"Ultimately it may be that the goal (of the occupying forces) is to prevent any seeing eye witnessing what is happening in the Occupied Territories" These are the words of Rabbi Arik Asherman, quoted by Sue Rhodes in one of her last reports from Hebron. They express the courageous opposition of Rabbis for Human Rights to the oppressive actions of the Israeli Government.
None have more authority to protest against the unjust actions of governments than citizens of that country. In the case of Israel, members of the Jewish community in Britain have also been moved to express their own opposition to Israel's occupation and settlement of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Thousands, including Alan Alexander, Press Officer for West Cumbria Amnesty International, have put their names to an open letter to the Board of Deputies of British Jews expressing their horror at the repression, targeted assassinations, house demolitions, extended imprisonment without charge or trial, extended curfews and other collective punishments. "They are inhumane and they are counter-productive. They fuel resentment and do nothing for a long-term peace," the letter declares.
The Letter condemns all attacks on civilians by either side, whether by suicide bombing, "targeted killing" by rocket in crowded places, or shooting into crowds, because these actions merely fuel an endless cycle of violence. If the Board of Deputies will not voice criticism of Israeli policies it allows people to think that all Jews support Israel's policies.
Protesting against the continued seizure of ever more lands on the occupied West Bank and the accelerated construction of the "separation fence" deep in Palestinian territory, the letter declares that "Silence in the face of oppression is never justifiable." We believe that people in Egremont will be stirred by these words, as many were by those reports from Sue Rhodes about tanks smashing up market stalls. If an occupying power sent its tanks into our Market Place we would want the four corners of the world to know about it.
Continuing Sue's work and witness, Maureen Jack keeps our windows open to the day to day lives of people living in Palestine, recalling particularly the courage of Jews, like Nathaniel, protesting against the actions of their own government. Her quiet, understated report focuses not on terrible violence but on the day to day pressure of living in a community in conflict.
West Cumbria has had its own history of communities of different religious faiths, and the wonderful initiative of Churches Together in Egremont has brought Catholics and Protestants together in friendship and understanding. Looking across the Irish Sea we see how the failed policies of oppression and internment, which made communities feel common cause with terrorists, is slowly, often painfully, giving way to a shared understanding that a country cannot move forward without giving equal respect to all sections of its people.