Village of Turmos Ayya from top of Shilo

Village of Turmos Ayya from top of Shilo
Originally uploaded by ePublicist

A beautiful photography by a resident of Shilo. In the horizon you can see the mountain "Baal Hatzor". The foreground is Shilo's upper level neighbourhood. Between the two is Emek Shilo. You can see the village of Turmos Ayya nestled in the middle of the valley. In the far upper right corner is the village of Sengle, so named after the French Crusaders who lived there during the second crusades.

Palestinians Must Get Out of Mental Imprisonment

The following has noting to do with the relationship between Shilo & Tumos Ayya, yet in a way it has everything to do with it. The two communities will continue to be worlds apart, although their respective municipal boundaries touch each other, as long as the "Mental Prisons" both sides create remain.

I will be the first to admit, that as long as Arabs seek to kill me and my family I refuse to intentionally purchase any goods or services grown, created or delivered by them. I see no point in providing those who wish me harm with the capital they need to purchase weapons and explosives.

Having said that, if some form og co-existence ever does come about, primarily as a result of the Arabs accepting our right to live in the land of our ancestors along side of them - as equals - I will be amongst the first to suggest joint economic projects to provide a livelihood with honor for both communities here in Emek Shilo.

Yoel Ben-Avraham

Ray Hanania, Arab News

JERUSALEM, 9 December 2007 — Palestinians I meet always point to the Israeli occupation as the main stumbling block preventing them from achieving independence and driving their oppressive lives. But I think far more obstacles exist that Palestinians are afraid to acknowledge, most that begin right in their own back yards.

Maybe because I was raised in America where tyranny is far more subtle and less violent than the real threats and physical dangers facing people in the Arab and Muslim Worlds. Or, maybe it is also because I am a realist, a state of mind that apparently continues to elude Palestinian society. Palestinians live in the past. Even when they emigrate to the Western countries, they may live physically in their adopted homelands, but they remain mentally imprisoned in “the balad. “The heaviest chains of this self-oppression may in fact be something Palestinians call “normalization.”

“Normalization” is a state of mind in which Palestinians prevent themselves from living in the present so they can dwell in the long lost past. Normalization is the act of refusing to accept reality, insisting that Palestinian existence is not in the present but in the past In this “unreality,” fading memories are more important than the clarity of the present.

Palestinian activists use “Normalization” as a bludgeon to keep Palestinians in line like sheep. Extremists pull the strings of suffering and frustration, throwing down the “normalization” card whenever a Palestinian tries to break free of the mental bondage and address the reality of the Israeli occupation.

By working with Israelis, Palestinians argue, they might some how undermine their rights. Maybe Palestinians haven’t looked around, but they are dealing with Israelis in every circumstance, every location and on every level humanly possible.

Earlier this year, a group of mostly Israelis involved in a movement called “OneVoice” sought to organize an event that would showcase Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace. Music. Speeches. And “normalization.” Of course, the extremists spoke out against OneVoice, and so did the so-called moderates like Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas reportedly spread the word that he did not support OneVoice, and the plans for the music festivals were canceled.

Had Abbas trashed the movement because of Lubetzky’s personal failings as a leader, I might have sympathized. But that was not the reason. The reason was that they are against anything that might allow Palestinians to start thinking outside of their self-imposed imprisonment.

Visiting the PNA’s “Ministry of Information” a few years back, I was handed a business card from one of the officials that had a chuckling error. The card did not identify him as a “Public Relations” specialist, but rather as a “Pubic Relations” specialist, an unfortunate typo with embarrassing meaning. I didn’t have the heart to explain how stupid the card made him look.

During this trip through Palestine, I worked closely with many Palestinian journalists, trying to help them find ways to navigate through this real tragedy of Palestinian immobilization. All said they wanted to attend a journalism conference in which editors and reporters of several prominent Israeli newspapers were also scheduled to speak. But, they said they were pressured to stay away. “Normalization,” they said, means Palestinians are not yet ready to, well, deal with Israelis as regular people. Only as enemies. That didn’t stop many Palestinians from coming to my standup

I leave Palestine and Israel this trip recognizing that Palestinians are suffering from several layers of occupation, and a self-imposed oppression that has become the excuse for their failings. They say they want peace with Israel, but many deep down can’t accept the damage to their pride that compromise means accepting that their efforts over the past 60 years have been an utter failure caused by their own failed leadership.

While Palestinians are stifled in their aspirations, only miles away, Israelis are enjoying life, growing as a people and flourishing as a people. The ability of Palestinians to establish their own state continues to erode. That the people driving this erosion are Palestinians themselves is most troubling to me. Imprisoned in a wall of ignorance constructed by their own foolish failure to see through the rhetoric and the hatred of the past to the reality of today, Palestinians have only one option. They can either start living in the reality or they can disappear in the past.

— Ray Hanania is an award winning Palestinian columnist and author. He can be reached at www.hanania.com.

Palestinian Land Ownership

Shalom Barbara NYC,

You ask of me:

I am also hoping Ghanem can give us some documentation about the claim that land was confiscated and the Shilo sits on Tumos-Ayya land. And I am hoping Yoel can give us some background on Israel's claim that the land was owner less or "state-land" whatever that means.

Let me provide you with the following up-to-date links to information that might help you understand. The Palestinians seek and receive a great deal of support in their efforts to thwart the continued existence of Jewish communities throughout the Land of Israel from Peace Now (Shalom Achshav). Recently Peace Now came out with a bombastic claim that 86% of the land Jewish communities were built on were stolen Arab lands. Recent revelations from the IDF's data base of land usage/allocation appears to put the lie to these allegations.

IDF shows flaws in Peace Now report
JPost March 14, 2007

The Civil Administration noted that the Peace Now report was full of
inaccuracies, and implied that it had included in its figures outposts that the state considered illegal.
"For a number of years, the Civil Administration routinely examined the status of land prior to approving planning procedures and/or prior to allocating land," the letter stated. "This is done carrying out an in-depth re-examination of the status of the land in order to ensure that no harm comes to or use is made of privately held Palestinian land for the needs of Israeli settlement."

To better understand why the discrepancy between Arab (and Peace Now) claims and how the law abiding Israeli government agencies see it, it might be insightful to read the explanation published in a number of places. You see in Ottoman Law there are several different concepts to what we would call "ownership".

From Camera.org

Peace Now is calling “private Palestine land” is under the Ottoman Code at best miri land, and it is therefore not privately owned. Rather, it is land in which a person is granted by the state a limited right of use (whence the term usufruct). The rights include, for example, that once registered someone else cannot try to cultivate the same land. This is similar to the rights one has in renting an apartment – someone else cannot come and try to live without permission in the same apartment, but that doesn't mean the renter owns the apartment.
... contrary to Peace Now, the land remains the property of the state, and therefore it does not revert to the state only if there is a failure to cultivate. Miri land – the land of the Emir, or equivalently, of the sovereign – is state land, period. If there is a failure to cultivate the limited rights granted by the state are withdrawn, not ownership of the land, which was never granted in the first place.

Of course the emotional issues are not as rational and cut and dried as legal issues, but for the most part, at least for certain since 1979, no Arab land was confiscated unless for dire security reasons, and then full compensation was provided. Moreover, there are many cases where Arab property was damaged as a result of their direct and active involvement in anti-Jewish activities where none-the-less Israel's champions of civil rights, the Israeli Supreme Court, granted the Arabs compensations for the damage they sustained. Difficult to believe they'd let the Israeli government steal vast tracks of land against the law when they are willing to compensate Arabs involved in endangering Israeli lives.

I'm certain Ghanem doesn't see it this way, but then it is rather clear that to him Jews have no claim to any part of the Land of Israel and no rights in it, so it is rather difficult to find a common middle ground when everything is his and nothing is yours.

Looking forward to everyone's response(s).

Yoel Ben-Avraham
Shilo, Benyamin

Future of Palestinian Youth

I just read the article by Steven Erlanger in the March 12th New York Times titled "Years of Strife and Lost Hope Scar Young Palestinians " . I question how representative this is of youth in Turmos Ayya or Luban.

My personal experience with residents of Turmos Ayya in particular, but also Luban to a smaller extent, is that there isn't a family that doesn't have at least one relative in the US. Chicago seems to be a popular place, Cleveland a close second.

So what do you say Ghanem? Are the youth of Turmos Ayya despairing of seeing a decent life? Are they ready to leave in search of "normalcy" somewhere else?

Response to "Miracles"

Written by Ghanem on 3/9/07

Theodor Hertzel, the father of modern Zionism, was secular. He wasn't really a Jew. So therefore he had fooled thousands of people to believe that Palestine was the land of the Jews.

Now I understand the Hebrews and Arabs have lived on this land for thousands of years. But miraculously there weren't problems between the two until the rise of Zionism. So that leaves one question the motive of Zionism. After the holocaust Jews came into Palestine by the thousands and more and more problems started to rise. I think that Zionism is the enemy here!

Did you know that this first terrorist attack in Palestine was when a Jew came into a mosque and opened fire on innocent civilians?

I personally don't understand why you support settlements. How can you live on land that was confiscated from Palestinians? Shilo is partially built on Turmos Ayya land, and you support that? I think that if you just opened you eyes you would realize what is going on! Look at the situation between Shilo and Turmos Ayya. People from Turmos Ayya can't even freely move about the town. How many times have we been harassed by the Israeli army? How many times have Israeli hummers entered Shilo and invaded your guys homes? How many times has the hummer entered Shilo and made all the boys at school line up and get searched? Don't you think that something is wrong with the Israel's policies and how the treat Palestinians? How can you be so blind and silent about a crime this big??

You want miracles? I'll give you a miracle!

“By the way do you think that any miracle can happen and you guys leave Shilo and return the land to its original owners?”

In a manner of speaking, miracles have already happened. You just need to be able to open your eyes to recognize them for what they are.

A people who lived on this land since the beginning of recorded history; a people who never gave up on their connection and ownership of this land; a people who persevered under the hardest circumstances to return to this land in every generation; this people has finally succeeded in restoring their sovernity over much of what the Western world calls “the Land of the Bible.” If that isn’t miraculous, I don’t know what is.

You ask if a miracle can happen that the Jews would leave Shilo and return the land to its original owners?

Amazing! Long before Mohamed started the Islam religion, a thousand two-hundred years before the conquest of Jerusalem by Islam in 638, the Jewish People lived here in this land. The more appropriate question would be, do you think that a miracle can happen and that your people will finally recognize the true owners of this land and return it to its original owners – the Jewish People!

... leave the land to its original owners

Well, thanks for posting my comment!

I will tell you the meaning of my comment! I meant that we are going to fight now and then nothing that neither me nor you can decide when to start or to stop!

[Why?], because this is our land! I know its complicated that I want dialog but we are living side by side for many years already, you stealing more land everyday and expanding, no one knows how long it will take from our lives until the day we free Palestine will come! So its not bad to know how you guys think!

In my comment I said "I wonder how you guys see us from that side? I would like to see some photographs of Turmos Ayya taken from Shilo's side." meaning pictures!!!

By the way do you think that any miracle can happen and you guys leave Shilo and return the land to its original owners?

A Challenge from Tormos-Ayya

I am an American citizen born in the United States brought up in Tormos-Ayya. I met one person from Shilo who happens to be the Security guard, his name is Mark. He isn't a bad guy, whoever he is, he is still an occupier. If I run into a Shilo resident in the States we'd probably meet for lunch or something, but I highly doubt that could happen in Palestine.

I'd like to know what the Shilo residents think of Turmusayya and its residents. Given the history of settlers and the Israeli government before and after the 1948 war, Palestinians just can't trust these settlers, because we know they harbor nothing but distrust and hate for us. If any open-minded people reside in Shilo "which parts of belong to Tormosayya" Will they admit that they wronged the people of Tormosaya? Wronged as in confiscated lands, and killed some of the residents. Can they apologize to the Palestinians and make genuine Peace offers?

Anonymous

New Flickr.com Group for this Dialog

The hope that the blog and associated Flickr.com group will act as venues where people who are not capable of meeting face-to-face due to the hostilities between them today, can share thoughts, insights to lifestyles and ultimately what connects them to this place, the Shilo Valley and the communities in and around it.

Please keep in mind that these information resources, the blog and the Flickr.com group, are public and the material in them accessible to every human being who has access to the Internet. Please do not use them to post information which might potentially damage the safety and security of any party. But do use them to reach out and share insights and exchange "snapshots" of lifestyles that might potentially build bridges of understanding, or at least demarcate the boundary of misunderstanding.

To make it equitable, I've set the posting limit at 3 photographs per day, but anyone who is a member of Flickr.com can post. Hopefully this will encourage contributors from residents of all the communities surrounding the Shilo Valley.

You can find the site at : http://www.flickr.com/groups/dialog2006/

Former TY Resident Writes from LA, USA

hey, how r u ?

well i just found about your blog yesterday the one between turmosayya and shilo. i even put up a post , not showing up so far.. well im not writing this email to bash the jews and say this land is my land, b.c this thing will never get us any step closer to peace.

i noticed u guys asked the turmosayya resident about his reaction to the bombing in Tel earlier this year, can i ask u about ur reaction about what the palestinians suffer, lets say ur reaction to a pic of 6 month old babe killed ? would u also say thats a self defense??? and other subject i wanted to see ur reaction on is that of confiscating palestinian lands ?? do u just say its a jewish land we havee the right to it ?? before u answer that question think of this indian american tribe takes over lets say chicago and say this land was ours before any american stepped on it!!!!!! and they started to confiscating and demolishing whatever comes in their way.

anyways im from turmosayya and now in the U.S grew between tormusayya and Los angeles, always dealt with jews, i'd love to see ur blog more active, one more thing about confiscating lands!! how was ur reaction when i don't know who made the move, but in maybe 2000-2002 the started a small settlment all the way east of the valley on top of the mountains.. im looking forward for ur answers and have no problem with posting this if u want on ur blog..

Sammy

Clash of Cultures : Dialog II

Jihad, Turmos Ayya resident too said ...

Well Palestine is for Palestinians, and its promised to U guys by Great Britain. They promised that because they wanted an apology from U guys for what happened to Jews in the Nazi Death Camps.
One day as we will all will fight to fight for our land back, we will retain it sooner or later, Inshallah (Allah Willing) it will be Arab owned again.
One last thing: It is a great thing to talk about and hear from both sides. I lived in Turmos Ayya for almost 10 years, look from my house, two sides and I see Shilo. I wonder how you guys see us from that side? I would like to see some photographs of Turmos Ayya taken from Shilo's side.

Salam Jihad,

I too prefer to exchange words and ideas than bullets or other lethal means. I'll try to put up some photographs of how Turmos Ayya looks from the Shilo side of the valley.

As for your other comment, I don't think the Jewish People are here in the Land of Israel because of the British, the United Nations or some misconstrued compensation paid the Jewish People for the tragedy of the Holocaust of the Second World War.

First the Jewish People always lived in the Land of Israel, at least since Avraham left Haran some three thousand years ago. As for the British and the so called Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, that predated the Second World War by twenty two years. I think it more realistic to see both the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations decision at San Remo in April 1920 as a recognition of the reality. The Jewish People, after 1,795 years of oppression and forced exile, having demonstrated their eternal devotion to the Land throughout all the centuries, was poised to return and recreate a nation-home for themselves. We can argue what might have happened if six million Jews had not been systematically murdered during the Second World War ... how many of them might have followed in the footsteps of those countless Jews that returned to the land generation after generation. It is interesting to think that the demographics might have resolved the question of who would build a country on the shores of the Mediterranean and on the hills of Judea and Samaria, without recourse to the influence of outside powers?

What fascinates me is the duality of your comment. On one hand you inform me, Mr. Jihad, that Arabs will rise up to fight for the land, yet on the other you seem to look forward to dialog with those you claim 'stole' the land from you? Please help to understand how these two, on-the-surface contradictory interests sit together in the same personality.

I look forward to your response.

Yoel Ben-Avraham
Shilo, Benyamin

(called Ibrahim Iben Ibrahim by my Arab friends in the Galil)

Clash of Cultures : Dialog I

As a Turmos Ayya resident living in the US I would like to say that it is always good to listen to the others opinions, especially to people from Shilo. I was amazed by the level of dialog between Turmos Ayya resident and Avraham. I wounder why Turmos Ayya resident is not writing any more. please keep talking, please to all.
Posted Friday, September 22, 2006SA

I of course cannot answer for the residents of Tumos Ayya but I suggest it is relatively simple - real open honest dialog between equals is not a possibility between an Arab in Palestinian society and a Jew who lives in the Land of Israel. Not because the Jew is not capable of being open and listening to divergent opinions. No, simply because if such an Arab were recognized by his peers/neighbours his life would be in danger.

I might be wrong, but it would be interesting if someone from the Palestinian side could come up with a better explanation.

Ibrahim Iben Ibraham
Yoel Ben-Avraham
Shilo, Benyamin

Clash of Cultures

As a resident of Shilo who sees Turmos Ayya spread out in the valley beneath my home, or drives by the western border of the village when I drive to or from Jerusalem, there is a great deal of curiosity about who lives there, what they believe etc. One of the "rumors" that I've heard is that a sizeable number of the families who live there have strong "connections" with the United States. The simplest form of "connection" would be a family member who lives and works there, much like the Italian and other European communities sent "representatives" to America at the turn of the 20th century.

I bring this up in the context of trying to understand where our neighbor's "heads" are at; what they believe; to what extent are they capable of the concept of co-existence! Ideally I'd like to believe that this "American Connection" would have a positive influence, opening my neighbor's to the possibilities of coexistence and mutual tolerance.

What caused me to revisit my wishful thinking was a very heart-felt article by an American Arab in the New York Post today. Read "One Arab's Apology" by Emilio Karim Dabul, then ask yourself. If a man who lives in the heartland of freedom and tolerance is afraid to publicly voice self-doubt and criticism of his faith and ethnic group, what can I expect from an Arab who lives in the Middle East?

Courage

It takes real courage to be willing to go public and exchange opinions and beliefs with "the enemy". It is especially so when weekly we read about "suspected collaborators" being brutally murdered by Arab thugs belonging to one militia or another.

It comes as no surprise when this blog discovered that my "partner in dialog" disappeared.

It is extremely surprising when others offer to step up to our virtual podium and try their hand at open communication between Jews and Arabs. I look forward to their contributions, and encourage all this blog's subscribers to feel free to ask questions and to encourage our guests from Turmos Ayya .
Yoel Ben-Avraham (Iben-ibrahim)
Resident of Shilo, Benyamin

P.S. Don't worry, I've offered to create an intermediary email address to avoid unnecessary exposure to possible dangers, if they so desire.

Response to Sara,

[Posted by anonymous on Friday, April 28, 2006 ]

Dear Sara,

Let me tell you my father's point of view. He worked with Jews outside of Palestine & in Palestine he dealt with them in many businesses. He even joked about one of your scouts in our area before the British handed our country to a new colonials in the name of religion & just for Jews who suffered in your Europe. [The] man's name was Shmidt. He was an archeologist. My father met him in Jerusalem.

Even my father or me now have no objection living with a Jew from Palestine because he has every right just like me to live in this beautiful land. NOW if that means he is going to confiscate my land destroy every thing that comes in his path the story changes, sorry to till your successive governments have nothing in their little minds but KILL, DESTROY, CONFISCATE, IMPRISON, MORE WIDOWS, CUT TREES ESPECIALLY OLIVES BECAUSE THEY ARE HISTORY.

One day we will live in peace, it's as sure as you are looking at your screen now. Again but not as oppressors & oppressed as humans [with] dignity, future, education, respect & all other humans wish in their dreams. HISTORY CANT BE IGNORED 4 EVER its about time your GENERALS REALIZED THAT, for THE SAKE OF OUR KIDS & YOURS.

SALAM.

BY THE WAY IF YOU ARE FROM SHILO SAY HELLO TO MR MARK YOUR GUARD.

[Editor: I fleshed out short forms and corrected obvious spelling but did not change the words in the text.]

Strange You Should Ask

Posted by anonymous on Friday, April 28, 2006

Strange you ask these questions you no better than any body else how our kids live. Let me give you an idea if you don't know.

First step toward going to school--did you sleep well my son ? No mother the sound of shooting from the soldiers scared me I could not sleep--don't worry son they are only trying to scare us -- give me some food mother I am late--eat at school son you no u get sandwiches their --but mother if the soldiers come we will be locked in till they go--ok I want you to study bring high marks to show to your father he wants to be proud of you- ok mother I do not want to go to the university there are so many road blocks on the way to Ramallah ---don't worry son they wont be there when you grow up--ok mother then I want to get big tomorrow.

What's Happening in Turmos Aiya?

[As our correspondent from Turmos Aiya has apparently decided not to participate in a public discussion, I thought I'd publish some interesting comments posted by residents of Shilo and anonymous writers who appear to be 'Palestinian' Arabs.]

Sara of Shilo wrote on Wednesday, March 08, 2006

We haven't seen a post by either of you in quite a while--are you still blogging? I'd love to hear more about every day society in Turmos-Aya; what is a typical day like? what do people do for amusement? or for work? what subjects do the children study in school? is the curriculum different for boys and girls?

Does anyone in Turmos-Aya believe that it would be okay for Jews to continue to live in a Palestinian state on the West Bank? Or are most people opposed to such an idea? I've been told that before the Second Intifada, things were better between Jews and Arabs--is that true in your opinion?

Shamed to Death

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/

A must read. Although it doesn't use the language, the report actually does a very good job of explaining how the "Shame-Honor" dychotomy of Arab culture/psychology is exploited in the recruitment and manipulation of suicide bombers.

Another described how he approached individuals who were suspected for collaborating with Israel, suggesting that a suicide mission would erase the blemish that they have caused themselves and their families. In yet other cases, suicide bombing was offered as a way to erase the shame and “dishonor” that a rumor about suspected female sexual misbehavior caused the woman’s family. Offering to become a shahid and commit suicide to restore the tarnished family reputation was a strategy that recruiters used to recruit candidates. In January 2004 the first Hamas female suicide bomber, a mother of two small children from Gaza who was suspected for an extra marital affair, was driven by her husband to the checkpoint where she blew herself up.

Welcome Back

Dear Resident of Turmos Aiya Shalom,

First off let me express my own "welcome back". We were all a little apprehensive when you dropped off the net. In a time when people are rioting and even dying around the world over whether a Danish newspaper intended to mock the Prophet Mohammad, it was not a radical idea to fear that perhaps someone decided the very act of communicating openly with a Jewish "Settler" was a crime punishable by immediate death.

Thank you for your answers to my questions. I've been studying the demographics of Judea & Samaria for also twenty-five years and it is interesting to see how the trends I've read about translate into reality on-the-ground. What often overwhelms me is the tremendous history of the land you and I live on. There are remains from the very "dawn" of (recorded) human history, the early Cannanites, and every other period down to and including the Muslim conquest of the 7th Century, the Christian Crusaders of the 12th Century and the Ottoman and finally British in the last century. Discovering these remains, appreciating and piecing together the stories of the people who left them, is one of my life's greatest pleasures.

In reference to your response to my issue of "sensitivity", you have to understand. For almost a decade we have listened to the leaders of our "Partners in Peace" respond to every major terrorist attack, not with a revulsion against the crime and loss of life, but with some self-absorbed "Its not good for the Palestinian People ..." tripe. If these people would only get themselves a decent Public Relations consultant, their overall image would be very different. Hence your words 'echoed' this same grating one-sidedness. Forgive me if my remarks were not sufficiently elaborated.

So ... are you going to say something about the PA elections, or should we stay clear of areas that might jepordize you?Looking forward to your response!

Yoel Ben-Avraham
Shilo, Benyamin

Keyboard Anyone?

Dear Readers,

In light of your many comments of concern ...

It turns out that my correspondent from across the way has been "tongue tied" these past few days, not because of PA elections nor Israel's brewing civil war .... but because his keyboard broke!

Anyone have a keyboard to donate?

Yoel Ben-Avraham
Shilo, Benyamin

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