WARNING: POSITIVE I-P DIARY AHEAD
Disclaimer: it is not a "things are groovy, so let's just hold hands and forget politics" kind of "positive" diary.
The message is more like this:
Even if you are angry and sad about the direction I-P has gone since 2000 (and you should be); even if you are cynical about nearly all public figures involved in I-P (and you should be); even if you are gloomy about I-P's future (not sure here) -
Even with all that, (forgive the caps and the dots - I really want to drive this home)
THERE. ARE. CONCRETE. POSITIVE. STEPS.
made by ordinary people
DOING. THINGS. THAT. REALLY. REALLY. MATTER.
AND YOU. CAN. BE. PART. OF. THEM.
This diary shows one example, by no means the only one.
In a nutshell, a homespun alt-energy project run by a tiny group in Israel's anti-Occupation fringe, has just won major global recognition.
A lot of seemingly thankless, seemingly insignificant hard work has led to this moment. Longer story below.
Project Genealogy
COMET-ME is a longish acronym for
Community, Energy and Technology in the Middle East
The project is an offshoot of The Villages Group, a group in whose inception I was involved before coming to the US in 2002, for which I've fundraised (I'm a lousy fundraiser) and whose website I run (a demonstration of my limited web skills). So I have fairly intimate knowledge of this project. However, since COMET-ME only started a couple of years ago and I haven't been to I-P in 3+ years, my knowledge is still email- and web-based.
In my view the Villages Group (VG) itself is an offshoot of Ta'ayush - an organization whose on-the-ground might is matched by its online near-absence (the VG website, modest as it is, is the definition of web savvy by comparison). I've been to the South Hebron Hills several times in 2001-2002 with Ta'ayush.
More about this genealogy and what it means for the common activist or would-be-activist concerned citizen - in a sec. First, the problem COMET-ME tries to address.
The Setting: The South Hebron Hills
The South Hebron Hills lie at the very south of the West Bank. They are part of the relatively open spaces in the West Bank, most of them designated "Area C". Here's a link to a map on the COMET-ME site (regular link, scroll a bit down), and a larger pdf map from Btselem. South Hebron Hills is the region between the black and gray lines, especially the eastern side.
Local Palestinian residents are cave-dwellers and other semi-nomadic populations, some of them driven here from other areas by the Israeli military. The unique cave-dwelling way of life has been practiced by these families for at least a couple of centuries. Socially they are the hinterland of the town of Yatta which lies to the north. They subsist on their livestock and some seasonal agriculture.
The area itself is rugged beauty. In other countries it might count as desert, but in I-P it is designated as "almost-desert" because it gets more than 10 inches annual rainfall.
The Israeli government has also fallen in love with this region since 1967 - like many other open regions. The basic idea: "if there are few Arabs, perhaps we can make them become fewer and have the region for ourselves". So various "clear-n-flip" techniques (see diary link above) have been employed. Such as clearing out vast regions for "military use" in the early 80's and again in the late 90's (under that great peace sage, Ehud Barak). Then flippin' 'em over to build settlements.
As the Btselem map shows, the Israeli government set up and subsidized 3 settlements there (marked in blue): Sussya, Ma'on and Karmel (there is also a Palestinian cave-dweller village called Susya, usually spelled with one s, whose residents were kicked out of their original caves to make way for the Sussya settlement; they still live scattered about in the region). These settlement were put in place in the mid 80's. At least the Sussya bunch is known to be quite extremist. They do a pretty good job of encroaching on Palestinian lands, driving them off their own lands if they are "too close" to the settlements, etc. Then there are the newer brand of "illegal-outpost" settlers all over the place as well; they are even worse.
The govt's wet dream was of course, to eventually annex all the region up to just beyond the 3-settlement line; the black line in the Btselem map marks where the "separation barrier" was originally intended to run. Annexing farther north would incorporate too many densely-populated villages and towns which is not as "cost-effective" I guess. One problem: the thousands of cave-dwellers and other rural Palestinian residents still outnumber the settlers.
The government has been very busy trying to drive them off. Since they belong to "Area C", they need building permits from Israeli authorities manned mostly by settlers. They routinely deny those on any pretext they can find. The Barak govt. in 99 issued an eviction order, but Israeli human-rights activists led by attorney Shlomo Leker fought it in the high court. Eventually the state conceded that the land does legally belong to the Palestinians, but still maintained that they should not be there because they have family ties and other property in Yatta! Rather, the govt. maintains that the land is agricultural only, and if the locals want to live there they should obtain permits... from the "Area C" planning committee conveniently situated at the Beit El settlement north of Jerusalem.
The govt. campaign in South Hebron Hills is ethnic cleansing pure and simple. Forgive me any readers who may feel offended: sometimes you need to call a spade a spade.
Unfortunately for the govt., the locals have proven a tougher-than-expected nut to crack. Even "worse", another group of Israelis - human-rights activists - has fallen in love with this region and - unlike the govt. - established strong personal contacts with local Palestinians. Ta'ayush Jerusalem branch has played a major role there since about 2000. Then the Villages Group has been around as a group since about 2003. Internationals also pitch in, such as the Christian Peace Team located in Hebron. So have Palestinian activists from Hebron. Some individual activists are there on a regular basis - most notably Ezra Nawi. And last but not least, COMET-ME.
COMET-ME and its Systems
Since early 2008, Comet-Me has been installing wind+solar energy combo units in Palestinian hamlets in the South Hebron Hills region. Apparently due to the recent World Challenge recognition, The Independent has just run a story about them. I direct you there for more info (and, of course, the Comet-Me website). Here's a short excerpt from the article:
For the extended Shineran family, dependent for income on the butter they sell, the electric churn and the large energy-efficient refrigerator they now run off the new system, have together raised sales income from £850 per month to £1,450.
The project's founding father and moving force is Israeli physicist Noam Dotan. He has been joined by Elad Orian and Assaf Landschaft who apparently set up the group website (which of course kicks our group site's ass). And quite a few local Palestinians are now trained installers and maintainers of the systems.
The systems are combo stand-alone units, perfect for the region which has both strong winds and (at last count) some 390 sunny days a year. At least a couple have already been installed. They are quite expensive, and so generous donors - mostly European - have pitched in. See the Comet-me website for a list.
I sincerely hope that the new exposure will help Comet-Me grow and grow, and perhaps spread out to other parts of the Occupied Territories.
Final Word: some more activism genealogy and dime Philosophy
Now here's the take-home lesson.
VG is an offshoot of Ta'ayush. Ta'ayush is probably the largest new anti-Occupation group to come out of the Second Intifada crisis. It has a very broad agenda and engages in everything from political protests to humanitarian action. In 2001-2002 it has continually managed to draw hundreds activists and curious ordinary people to its activities, which often managed to surprise and embarrass the Occupation authorities.
However, in mid-2002, as the IDF invaded West Bank cities and essentially ended any meaningful Palestinian autonomous rule, the de-facto rules have changed for activism as well. It was clear that the govt. is completely unconcerned about any international repercussions of its actions, since George W. Bush had its back fully covered. As such, all anti-Occupation activities became totally marginalized "in the big scheme of things".
A group of activists and therapists, some of them from Ta'ayush and some not, was mentally ready for this change, and decided to focus on a specific mission: to keep maintaining ties of human solidarity and support with Occupied Palestinians, based on deepening individual friendship and involvement.
This is The Villages Group. Here's a bit from our 'about' page:
The present generation of Palestinians and Israelis can be described as a lost generation. Most crucially, it does not have the ability to base its opinions and world-view upon direct and diverse personal interaction with people on the other side. As a result, the complex and multidimensional Palestinian-Israeli experience has been replaced by a one-dimensional experience of severance and alienation. This in turn facilitates the emergence of a stereotypical consciousness that categorizes all Jews as inhuman Occupiers and all Palestinians as terrorists and potential suicide bombers.
In this state of affairs we, peace-loving Palestinians and Israelis, face a dilemma. The first choice, which is much easier for many (but not for us) is to go with the current, adapt and adopt the old-new stereotypes and generalizations that strip The Others of their humanity and uniqueness. The other option, infinitely harder and more demanding, is to recognize that due to the almost hermetic blocking of Israeli-Palestinian interaction inside Israel, we must transfer the scene to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, wherever the option for such interaction has not been blocked by the Occupation authorities yet – that is, mostly in rural areas of the West Bank.
Noam (I think) started coming to VG activities sometime in 2006-2007, and then came up with this brilliant alt-energy idea.
So here's the deal: among activists and progressive bloggers there is often this largely false dichotomy between the political and the humanitarian. The VG 'about' page addresses that too:
We would like to emphasize again: these partnerships are being established in a reality of stark asymmetry. Israelis are free to move wherever they wish to. Palestinians are denied the right of mobility. Israelis provide humanitarian aid, while Palestinians need it. Israelis – whether they like it or not – are part of the Occupying nation, while Palestinians are occupied. Israelis have an easy, direct contact with the outside world, while for Palestinians this is all but impossible. In such an asymmetry, which has been continuously becoming worse over the years, it is difficult for Israelis (and for overseas donors) to maintain the essence of partnership and mutual relations.
There are two dangers here. One is of becoming professional philanthropists; the other is of embracing the illusion that we can be saviors. From our work, we continuously learn how to walk the fine line of mutuality even when the external reality is so asymmetric. Naturally, had the tables been turned, our Palestinian partners would have to face the same dilemma.
Now here's a textbook question: suppose Comet-Me does win the BBC-Newsweek World Challenge (my fingers are crossed; they are 2nd from right on the bottom row). Would this make it easier, or harder, for the Israeli authorities to drive South Hebron Hills locals off their land?
This is my main message. We need to keep doing good deeds, large and small. We also need to keep protesting and avoid the co-optation of good deeds as a front for the Occupation. Important to acknowledge, sometimes very hard to do.
I often lose hope. I often look upon acts like the daily routine of VG and feel "what's the use of all this? The evil is so deeply entrenched it is practically laughing in our face." Comet-Me does have a brighter 'alt-energy cool' to it; finding money to buy gas for a battered old van driving South-Hebron kids to school so that settlers won't beat them up on the way, is quite a bit less glamorous. But it still belongs to the same world of painstaking, bit-by-bit human and humanitarian and grassroots reality-building action.
Ta'ayush which has it shares of problems and challenges, has mobilized and inspired dozens of other groups including VG; now a third generation group like Comet-Me hits a home run. You never know what will do the trick, you just need to keep on doing.
This is how a new reality gets built. Don't count on shortcuts to bring it about.
Thanks for hanging with me. Here's a link to Comet-Me donation page, tax-exempt (they also accept donations to VG).
UPDATE
Thanks to the readers and to the friendly comments. Sorry for not hosting the debate - I had to run and pick my kid up from the oven of a daycare he was in (102 degrees out, all-time high - and 92 degrees inside at 3:30).
One commenter suggested collaboration with the Sussya settlers. Well, at least towards the local Palestinians the settlers of the region, and especially Sussya settlers, have been a mean-spirited, extremist, racist, violent, thuggish, thieving bunch. I've seen them in action in 2001-2 and have heard much more from VG and other activists.
In view of that, what you are suggesting is like asking 1960's Southern Blacks and their white civil-rights activist allies to learn to collaborate with Klansmen and their supporters on doing "positive" stuff. As I wrote in my disclaimer at the intro, this is precisely not the type of "positive" diary I set out to write here.
I know this is hard to read for some. Please do not confound between the majority of settlers - ordinary Israelis lured into bedroom-community towns around Jerusalem and east of the Tel-Aviv metropolis by govt. subsidies - and the extremist minority that dominates settler society and politics. Sussya settlers definitely belong to that minority. They are not the friend of any progressive or liberal, to put it mildly. They believe in a supremacist, militant ideology.
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Meanwhile, I have visited and read about all 12 finalists in the World Challenge competition. I am humbled and proud that Comet-Me has made it into such an amazing group of projects.