Jurish, Huwwara

During our shift we conducted activities with the girls in Jurish and met the club’s coordinator, and Dalya led a circuit of the roads in the area, the long-established checkpoints and Huwwara for the new members.

Za’atara junction, 14:45 and 15:30 – There are no cars; we didn’t see any army personnel.  Only on our way back to Tel Aviv did we see two soldiers there. 

Jurish.  We arrived at 15:00.  Eight girls already awaited us, ready and eager.  One of them, S., had been designated to substitute for the coordinator today and organized all that was needed intelligently and with charm.

The older women didn’t come because all morning they’d been preparing food for children in six schools – four in Jurish and two in Qusra.

We hadn’t come regularly in recent weeks and the girls were very happy to see us, and especially to see Sarah and Shosh, who teach English and yoga.

Shosh’s report:  Eight girls came to the English class today, some for the first time; their English was very poor.  In order to meet everyone’s needs Sarah will, in the future, teach them separately (before the yoga class).  Today’s class dealt with basic forms, tenses, individual and group exercises and a short story.  And, of course, a conversation.  We talked about the war in Gaza.  They wanted to know what Tel Aviv and Haifa look like; Shosh told them, and will also bring photos.  One of the girls asked whether Israeli children were killed in Tel Aviv.  One of them has relatives in Israel whom she’s unable to visit.  The atmosphere in class was good, cheerful despite everything.

Sarah’s report:  The yoga class practiced breathing exercises, standing positions and went through the usual exercises.  Some of the girls have attended every class and are making very good progress.  Others came yesterday for the first time but fit in quickly.  Sarah feels it’s good they’re young and may be able to make yoga part of their lives.  They all left smiling broadly.

We met with them all after the classes had ended.  We began talking; various ideas came up, including inviting some of the girls to visit us in Tel Aviv – of course, with the permission of their parents, of the army and of the almighty.

The coordinator came to meet us at the end of the activity, even though she was tired.  She told us about the women’s food project, their handicrafts for sale and their great need to contribute to family income.  This time she also told us about difficulties the women faced, about opposition by some in the village to their initiatives.  It’s not easy for them…

While the activities in the club were going on Dalya, Hadas, Nina and Dvorka toured the area to show it to the new members, demonstrate the main problems the occupation causes the Palestinians, and tell them about some of what we do during our shifts, and about the organization. 

We stopped at the Huwwara checkpoint, passed the Za’tara checkpoint a few times, drove by the hitchhiking stations some of which were manned by soldiers and passed the Kifl Harith checkpoint.

Dalya recounted the history of each of the checkpoints, of Areas A, B and C, about water shortages on the West Bank, the apartheid roads, etc.

Huwwara.  At 16:00 traffic to and from Nablus flows freely.  There had apparently just been a shift change and a group of soldiers stood near the pillbox.  There were two soldiers at the hitchhiking station at the plaza.

On our way back we saw a jeep on the road down to the town; we’d previously seen a jeep that’s almost always stationed at the entrance to Beita.

Za’tara junction, 17:45.  Two soldiers walked around the area.

At the end of the shift although we were tired, we learnt about the food project run by the women and also about the handiwork the women make