We refuse to be enemies!

When Dahood Naaser talks about his land you could be forgiven for thinking that he is talking about one of his children.  His words are not the grand statements of a politician or a nation builder but rather the heartfelt expressions of a man who has been raised with his hands in the soil. The land of which he speaks is a hilltop plot in the heart of the West Bank and whilst reflecting on the struggles of the occupation he told me “If I say I protect my land…I love my land, that means I have to take care of it, to appreciate it”.  Soon after my arrival I made myself comfortable on his veranda where the sun had past its mid day fury, there was a soft afternoon haze over the hills and only the whirling Mediterranean breeze broke the silence in the air.

The family’s land was purchased by Dahood’s grandfather in 1916 and they still hold title deeds from the Ottomans, British, Jordanians and even the Israelis. Yet despite Dahood’s legal rights over the land and the fact that three generations of his family have lived (and often died) working the soil the Israeli government has nevertheless claimed it as state land.  Consequently, the family now find themselves in a protracted and tiresome struggle to keep the land from being swallowed up by the Israeli settlement expansions around them.  This is not a particularly unique story but the response of the Naasers is.  Dahood summarised the family’s options when he told me “We as Palestinians are faced with three ways to react, which are to react in a violent way, or resignate [sic], or to leave the area because of our frustrations…our fourth option which we have created here is when we say ‘we refuse to be enemies!’”.   This is not a statement made purely on moral grounds, it is also a calculated form of resistance which Dahood believes is the only way to secure his land whilst also achieving peace with his Jewish neighbours.

Dahood’s calm, reflective and well-considered attitude impresses me all the more when I think about the difficulties he has endured for his land.  The family have had to spend over $140,000 on legal fee’s in over 20 years of court battles, the land receives no water or electricity, the building of any new structures over a couple of feet high is prohibited (the Israeli state has even threatened to dismantle the tents in which guests stay), his family have been subject to intimidation from armed settlers and so the list goes on.  Yet despite all this he is hesitant, reluctant even, to focus on the negative aspects of his struggle, “for us we are the victims as Palestinians but you know when you speak to the Israeli’s they say ‘no we are the victims’.  We need to move out of this circle…to act instead of reacting”.

The choice of passive resistance is on the one hand tactical. Dahood understands that reacting violently will facilitate the confiscation of his land on security grounds and allow the last of the Palestinian hilltops in the valley to become a military post or another illegal suburban settlement.  “When I refuse to be an enemy I take the power away from them” is Dahood’s strategic reasoning.  Beyond this he is also motivated by a firm belief that violence is ultimately destructive to both the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs, “during all these years, and the situations we are facing violence did not bring any solutions.  It brought only bitterness, hatred and revenge and these are three things that are destructive”.  What’s more he has faith in a solution that is reminiscent of Nelson Mandela’s vision of “a means for all of us to assert our common humanity”.  

One of the most striking aspects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is the almost complete physical and social separation of the Palestinian and Israeli communities. Dahood attempts to bridge this divide at the Tent Of Nations because as he explains “…the Arab-Israeli conflict is based on occupation, but the issue is that many people from both sides they don’t know anything about each other and this is because of the separation.  I believe that if many Israeli’s have the opportunity to come and see the other side they will act differently…when people come and understand and connect the situation with the faces of the people they go back home changed.”  The gates of The Tent Of Nations are open to everyone, from any nationality or creed, so long as they come in peace.

All guests are encouraged to get involved in working the land and during my time at the farm I developed some formidable blisters on my hands tilling the soil in the vine and olive groves.  With the sun setting over the distant Mediteranean Sea and the sound of the evening call to prayer echoing through the valleys Dahood told me “Land is part of our identity…we need people to appreciate their land to have the true belonging to it.  To live for their country, not to die for their country”.  His words seemed to make my muscles and blisters ache less.  Yet there was a sorrowful tone in his voice when he spoke of the destruction meted out on the land by both the Palestinians and the Israelis. In his eyes the political struggle has to be based on the protection of the earth as a resource and not just as a competition for lines on a map.

The Tent of Nations is only a tiny speck on the screen of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Dahood is well aware of the scope of their influence, “I believe in small steps and I believe everyone is capable within his own capacities to change the situation”.  Whilst it is true he is only one amongst millions perhaps his examples could provide inspiration for the Palestinian people as a whole; tenacity of spirit and a refusal to give in, organised and strategic passive resistance, reaching out to educate and involve sectors of the international community and Israeli society, protection and respect for the land and finally, recognition of the responsibility of everyone to share in the struggle for peace and justice.  In Dahood’s words “I don’t want my children to inherit this conflict from me and the same from the other side, they want the best for their children…and peace should grow from the grass roots, from the ground as an olive tree”.