RAISING THE ROOF, BUILDING PEACE:REFLECTIONS ON HOUSE REBUILDING By Jamey Bouwmeester

Good news is hard to come by here. I send a letter home almost every day, and it seems that each letter is less hopeful and more depressing than the one before. I am aware that there is only so much bad news people can hear before they stop listening. That is why I am grateful for what happened two days ago in Katanna at the Fakia home.

This past Saturday, Joanne Kaufman and I, along with almost 100 Israeli peace activists, began to rebuild the demolished home of the Fakia family.

When the map for the first partial Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank was drawn, Katanna was placed in Area "B" where Palestinians were given administrative control. However, the Fakia home, situated on the outskirts of the village was left in area "C" where it had no protection from demolition. The residents of Katanna petitioned Israel and the PA to move the border of area "B" just 200 meters so that it would include the house. The request was denied, and the Fakia home was demolished.

We worked throughout the day. Home-made banners and signs surrounded the building site. They read, "Demolishing Houses = Demolishing Peace." As dusk began to settle on the hills around Katanna, Ahmed Fakia brought the day to a close. He planted an olive branch in the cement of the new roof as a symbol of friendship and peace that can reach across borders.

We were 100 people saying "No," to house demolitions. "No," to the power of an unjust military occupation. "No," to violence -- both the violence of the bulldozer and the violent response that it can breed. To respond to the demolition of this house, we chose neither violence nor passive acquiescence. Instead, we chose the "third way" of active and creative resistance.

In its bid to retain power, the Military Occupation tries to alienate Israelis from Palestinians. It tries to make each people see the other as "other." In this way, it tries to set up a reality where the building of a shared future is unthinkable. When that alienation is complete, the continuing existence of the occupation is assured.

As I watched Palestinians and Israelis working together to build a roof for a family that had none, I could the systems of domination, oppression and alienation losing power. I could see space opening up in the framework of necessity and fate that the occupation has tried to set up--space where Israelis and Palestinians could see each other as human beings, as neighbors, as friends, and most importantly, as children of God.

It is only by challenging death with the weapons of life that we will be able to take power away from "the Powers." It is only by rebuilding and "getting in the Way" that we will be able to stop the bulldozer in its tracks. It is only by opening spaces like these that we will be able to create a peaceful and just future here in Israel/Palestine.

Jamey Bouwmeester is a member of the Christian Peacemakers Team in Hebron.