Caving in to the Occupation
Before leaving for the Palestine Summer Encounter, I began researching agriculture in Palestine for my graduate program. In my search, I came across an article on Daher’s Vineyard, a farm in the Bethlehem area that was surrounded by Israeli settlements on four sides and under constant threat from settlers, soldiers and the Israeli legal system. The article left me in suspense as to what might have been the fate of this Palestinian family’s struggle to keep their land and their livelihood, so I had it in mind to visit as soon as I could, assuming it was still here.
On our first free day into the program, most of the participants paired off and decided to do something close to our summer home in Bethlehem. I discovered that the vineyard was still going, and that it was also going by the name of Tent of Nations. I sent off a quick e-mail to ask about visiting, and found another participant, Cassie, who was excited to join me as she had visited the farm for a quick visit last year while touring with a different program. So after finding an affable response on Saturday and having lunch in Bethlehem with other participants, we caught a cab and found ourselves on the road to Hebron.
Daher Nasser - a welcoming and gracious host who is named after his grandfather - met Cassie and me at the gate. Daher’s grandfather purchased the land – over 100 acres - on which we walked in 1916. Though steeply sloped, Daher’s Vineyard has produced olives, almonds, apples, figs, grapes, wheat, oats and apricots (mish mish for those who speak Arabic). Today many of the fruiting trees can still be found, but there is no market available, as settlers have blocked the road out using boulders pushed by bulldozers. Although there is a long road through the sole remaining Palestinian village, there is always the threat of Israeli soldiers preventing the produce from ever reaching the market. Daher has five children and must now rent a house in Beit Jala in order to make sure that they have free access to school, adding yet another burden to their shoulders.
In 1991, with outposts creeping in like kudzu, the Israeli government declared the whole area "state property," including the Nasser’s land. Fortunately, the Nasser family had what very few Palestinians are able to produce – an egregious amount of records that show (according to Israeli interpretation of the law, in violation of international law) the family’s ownership through Turkish, British and Jordanian rule. If a family cannot produce an explicit and perfect record, the land goes to the colonizers, no questions asked. It is important to keep in mind that this area is within the borders of the West Bank as recognized after 1967. And though the Nassers have an impeccable paper trail, their court battles continue on, almost 20 years later in what can only be described as a systematic effort to frustrate and/or bankrupt the Nassers into leaving their land.
Originally, the Nassers were able to use the services of two Palestinian lawyers who lived in the West Bank. Now, due to restrictions on travel, not only must they use lawyers in Al Quds, but also Daher himself is not allowed to show up in the court because he cannot get permission to enter Al Quds. This means that Israel somehow deems a weathered, fifty-year old farmer a threat to its national security. The courts can and do demand maps on a regular basis, and require the Nassers to pay for them. Meanwhile, Israel regularly maps the area for outpost evaluation and supposed security assessment.
The newest of the colonial outposts have electricity, water, security, and other government-sponsored infrastructure. All of this occurs without permits and is illegal under the Geneva Conventions. Meanwhile, Daher and his four brothers are not allowed to build anything, nor can they have electricity or running water (from either wells on the land or from the outposts, which utilize West Bank water). Animal pens, porches and even hothouses are challenged in court. Settlers have cut over 250 olive trees on the land, attempted to build roads and regularly threatened the family with violence. Alone on this hill, Daher’s only options are to try to speak with the “settlers” directly and to call his lawyers, which adds more and more to their legal bills.
Despite these hardships, the Nassers have created a welcoming space for internationals to come and express solidarity with the family, for an afternoon or for some, up to a year of volunteering on the farm. The Tent of Nations was created in 2000 as a “peace village, dedicated to building bridges.” The Nassers welcome everyone, but are especially well known to Germans and Americans, as well as Palestinians and Israelis. Daher told us that there was “strength in visitors,” and that it was important to share the family story. The Tent of Nations offers summer camps to refugee children from Palestine and other nations. Additionally, they offer work and study camp programs, vocational training, and programs designed to teach people about sustainable agriculture, water use and energy production. And yes, there is a tent that hosts overnight guests and volunteers.
Israel defers to an old Turkish law that dictates that if land is not planted for three years (despite the fact that it may be due to state-imposed access issues), it may be confiscated. For this reason, the Nassers have been focusing on selling and planting olive trees on their farm, at the rate of 500-700 trees a year. This is in addition to the carob tree, chickens, goats, fruiting trees and herb garden. Because of the difficulty in sourcing water, the Nassers must rely on water harvested and stored in concrete cisterns during the rainy season. Before offering us some fragrant and delicious sage tea, we asked to see the “gift shop” and purchased za'atar (a traditional Palestinian spice eaten with pita and olive oil), almonds and olive trees to be planted later in the year.
Four ideological, Israeli-subsidized outposts encircle Daher’s Vineyard. There is no industry and no way to survive on their own. The Nassers are alone not only in their legal battle, but also in their way of life and in their religion. The Nassers are Christian and surrounded by Jews and Muslims (in the remaining Palestinian village of Nahalin). Yet what struck me most in our visit was how Daher was resisting by returning to his family roots. Before building a house in 1967, the Nasser family lived in a cave. We saw this cave and others with various uses: living space, an office, a classroom, even a church. These caves were all dug by hand, sometimes by one person, more often by many. And in these caves is a response to Israeli hegemony that is expressed eloquently by working with the earth. Though I found out this week that we are visiting the Tent of Nations as a group for our cultural night, I was glad that I found the farm and the soil still in Palestinian hands. Here I have witnessed genuine hope.
Submitted by: CT
