He was invited to speak in front of many ambassadors and guests on International Disaster Day on 27 January. He spoke in English for 40 minutes and fluently, not from a written piece of paper, about his life story and his escape from the Holocaust in Holland, and he shared with the audience the pain for his two sisters who were killed in Auschwitz and about his hiding in a pigsty, and he made the audience goosebumps when he spoke about himself and that everything changed in his life As a young boy: the relationship of those around him, friends who suddenly disappeared, new instructions imposed on him, and soldiers who knocked on the door and took people away. It is difficult for a person to believe that his life is changing in this way, to the extent that it is too late. At the end of his statement, everyone in the hall stood up and applauded. While he did not stop, the day before he met with 500 students at a school, and the next day he hosted a “remembrance in the salon” at the home of Israel’s ambassador to Switzerland, Merav Ayalon Shahar. We wish you health, Abraham, all respect!
They do not treat human beings like this
They stand there for hours in the rainy winter or burn in the sun in the summer, but nothing changes. In the end, it is about the Palestinians. So, why would anyone care about the hundreds of people trying to make a living in this difficult reality of life in one of the most vulnerable places in the world? Previously, two had dared to cry out in protest. They could not stand the indignity and suffering that entailed entering their workplaces in the Ariel settlement industrial zone. All of them regretted withdrawing the work permit. They no longer have a source of livelihood. Imagine for a moment a group of Israelis who are delayed, say an hour, in an air-conditioned airport, what a scandal there will be, screaming and demanding compensation. But when you are Palestinian, you have no right to express your feelings, and you have no right to grumble and complain about suffering or, God forbid, to demand something as basic as human rights.
The industrial zone in “Ariel” was subject to harsh operations. Of course, checks must be made to ensure security in the place designated for these riots. But it seems that what is happening is actually leading to the opposite result. Every day, thousands of workers come there, with loaded cars and no place to stop them, and most of them are forbidden to enter. In the absence of organized parking, they park cars at a distance on both sides of the street. And when they return, a violation awaits them. They walk hundreds of meters, in the dark, in the rain and in the mud, until it is their turn to be examined. It all takes about two hours. The waiting area is not shaded, but rather exposed to strong winds, and there are no seats or anything else that makes a person feel his humanity.
“Dealing with them is like dealing with animals behind the walls,” said a businessman at the venue, who asked not to be named. “After long walks and standing for hours in line for examination, they are forced to walk a long distance inside the industrial area, because it is forbidden to enter cars in the absence of parking lots for many companies, and there are no internal transportation, all the time is suffering.”
On the other hand, think for a moment what would happen if, God forbid, an operation took place in the industrial area. There is no possibility of rescue forces quickly getting inside when a human overcrowding closes the only open entrance to the place. There is another entrance, but it is closed. As for the businessmen, it was also explained to them, according to them, that there is no budget for protecting the area, despite the fact that they pay very large sums of money for protection, amounting to tens of millions of shekels a year. “It is unbelievable that they abuse people, and then they think they will be quiet,” said another businessman, who also feared that his name be revealed so as not to be abused. “The queues remind of dark periods, we get out of our minds every day when we see them. They contact the municipality, which in turn goes to the police and vice versa. This is shocking. Nothing justifies carrying out an operation, but this is a motive. Hours behind the wall are being abused. What must happen for something to move? A process with many victims?
The Barkan industrial zone is located not far from the Ariel industrial zone. The picture there is the opposite: organized and close parking lots, transport vehicles transporting workers from the inspection point to the place of work, and the queue is flowing, oh my! There are no riots. It might be different. “In the Barkan Industrial Zone, they treat the Palestinians as human beings, while we are like rats,” summed up the businessman. “The money we pay may provide protection here, such as a base for the Mossad, or flying a fixed helicopter that patrols the sky. will remain in excess. But when we ask, they say there is no money.”
From the Ariel municipality, the response came: “The municipality has approved an investment of 5 million shekels in improving the infrastructure and security means, which include another entrance gate with a good waiting station for all those who come to the industrial zone, and a new, fortified device for the screening process. Perhaps this business will end this year. The allegation that the treatment Palestinian workers receive at the entrance encourages the next process is an allegation that is rejected on its basis. It is a dangerous allegation.
Written by: Orly Vilnai , Haaretz 1/2/2023
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