter storm in the Middle East last week. I have mixed feelings about having missed the "hundred year storm" that brought several consecutive days of snow to Jerusalem. On the one hand, the city is absolutely magical in the snow - at least it was last January. On the other hand, people were without power - in blackouts - in my old neighbourhood (HaMoshava HaGermanit). And, without electricity in Jerusalem in the winter, staying warm can be a bit of a challenge. A few people have gas insert fireplaces, but many people don't. And, of course, many people who live in the mountainous regions of the Middle East -- e.g. many refugees in northern Jordan -- live in canvas tents that offer little protection from the elements. And while the snow flew in the highlands, including Jerusalem, the rains were hammering Gaza producing horrible flooding and making an already incredibly hard place that much less comfortable. Winter storms in a region unequipped to manage them (or keep people warm) brings additional hardship for many people.

Gaza - Dec 10 - photo credit - CEAHecht

I've received several photos from friends in Jerusalem so here's a few to give you a sense of what this last week has been like.


It started out with a few flakes...

Looking east to Jordan. photo credit: CEAHecht

And it kept falling

Talbiya. photo credit: CEAHecht

Talbiya. photo credit: CEAHecht

East to Jordan. photo credit: CEAHecht

Dec 17 overlooking the Old City, photo credit: CEAHecht

From 10000 kms away

Greetings from the west coast of Canada where I'm on an extended holiday and research visit. We've been enjoying an early winter of Arctic outflows, which always come as a bit of a shock to the populace. Dig out your boots and grab the snow shovel, too. The arrival of snow means there's hope I'll be on my cross country skis soon!

Even though I'm not in the thick of things right now (i.e. not physically in the Middle East), it seems that one is never far from a story about Israel. This week's story (see NYTimes) is that Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel have signed an agreement to build the Red-Dead Canal.

I think this is a terrible project. Terrible. Not because of its goals, but because of its means.

The goals of the Red-Dead project are three.

1) Alleviate Jordan's water shortage - make desalinated water 

The TOR for the project suggest tremendous optimism: they thought they could generate energy out of the scheme! No chance! The water will be piped up 1200 metres of elevation from the Dead Sea (sits at -400m) into Amman (sits at +800m). Between the desal and the 1200 metres that should use up any energy gained from piping the water down the gradient from the Red Sea to the desalination plant at the shore of the Dead Sea. 

Jordan has a major water shortage. Major. To their credit, the Jordanians have been working hard to improve their infrastructure. The leakage rates for Amman's water distribution system were something close to 50% and have been brought down into the 20% range. This is still too much leakage, but it is a huge improvement given the age of the infrastructure, the urban layout, and the topography of Amman (seven jebels (hills!) a nightmare of connections). But, really, the only part of the country that gets much rain is the northwest corner, up by the Sea of Galilee.

[ed. note: by the way - Canadian cities have major leakage in their water infrastructure too. Halifax is a leader in leakage reduction. Get this -- in 1999 (population  ~350,000)  the system needed 168 million litres of water per day, in 2011 (population ~ 390,000) it needed only 130 million. Yep, gobsmacking losses. Plug those holes!]

Jordan has a growing population both from internal factors (a replacement rate of 3.5; Canada is at 1.6) and external factors such as immigration and refugees. The point on refugees is not a small one: Jordan borders Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Jordan has accepted refugees of civil wars since it was established in 1946. The UNHCR (the UN High Commission for Refugees) estimated about 900,000 Syrian refugees would be in Jordan by the end of 2013.  This is huge stress on a country of 6.5 million people with a per capita GDP of less than $4,700. And, it puts further stress on water resources.

Upshot: No amount of conservation or efficiency is going to close the gap for Jordan. More supply is needed.

2) Top up the Dead Sea- save it from environmental degradation

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll remember the post from last October and the gif of the shrinking Dead Sea. Yikes! Next to nothing from the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. The days tick by and the Dead Sea shrinks, the shore caves into sinkholes. It's pretty straightforward and super sad.  Please, let's save the Dead Sea soon!

3) Build a symbol of peace and cooperation in the Middle East

I'm a bit mixed on this goal. Without a doubt working on relationships and sharing resources are important parts of peace and cooperation, but the "build a symbol" part makes me think an engineer wrote this.

The Plan

The "symbol of peace" is a massive piece of engineering (and some ancillary deals about water in the Sea of Galilee). A pipe goes into the bay at Aqaba in Jordan. It withdraws salt water (and the Red Sea is pretty salty, makes for great swimming) and pipes it on a downward slope to a desalination facility on the Dead Sea. Produced desalinated water is piped up to Amman and into the city's distribution network. The brine - the salty part of the Red Sea water - is sent into the Dead Sea. Major red flag right here: in the World Bank report they admit to not knowing what the brine is going to do to the Dead Sea. No idea. But, it'll be monitored so, with our typical resource management gusto, they think they can keep an eye on it and prevent damage to the unique ecosystem of the Dead Sea. Um...this is so far from a precautionary approach I'm rendered speechless. The Dead Sea is amazing and it is a major tourist attraction for both Israel and Jordan (and could be for the proto state of Palestine, too). Yikes.

The price tag on this project, when I went to the open house in Jerusalem last February, was USD 10 billion. People I chatted to then thought that the current economic climate would prevent the deal from being signed and the project going forward. The deal is signed. Whether the project gets built remains to be seen. 

If you've read this far, you're probably waiting for me to make my point. What's wrong with this project? Well, in short, I think it's early 20th century problem-solving for a 21st century problem. And, I'm not the only one. The authors of an alternative study suggested that a more incremental approach would include desalination and water transfers at the north end of the system. Israel could install additional desal capacity on the Mediterranean and pipe that water across to Amman, where the distances and elevations are less. Reclaimed wastewater or water from from the Sea of Galilee could then be sent into the Dead Sea, thus recharging it with something other than desal brine.  Such an approach has the advantage of addressing Amman's needs as required rather than building out more capacity than may be needed and leaving space for new innovations to change water demands. The authors of the alternative report also suggest water transfers from Turkey may be feasible at a future date. I have no idea about the technical aspects of any of these suggestions, but I appreciate that they offer a multifaceted approach to solving the two main challenges -- watering Amman and the Dead Sea -- in ways that seem more favourable, less expensive, more adaptable, and way less scary for the Dead Sea.

The signed deal probably gives Jordan geopolitical comfort - the entire project will be constructed in its sovereign territory. It doesn't have to negotiate anything else with the two other parties. So, in a way, the Red-Dead Canal Project may actually do less to build cooperation. Massive infrastructure may not be the best symbol of peace.