Peace and Justice Center Newsletter, August issue, 2003

Reflections on Independence Day
By Miriam Ward, RSM

On July 2 the U.S. Consulate gave a gala party in Jerusalem, complete with red, white and blue balloons, Marine honor guards, Dominos Pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Israeli, Palestinian, various dignitaries and U.S. citizens celebrated U. S. Independence Day. I took this opportunity to present"My Reflections on Independence Day" to the Honorable Jeff Feltman, Acting American Consul- General. The text:

"As an American citizen, leader of many pilgrimage tours to the Holy Land, and friend of Israelis and Palestinians, I write this letter with deep concern.At the suggestion of my tour agent in the U.S., I made this solo trip to see ifrenewing my tours would be safe and feasible. It goes without saying that thedearth of tourism has had a devastating effect on both peoples.

My sense is that both Israelis and Palestinians desperately want a real durable peace. Both peoples long for security. However, as I look at the facts on the ground, and the incredibly inhumane treatment of Palestinians in their daily existence, I am skeptical of what seem to be sham movements on the part of the Israeli government. The control over the daily lives of Palestinians is complete and pervasive. To mention but three points.

he checkpoints with long lines of the elderly, people on crutches, mothers with babes in arms, young and old, under searing hot sun, herded together as cattle through the labyrinthine cement blocks is a daily humiliation that cries to heaven.

The piles of rubble that block entrances/exits to Palestinian villages present a stark contrast to the well maintained by-pass roads for armed Jewish settlers. The hardships endured, a virtual imprisonment, can only create resentment and hatred.

The "fence" being built, not on the Green Line (1967 borders), but invasive of fertile Palestinian lands and orchards, including the Qalqilya aquifer, has and will cause untold economic, social, cultural and other problems, obviously for Palestinians, but also for Israelis.

I can not conceive of any American (or Israeli) enduring any of the above for one day! As an American whose tax dollars support directly or indirectly this collective punishment of Palestinians, and as one who truly wants Israel to exist as a democratic society, not corrupted by occupation and suppression of another people, I am moved to register my concern. I cannot escape the irony of celebrating my personal and collective independence while witnessing and being complicit in the injustices against another people."

Sincerely yours,
Miriam Ward, RSM
Burlington, VT 05401