wfn.org | WCC: Ashkelon and Majdal

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World Council of Churches
For Immediate Use Feat-03-12
15 October 2003

As a matter of fact: the disputed history of Ashkelon and Majdal

By Larry*, ecumenical accompanier with the WCC's Ecumenical
Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, or so the adage goes. And
being by nature based on  personal interpretation, opinions ought
to be open for discussion. But what about facts?  They are
supposed to be immutable.  The sun does indeed rise in the east
and set in the west, doesn't it?  In Israel and Palestine
however, even the facts are likely to be subject to debate. As
demonstrated, for example, by what happened one sunny Saturday in
the Mediterranean resort town of Ashkelon.

 From the looks of it, Ashkelon, just north of the Gaza Strip,
coffee. These are signs that another town once existed here -
need too discerning an eye to sense an eerie presence of a
a mosque, rises amidst the tables where Russian Israelis sip
not-too-hidden past.  Amid the bright new buildings, the tiny
But this fact is not easily accepted by the Israeli residents,
residents in 1950 to make way for the current city of Ashkelon. 
could easily be a beach community in New Jersey. But it doesn't
despite the physical evidence.  
the remains of Majdal, a Palestinian town that was emptied of its
museum and the sidewalk snack-bars are signs of a very different
past: a large building lies in ruins and a minaret, once part of

On 20 September, a sunny Saturday, members of the Ecumenical
Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)
accompanied dozens of refugees from Majdal and their families on
a tour of what is left of their town.  Most of them, refugees and
descendants, have been living in the Palestinian-Israeli town of
Lod, northeast of Ashkelon, since 1950.  The tour was arranged by
the Israeli organization Zochrot. The word means "remember" in
Hebrew.  Zochrot was founded with the goal of raising awareness
of the "al Naqba" ("catastrophe" in Arabic) in Jewish-Israeli
society.  The term refers to the expulsion of Palestinians and
the destruction of their villages as part of the creation of the
state of Israel in 1948.

One of Zochrot's most visible activities is putting up signs
testifying to the existence of	demolished villages and towns. 
The idea is simply to acknowledge what once existed, and to
encourage reconciliation between the two peoples. It is Zochrot's
dual hope that Palestinians might return to their villages, and
that Jewish Israelis might gain an understanding of Palestinian
suffering, and of the need for equality of all citizens of Israel
- Jewish and Arab.

On 20 September, Zochrot put up four signs in Ashkelon
indicating, in Arabic and Hebrew, the former home of a prominent
Majdal family, two former street names, and the spot where the
residents were gathered before being forcibly removed in 1950. 

Taha Alkhtib was one of the many Palestinians participating in
the event. His father was only nine years old when his family was
removed from its house. Every time there is a tour arranged by
Zochrot, the family members go to tell their story.  "We have to
bring our children and youngsters here to make them understand
their past," Alkhtib said.  "I don't really believe any more that
we can move back, but I think it is important to remember so that
one day, people will recognize our struggle."

All seemed to be taking place peacefully... until suddenly, a
heated exchange broke out beneath the sign commemorating the spot
where the residents of Majdal were rounded up. Urged on by two of
his neighbours, an Ashkelon resident had removed the sign and was
running off with it, a Palestinian woman in hot pursuit.  The man
claimed that the sign offended him because it wasn't true.  He
had lived in Ashkelon all his life and had never seen any
Palestinians living there.  His neighbour threw in his two
shekels-worth, and a heated exchange ensued.  With anger in their
eyes, the four people confronted one another: the Palestinian
woman expressing her frustration in fervent words, one of the
Israeli men raising his fist, his anger so strong that he did not
seem to realize that a camera crew was standing right beside him,
documenting the scene. Their respective historical understandings
did not fit.

Teddy Katz, a Jewish Israeli who had come for the demonstration,
came to the woman's defence. Amid a heated discussion as to "who
was here first," Katz asked the most agitated neighbour: "But the
mosque? Tell me, who built the mosque?"  The staunch reply was
that this was a Jewish mosque!	

"I was truly surprised to see how differently people interpret
history," said Louise, an ecumenical accompanier (EA) who
witnessed the exchange.  "The historical facts no longer exist,
only people's own memories.  This event showed me exactly why
there is a conflict.  Dialogue and listening to each other is too
often forgotten.  Ignorance combined with fear is a dangerous
weapon."

"It's sad to see that sometimes the entire conflict boils down
to the question of 'Who was here first?'" said Lena, another EA. 
"It doesn't help when you argue about who was here first because
either side can always claim that they were here first.  It was
moving, shocking even, to see how one person was so hurt by the
other's claim.	It hurt so much to accept that this was once a
non-Jewish place."

Through continued dialogue, the confrontation between the
Palestinian woman and the Jewish inhabitants of Ashkelon
eventually did calm down. The man who had taken the sign down
decided to put it up again. He even offered the Palestinian woman
a glass of water as a token of reconciliation. When he did so,
his neighbours grudgingly walked towards their homes, muttering
that all this was the fault of Meretz, the Israeli political
party to which Katz belongs.  Meretz supports peaceful
reconciliation between Israel and its Arab neighbours, including
Palestinians both within and outside the state.

The man's act impressed Lena.  "I was encouraged because he was
so moved by her feelings that he put the sign back up!"

Addressing the gathering, Katz summed up the reason why actions
like this one can help forge a new understanding among Israelis
as to how the state was created:  "There were many Palestinians
pushed away from here, and from many other places.  There were
500 villages here that no longer exist.  Here, they [the Majdal
Palestinians] lived, went to school, worshipped in the mosque. 
We must understand that this place was not, from the beginning, a
Jewish one.  It was after 1948 that Majdal was ruined and
Ashkelon was built."

"This is a statement of recognition. You [the Palestinians]
belong here," Katz concluded.  "It [the land] is yours as well as
ours.  We are sorry for the war. Those of us who have come today
want a compromise with Palestinians in order to live here
equally.  Even if this is a Jewish state, there is a place for
Palestinians. You have rights not because we give them. You have
your rights in the same way we have them."

So who was actually in Ashkelon or Majdal first? If people can't
even agree on the facts of the past, how can an honest discussion
about the future of these two peoples take place?  This may be
one of the critical roles of the accompaniers. By being present
in support of the Palestinians and organizations like Zochrot,
the EAs helped replace shouting with discussion and a sign of
reconciliation. A small step, but a crucial one in building a
culture of truth and lasting peace.   

Walking past the minaret that called the people of Majdal to
prayer over 50 years ago, and returning to the scene of the
confrontation about an hour later, the sign was still in place. 
Perhaps there is hope after all.

* * * *
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
(EAPPI) was launched in August 2002. Ecumenical accompaniers
monitor and report violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance
alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli
peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence,
engage in public policy advocacy, and stand in solidarity with
the churches and all those struggling against the occupation. The
programme is co-ordinated by the World Council of Churches.

*Larry, 37, is from the United States and is Roman Catholic. He
began his career as a sports writer and editor, but now teaches
world history and cultures. As an ecumenical accompanier, Larry
is working as a managing editor and communications officer,
travelling throughout the area writing features on the
experiences of the accompaniers. EAs Lena (from Sweden) and
Louise (from Denmark) contributed to this article.

Ecumenical accompaniers are not named in full for security
reasons.

Other articles and stories from accompaniers appear on our
website: http://www2.wcc-coe.org/eappi.nsf 

For further information, please contact Juan Michel, WCC  media
relations officer,  tel: +41 22 791 6153, mobile +41 79 507 6363,
media@wcc-coe.org  

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from
virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is
not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The
highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately
every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

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