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Members of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, Gush Shalom
(the Israeli Peace Bloc), and the Israeli Committee Against House
Demolitions lead the Israeli peace activists in their march from
the Jerusalem side. Members of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement
Between People in Beit Sahour led the Palestinians and international
participants from the Bethlehem side. The plan was to link up
at the checkpoint. Fears prevailed that this peaceful march would
end in violence, as have so many other attempts by Palestinians
at non-violent resistance.
Gila Svirsky, the Israeli director of the Coalition of Women
for a Just Peace, described the events that day. "Soldiers
prevented the Palestinians from continuing along the main road,
but they took side streets and were finally brought to a halt
about 100 yards from the checkpoint. The Israelis took the main
road and walked right up to the checkpoint, where the Israeli
soldiers formed a cordon to block us from going through. They
presented an order that the area was a ‘closed military zone.’
After some negotiation, they agreed to allow in a ‘small
delegation.’ Our ‘small delegation’ turned into
30, as more and more people slipped through the Israeli soldiers.
The delegation walked down the road and we could see the Palestinians
at the other end waiting for us. We began to chant, ‘Peace—Yes!
Occupation—No!’ When we reached the Palestinians, we
fell into each other’s arms, embraced, and kissed, even though
most of us barely knew each other."
Moved by the moment, the group spontaneously turned to walk together
toward the checkpoint. The Israeli soldiers now formed a solid
wall of armed men to block us. We interlocked arms and walked
right up to them and began to push through. We pushed and they
pushed back, and there seemed to be a standoff, and the soldier
pushing me said, "You don’t have a chance against us,"
and I heard myself say, "You have no idea how powerful a
moral purpose can be." Soon, I felt them giving way, and
our group was pushing them backwards, and we were moving forward.
They dropped back and regrouped, and again we had our pushing
game, and this went on for nearly half an hour, until they could
not contain this powerful group. We pushed through their entire
cordon and broke through to the group of Israelis cheering us
on and waiting at the checkpoint. The meeting of both groups was
as inspired a moment as can be.
For one, brief moment that day, the stone of confinement was
pushed aside, the shackles of domination shattered. This demonstration
that began peacefully ended peacefully. Its impact provided everyone
present—Palestinians, Israelis and internationals alike—with
a much-needed scintilla of hope amidst hopelessness. For me, it
was the epitome of Easter Sunday, an ephemeral glimpse at resurrection
and ultimate victory.
In Christ,
Douglas Dicks
The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 143
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