Santa on Claire's street with no name, in the little town of Bethlehem

'Santa' on Claire's street with no name, 2009. Photographer unknown.
Claire's Tomb
eileen fleming at Claire's Tomb, 2007, photo by Meir Vanunu.
In
February 2003, Claire and her family of fourteen -whose three story home
and first floor business, adjacent to Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem- were
informed by the Palestinian Authority that The Wall would soon be
coming to their neighborhood.
The
family had moved into their comfortable dwelling in 1967, and would
spend hours in their back yard garden with a view of open green space
and watch pilgrims and tourists visit Rachel's Tomb and welcome them
into their gift shop. The family is now encircled on three sides by
25-30 feet high slabs of concrete which have imprisoned them from the
rest of the Little Town of Bethlehem: which is Occupied Territory.
For
months the family helplessly observed the preparation work all around
them, and then one week before Christmas 2003, Claire's children went to
school and came home to discover that every view from every window was
of the concrete monster.
Palestinians like Claire are imprisoned on the
Israeli side of the wall and the once economically thriving and vibrant
main street in Bethlehem is now a ghost town for stores and restaurants
have been abandoned.
Rachel's tomb and Claire's tomb are
divided by the concrete barrier which is topped by guard towers and
patrolled by soldiers in battle gear.
Claire's home is less than 500
yards inside Bethlehem, and it had been the closest shop to Rachel's
Tomb. Not long ago, multitudes of pilgrims and tourists would shop
there, but today only the curious venture down the concrete walled
pathway.
According to the Israeli government The Wall which
has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in The
Hague is for the security of Jewish worshipers at the shrine they
revere as the Tomb of Rachel. Rachel was the wife of the biblical
patriarch Jacob, who was the first to be named "Israel" for having
wrestled and struggled with The Divine being.
On May 14, 1948 The Declaration of the establishment of Israel affirmed:
"One
the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength
of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will
be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of
Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights
to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee
freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the
Charter of the United Nations."
On February 21, 2003, Raanan
Gissin, Spokesmen for Ariel Sharon was interviewed regarding The Wall
which imprisoned Claire and her family, and he claimed, "The main
purpose here is not to annex that land, but to provide security [and to
ensure] freedom of access and freedom of religion."
"Peace, Peace, Peace, they say, when there is no peace." Jeremiah 8:11
The
Wall does not follow the Green Line so even the claims of security are
nullified, for The Wall that imprisons Claire and her family divides
Palestinians from Palestinians as it eviscerates their economy. Only
Jews have freedom of access and religion, for Palestinian civilians are
denied access to the holy sites.
The concrete wall and
electronic fence has imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Palestinians on the
Israeli side, effectively undermining one of the stated purposes which
is the policy of Hafrada, which is Hebrew for separation of Israelis and Palestinians and that is: apartheid.
Dr. Jad Issac, the director general
of the Applied Research Institute examined a satellite photograph of
the area and stated, "Bethlehem is the Bethlehem ghetto now…rather than
seeking to ensure freedom of religion, Israel was pushing Bethlehem's
Christian Palestinians to pack up and leave. About 360 Palestinians
would be left on the Israeli side and once they get rid of the
Christians, then they will label the rest as terrorists."
Dr.
Shmuel Berkovitz, an expert on Jerusalem and Jewish holy places, said
The Wall effectively annexed Rachel's Tomb to Jerusalem from Bethlehem
"as a matter of technical separation, without an official declaration.
Right now, you can't see any romantic place there; you can see it only
as a military position."
Rachel's Tomb is a small stone
building with a dome, which was built during the Ottoman rule, but is
now completely enclosed by the fortifications, built in 1996 and 1997.
During my first of three visits to Claire, she told me that, "Six years ago when the Israeli army blocked the
main street in Bethlehem we hoped it would be temporary. We could not
imagine anyone could block another human being and isolate them like
they have done to us. A week before last Christmas my children went to
school and when they returned they were faced with the concrete wall in
front of them. They cried and cried and wanted to know how could such a
thing be done to them? We are living in a tomb, we are buried alive. My
children suffer and their mother and father can do nothing.
"In
another ten years there will be no more Christians in Bethlehem if
things do not change soon. Everyone is leaving, we need work, and we
need to feed our children. Jesus was born here but we are dying. My
children suffer, they are angry and shout because nobody comes to visit
us anymore and the children must stay inside after school.
"We
use to enjoy being out in our garden watching the people, the trees,
the cars that would pass by, but now we only see concrete walls. Our
lives have been stolen! Do Americans understand what happens to
children when they are buried alive? We need a solution fast so that
our children can live like American children! We want human rights!
When Hillary Clinton visited Jerusalem and said the wall was not
against the Palestinian people, she killed us too! Christians who do
not care kill us too!
"My family use to go to Haifa on the
weekends, we use to live a peaceful and comfortable life. But now our
business is bankrupt and we are in prison for being Palestinians."
During
my last trip to visit Claire, in June 2009, I purchased one of the
olive wood nativity sets that she and her family created to symbolize
the reality of Bethlehem today. Claire explained, "It has a removable
wall; we opened a door where Jesus Christ lays to light our future with
hope."
Visit CLAIRE:
http://www.anastas-bethlehem.com/
More FACTS ABOUT THE WALL from friends in Bethlehem
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