For my Zionism class, we took a day trip to Hebron in the West Bank to learn about the current situation. As we passed the checkpoint, we started to notice cars with unusual license plates. In Israel, the plates for Israeli citizens is yellow but Palestinians have white or green plates for easy identification. As we drove into the center of the city, a soldier came onto our bus to check that there are only Jews inside. This is because Palestinians are forbidden to drive on this specific road.
Our siyur was split up into two parts. The first was through the eyes of a religious Jewish settler named Israel. He represented the right-wing response to the question of who should live in Hebron; Jews or Palestinians. He told us the story of Abraham Avinu and how he bought the land making this the basis of Judaism in Israel. He says that there is no Israel without Hebron. He took us to the Mearat Hamachpela (Cave of the Patriarchs) which is where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Leah and Rebecca are supposedly buried. This is a landmark to the Jewish people with so much beautiful rich history that should not be forgotten.
Next, we had the opposing side. A group of ex-soldiers have come together to form an organization called "Breaking the Silence". Through this organization, they get testimonies from soldiers that tell their side of the story in the "occupied" territories. This group is trying to get the word out on how the Palestinians treated in the West Bank. According to our guide, they are not Anti-Zionist and they do believe that Israel has a right to exist. However, they are openly critical with how the government and the IDF deals with the other residents of the West Bank.
Our tour with Avner started out with a map. And on this map, we were shown what streets Palestinians can or cannot walk on and which streets they can or cannot drive on. He told us that this is a strong issue that Breaking the Silence is trying to combat due to the fact that they believe that the Palestinians should be able to walk wherever they want or need. As he was talking, a woman interrupted him claiming that he was wrong. She said that if Arabs were allowed on the streets, they would kill us all (a bit extreme). After this, we walked around the completely deserted city listening to Avner talk to us about life for the Palestinians in Hebron. I took everything that he said with a grain of salt because I know that he has an agenda. All he talked about was the poor Palestinians and how horribly the IDF treats them. However, many of the things that he said had a lot of truth. Lastly, we went to the old army base in Hebron which is based right next to the Jewish settlement. As Avner was talking about his version of what happened here, an orthodox man started screaming and calling him a liar from across the street....
This was a very interesting siyur with two different perspectives. However, in order to get all of the information, I would have wanted to also speak with a soldier that is currently in Hebron (not from breaking the silence) and if at all possible, a Palestinian living in Hebron. It was very important to come here (my first time) and I am happy that I went!!!!
