Jalame is Open, but with Restrictions
Israel has opened Jalame crossing to Palestinian citizens of Israel for the first time since 2000. Jalame is located in the far northern tip of the West Bank. Since the wall has been completed in this area, the residents of West Bank villages, as well as of the Arab villages inside of Israel who are often the relatives of people on the other side, have been prohibited from crossing here to see each other.
In 2005, the Israelis built a huge terminal, like the one at Qalandia but three or four times the size. I walked through it once into the West Bank when they had just completed construction, and there were as many as eight of those tall, narrow metal turnstyles, and a maze of pathways lined with chain link, not unlike a place where you keep cattle before slaughter.
The second time I had an experience with Jalame, it involved sitting for five and a half hours on the Jenin side. The soldiers manning the crossing told me and my friend, two US passport holders, to wait just one more hour and they would open the terminal. After an hour passed, they said wait one more, and on and on. In the end, we were told that this crossing is for Palestinians with passes only, and we have to go down south to Qalandia to enter Israel. I am relating this story not to show that we got a little bit of the Palestine treatment simply because of which side of the electric fence we were on (while it’s interesting also how people, animals, you name it, become ethnicized simply by being on the wrong side), but to show how we then saw what no news agency has yet gone to film: the throngs of workers returning home at nightfall from Israel, faces lined and tired spilling one after the other through the metal gates, trying to fit three bodies through a space for one racing each other for taxis so they can arrive home, sleep, and leave again at 3 am.
This is what Jalame terminal was built for: to allow an entry for cheap labor from Jenin, to render that labor invisible, and to effectively choke the city’s economy into submission. The labor is in fact invisible. These people, mainly Palestinian men and some women, go to work in Jewish areas throughout the north of Israel at 3 am, and return to their homes at 5 or 6 pm. No one will ever see the state of those homes. No Israeli passes the opposite way. Unless it is to take part in the Occupation- in that sense, MOST Israelis have seen at one point or another what has been rendered invisible to them in their everyday lives.
The opening of the terminal to Arabs on the Israeli side is a positive move, but comes only after the wall and restrictions on movement have served to make Jenin completely invisible to those who live only ten minutes away. In Shefa Amr, where I am living now and incidentally the second largest Palestinian locality in Israel, peoples’ eyes practically bug out of their heads if I tell them I went to Jenin. You went to JENIN? People will tell you that they used to go, the market was cheap, we had friends there. This rug is from Jenin, or these glasses. But this was before the Intifada. Now, the only people who go are those who have family, or another pressing personal reason to take advantage of the movement privileges that come with an Israeli passport. Why else would you travel two hours to the nearest crossing in the Wall, and subject yourself to the checkpoints and treatment you will certainly receive from the Israeli soldiers along the way?
Until now, the nearest way for someone on the Israeli side of the Wall in the north to get to family just on the opposite side has been to drive south as far as Tul Karm and then backtrack parallel to the road you just took, heading north inside the West Bank. (In fact my description is simplified- since the main highway to Jenin has been made off-limits to Palestinian use, a windy and convoluted road through the mountains suffices.)
Palestinian citizens of Israel have been the drivers and primary occupants of the public transportation that I have taken to visit Jenin over the past two years. It’s the proximity that gets me every time. You can see Nazareth and Afula from roads just outside Jenin, not to mention all of the villages along the Wall. If you begin driving from one point in a southern direction, cross into Israel, and then continue back north, you end up looking down on where you were two and a half hours previous.
It remains to be seen how long it will take for people to actually begin crossing from Jalame to visit Jenin. The restrictions reported are as such:
Under the new rules, the IDF barred those younger than 18 from entering Jenin and said all the travelers must return to the terminal before nightfall, where they will be subjected to security questioning, according to a flier given to those who crossed.The crossing will be open to an estimated 100 Israeli Arabs per day, Sunday to Thursday, Palestinian officials said. A Defense Ministry official said the plan was to increase the number and over time to allow more travelers to enter.
Return before nightfall for questioning? If I go with a friend from inside, we’ll just as well make the 3+ hour trip down to Tul Karm and back, thank you very much.
“”I walked through it once into the West Bank when they had just completed construction, and there were as many as eight of those tall, narrow metal turnstyles, and a maze of pathways lined with chain link, not unlike a place where you keep cattle before slaughter. “”
…Or not unlike the lines for rides at Disneyland? This is a bit rich.
“”This is what Jalame terminal was built for: to allow an entry for cheap labor from Jenin, to render that labor invisible, and to effectively choke the city’s economy into submission.”"
What you’re raising here is an objection to trade and migrant labor in general, rather than to this specific case.
“”The opening of the terminal to Arabs on the Israeli side is a positive move, but comes only after the wall and restrictions on movement have served to make Jenin completely invisible to those who live only ten minutes away. In Shefa Amr, where I am living now and incidentally the second largest Palestinian locality in Israel, peoples’ eyes practically bug out of their heads if I tell them I went to Jenin. You went to JENIN? People will tell you that they used to go, the market was cheap, we had friends there. This rug is from Jenin, or these glasses. But this was before the Intifada. Now, the only people who go are those who have family, or another pressing personal reason to take advantage of the movement privileges that come with an Israeli passport. Why else would you travel two hours to the nearest crossing in the Wall, and subject yourself to the checkpoints and treatment you will certainly receive from the Israeli soldiers along the way?”"
An unfortunate example of how insecurity stifles trade, and how security is a necessary foundation for mutual progress (Indeed, that’s one of the best arguments against the wall as it’s currently constructed — the path they chose is not conducive to security, but rather keeps Israel involved in a series of conflicts that is making it *less* secure).
“”Return before nightfall for questioning? If I go with a friend from inside, we’ll just as well make the 3+ hour trip down to Tul Karm and back, thank you very much.”"
This is, for lack of a better term, a counterproductive attitude. Part of the reason Israel moves so cautiously on these things is that they’re wary of opening the door a crack and the floodgates come open, and they have no control over it. If you actually care about the Palestinians trying to see their families, rather than being Miss “I’m young and hip and having a big adventure”, you’ll stick to the regulations — that’s what’s most likely to have the Israelis increasing the numbers over time, rather than ’100 come in per day, only 80 come back, and we have no clue where the other 20 are’, all so you can get your kicks by feeling defiant.
Looking for a job at AIPAC Joe?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You are, quite simply, a bastard.
safiyyah, quite simply, can’t discuss anything in an adult manner, and thus resorts to name calling.
Do you think Kabobfest would ask you to join their ranks? My guess is no.
I’m sorry, but calling Emily “Miss ‘I’m young and hip and having a big adventure’” and saying that she gets her “kicks by feeling defiant” is not immature and childish? Talking to Joe is like talking to a wall. He’s like any zionist, there is no point in talking to him because all he can spout is flippant propaganda.
I’ve never expressed a desire to write for kabob. I’m not palestinian, or arab, or living in palestine. I enjoy commenting. Your attempt to hurt my feelings? Is reeeally working. I’ll go cry now. See you tomorrow.
safiyyah, you’re clearly just not that smart. You do, however, enjoy commenting, so you at least have that going for you.
“”Looking for a job at AIPAC Joe?”"
Yes, I’m sure AIPAC is looking to hire someone who wants all Israeli settlements in the West Bank dismantled yesterday, thinks the Wall’s path was drawn in an immoral manner, thinks the manner of intervention in Lebanon was completely fucking stupid, thinks Israel has squandered its moral capital by refusing to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and allowing so many holocaust survivors to fall into poverty, and wants Israel to eventually become a secular, rather than Jewish state.
Gee, sounds like the AIPAC party line to me!
Ever considered the possibility that there are a wide range of opinions out there that disagree with yours, and that those people don’t necessarily agree with each other?
“”Talking to Joe is like talking to a wall. He’s like any zionist”"
Uh… since when am I even a Zionist? Give me a definition of Zionism that would include me in it.
“”I’ve never expressed a desire to write for kabob. I’m not palestinian, or arab, or living in palestine.”"
Not sure how your ethnicity is relevant to writing for Kabobfest… it’s a blog written by ‘Arab-Americans and friends’, and last I checked, QuiQui is neither Arab nor Palestinian but is still a full member of the Kabobfest team.
Hey Joe, why don’t you come and go through some of the terminals to see what an ‘adventure’ it is for yourself.
Obama at AIPAC
“” Hey Joe, why don’t you come and go through some of the terminals to see what an ‘adventure’ it is for yourself.”"
I’m planning to in early August, assuming I can talk my traveling companion into it.
Given that I look especially Jew-y (jew-fro, ‘the nose’, etc.), though, I’m a bit worried about the physical safety aspect of hopping around in the West Bank, since I remember reading somewhere that kidnappings are on the rise and I wouldn’t exactly blend in.
I do have a few friends running a summer camp in the West Bank this summer, though, themed around Martin Luther King Jr. — I might be able to go and meet up with them. But it’s far from a done deal – the physical security aspect is the main thing I worry about, same reason I’m hesitant to visit Sderot.
mayflower, since my sense of self worth is completely determined by an anonymous stranger’s approval of me, I’m simply crying in my hijab. But you are really adding to the discussion, so thanks for that. Which, after all, is all about me.
Ah, Joe, don’t sell yourself short. You’d make (and do make) an excellent zionism apologist/propagandist.
“who wants all Israeli settlements in the West Bank dismantled yesterday”
OK, but why, Joe? Is it because they’re wrong in the first place or because they are an impediment?
“thinks the Wall’s path was drawn in an immoral manner”
Yeah, not the wall itself, since that was necessary for “security,” but simply, it’s path.
“thinks the manner of intervention in Lebanon was completely fucking stupid”
Wow, I’m so glad you thought it was “stupid.” The hundreds of innocents who died and thousands who suffered will no doubt hope for a more intelligent form of intervention in the future.
“thinks Israel has squandered its moral capital by refusing to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and allowing so many holocaust survivors to fall into poverty”
What the FUCK kind of moral capital did Israel ever have? That’s too ludicrous to even address. If forcing an entire people to suffer so they can make up for the suffering of another people that did not inflict it, all with bad or at best irresponsible and negligent intentions towards that other people is moral capital, I cannot EVEN imagine what the lack of morality would be defined by.
“and wants Israel to eventually become a secular, rather than Jewish state.”
How about THAT for yesterday? How about without your arbitrary restrictions on that state that is defined by a world view that has a basic lack of understanding of traditional beliefs and lifestyles? How about we let them define their own existence and what THEY want for the future, since it is their future, and not yours?
I forgot to add, fake self-criticism is one of the most excellent forms of propaganda. You’d be simply fantastic, Joe.
Where did you read that kidnappings are on the rise in the West Bank…both Emily and I can attest that Jews regularly do hope around the West Bank and even live amongst Palestinians.
Just don’t wear an IOF uniform and carry a gun. We won’t bite.
BTW since you haven’t experienced life under occupation yet, don’t you think you should refrain from criticizing Emily for her unwillingness to play by its inane rules?
“”BTW since you haven’t experienced life under occupation yet, don’t you think you should refrain from criticizing Emily for her unwillingness to play by its inane rules?”"
Frankly, no. Emily has the means (a US passport) to avoid any real consequences of occupation; you don’t win bonus points for poverty/misery tourism. As such a tourist, the least she can do is not fuck it up for the people who can’t just turn it off whenever they feel like it.
“”Where did you read that kidnappings are on the rise in the West Bank…”"
Can’t find the exact source, but here are some from 2007:
http://www.amin.org/look/amin/en.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication;=7&NrArticle;=40054&NrIssue;=1&NrSection;=3
http://www.newssafety.com/hotspots/countries/gaza/afp/gaza120307.htm
“”
OK, but why, Joe? Is it because they’re wrong in the first place or because they are an impediment?”"
Care to explain the dichotomy you’re drawing here? Isn’t the reason they’re an impediment precisely *because* they’re wrong?
“”
Yeah, not the wall itself, since that was necessary for “security,” but simply, it’s path.”"
Well, we’re hoping for a two-state solution, right? And last I checked, all but the most stable borders have walls and other similar barriers between them.
Or are you hoping for a one-state solution in the short-term? If so, why?
“”
Wow, I’m so glad you thought it was “stupid.” The hundreds of innocents who died and thousands who suffered will no doubt hope for a more intelligent form of intervention in the future.”"
And the blame for that suffering falls largely with Hezbollah and anyone who supported them, though somewhat with Israel as well.
“”
What the FUCK kind of moral capital did Israel ever have?”"
They’ve instituted a lot of pillars of secular liberal governance.
That’s how you buy moral capital.
“”defined by a world view that has a basic lack of understanding of traditional beliefs and lifestyles?”"
When you say ‘traditional beliefs and lifestyles’, isn’t what you really mean ‘violence’? As in, violence against anyone who wants to live according to their own views? I’m in favor of anyone’s traditional beliefs and lifestyles SO LONG AS they apply those beliefs and lifestyle ONLY to themselves, and never FORCE them upon their neighbors or other members of their community. Without freedom of choice, a culture has no moral capital.