Jala Basil Andoni, a Palestinian, lights a candle and marches in Bethlehem each Christmas eve, as part of a vigil for peace.
Ruth El-Raz, an Israeli Jew, works to help rebuild Palestinian houses in the West Bank that have been demolished by the Israeli government.
Both women said they oppose Israeli occupation of the West Bank and decried the presence of checkpoints and Israel’s separation wall in the West Bank.
The two activists spoke and answered questions at Lynchburg College on Monday at a lecture sponsored by the Gender Studies Program. The lecture is part of the 16th “Jerusalem Women Speak” U.S. tour, put on by the nonprofit organization Partners for Peace. The goal of the tour is to bring women involved in peace and non-violent social justice activism in Israel and Palestine to the attention of people in the United States.
“We want justice to prevail in the area,” said Andoni, 61, who works with the Wi’am Center for Reconciliation among other groups. She said that the wall and checkpoints cause daily humiliation and hassle for her Palestinian friends and family. “Around Bethlehem they use these checkpoints that allow one person at a time, as if we were sheep.”
The program was subtitled “Three Women, Three Faiths” and was originally supposed to include a Muslim Palestinian activist in addition to the Christian and Jewish perspectives of Andoni and El-Raz. Partners for Peace Executive Director Melinda Thompson said Hekmat Bessiso-Naji was unable to attend the event because the U.S. government denied her visa application.
About 190 people attended the event, which was held in the Memorial Ballroom of the Hall Campus Center. Many attendees had questions for the two women. Most were students, but one was Lynchburg College patron and former Virginia State Sen. Elliot Schewel.
“First, why is the point of view of the country of Israel not represented?” Schewel asked. “Why are the checkpoints presented as a fact of life, with no mention of why these barriers exist, which is terrorism?”
In her response to the question, El-Raz said that she feels that she does represent an Israeli perspective even if it is not the government’s position. She went on to relate a story of nearly being a victim of a terrorist accident.
“I’ve nearly been blown up and let me tell you, it’s not a pleasant experience,” El-Raz said. She added that she doesn’t feel that checkpoints actually help keep terrorists out, because there are ways, if inconvenient, to get around the checkpoints.
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