Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., January 26, 2009 Shvat 1, 5769 | | Israel Time: 13:19 (EST+7)
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Gideon Levy / Despite everything, Hebron is still Palestinian
By Gideon Levy
Tags: settlers, hebron, israel news 

Click here for more articles by Gideon Levy

The Pachao family was out Saturday for a Sabbath walk. Sarah and Yosef pushed the baby carriage, and the little ones, Ahuva, Gershon, Hananel and Noah, crowded into the carriage or walked behind it. Why did you come to live here, I asked? "Because of the good air." The Pachaos, who are members of the Bnei Menashe, immigrated from India, near the Myanmar border, 10 years ago.

They were returning from Sabbath prayers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, along with thousands of other Jews, who walked through the car-free street. This week's portion was "Life of Sarah." The Pachaos' Asian appearance was not the only outstanding thing along the road connecting Kiryat Arba with Hebron, and its "House of Contention."
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A stranger coming to Hebron Saturday would be confused. Border Policemen speaking Amharic with settlers; their Druze friends chattering in Arabic; police, soldiers and settlers praying together in the Abraham hall; American and French Jews armed with machine guns; a sea of tents on the grass in front of the tomb structure. Above all, the surreal look of an abandoned Palestinian quarter, emptied of its inhabitants, a ghost town.

Through the protective wire fence erected to block settlers' stones, occasionally the face of a terrified old woman, a frightened child or an embittered man would appear, shut up in their cage. It is not difficult to imagine what they felt Saturday on "Life of Sarah" Sabbath, which tells how Abraham purchased the cave for 400 pieces of silver.

The ridiculous visored cap I wore, which covered half my face to prevent the settlers from identifying me, failed in its duty. It is not good to be Gideon Levy on "Life of Sarah" Sabbath in Hebron. "Take your garbage and get out of here now," thugs threatened here and there. But generally the Jewish quarter was very tranquil, and a "holiday atmosphere" prevailed, as they say. Only toward evening did menacing knots of young boys in their Sabbath white shirts begin to gather.

I entered the "House of Contention" - a huge, unfinished Palestinian apartment building. Saturday it was like an open house, a model home. There were three new washing machines and two solar heaters. For a model apartment, it was rather shabby. A paper sign on the wooden door read, "The Levinger Family." Tents on the roof. Clutter and plastic tablecloths on shared dining tables. Groups of guests on the roof of the house, to see the wonder of dispossession.

They came here from all over the country. Even one of our colleagues from the Haaretz management left his wife at home to go. "I fantasize about this every year, and this year I came," he said, his eyes gleaming. He paid for his dinner before Sabbath began, and ate shnitzel and salads in the abandoned Arab wholesale market.

Then, as I stood on Tel Rumeida, a huge noise drowned out everything: the muezzins of Hebron calling to afternoon prayers, a reminder that Hebron is forever, but it is still Palestinian, despite everything.

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      1.   Gideon and Hebron 07:08  |  Miriam 23/11/08
      2.   YOU FOOL GIDEON! HEBRON WAS PURCHASED BY OUR PATRIARCH ABRAHAM! 07:14  |  Shaul 23/11/08
      3.   WAR AGAINST JEWS IN THE HOLYLAND 07:15  |  Yaakov 23/11/08
      4.   Arik Sharon &The Lubavitcher Rebbe 07:22  |  Translator 23/11/08
      5.   Jews have lived in hebron for 4000 years!!!!!! 07:26  |  Ben Yeppi 23/11/08
      6.   Hebron 08:40  |  bayle 23/11/08
      7.   Miriam from Ashkelon 08:44  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      8.   What `Palestinian`??? They are ARABS IN HEBRON 08:54  |  Jeremy 23/11/08
      9.   Rather a poignant look from Gideon Miriam... 09:03  |  BBSNews 23/11/08
      10.   Arabs massacred Hebron Jews in 1929 09:08  |  Gili 23/11/08
      11.   Gideon Levy LEARN HISTORY before you write 09:14  |  Josephus 23/11/08
      12.   Gideon trying to gloss over Arab pogroms & ethnic cleansing 09:50  |  PETER SM 23/11/08
      13.   These young Jewish Settlers...... 09:58  |  Natasha 23/11/08
      14.   Not even a plaque will remain 10:02  |  Natallie Durson 23/11/08
      15.   #2 Abraham did not purchase Hebron, only the cave 10:13  |  hala 23/11/08
      16.   gili 10:16  |  potobac 23/11/08
      17.   josephus 10:18  |  potobac 23/11/08
      18.   Gideon Levy is a fraud and i can prove it 10:24  |  Ken Jurist 23/11/08
      19.   Free Palestine now 10:40  |  millie 23/11/08
      20.   Hebron is still palestinian 10:45  |  rm 23/11/08
      21.   Josephus - and the Jews came from where...? 11:06  |  Palestinain Brit 23/11/08
      22.   Peter SM- and Baruch Goldstein better not forget him either... 11:09  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      23.   Jeremy from Ohio/Tel Aviv 11:13  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      24.   Sorry Levy, HEBRON despite all is NOT `Palestinian` 11:40  |  Onlooker 23/11/08
      25.   #palestinian brit 11:49  |  from tel aviv 23/11/08
      26.   PalBrit 12:02  |  17 23/11/08
      27.   Palestinian Brit, you are trying hard, ain`t ya` 12:09  |  Zev Davis 23/11/08
      28.   PAL Brit.Goldstein condemned by Israelis & Jews worldwide.You lot 12:11  |  PETER SM 23/11/08
      29.   Hala from Grosse Pointe, we didn`t forget! 12:21  |  Zev Davis 23/11/08
      30.   To Palestinian Brit # 23 - Palestinians 12:29  |  Jeremy 23/11/08
      31.   To Palestinian Brit - And Arabs danced in the Streets 12:43  |  charlie 23/11/08
      32.   Self critisim gives more chance for peace 13:04  |  Serdar Kasapoglu 23/11/08
      33.   mecca 13:17  |  m 23/11/08
      34.   But Natalie 13:48  |  lady from USA 23/11/08
      35.   Do I believe the Jews...? 13:51  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      36.   hala 13:57  |  lady from USA 23/11/08
      37.   Zev - facts wrong again.... 13:57  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      38.   God gave the land to Jacob 14:01  |  lady from USA 23/11/08
      39.   "PIECES OF SILVER" 14:04  |  Jay A Friedman 23/11/08
      40.   Jeremy 14:05  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      41.   Mecca 14:12  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      42.   God`s ways and timing 14:14  |  lady from USA 23/11/08
      43.   BBS News to me Miriam 14:32  |  Miriam Ashkelon 23/11/08
      44.   What exactly is the problem? 15:06  |  MIKE 23/11/08
      45.   Serdar #32, lets start with your nation in critical inspection 15:29  |  Noam 23/11/08
      46.   Jeremy#8 16:12  |  ayboday 23/11/08
      47.   Another stupid piece by GL 16:22  |  Erez 23/11/08
      48.   Palestinian Brit 7 16:23  |  ChanahS 23/11/08
      49.   #1 The new State of Palestine will be democratic 16:31  |  Labhras 23/11/08
      50.   Gideon Levy and Natallie Durson 17:24  |  Ralph 23/11/08
      51.   ChanahS they want everything: ours is theirs and theirs is theirs 18:21  |  x-ray 23/11/08
      52.   Irish and ignorant 18:49  |  Jackie 23/11/08
      53.   PALBRIT"welcome to live alongside Palestinians` By banning them? 20:04  |  PETER SM 23/11/08
      54.   Reporter without a brain 20:11  |  Great White North 23/11/08
      55.   Racist Palestinian Charter 20:16  |  Great White North 23/11/08
      56.   Channah S - 20:36  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      57.   XRay - what exactly do you mean? 20:38  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      58.   Jackie - they can come to their holy sites 20:41  |  Palestinian Brit 23/11/08
      59.   #49,Palestinian State will be short lived 20:44  |  Gary 23/11/08
      60.   PalBrit 21:51  |  17 23/11/08
      61.   wrong, Pal Brit 22:19  |  deinitely 23/11/08
      62.   Gideon`s Knot 23:39  |  Jasper 23/11/08
      63.   "menacing knots of young boys in their Sabbath white shirts 23:51  |  Free Gilad Shalit 23/11/08
      64.   Settlers are heros -- Livni & Olmert are defeatists 00:46  |  Herry Mann 24/11/08
      65.   i dont think so 01:28  |  aaron 24/11/08
      66.   # 54 to free gilad shalit re: white shirts 02:53  |  eric 24/11/08
      67.   RE: #7 ACTUALLY around 100,000 02:56  |  daryoush 24/11/08
      68.   # 2 - Kindly show us the deed of sale 03:21  |  Daniel 24/11/08
      69.   What is everyone arguing about? 03:57  |  Morris Valentine 24/11/08
      70.   Not Hills But Dhimmedias Hostilities, Distortions,Slanders, Libel 04:15  |  Joseph.E 24/11/08
      71.   # 11 to josephus re: history 04:20  |  eric 24/11/08
      72.   Morris, you are a jewel... 08:12  |  BBSNews 24/11/08
      73.   to "Palestinian Brit" 10:35  |  Ezra 24/11/08
      74.   natalie #14 you clearly have no clue!! 12:01  |  Dr Eric 24/11/08
      75.   Jewish hebron needs land contiguity!!! 12:04  |  dr eric 24/11/08
      76.   The fact that Gideon did not get beaten up 14:47  |  Zev Cohen 24/11/08
      77.   Despite everything, 15:46  |  Josh B 24/11/08
      78.   Palestinians live in Hebron for more than 2 thousand of years 19:49  |  Antonio da Silva 24/11/08
      79.   Natallie is right. 19:55  |  Antonio da Silva 24/11/08
      80.   Gideon is correct 19:56  |  Antonio da Silva 24/11/08
      81.   Palestinian Brit - really? 19:59  |  ChanahS 24/11/08
      82.   eric - re josephus # 11 20:09  |  ChanahS 24/11/08
      83.   Despite everything, Hebron is still palestinian 20:12  |  frank mayer 24/11/08
      84.   Gideon, you are quite right 21:12  |  Ben Alofs 24/11/08
      85.   69 Morris Valentine 21:39  |  Jose Marcio 24/11/08
      86.   Sorry for your loss Miriam, but... - 9th try 22:41  |  BBSNews 24/11/08
      87.   # 82 to chanahs re: post by josephus 07:25  |  eric 25/11/08
      88.   #56 Hebron never was the arabs according to the Word of God and 17:22  |  glenna 25/11/08
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