Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 20:05:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: guillame debord <guydeborder-AT-yahoo.ca>
Subject: All of it


Amira Hass: Life under Israeli occupation - by an
Israeli

 >
 > Jewish journalist Amira Hass doesn't merely report
on the experiences of
 Palestinians on the West Bank - she shares their
lives. Robert Fisk meets a
 determined and unflinching witness to oppression
 >
 > Robert Fisk
 >
 > 26 August 2001
 >
 > Whenever Amira Hass tries to explain her vocation
as a journalist, she recalls
 a seminal moment in her mother's life. Hannah Hass
was being marched from a
 cattle train to the concentration camp of
Bergen-Belsen on a summer's day in
 1944. "She and the other women had been 10 days in
the train from Yugoslavia.
 They were sick and some were dying. Then my mother
saw these German women
 looking at the prisoners, just looking. This image
became very formative in my
 upbringing, this despicable 'looking from the side'.
It's as if I was there and
 saw it myself." Amira Hass stares at you through
wire-framed glasses as she
 speaks, anxious to make sure you have understood the
importance of the Jewish
 Holocaust in her life.
 >
 > In her evocative book Drinking the Sea at Gaza,
Hass eloquently explains why
 she, an Israeli journalist, went to live in Yasser
Arafat's tiny, garbage-strewn
 statelet. "In the end," she wrote, "my desire to live
in Gaza stemmed neither
 from adventurism nor from insanity, but from that
dread of being a bystander,
 from my need to understand, down to the last detail,
a world that is, to the
 best of my political and historical comprehension, a
profoundly Israeli
 creation. To me, Gaza embodies the entire saga of the
Israeli-Palestinian
 conflict; it represents the central contradiction of
the state of Israel -
 democracy for some, dispossession for others; it is
our exposed nerve."
 >
 > Now living in the West Bank town of Ramallah - with
the Palestinians whom many
 of her people regard as "terrorists", listening to
the Palestinian curses heaped
 upon "the Jews" for their confiscations and
dispossessions and murder squads and
 settlements - Amira Hass is among the bravest of
reporters, her daily column in
 Ha'aretz ablaze with indignation at the way her own
country, Israel, is
 mistreating and killing the Palestinians. Only when
you meet her, however, do
 you realise the intensity - the passion - of her
work. "There is a misconception
 that journalists can be objective," she tells me, the
same sharp glance to
 ensure my comprehension. "Palestinians tell me I'm
objective. I think this is
 important because I'm an Israeli. But being fair and
being objective are not the
 same thing. What journalism is really about - it's to
monitor power and the
 centres of power."
 >
 > Each day, Amira Hass writes an essay about despair,
a chronological narrative
 she maintains when talking about her own life and
about her parents: her mother,
 a Sarajevo Jew who joined Tito's partisans and was
forced to surrender to the
 Nazis when they threatened to kill every woman in the
Montenegrin town of
 Cetinje; her father Avraham who spent four years in
the Transnistria ghetto,
 escaping a plague of typhus only to lose his toes to
frostbite.
 >
 > The story of the secular Jews Hannah and Avraham is
essential to an
 understanding of Amira. "My parents came here to
Israel naively. They were
 offered a house in Jerusalem. But they refused it.
They said: 'We cannot take
 the house of other refugees.' They meant
Palestinians. So you see, it's not such
 a big deal that I write what I do - it's not a big
deal that I live among
 Palestinians." Hass became a journalist by default.
She had survived on odd jobs
 - she once worked as a cleaner - and travelled to
Holland. "I sensed there the
 absence of Jewish existence. And this told me many
things, especially about my
 attitude to Israel, how not to be a Zionist. This is
my place, Israel, the
 language, the people, the culture, the colours..."
 >
 > Hass dropped out of the Hebrew University where she
was researching the
 history of the Nazis and the attitude of the European
left to the Holocaust. "I
 was stuck. The first intifada broke out and I didn't
want to sit in academia
 while all this was happening. I used wasta - you know
that Arabic word? - to get
 a copy-editing job on the Ha'aretz news desk in '89."
Wasta means "pull" or
 "influence". Ha'aretz is a liberal, free-thinking
paper, the nearest Israel has
 to The Independent. When the Romanian revolution
broke out, Hass pleaded to be
 sent to cover the story - she had many contacts from
a visit to Bucharest in
 1977 - and much to her surprise, Ha'aretz agreed,
even though she'd been with
 the paper only three months.
 >
 > "When I'd gone to Romania before, I felt I had this
philosophical
 responsibility to taste life under this socialist
regime," she says. "It was a
 thousand times worse than I imagined. There was this
terrible pressure - life
 under Israeli occupation is not as bad as life in
Ceausescu's Romania. It was
 unbelievable suffocation. So I covered the revolution
for two weeks and then
 went back to the paper. Ha'aretz didn't know if I
could write - I knew I could.
 But I also knew never to look for what all the other
journalists are looking
 for."
 >
 > In 1990, with her parents' support, she joined a
group called Workers'
 Hotline, which assisted Palestinians who were cheated
by their Israeli
 employers. "During the Gulf War, I reached Gaza under
curfew - I'd gone to give
 Palestinians their cheques from Israeli employers.
That's when my romance with
 Gaza started. No Israeli journalist knew or covered
Gaza. My editor was very
 sympathetic. When in 1993 the 'peace process' broke
out" - Hass requests the
 inverted commas round the phrase - "Ha'aretz
suggested I cover Gaza. One of the
 editors said: 'We don't want you to live in Gaza.'
And I knew at once that I
 wanted to live there."
 >
 > From the start, Hass recalls, there was "something
very warm about the
 Palestinian attitude - there was a lot of humour in
these harsh conditions."
 When I suggest that this might be something she had
recognised in Jews, Hass
 immediately agrees. "Of course. I'm an east European
Jew and the life of the
 shtetl is inbuilt in me. And I guess I found in Gaza
a shtetl. I remember
 finding refugees from Jabalya camp, sitting on a
beach. I asked them what they
 were doing. And one said he was 'waiting to be 40
years old' - so he'd be old
 enough to get a permit to work in Israel. This was a
very Jewish joke."
 >
 > But Hass found no humour in the Israeli policy of
"closure", of besieging
 Palestinian towns and throttling their economy and
people. "I spotted as early
 as 1991 that the policy of 'closure' was a very
clever step by the Israeli
 occupation system, a kind of pre-emptive strike," she
says. "The way it
 debilitates any kind of Palestinian action and
reaction is amazing. 'Closure'
 was also a goal: a demographic separation which means
that Jews have the right
 to move about the space of Mandatory Palestine. The
'closure' policy brought
 this to a real perfection."
 >
 > Hass found herself fascinated with the difference
between Palestinian image
 and reality. "Their towns were being portrayed in the
Israeli press as a 'nest
 of hornets'. But I really wanted to taste what it
means to live under occupation
 - what it is like to live under curfew, to live in
fear of a soldier. I wanted
 to know what it was like to be an Israeli under
Israeli occupation." She has
 used that word "taste" again, just as she did about
Romania under dictatorship.
 She says she was still thinking about her mother's
trip to Belsen. "It was this
 idea of not intervening, not changing anything. And
luckily, this combined in me
 with journalism." Hass is possessed of the idea that
change can come only
 through social movements and their interaction with
the press - an odd notion
 that seems a little illogical.
 >
 > But there is nothing vague about her vocation.
"Israel is obviously the centre
 of power which dictates Palestinian life," she says.
"As an Israeli, my task as
 a journalist is to monitor power. I'm called 'a
correspondent on Palestinian
 affairs', but it's more true to say that I'm an
expert in Israeli occupation."
 Israeli reaction, she says, is very violent towards
her. "I get messages saying
 I must have been a kapo [a Jewish camp overseer for
the Nazis] in my first
 incarnation. Then I'll get an e-mail saying: 'Bravo,
you have written a great
 article - Heil Hitler!' Someone told me they hoped I
suffered breast cancer.
 'Until we expel all Palestinians, there will be no
peace,' some of them say. I
 can't reply to them - there are thousands of these
messages."
 >
 > But many Israelis tell Amira Hass to keep writing.
"People misled themselves
 into believing that Oslo was a peace process - so
they became very angry with
 the Palestinians. Part of their anger is directed at
me. Israelis do not go to
 the occupied territories. They do not see with their
own eyes. They don't see a
 Palestinian village with a settler on its land and a
village that has no water
 and needs government permission even to plant a tree,
let alone build a new
 school. People don't understand how the dispersal of
Jewish settlements dictates
 Israeli control over Palestinian territory."
 >
 > As her mother lay dying this spring, Amira feared
that she would be trapped by
 the Israeli siege of Ramallah - where she now lives -
and spent hours commuting
 the few miles to Jerusalem. Now she is alone. The
woman who taught her to
 despise those who were "looking from the side" died
two months ago.
 >
 > Also from the Middle East section
 >
 > Five die in attack on Israeli outpost
 > Father of Saudi car-bomb victim rejects suspects'
TV confessions
 > Palestinians turn militant as their children die
 > Israeli court accuses its soldiers of stoning and
humiliating civilians
 > Palestinian activist survives Israeli helicopters
strike
 >
 >
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 >
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 26 August 2001 00:45 GMT+1 
 Home > News  > World  > Middle East 

 Amira Hass: Life under Israeli occupation - by
 an Israeli

 Jewish journalist Amira Hass doesn't merely report on
the
 experiences of Palestinians on the West Bank - she
shares their
 lives. Robert Fisk meets a determined and unflinching
witness
 to oppression

 Robert Fisk

 26 August 2001

 Whenever Amira Hass tries to explain her vocation as
a journalist, she recalls a seminal moment in her
 mother's life. Hannah Hass was being marched from a
cattle train to the concentration camp of
 Bergen-Belsen on a summer's day in 1944. "She and the
other women had been 10 days in the train from
 Yugoslavia. They were sick and some were dying. Then
my mother saw these German women looking at
 the prisoners, just looking. This image became very
formative in my upbringing, this despicable 'looking
 from the side'. It's as if I was there and saw it
myself." Amira Hass stares at you through wire-framed
 glasses as she speaks, anxious to make sure you have
understood the importance of the Jewish Holocaust
 in her life.

 In her evocative book Drinking the Sea at Gaza, Hass
eloquently explains why she, an Israeli journalist,
 went to live in Yasser Arafat's tiny, garbage-strewn
statelet. "In the end," she wrote, "my desire to live
in
 Gaza stemmed neither from adventurism nor from
insanity, but from that dread of being a bystander,
from
 my need to understand, down to the last detail, a
world that is, to the best of my political and
historical
 comprehension, a profoundly Israeli creation. To me,
Gaza embodies the entire saga of the
 Israeli-Palestinian conflict; it represents the
central contradiction of the state of Israel -
democracy for
 some, dispossession for others; it is our exposed
nerve."

 Now living in the West Bank town of Ramallah - with
the Palestinians whom many of her people regard as
 "terrorists", listening to the Palestinian curses
heaped upon "the Jews" for their confiscations and
 dispossessions and murder squads and settlements -
Amira Hass is among the bravest of reporters, her
 daily column in Ha'aretz ablaze with indignation at
the way her own country, Israel, is mistreating and
killing
 the Palestinians. Only when you meet her, however, do
you realise the intensity - the passion - of her
 work. "There is a misconception that journalists can
be objective," she tells me, the same sharp glance to
 ensure my comprehension. "Palestinians tell me I'm
objective. I think this is important because I'm an
 Israeli. But being fair and being objective are not
the same thing. What journalism is really about - it's
to
 monitor power and the centres of power."

 Each day, Amira Hass writes an essay about despair, a
chronological narrative she maintains when talking
 about her own life and about her parents: her mother,
a Sarajevo Jew who joined Tito's partisans and was
 forced to surrender to the Nazis when they threatened
to kill every woman in the Montenegrin town of
 Cetinje; her father Avraham who spent four years in
the Transnistria ghetto, escaping a plague of typhus
 only to lose his toes to frostbite.

 The story of the secular Jews Hannah and Avraham is
essential to an understanding of Amira. "My parents
 came here to Israel naively. They were offered a
house in Jerusalem. But they refused it. They said:
'We
 cannot take the house of other refugees.' They meant
Palestinians. So you see, it's not such a big deal
that I
 write what I do - it's not a big deal that I live
among Palestinians." Hass became a journalist by
default.
 She had survived on odd jobs - she once worked as a
cleaner - and travelled to Holland. "I sensed there
 the absence of Jewish existence. And this told me
many things, especially about my attitude to Israel,
how
 not to be a Zionist. This is my place, Israel, the
language, the people, the culture, the colours..."

 Hass dropped out of the Hebrew University where she
was researching the history of the Nazis and the
 attitude of the European left to the Holocaust. "I
was stuck. The first intifada broke out and I didn't
want to
 sit in academia while all this was happening. I used
wasta - you know that Arabic word? - to get a
 copy-editing job on the Ha'aretz news desk in '89."
Wasta means "pull" or "influence". Ha'aretz is a
liberal,
 free-thinking paper, the nearest Israel has to The
Independent. When the Romanian revolution broke out,
 Hass pleaded to be sent to cover the story - she had
many contacts from a visit to Bucharest in 1977 -
 and much to her surprise, Ha'aretz agreed, even
though she'd been with the paper only three months.

 "When I'd gone to Romania before, I felt I had this
philosophical responsibility to taste life under this
 socialist regime," she says. "It was a thousand times
worse than I imagined. There was this terrible
pressure
 - life under Israeli occupation is not as bad as life
in Ceausescu's Romania. It was unbelievable
suffocation.
 So I covered the revolution for two weeks and then
went back to the paper. Ha'aretz didn't know if I
 could write - I knew I could. But I also knew never
to look for what all the other journalists are looking
 for."

 In 1990, with her parents' support, she joined a
group called Workers' Hotline, which assisted
Palestinians
 who were cheated by their Israeli employers. "During
the Gulf War, I reached Gaza under curfew - I'd
 gone to give Palestinians their cheques from Israeli
employers. That's when my romance with Gaza started.
 No Israeli journalist knew or covered Gaza. My editor
was very sympathetic. When in 1993 the 'peace
 process' broke out" - Hass requests the inverted
commas round the phrase - "Ha'aretz suggested I cover
 Gaza. One of the editors said: 'We don't want you to
live in Gaza.' And I knew at once that I wanted to
 live there."

 From the start, Hass recalls, there was "something
very warm about the Palestinian attitude - there was a
 lot of humour in these harsh conditions." When I
suggest that this might be something she had
recognised in
 Jews, Hass immediately agrees. "Of course. I'm an
east European Jew and the life of the shtetl is
inbuilt in
 me. And I guess I found in Gaza a shtetl. I remember
finding refugees from Jabalya camp, sitting on a
 beach. I asked them what they were doing. And one
said he was 'waiting to be 40 years old' - so he'd be
 old enough to get a permit to work in Israel. This
was a very Jewish joke."

 But Hass found no humour in the Israeli policy of
"closure", of besieging Palestinian towns and
throttling
 their economy and people. "I spotted as early as 1991
that the policy of 'closure' was a very clever step by
 the Israeli occupation system, a kind of pre-emptive
strike," she says. "The way it debilitates any kind of
 Palestinian action and reaction is amazing. 'Closure'
was also a goal: a demographic separation which
 means that Jews have the right to move about the
space of Mandatory Palestine. The 'closure' policy
 brought this to a real perfection."

 Hass found herself fascinated with the difference
between Palestinian image and reality. "Their towns
were
 being portrayed in the Israeli press as a 'nest of
hornets'. But I really wanted to taste what it means
to live
 under occupation - what it is like to live under
curfew, to live in fear of a soldier. I wanted to know
what it
 was like to be an Israeli under Israeli occupation."
She has used that word "taste" again, just as she did
 about Romania under dictatorship. She says she was
still thinking about her mother's trip to Belsen. "It
was
 this idea of not intervening, not changing anything.
And luckily, this combined in me with journalism."
Hass
 is possessed of the idea that change can come only
through social movements and their interaction with
the
 press - an odd notion that seems a little illogical.

 But there is nothing vague about her vocation.
"Israel is obviously the centre of power which
dictates
 Palestinian life," she says. "As an Israeli, my task
as a journalist is to monitor power. I'm called 'a
 correspondent on Palestinian affairs', but it's more
true to say that I'm an expert in Israeli occupation."
 Israeli reaction, she says, is very violent towards
her. "I get messages saying I must have been a kapo [a
 Jewish camp overseer for the Nazis] in my first
incarnation. Then I'll get an e-mail saying: 'Bravo,
you have
 written a great article - Heil Hitler!' Someone told
me they hoped I suffered breast cancer. 'Until we
expel
 all Palestinians, there will be no peace,' some of
them say. I can't reply to them - there are thousands
of
 these messages."

 But many Israelis tell Amira Hass to keep writing.
"People misled themselves into believing that Oslo was
a
 peace process - so they became very angry with the
Palestinians. Part of their anger is directed at me.
 Israelis do not go to the occupied territories. They
do not see with their own eyes. They don't see a
 Palestinian village with a settler on its land and a
village that has no water and needs government
 permission even to plant a tree, let alone build a
new school. People don't understand how the dispersal
of
 Jewish settlements dictates Israeli control over
Palestinian territory."

 As her mother lay dying this spring, Amira feared
that she would be trapped by the Israeli siege of
 Ramallah - where she now lives - and spent hours
commuting the few miles to Jerusalem. Now she is
 alone. The woman who taught her to despise those who
were "looking from the side" died two months
 ago. 

 


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