Anna in the Middle East

Went to a presentation/book signing last night by Anna Baltzer. She's a Jewish American, a graduate from Columbia, and a Fulbright scholar--brilliant woman. Almost a decade ago, while teaching English in Turkey, she began to hear stories about the Palestinian occupation that didn't agree with the history she'd traditionally known. She spent months researching, growing increasingly unsettled as she learned more. Still incredulous, she decided to visit the occupied territories. This changed her life--and now her mission is to work, as a Jew, for peace and justice for the Palestinians. She wrote a book "Witness in Palestine" and is currently travelling throughout the US to tell "the real story."

It was such a powerful presentation, and so refreshing to hear someone non-Arab speak so passionately about the injustice and oppression of another people. I bought her book, and you can learn more at www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com . I HIGHLY recommend you either get her book/dvd or visit occupation101.com and get their's. They are both balanced (containing Jewish as well as Arab, American, and European contributions) and powerful stories of the injustices that have gone on far too long.

One of the things that stuck with me the most was her statement,

"We all look back at apartheid and the civil rights movement and think, 'Yeah, I would be one of those people standing up against apartheid. I would have fought for justice if I had been alive back then'. But here is what I say: these things are still happening, right now. Are you going to be complicit, or are you going to step up and work for justice?"

It's so easy to revert to the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality, but there a millions around the world (in Palestine and elsewhere) who can't afford to be forgotten.

I brought four friends with me who had not previously been aware of the 'real' condition in Palestine--they all told me afterwards that it was a shocking but invaluable experience. One of my friends is actually going to study abroad in Israel this summer...she was still reeling when I left her.

"The problem isn't Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. The problem is militant Zionism. The desperation is mounting, so the acts of desperation (i.e. terrorism) will continue if we don't realize that something must change...And criticizing the state of Israel isn't anti-Semitic. What does that mean anyway? Arabs are Semites too."

--Anna Balzter (Jewish American, granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.)







This is why I want to be a journalist...to tell these stories...to know my voice was not in vain.


Visit http://www.fiveforpalestine.org . In the words of Anna--we just need to collaborate and organize. There is power in unified voices.