I can’t tell you what to think about Palestine or Israel, but I can tell that what you think makes a dramatic difference for millions of people living in the West Bank and Gaza. It is difficult to imagine what life is like for people in other parts of the world. We often make judgements and generalizations about their lives based on news media reports, elected official statements, and the opinions of people around us. Subsequently, public policy is generally shaped by elected officials who are influenced by public opinion, i.e. when the pressure is the greatest, they bend with it.

As a result, it is essential that the electorate be accurately informed about current events and know what the impacts are of U.S. policy at home and abroad. Tragically, in the context of Palestine, there is little in the way of unbiased information being shared by the vast majority of news media sites, or the U.S. and Israeli governments. As a result, people in the U.S. are in the dark about how difficult life is for Palestinians on a day-to-day basis and how marginalized their voices are in this country.

All I can do is to share my story about my time in Palestine and hope that a piece of it resonates with your desire for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world.

Suffice it to say that unless you have traveled to the West Bank or Gaza, you really can’t imagine the hardships and oppression that permeate life on a constant basis. Again, ultimately you will be the decider of our country’s direction in this case. All I can do is to share my story about my time in Palestine and hope that a piece of it resonates with your desire for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world.

During my first journey to the West Bank I traveled with a talented troupe of musicians and actors called the Olive Tree Circus with whom I experienced the endless roadblocks one faces as a Palestinian. In the streets of Hebron we watched cautiously as heavily armed IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) marched past storefronts selling spices, herbs and vegetables as they patrolled the area. One day we attempted to cross from one side of town to the other and were told that the main corridor was only open to the settlers who lived there. For the section of the street that we were able to walk, we observed empty shops, some scorched by fire and left in ruins. The scene reminded me of images of war zones where there were no humans; only empty buildings suggesting their former presence. Our Palestinian guide shared with us that these stores had to be abandoned when settlers moved into that neighborhood. Dozens of family owned businesses lost their livelihoods in that moment.

At that time there was a weekly peaceful march in the town of Bil’in where community members were joined by international visitors in solidarity to protest the building of Israel’s separation wall just outside of town. We walked to what was then just a chain link fence singing songs of freedom, playing musical instruments and carrying symbols of liberation. Soon after we arrived at the highest point of the fence, IDF jeeps arrived filled with armed soldiers. Within minutes they began launching tear gas and concussion grenades at us. A Palestinian next to me was hit in the chest by a tear gas canister and fell to the ground. Shortly thereafter a concussion grenade slammed into my leg and I couldn’t hear anything for hours after the explosion rocked my eardrums. During the painful walk back to town I could see teams of colleagues carrying the injured to safety while a few courageous souls yelled at IDF soldiers demanding that they leave Palestinian land.

The trip was planned to coincide with the October olive harvest season in order to assist Palestinian farmers with the task of picking olives for oil and food. As with most of the Mediterranean Sea region, olives are a staple in the lives of the people who live there. The local YMCA in Beit Jala had relationships with numerous farmers in the area, so they invited our group to spend the day with one who had recently lost part of his land to settlers. When we arrived there were several IDF jeeps parked on his land, but this time they didn’t pay any attention to us. We were joined by volunteers from other countries, altogether we were about 30 eager novice olive pickers, including several children, ready to participate in the harvest.

Shortly after we began the task of olive picking, settlers began to emerge from the long mobile home style units they were living in which formed the foundation for a new Israeli settlement. Several of them were armed, including some who carried (what appeared to be) semi-automatic weapons. As their numbers grew and they became agitated, our group struggled to focus on olive picking fearful of confrontation with the settlers. Abruptly, one of our talented musicians, who is Jewish, began to play his guitar and sing Jewish folk tunes loudly. Soon other musicians joined in and within a few minutes we formed a conga line of singers and musicians dancing through the olive trees. The sound of the music and singing, particularly Jewish folk tunes, mesmerized the settlers and they began to dance and sing as well. Ultimately, they returned to their mobile homes peacefully and we resumed picking olives.

What many in the U.S. fail to understand is that there is no freedom for Palestinians. These stories illustrate only a few of the threats that Palestinians face in the West Bank and Gaza constantly. Imagine being worried every day that the government might come to your house and demolish it so that someone else could build on your land. Or if an outside entity were able to control the delivery of all of the services for your basic needs: food, water, electricity, sewage, health care, transportation, etc. Or if you had to pass through an enormous concrete separation wall to go to work or to farm your land every day.

Until there is sufficient political pressure placed on our President and Congress, Palestinians will continue to live under extremely oppressive conditions. Until there is a movement large enough in this country to exert that type of pressure on elected officials, there is no need for elected officials to alter current U.S. policies towards Israel. This is why truly understanding how Palestinians suffer each day is so vitally important. Whatever you have heard from the corporate news media (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN, etc.), it is not the entire story. Whatever you have heard from your Congressional representative, with few exceptions, it is slanted in order to maintain political relationships, donors and voters.

The only way to really know how

Palestinians live is through lived

experience: either yours or theirs.

Beyond that it is conjecture mired in

servitude to a political objective.

With pain and suffering increasing

exponentially each day it is

incumbent upon Americans to learn

what life is really like for

Palestinians. Only then will there be

enough righteous indignation about

the egregious violations of human

rights of Palestinians to change U.S.

public policy towards Israel.

This commentary is also posted on

LA Progressive.