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The Nassar
Land Case|
A bit of background: My First Visit to the Nassar Land Jan 28, 2004 Nassar Land Update (from the Nassar Family) Dec 10, 2003 Download Nassar Family November Report, Tree Planting Campaign Dec 1, 2003 Nassar Family Article, “They can’t see the hilltop for the trees” by Ira Moskowitz, Ha’aretz (Israel) Nov 19, 2003 Nassar Land Update (from the Nassar Family) November 3, 2003 Daoud told me there's currently an Olive Tree Planting Campaign on the Nassar Land. For more information, please contact tnations@p-ol.com August 26, 2003 Nassar Family News Story, Bethlehem's Daily Ordeal, Richmond Times Dispatch July 28, 2003 Nassar Land Update (from the Nassar Family) May 30, 2003 Successful Fax Campaign (from the Nassar Family) May 26, 2003 Fax Campaign and Update on the Nassar Farm Land Case (from the Nassar Family) May 18, 2003 Update on the Nassar Farm Land Case (from the Nassar Family) April 17, 2003 Update on the Nassar Farm Land Case (from the Nassar Family) April 14, 2003 More Photos from the Nassar Farm April 6 , 2003 Evening Photos from the Nassar Farm March 16, 2003 Palestinian Christian Family Fights for Farm: Richmond Times-Dispatch March 14, 2003 Update on the Nassar Farm Land Case (from the Nassar Family) February 13, 2003 Update on the Nassar Farm Land Case (from the Nassar Family) February 10, 2003 Olive Tree Planting Activity at the Nassar Farm (Alison Nassar) February 7, 2003 Olive Tree Planting at the Nassar Farm : Photos How You Can Help / Contact List (Nassar Family, Alex Awad) February 4, 2003 (from the Nassar Family) January 30, 2003 Incredible Injustice: Incredible Courage (by Rev. Alex Awad) January 29, 2003 Another Visit to the Nassar Land (by Bob) January 28, 2003 Photos January 28, 2003 Update (from Alison Nassar) January 27, 2003 Urgent Bulletin Regarding the Nassar Land Case (from The Nassar family) Statement by Legal Advisor Jonathan Kuttab February 4, 2003 (from the Nassar Family) Dear Friends, We would like to update you on the events of the past ten days regarding the Nassar Land Case. The family, with the support of a variety of individuals and organizations, has accomplished a number of positive steps. We want to encourage you to keep up-to-date on the situation during the very crucial weeks to come,and continue to do what you can to educate others and let your voices be heard. Your support is appreciated and it is making a difference! Update on
the last ten days: 1. On Sunday
26 January 2003, members of the Nassar family were informed that
settlers from Neve Daniel had trespassed onto the property with
bulldozers and were cutting a new road. Although curfew was imposed
on Bethlehem that day, several family members managed to get to
the land and began mobilizing resources to put an immediate stop
to the intrusion. 2. On Tuesday
28 January, family members accompanied by legal representative
Jonathan Kuttab, Pastor Alex Awad, and Danish pastor Arne Simonsen
physically blocked passage of the bulldozers into the property.
Israeli police were summoned and compelled the settlers to leave
the area in order to avert further confrontation. 3. On Wednesday
29 January 2003 the Israeli High Court issued an injunction instructing
the settlers to cease all activity in the area. This is a definite
victory for the Nassar family. 4. According to Jonathan Kuttab, the military appeal committee requested an indefinite postponement of the scheduled court date of 5 February 2003. This was agreed upon after receiving the injunction from the high court to prevent further work. No date has been set for the subsequent hearing but an extension date of up to 60 days is permissible. Solidarity
participants: Others involved
behind the scenes: Actions planned
for near future: 2. Lawyer
Jonathan Kuttab is preparing a legal suit against the settlers
to collect damages for the violations of trespassing and destruction
of private property. This suit will go forward regardless of the
eventual Supreme Court ruling, since the area where 3. Since August 2000, the Nassar family agreed to commit a part of their property for development of the Tent of Nations Project - People Building Bridges - for the benefit of local and international youth. The long-term objective of this project is to bring Jewish, Christian, and Muslim youth together with youth from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures in international camps in order to facilitate mutual understanding, tolerance, and respect. This is the first step on the way to achieving peace with justice. Since its establishment, Tent of Nations, with the support of partner organizations in Switzerland and Germany, has been involved in developing the project's foundation, preparing the infrastructure of the site to accommodate groups, establishing contacts, and raising funds. As the struggle for ownership of the land continues, the project continues to move forward with plans and projects. For more information and options for volunteer service, please contact tnations@p-ol.com. How You Can Help: Circulate:
Forward the information regarding this case to as many people
as possible and encourage your contacts to forward it to their
contacts. Be in touch with your local newspapers and encourage
them to investigate the issue and print coverage in local http://www.hcef.org
(Holy Land Ecumenical Foundation) If you are
aware of others, please inform us. Contact: Send letters to government representatives and others and demand accountability. Below is a list of possible contacts. Please remember that phone calls are more effective than faxes and faxes are more effective than e-mails. Also be aware that contact needs to be persistent and prolonged. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the facts before making contact. Please forward
copies of your letters of protest to tnations@p-ol.com
so that we can collect a file of material to present to the judges.
It is particularly
important that thousands of e-mails regarding the Nassar Land
case be written to the following address: feedback@mfa.gov.il Visit: If you are in Israel or Palestine, come to the land to show solidarity with the family. The presence of international observers makes an impact on the behavior of the settlers and soldiers and demonstrates to the leadership that people are concerned. The more often you come, the better. Family members will be making arrangements for interested people to camp there. People who wish to commute will be organized into groups and transportation will be arranged. For more information, contact tnations@p-ol.com
or immmathilda@yahoo.com.
Donate:
Help with legal fees or fund projects such as tree-planting campaigns.
The family continues to pay legal fees and incur miscellaneous
costs for transportation, consultation fees, etc. Also, the lawyer
has encouraged the Tent of Nations project to List of
Contacts: Sincere thanks for your continued contact and support,
January
30, 2003 By Rev. Alex Awad On Monday, January 27, 2003, the eve of the Israeli elections, Tony Nassar, a graduate of Bethlehem Bible College called with tension in his voice to inform me that settlers from the settlement of Neve Daniel were cutting a road through his family’s land. Tony explained that the settlers were armed and dangerous. When Tony’s mother and brother, attempted to stop them they threatened to shoot them. Taken over by fear, they ran off. I called the Nassar’s family attorney, Jonathan Kuttab and asked him if he would file a complaint and get an order to stop the settlers. The next day, David, Tony’s brother called to say that the settlers were back on the land and wondered if I could give Tony a ride to the land. I left Bethlehem at 11 AM, stopped at the nearby Tantur ecumenical study center to pick up a Danish pastor, Arne Simonsen and then proceeded to Beit Jala where I picked up Tony and a land surveyor. Meanwhile, Jonathan Kuttab and his colleague, Sani Khoury, drove from Jerusalem. Around 11:30 PM, we all met together at the Nassar’s land. Indeed the bagger (Caterpillar digger) was cutting a road through their land. After consulting with the surveyor and studying the land deeds, we walked to the settlers to ask them to stop the work. The settlers paid us no attention; they claimed that the land was government land and they had a permit to work. When we asked to see the permit, they failed to present one. For over an hour, we continued to argue back and forth while the bagger was digging. Finally, Jonathan said to us, “We can argue all day and they will not stop. We have two options: one, call the police and have them stop the digging; two, stand in front of the bagger and physically attempt to stop it.” Doubting that the police would heed our SOS, we had only one option . . . to stand in front of the bagger, but I thought to myself it’s useless to stand in front of the bagger when we are only six people with no media coverage and no protection. I had the feeling that the settlers would be more prone to harm us without any media coverage, but Jonathan insisted that we could not leave the site without doing anything. So three of us, Tony, Arne and myself, decided to take a stand with him. We actually stood right in front of the operating bagger. I was hoping that the operator would stop, but he did not pay us any attention. Actually, he started digging the earth under our feet. It was terrifying. Since Jonathan was the spokesman, the operator directed the rattling hammer right underneath his feet. This softened the ground and Jonathan lost his balance. Since I was standing next to him, I was able to quickly help him from falling in the ditch and into the valley as we were on a slope. As soon as Jonathan regained his balance, he retook his position as before in front of the bagger and told the operator emphatically, “No matter what you do, I’m not going to move.” After a brief shouting match, the operator stopped his machine. He realized that Jonathan was wholeheartedly serious in risking his safety for his cause. I was shocked, first, at the incredible injustice of the settlers, and second, at the incredible courage of Jonathan. Jonathan believed that nonviolence would win the day. After this dramatic development, we were able to talk without the noise of the hammering. Sani called the police again and within fifteen minutes they were at the site. When the police came, they immediately took the side of the settlers and tried to urge us to leave. They suggested we would do better to take the case to court. The lawyers explained to the police that we are not the ones in breach of the law, but rather the settlers and they should be the ones to go home. As the lawyers were talking with the police, many more armed settlers began gathering. The situation was very tense. Finally the police asked both parties to leave and come back the following day with all the necessary documents to prove their case. At that moment we felt very relieved and satisfied that our nonviolent activity did not go in vain. The bagger turned around and got in a position that reflected it was leaving. The police left, as did we. Then, we noticed that the bagger was returning to resume work. At this time attorney Sani called the police again. The police returned and were much more firm with the settlers telling them they must leave otherwise they would be in breach of the law. This time the settlers left with their road equipment. As we crisscrossed the Nassar’s land to get to our car, we noticed that the settlers had damaged some of the fences and had begun to harass Palestinian workers still on the land. It was later learned the settlers stole some of their tools. It is important to know that the land has been in possession of the Nassar family since 1924, some 24 years before Israel became a state. The Nassars have all the documentation to prove the land is theirs. If it were not for these documents, the land would have been confiscated long ago, as is actually happening all over the West Bank. We urge you to help this Christian family to hold on to their land. If the Nassars lose the land in this unfair manner they and their children may decide to leave the country. This will add to the decline and weakening of the Christian presence in the Holy Land. In the face of this incredible injustice we call on you to exert incredible courage and serious effort to stop the theft of this land. Here is what you can do to help:
Contact List : To begin, here are four important people to address in the United States. Use phone AND fax AND email: President
George W. Bush Vice President
Dick Cheney Condoleezza
Rice Secretary
of State Colin Powell You can call the Capital switchboard toll-free:1-800-839-5276 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress. UNITED NATIONS ADMINISTRATION:
EUROPEAN UNION:
CANADA:
ISRAEL:
Please note some major news contacts:
January 29, 2003 I was with a group of about ten internationals who visited the Nassar Land site again today. As we examined the new road cut through their property, a few Israeli settlers and a soldier/policeman arrived. The Nassar family displayed proper legal documentation, there were a few minor arguments, and both sides eventually packed up and left the site. Later our group was joined by the Nassar's attorney, Jonathan Kuttab. He showed us a map of the 200-acre farm. About half of the land is in dispute, but the settlers are trying to take over the part that the Israeli courts agree belongs to the family. (As far as I can understand, Israel claims half of the land because the family did not have adequate documentation that the property had been used EACH YEAR for the past 75 years as farmland! I doubt my father could show documentation that each acre of land on our farm was used as farmland for the past 75 years. Requirements like that are ridiculous, yet it is the Israeli law against Palestinians.) Our group was also joined by the Executive Director of the Rabbis for Human Rights -- I believe his name is Arik Ascherman. He offered a few suggestions as to how the Nassar family could keep settlers off their land. Today the good thing was that the road was not extended, and that there was no physical violence. I'll post some photos in the next few days. January 28, 2003 As I write this, my husband is out making a last stand to defend his farm. He rushed out there on Sunday afternoon, risking arrest or worse by moving under curfew, after receiving a phonecall from his brother that settlers from nearby Neve Daniel were using bulldozers to cut a road into the property. It was anticipated that by the following morning, they would have reached the top of the family property and planted a caravan or two, just enough for it to qualify as a new settlement and create the necessary "facts on the ground" to preempt a legal reversal. He told me over the phone today that he and five or six others had been involved in a confrontation with dozens of settlers armed with machine guns and snarling dogs, and as dramatic as that may sound, I was able to easily verify it through several other participants as well as a Danish pastor who had gone to act as an observer and take photographs. They literally had to stand in front of the bulldozers in order to stop the intrusion and, in fact, their lawyer was actually knocked to the ground by one before the police finally arrived and ordered the settlers to remove their machinery and go home. CNN wasn't around and there were no journalists to record the scene for the evening news, but their bravery was heroic nonetheless. Yet another unremarked act of courage in Palestine. As night falls, I am deeply fearful for George's very life. Like spoiled toddlers, these settlers do not accept interference gracefully and they are never held accountable for their acts of intimidation and violence. And even if George's family has won today's battle, the overwhelming odds are that they will lose the war in another two weeks when the Israeli Supreme Court hands down its final ruling on the confiscation of the land. How can an ordinary person live with such an extraordinary experience of injustice? What comfort can there be when the very foundation of your existence has been taken from you against your will and without further recourse? And when Israelis are not willing to play by the rules, how is it that Palestinians have to? Where is the brave soul who can admit that every suicide bomber is reacting to a profound and profoundly intimate experience of injustice and that every bombing can at the very least be understood within this context if not justified? I ask myself whether George will ever be able to fully recover from this and the answer, I know, is probably no. I ask myself whether my sixty-year-old mother-in-law, whom I dearly love, will survive and I am afraid to consider the answer. I know she is too frail to withstand such a crushing weight and my tears of mourning are already tumbling down. January 27, 2003 Dear Friends, Statement by Legal Advisor Jonathan Kuttab: Main facts: In 1991 the military authorities in the West Bank declared part of the land comprising of 300 dunums belonging to the Nassar family in the Bethlehem area as “State Land” in order to transfer them to the Israeli settlement of Neve Daniel. The ýNassar family appealed this decision to an Appeals Committee designated by the military authorities as an advisory committee of a judicial nature that discusses petitions against the decisions of the military authorities to declare land as belonging to the State. The Appeals Committee decided on 29.1.2002 to reject the appeal by the owners, the Nassar family, against the decision of the military authorities to declare a part of their land comprising of 300 dunams as "State Land. The rejection of the appeal was made in spite of the fact that the owners possessed land registration documents (“Tabu”) proving the land was theirs and in spite of the fact that they had been using the land for generations. The appellants presented conclusive evidence of ownership to the committee. However, it rejected their appeal, completely ignoring the facts and the law. The Nassar family has appealed to the Supreme Court of Israel against this decision and the appeal with be heard on 5.2.2003. Previously the court has shown great reluctance to interfere in any decision regarding the rights of Palestinians to their land. It is hoped that international pressure will have a positive influence on the final decision of the court. The Nassar family is one of the few Christian families left in the Bethlehem area that owns hundreds of dunums of land. The transfer of their land to nearby Israelis settlements in contradiction to international law would deal a great blow to the dwindling Christian population in the Bethlehem area in these already very difficult times. |
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