The American Colony Hotel
Noon on Sunday we jump into a Service and head down the road to Qalandia checkpoint on route to Jerusalem. Past a burning tire and a group of young Palestinian boys collecting rocks to throw at the heavily armed and fortified watch towers we hop out of the bus for the routine x-ray and checks. To pass the time we’re taking bets on how long it will be before Greitja picks a fight with a soldier – that probably depends on how long it takes Greitja to find a soldier.
Once scanned and checked we re-board the bus and head for the American Colony Hotel for a lecture/book launch – “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Professon Ilan Pappe, an Israeli academic. A big crowd, a grand old stone hotel, an interesting and thought provoking lecture – just why does the world turn a blind eye to the eviction of one million Palestinians and the destruction of about 600 villages in 1948 and the slow but steady annexation that is occurring today? Palestinians would love to know the answer to this question.
Noon on Sunday we jump into a Service and head down the road to Qalandia checkpoint on route to Jerusalem. Past a burning tire and a group of young Palestinian boys collecting rocks to throw at the heavily armed and fortified watch towers we hop out of the bus for the routine x-ray and checks. To pass the time we’re taking bets on how long it will be before Greitja picks a fight with a soldier – that probably depends on how long it takes Greitja to find a soldier.
Once scanned and checked we re-board the bus and head for the American Colony Hotel for a lecture/book launch – “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Professon Ilan Pappe, an Israeli academic. A big crowd, a grand old stone hotel, an interesting and thought provoking lecture – just why does the world turn a blind eye to the eviction of one million Palestinians and the destruction of about 600 villages in 1948 and the slow but steady annexation that is occurring today? Palestinians would love to know the answer to this question.
(You can listen to a similar lecture given by Pappe at http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6503.shtml)
After the lecture we grab a late lunch and then walk around outside the old city walls, past the Mount of Olives and a huge cemetery where Oskar Schindler is buried. We then pop back into the old city through a gate to see what is happening around the Temple Mount. The place is full of soldiers to ensure that Palestinians are kept well clear whilst the excavation work is going on. Finally Greitja gets her opportunity to cross-examine a soldier – we ask him about the work and he mentions that he would like to see the al-Aqsa Mosque demolished – Smita and I leave Greitja to it – poor bugger’s going to need more than an M-16.
Back home in Ramalla for a quiet Sunday evening broken only by the sound of helicopter gunships and heavy gunfire at around 9.00 pm.
After the lecture we grab a late lunch and then walk around outside the old city walls, past the Mount of Olives and a huge cemetery where Oskar Schindler is buried. We then pop back into the old city through a gate to see what is happening around the Temple Mount. The place is full of soldiers to ensure that Palestinians are kept well clear whilst the excavation work is going on. Finally Greitja gets her opportunity to cross-examine a soldier – we ask him about the work and he mentions that he would like to see the al-Aqsa Mosque demolished – Smita and I leave Greitja to it – poor bugger’s going to need more than an M-16.
Back home in Ramalla for a quiet Sunday evening broken only by the sound of helicopter gunships and heavy gunfire at around 9.00 pm.
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