West Belfast Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Day 6 of Bairbre de Brun visit to Gaza

Published: 1 March, 2009

The last day

Last day and the weather is foul. Some of us meet and talk with Reuven Moskovitch, a writer, historian and holocaust survivor. He is 80 years of age and a former secretary of the peace movement in Israel, a peace movement that for years has just got smaller and smaller. We have coffee in the Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family in Jerusalem. This is a guest house and cultural centre in the old city, on the Via Dolorosa. As we sit in their "Viennese Café" Mr Moskovitch talks about his life. He is one of the founding members of Neve Shalom, an inter confessional village established in Latrun.

He talks about how people laughed at the thought that you could have somewhere where Jews, and Muslims could live together and is very proud that now there are 200 people living there Jews Palestinians and Druzes. There is also a school for peace.

Obviously the people living there are not immune to what is happening and there can be quite a lot of tension. After coffee, as we walk along towards the Wailing Wall, Mr Moskovitch points out the various Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa. He also points out the apartment bought by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon purely as a means to establish an Israeli foothold in the Arab part of the Old City of Jerusalem. Sharon never spent a single night there yet the Israeli military guard it at great cost to all involved. I look at the young Palestinian whose stall we have stopped beside. "It's disgraceful", I say. He just smiles and nods.

A little further along we come to the checkpoint at the entrance from this side to the Wailing Wall. When we were here earlier in the week we had to turn left and walk around the area because our guide was Palestinian and they are not allowed to enter.

Today we pass through unhindered. The 80-year-old Mr Moskovitch is at pains to tell people that the Israeli government view is not the only view. His strong views on this call to mind the contribution of a young Scottish member of the delegation to our round-up discussion last night. He was very forthright in saying that as a member of the Jewish Diaspora the Israeli government does not do what it does in his name.

Mr Moskovitch now talks about not losing hope in a situation that is almost hopeless. He is quite pessimistic because what he calls the propaganda and the lie is now the view of most Israelis. He feels that even in liberal parts of Israeli society there is a view that they are the chosen people and that this is their promised land - a land they don't want to share with anyone else. He has a very different view of what the promised land means. He is also very critical of the EU for continuing to give support to the Israeli government given the policies they now carry out. He is quite clear in his mind.

The EU should tell the Israelis that if they want to follow these policies they will do so without EU support. Back at the hotel some of the delegation prepares to leave. A notice on the notice board beside reception shows the schedule of departures throughout the day. Mine is the last, as a couple of us won't fly home until early tomorrow morning. There are sad farewells as many of us have formed strong bonds over the last week together and the common bond of people who have witnessed what no one should ever witness.