Cecilie Surasky, Director of Communications, Jewish Voice for Peace
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Climbing the stunning walls of the lost city of Petra in Jordan, it is less than 24 hours since I have left Ramallah where I have been staying the past few weeks. My traveling companion and I encounter a friendly American tourist who quizzes us on our journey. “We just got back from the West Bank and Gaza,” we say. “I just love Israel,” the tourist replies. “I’ve been to every single corner. I was just in Gaza, too. Gaza is beautiful!” she announces with a big smile on her face.
I scratch my head. Gaza is one of those places that make you say “Oh my God!” “Oh my God” as in, can you believe the Erez checkpoint and what it’s like to try and get through, and can you believe the sight of dozens of sick people waiting 10 hours or more in the open air just to leave Gaza for special medical care? “Oh my God” as in did you see how the destroyed street to Gaza looked right out of the set of an apocalyptic Mad Max movie? “Oh my God” as in, have you ever seen so many houses riddled with bullet holes?
What I did not expect her to say was, “It is beautiful.” Before I realized she was talking about the settlements, I thought of the many beautiful and wise people I met there– the flickering multi-colored umbrellas that lined the beach of Gaza, the little boy in the crisp white sailor suit flying his kite with his brothers, the women in the family I stayed with who removed their hijabs and laughed uproariously about their father the English teacher and their mother who birthed ten children, the raucous sounds of dancing at a wedding on the top floor of a nearby hotel, the wise words of a psychologist I met named Mohammed who taught me much about forgiveness. I thought, yes, indeed, Gaza is beautiful. More beautiful in fact than I had ever imagined or dreamed it could be.
Of course, the American tourist wasn’t talking about the Gaza Strip I had just seen. She was talking about Israeli settlements like Gush Katif, the gorgeous beachside suburbs surrounded by walls and military posts that stand just a few hundred yards away from the Khan Younis refugee camp, where the buildings that remain standing are packed in amidst empty fields of rubble, rebar, and scraps of household belongings.
Read more: Gaza is Beautiful