January 1, 2003

Religious Peace Walk / New Year's Eve Curfew

[Bethlehem, West Bank] Religious groups and nonviolent peace organizations from the Bethlehem area held their annual walk to the Bethlehem checkpoint yesterday. We walked from the Bethlehem Ministry of Education to a spot well short of the checkpoint (only as far as the soldiers allowed us to go). Then we stopped and said prayers. I considered it a successful walk. No one was shot. No one was tear-gassed. No soldiers were stoned.

After the peace walk, JZ held a New Year's Eve party. It was great to meet some new friends and get to talk to some old ones. I thought the party was fun (good food and drink, boisterous singing with JZ and George playing music) when around 10:30pm, the Israeli soldiers announced that curfew was imposed. Sadly, everyone packed up and left. The security of the Israeli state was in question if Palestinians were allowed to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Israeli soldiers await the arrival of international and Palestinian clergy.

Event co-organizer and PCR founder, Ghassan Andoni tries to reason with Israeli soldiers.
What do you say to soldiers at times like this? I have no idea.

Religious and Peace leaders face soldiers.

Ill-mannered soldier.
This guy promised to break my camera if I took any photos.
A soldier also offered to break the camera of a Lutheran minister friend from Holland.
The minister said that he was absolutely sure the soldier would not do it.
The armed soldier countered with "I will kill you! I will kill you!"
The soldier's commanding officer heard him and stuck him in a jeep to cool off for a while.