[Peace-discuss] Anna Baltzer pleads for justice and activism

[Morton K. Brussel]

This letter, relayed by Mazin Qumsiyeh, is from the Anna Balzer who  
was in Urbana to talk to us in the not distant past. about her  
experiences in the Land of Canaan.


Letter From Anna Baltzer (young Jewish American women and author of  
book "Witness in Palestine"):

(excerpts from a sermon delivered in Minneapolis last Sunday,  
combined with some recent events)

This week, our country celebrated Martin Luther King Day and the  
official end to segregation and racial discrimination in this  
country. As we celebrate certain historic advances, we mustn't forget  
that these policies are far from over in this country, and that as we  
struggle against one injustice we are perpetuating another system of  
discrimination and segregation on the other side of the world in  
Occupied Palestine, a land where there are separate roads, schools,  
hospitals, neighborhoods, and legal systems, access to which depends  
on one's ethnicity or religion.

In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King "wept" from  
disappointment with the laxity of the church and its leaders in  
taking action against the status quo for fear of being considered  
"nonconformist." I recently met a young Palestinian Christian dancer  
(one of those censored in New England last December) who echoed  
similar frustration with churches around the world who are doing  
nothing to ease the suffering of Christians and others in the Holy  
Land. She spoke to a group of church-goers in Old Lyme, Connecticut:

"My name is Mary Qumsiyeh. I am an English teacher from the little  
town of Bethlehem. My husband works in tourism and I have met many  
groups that said `We are here to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.' But  
are they acting the way that Jesus did?

"Our churches are now like museums. Tourists visit, take pictures,  
and leave. What about the living stories? Jesus in his time was  
living under the Roman occupation. Today, after 2000 years, we are  
still living under occupation—now the Israeli occupation that has  
confiscated 88% of Bethlehem's land. If Jesus were alive today, would  
he permit this to happen? Jesus helped the oppressed and the ones in  
need. He made the blind see.

"I ask you all to see how many times in the Bible the word justice is  
mentioned. And remember that Jesus did not avoid politics. Please  
spread our message, a message of joy, happiness, and justice, a  
message from youth full of life, willing to live and die in the  
little town of Bethlehem."

Thankfully, churches eventually stepped up to play a large and  
historic role in the civil rights movement, and it's worth  
remembering how: It was not simply by hoping for change, or by  
praying for change, or even by voting for change. It was by making  
change happen, by Christians stepping out of their comfort zones and  
challenging the status quo even if it meant going to jail or being  
ostracized.

Making change happen is never comfortable. It's what Dr. King called  
"tension." He confessed, "I am not afraid of the word `tension.' I  
have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of  
constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth."

Notice the word "necessary." This necessity is often hard for people  
of privilege to grasp. We think, "if only we educate our leadership,  
or the Israeli government, they'll come to their senses..." How much  
more comfortable it would be if it were just a matter of waiting, and  
listening, and sharing! But we forget Dr. King's clear wisdom:  "We  
have not made a single gain without determined legal and nonviolent  
pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that
privileged groups seldom give up their privileges [until they have  
to]... Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must  
be demanded by the oppressed."

Today in Gaza, Palestinians demanded freedom from the Israeli siege  
that has endured for years since the so-called "disengagement" and  
before. After several days under even tighter isolation by Israel,  
which had sealed the borders of the small strip and cut off  
electricity, food, medical supplies, and other lifelines,  
Palestinians blasted through a wall of their collective prison and  
flooded into Egypt in search of medicine, soap, fuel, cement, and  
other desperately
needed supplies.

Some might call blowing up a wall "extreme." In fact, just about any  
action taken unilaterally for Palestinian liberation is portrayed as  
such. Martin Luther King was also called an "extremist," and  
eventually embraced the word, calling on others to join him in  
creative extremism. Criticism of the status quo will always be  
dismissed as ideological or extreme, and that's what makes  
challenging power structures so uncomfortable. We would prefer to  
affect change
through consensus and the blessing of communities that have  
traditionally supported the status quo, like mainstream Jewish  
temples and US legislators. But, my friends, this is unrealistic;  
these groups will hopefully become a part of the movement someday,  
but they will not lead the movement today. And while it would be nice  
to wait until a day when it feels more convenient, remember that  
change will never be convenient for those who are profiting off of  
the way things are. Let us not forget that Palestinians, like people  
of color in Dr King's time (and still today), have not had the luxury  
waiting and choosing a
convenient time... Indeed, there is no convenient time. But  
inconvenience and discomfort are a small price to pay for justice.  
Remember that prophets have always been scorned in their own time.

In Palestine, that inevitable discomfort—or tension, as Dr King calls  
it—has taken the form of popular nonviolent resistance met with army  
brutality, checkpoints, roadblocks, invasions, curfews, house  
demolitions, and mass imprisonment. In this country, that inevitable  
tension has taken the comparatively mild—but admittedly unpleasant— 
form of moral blackmail: anyone who dares criticize Israel's  
violations of human rights and international law is labeled anti- 
Semitic. But this is absurd. Occupation, oppression—these things have  
nothing to do with Judaism, and to oppose them in Israel, Palestine,  
or anywhere else in the world is simply not anti-Semitic. On the  
contrary, it is in line with the Jewish tradition of critical  
thinking, open debate, and social justice, which have been a source  
of pride for Jews through history.

The Israel/Palestine struggle is portrayed in our media and elsewhere  
as an endless religious rivalry, but it is no more a war between Jews  
and Muslims than the civil rights struggle was one between African- 
Americans and Whites. This is a struggle for justice, one that  
affects us all and in which we all play a part. In the words of Dr.  
King, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are  
caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single
garment of destiny."

This mutuality is clear in the collaboration today between  
Palestinians and the Israelis who support their struggle, working  
together towards an end to discrimination and the Occupation, towards  
a common future of integration and coexistence. In the United States,  
churches are once again taking the lead. The United Methodists, the  
Presbyterians, and others have started campaigns calling for boycott,  
divestment, and sanctions against the Israeli government until it  
complies with international law. This is a crucial campaign not only  
because it has the potential to be successful in conjunction with  
Palestinian resistance (after all, it was Black South African  
resistance supported by international solidarity and divestment that  
ultimately contributed to the end of Apartheid there), but also  
because it was called for by Palestinian civil society. This is a  
Palestinian struggle, and we need to be taking our lead from  
Palestinians. They have been reaching out for support through the  
years, particularly this week in Gaza as they were cut off even  
further from the world. We need to reach back.

Here are just a few reports, calls to action, and a petition  
regarding Gaza this week:

www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id=345
www.freegaza.ps
english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BBA4E18B-E72F-4AB2-A1B4-26612DEFEAE3.htm
www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_end_the_siege/

For more information about Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions, visit
www.BDS-Palestine.net
For a list of companies profiting off of the Occupation, visit
www.InterfaithPeaceInitiative.com/ProfitingFromOccupation.htm

For organizing ideas, campaigns, and to get more involved in the  
movement, visit www.EndTheOccupation.org

Thanks for reading,
Anna
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