Palestinian artist acknowledges
Jewish historical period in Jerusalem
on PA TV
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
"Some
settlers are 'interested in making peace' with the Palestinians," a
rare headline stated in the official Palestinian Authority daily last
week.
A reprint
from Agence France-Presse, the article repeated the remarks of two
Israelis who live in the West Bank. It described how a Palestinian
obtained a building permit in the West Bank with the help of an Israeli
man, Eliaz Cohen, who "as opposed to the vast majority of settlers,
thinks that peace will be achieved through mutual recognition of each
party's rights to the land itself."
The
article went on to describe how another Israeli, Nahum Pachenik, who
looks "like the typical extremist settler who is far from any dialogue
with Palestinians," founded the Land of Peace movement which "promotes
religious, social, and economic cooperation with Palestinians," and has
"1,700 members, of whom 150 are Palestinians [and] the rest are
settlers."
Pachenik
was quoted describing how the movement has "arranged inter-religious
meetings, distributed packages to the poor, arranged demonstrations
against the separation (i.e., security) fence" and has "many more
projects [planned], like working a shared field."
The official PA paper did not comment on the remarks or the initiatives by the Israelis.
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA media rarely publishes positive statements or reports on Israelis and Jews, but has a policy of demonizing them.
Another
rare statement was broadcast on PA TV when a Palestinian artist,
introducing a painting, acknowledged that there was a Jewish historical
period in Jerusalem:
"This painting represents Jerusalem in different periods. This is the
Islamic period. This is the Christian period. Prior to that is what I
called the Jewish period. This is the Canaanite period. It's important
to me and to all Palestinians because it's a map or document."Click to view
PA
TV and media in general rarely publish statements acknowledging Jewish
history in Jerusalem or anywhere in the land, but instead has a policy
of denying Jewish history in the land and the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem in particular, referring to it as "the alleged Temple."
The
following is the translation of the AFP article in the official PA
daily reporting positively on "settlers interested in making peace":
Headline: "Some settlers are 'interested in making peace' with the Palestinians"
"A
Palestinian, Muhammad Saad, recently received permission from the
occupation army (i.e., Israeli Defense Forces) to construct apartment
[buildings] in the Khirbat Zakaria village in the occupied West Bank.
[This happened] with the help of Eliaz Cohen, a settler from Kfar Etzion
(i.e., Kibbutz Kfar Etzion). This village [Khirbat Zakaria] is located
in the Etzion settlement (bloc) west of Bethlehem. The Etzion Bloc is
made up of 22 settlements in which approximately 70,000 settlers live,
and it was built - like all the settlements - on Palestinian land
occupied by Israel in 1967.
Cohen,
a poet who would like to see dialogue between settlers and
Palestinians, explained: 'For three years he [Saad] and I have been
struggling together to succeed in this matter.' As opposed to the vast
majority of settlers, Cohen thinks that peace will be achieved through
mutual recognition of each party's rights to the land itself, and he
noted that 'my intention is not to divide the land in two, but to share
it with one another.' He added: 'I think that it is possible to have two
national entities in the same location, whether in confederation or in
two [separate] states. But neither will lose its historic rights to this
land, to which both nations are tied.'
In
2010, [Cohen's] friend Nahum Pachenik founded the 'Land of Peace'
movement (Eretz HaShalom in Hebrew), to which a small number of settlers
belong. It promotes religious, social, and economic cooperation with
Palestinians. Pachenik, a father of four who lives in the Etzion Bloc,
explained: 'Peace is crucial for us.' This man has a beard and [wears] a
traditional kippah (Jewish skullcap) and sandals just like the typical
extremist settler who is far from any dialogue with Palestinians.
However, [Pachenik, who is] the son of a rabbi [and] who has lived in
settlements since the day he was born and doesn't think he'd be able to
live anywhere else, says: 'I'm tied to this land, and [here] I'll stay.
But the Palestinians are here too, and I have to learn to live with
them.'
'Land of Peace' is
unusual in settler circles, and it is not popular. At best, it is seen
as a group of crazy idealists. Or, it is seen as a group of traitors.
Nahum says: 'Am I crazy? Yes. I'm crazy about peace.'
In reality, however, [human] rights organizations warned last July of an escalation in settler attacks...
'Land
of Peace' has 1,700 members, of whom 150 are Palestinians. The rest are
settlers, [from] among the 500,000 settlers in the West Bank and
Jerusalem.
Pachenik says:
'We've already arranged inter-religious meetings, distributed packages
to the poor, arranged demonstrations against the separation (i.e.,
security) fence, and we have many more projects [planned], like working a
shared field.' He went on: 'The name of the project is Heaven's Field
or Allah's Field (Hakel Allah in Arabic) since as Jews and Muslims we
believe that ultimately the land belongs to God. We intend to divide the
whole crop among needy families.'
He
refuses to suggest political solutions, but he stresses that if the
two-state plan is ever adopted, he'll want to continue living in
Palestine. He went on [to say]: 'I have the right to be part of a Jewish
minority in a democratic Palestinian state, like the million
Palestinians who are living in the State of Israel.' And he points out:
'Peace is made in the field, by people of good will, and not in the
garden at the White House.'
Ibrahim
Anbawi from Ramallah, who is a member of the [Land of Peace] movement,
says: 'These settlers are ready to live in a Palestinian state, be part
of the Palestinian nation, and carry Palestinian passports.' Nahum
Pachenik recently met President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah together with a
delegation of Jewish clergymen.
Pachenik
enthusiastically pointed out that 'the meeting was very important for
us, since Mr. Abbas allowed us to continue the dialogue, and that is a
step towards peace.' Cohen thinks that 'mentality is changing, and there
is a growing number of people among the settlers or Palestinians who
are beginning to understand that our futures are bound together, and we
have been sentenced to making peace.'"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 5, 2012]
Following is the transcript of the PA TV broadcast of artist acknowledging
Jewish period in the history of Jerusalem:
Palestinian artist, Ismail Midya:
"This painting represents Jerusalem in different periods. This is the
Islamic period. This is the Christian period. Prior to that, is what I
called the Jewish period. This is the Canaanite period. It's important
to me and to all Palestinians because it's a map or document."
[PA TV (Fatah), July 24, 2012]
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