‘Peace When There Is No Peace’

The Middle East Plan released by U.S. President Trump on January 28 was three years in the making. But the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that it seeks to resolve goes back generations. Palestinian leaders rejected the peace agreement while reaction from other governments has been mixed. A group called Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), of which the Christian Reformed Church is a member, renounced President Trump’s plan as “a recipe for endless oppression and injustice” of the Palestinian people. 

CC Editor Angela Reitsma Bick interviewed subscriber Martin Vegt of Vernon, B.C., about his work with multiple advocacy groups in Canada and on the ground in the Middle East.

CC: What are the key features of President Trump’s new Middle East Peace Plan and how has it been received by Israel & Palestine?
Martin: The Kushner-Trump plan might as well have come out of Tel Aviv instead of Washington as it says that there should never be any true Palestinian sovereignty over the land. It also places the fruitful Jordan valley under Israeli control. By promising that “Israel will not have to uproot any settlements,” the splintering, the separation walls and the South African, Apartheid-style bantustans in the country will be permanent.

Calling what will be left of Palestine a “state” (about 15 percent of Israel/Palestine) between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is quite absurd. Keep in mind that the Jewish Israeli and Palestinian population in this area is almost equal.

If a viable two-state solution is no longer possible, then lawmakers should support democracy and Palestinian rights. In other words, a binational democratic state of Israel of all the people between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea. This would be in line with American values and Jewish values.

What’s the position of the Canadian government on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
The Canadian government supports a two-state solution and for the most part acquiesces to American policies.

This week, as I listened to our prime minister speaking on CBC radio [about the railway blockades], I can see some parallel issues. Our country is also dealing with a conflict between colonizers and the indigenous people, and issues of injustice in the way that we remove people from their land.

What did you witness during your time in Hebron in 2015?
I traveled to Hebron and Jerusalem in October, 2015, with the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Our delegation mostly interviewed organizations and people involved with the conflict.

We visited small Bedouin and Palestinian farms and villages that have existed since the Ottoman empire. With the help of Amos, an Israeli human rights advocate and translator, we heard from a farmer who has had his home destroyed over a hundred times by Israeli forces. He keeps replacing the structure in order to claim ownership of the land. Most Palestinian and Bedouin villagers and farmers receive no services (water, schools or electricity), so they bring in big water tanks and solar power, often with the help of international NGOs.

We spoke with a group of lawyers called Military Court Watch. They monitor children being arrested, mistreated and jailed under military law without the presence of their parents. They described midnight house invasions that terrorize the Palestinian population. Living under the military occupation in the West Bank, Palestinians basically have no rights in the courts. We interviewed a young man at his family’s home who spoke of his time in solitary confinement in prison. It was very emotional to listen to him and his mom. They asked us to tell their story to the world.

We took part in a demonstration with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition, which advocates for families being evicted from their homes and ending the occupation. This is where I was “egged” by some young Israelis driving by, a first for me! Afterwards we visited a Palestinian man in the Sheikh Jarrah area of Jerusalem who built a new home for his son on his property; when it was almost finished, an Israeli settler family moved in, protected by the military. He served us tea as he told his story how his aged wife had to be hospitalized from a scuffle with the settlers.

We joined the silent, peaceful demonstrations of the Women in Black at Hagar Square in Jerusalem, protesting occupation. No sooner had we arrived than a counter demonstration took place by young Israelis armed with guns and pistols, waving flags and trying to intimidate us.

We listened to one young woman from Breaking the Silence, a group of young Israelis who refuse to join the army because they disagree with the occupation. She spoke about the military culture in schools and how it can hurt your career if you refuse to serve.

Tell me about the work you’re doing with Sabeel. 
Naim Ateek, an Anglican priest and co-founder of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, came and spoke to a big audience in Kelowna on his new book, A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice and the Palestine-Israel Conflict, with a lively discussion from Jewish, Muslim and Christians present.

Also in Kelowna, with the cooperation of the Mennonite Central Committee, Sabeel hosted a “Blanket Exercise” – an excellent visual showing a diminishing Palestine.

Twice the Friends of Sabeel North America coordinated a Canada-wide internet conference called “Gaza Calls. . . Canada Answers,” held in our local Christian Reformed Church. We were connected by live stream with three medical staff from a major hospital in Gaza. This was a great learning and outreach project.

Last year our study group (which has people of Egyptian, Palestinian, Christian and Muslim backgrounds) became the Okanagan chapter of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. We help sponsor events and speakers like Robert Massoud. He’s a Christian Palestinian Canadian with Zatoun Olive Oil, a fair-trade project based in Ontario, coming to speak in early March at about 15 events in the North Okanagan. He will be preaching at our East Hill Community Church, speaking at our city library, Vernon Christian School and UBC Okanagan.

It is difficult to see how there will be reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis, but somewhere the hard work of reconciliation must start.