July 4, 2002

Happy Independence Day, America

[Bethlehem, West Bank] Happy Independence Day, America! Freedom -- it's great, isn't it? Personal freedom. Freedom to do what you want. Freedom to say what you want. Freedom to worship who you want. Freedom to go where you want. Our founding fathers had great ideas. Freedom is one of the most important human rights.

I don't think many Americans realize what a great privilege freedom is. What we take for granted, countless people around the world will never know. There are many countries where residents live under an oppressive rule. How did they get in a terrible situation like that? Well, they were born into their miserable condition. Just like most Americans were born into our freedom.

Here in the West Bank, Palestinians used to be able to visit friends and family in the Gaza Strip. I think they may have had access to the beach at one time. Israel put a stop to that. West Bank residents were soon denied access to Gaza. Here in the West Bank, Palestinians used to be able to visit other communities and villages in the West Bank. But Israel put a stop to that too. By putting up checkpoints and roadblocks, they made it very problematic to visit other towns even within the West Bank. Palestinians in the West Bank used to be able to move a bit in their own communities, but now Israel has put a stop to that too. By forcing the entire West Bank under curfew, residents are not even allowed to leave their homes.

When you are punished in America, what does our legal system do to you? We don't take away your right to read books or watch TV. We don't take away your cigarettes or coffee or fatty foods. We don't deny you the opportunity to worship. Instead we take away your mobility. We confine you to a small cell and take away your freedom.

So Palestinians everywhere in the West Bank are punished. Not because of something they have done, but because they are Palestinian. Everyone is treated like a criminal regardless. It's called "collective punishment," and it's illegal by international standards, of course. Unfortunately defying international law doesn't mean very much to the Israelis. They break international laws every day, and every day my great freedom-loving nation supports this behavior by sending truckloads of money their way. (I've got to get some of you over here to see what's really going on.)

So my family and friends in America, enjoy and appreciate your freedom. Because a life without freedom is not much of a life.

Soldiers patrol our streets.

Yesterday soldiers threw teargas and three or four sound grenades around my home during the evening.