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Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann: “If planting trees on Tu Beshvat on private agricultural land is a crime, we all should be criminals.”

On Tu Bishvat the IDF allowed the settlers to plant trees on robbed land of outposts that were built thanks to systematic and aggressive discrimination. But when Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann and volunteers of Rabbis for Human Rights wanted to help Palestinians to plant trees on their land, they were violently expelled.

On last Tu Beshvay tens of buses crossed freely the green line and the separation wall in order to plant trees. On the other hand, two minibuses that crossed the green line for the same purpose were stopped and told to return. What is the meaning of this discrimination between two groups that only wanted to realize their Jewish identity?

In the first case the buses were full of illegal outposts supporters who came to plant on private Palestinian lands, and were provided with the best security there is. The second case involved people with an humanistic interpretation of the Jewish tradition and human rights activists, who were invited to plant olive trees on private Palestinian land. They wanted to connect to the Tu Beshvat tradition out of the belief that living in this land should include equality and dignity to the strangers who live here. They were activists of varied streams in Judaism and varied political and religious views, who are united by the faith of “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for the home-born; for I am the LORD your God.’” (Leviticus 24:22). The activists and their trust in equality were violently evicted from the territories – a little taste of what the Palestinians experience every day.

This planting, the initiative of Rabbis for Human Rights, was planned to take place on the land of the village of Al-Jenia’s , 300 meters from the settlement Talmon A. One of the houses at the end of the village was vandalized last week by extreme rightists, who wrote things such as “death to the Arabs on the walls of the house”. Instead of this message, that promotes hatred and humiliation, the activists wanted to bring a Jewish-humanistic massage of planting trees as a sign of the mutual struggle for justice. The planting came also to help bypass some of the difficulties the army creates for Palestinian access to their agricultural lands.

Whom do the security forces serve?

In the morning, while the activists were detained at the barrier, the Palestinians in El Jenia tried to plant the trees by themselves and were pushed aside with stun grenades. They were ordered not to pass a certain line. When the Israeli activists found a way and came to the village, they were updated by the Palestinian where they were allowed to plant. And nevertheless, at the beginning of the planting, border police soldiers came and would not give even 10 minutes to finish the planting. They issued a closed military area order especially to foil the brotherhood planting out of the fear of  ”disrupting order”.

No, they were not afraid that the activists will disrupt the order, but, as one of the officers said: “the settlers may make problems”. Nevertheless, the security forces wanted to detain the people who were threatened and not the people who were threatening. We have to point out that according to the Supreme Court Order (Murier) the army is forbidden to prevent Palestinians access to agricultural lands even when there is a fear that of extremist settler harassment. In this case it was clear that the activists were not dangerous and even Talmon settlement was being quiet.

Officers in the field tried to claim that the planting event was a provocation, as if the human rights activists intended to have a march in Talmon settlement and not to have a Tu Beshvat planting event in El Jenia. Practicing the holiday in a humanistic interpretation is considered incitement in Israel 2012. In the end, two activists were detained and forced to sit in a humiliating way on the floor of a house in the settlement. One of them was also called derogatory names because he was wearing a Kippa, he was thrown to the floor because he refused to sit on it and symbolically  his Kippa was forcefully thrown down off his head.

The Palestinians feel this brutal discrimination everyday in the territories, but on Tu Beshvat some of the Jews also tasted it: an event that is supposed to express Jewish humanism and cooperation in order to rehabilitate the “Tag Mechir” (price tag) damages, got a hard hit. Compare this to the illegal planting done on others private lands – an event that presents theft as a Mitzva, in the outposts that were built thanks to a brutal and systematic discrimination – got blessings and security. The plantings in the outposts were accompanied by MKs and it gave the feeling that the security forces in the territories do not even try to hide whom they are serving: the system of discrimination and separation itself, a system that is afraid of solidarity between peoples. Even the freedom to express a Jewish humanistic identity is also negatively affected.

If planting trees on Tu Beshvat on private agricultural land is a crime, we all should be criminals.