It's only Wednesday, and this has already been a hectic week for the forces of peace. It comes in 3 stories:

(1) CPT - UNADULTERATED COURAGE

First, my unstinting applause and admiration for the brave young men and women of CPT -- Christian Peacemakers Team in Hebron -- who threw themselves in front of the army's guns, which stopped the soldiers from firing on the crowd of Palestinians who were peacefully demonstrating. That happened this past Sunday.

The background to the story is a shooting one week ago by a Palestinian of three Israeli settlers who drove into Hebron from the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba (one was seriously and the other two lightly injured). In retaliation, the Israeli authorities imposed a curfew and a closure on the entire Palestinian population living under Israeli jurisdiction. Not only is such collective punishment a clear violation of basic human rights, but it was done during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and must be allowed to make food purchases for their traditional evening meal. Needless to say, closure and curfew also prevent access to jobs, medical services, school, and other basic amenities.

The Palestinians came out to demonstrate and the Israeli soldiers came out for the usual face-off, which often ends in shooting, injuries, and sometimes death. Fortunately, the media were there to capture the moment: Pierre Shantz from Canada and Sara Reschly from the United States, two members of the non-violent CPT group based in Hebron, spread their arms and stepped in front of the rifles pointed at the crowd, calling out, "Don't shoot, this is a peaceful demonstration". In the films taped of the event, you can clearly see Pierre and Sara moving their bodies back and forth to block the barrel of the gun, not giving the soldiers a clear shot at the demonstrators. There were no Palestinian casualties that day.

Sara and Pierre were both arrested, set for an arraignment the next day. The courtroom was full of peace activists from Bat Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights, and the Coalition Against Home Demolitions. And when the judge ruled that they would be released with payment of a bond of 4,000 shekels (about $1000 US), the money was raised on the spot when all those present reached into their pockets.

I hope someone keeps this footage of the heroic action of these two brave people, and writes a school curriculum about it to teach peace and nonviolence.

(2) DINNER WITH LENA

Some of you may remember Lena, the 15 year-old daughter of the Shawamri family, whose home was destroyed last July by the Israeli "civil administration" of the Occupied Territories. Many of you have asked how Lena is doing, and I wondered myself, not having seen her since that day she stood beside me, her face contorted with pain and fear as the bulldozer smashed her home into rubble before her eyes.

Yesterday, the Coalition Against Home Demolitions (which includes Bat Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights, Gush Shalom, and Peace Now) was invited to have Ramadan evening dinner with the Shawamri family. Over 6 months have passed since that fateful day, and the family and the Coalition have done a lot together. First, of course, we helped the family and their neighbors rebuild the home. Then, we stood beside them to witness the second demolition. Ever since, Jeff, Yoav and others from the Coalition have spent hours trying to help them get a legal permit for their home. And yesterday, we finally spent some festive time together.

We were a group of 8 Israelis, and we sat together at the neighbor's home, where the Shawamri family is now living. There are now sixteen souls in this one medium-sized home. The men of the Palestinian families, the six Israeli men, and we two women from Bat Shalom all sat on foam pads in the living room, mounds of good Ramadan break-fast in front of us.

The feeling in the room was incredibly warm. We had a big laugh over one of the demands of the "civil administration" (CA). In the application for a construction permit, the Shawamri family was told they had to submit an affidavit stating that there were no claims on the land by anyone else. They submitted this paper and attached the signatures of many neighbors as evidence. No, the CA told them, 2 signatures are missing. Which 2? This the CA refuses to reveal. This story, while seemingly preposterous, is an unexaggerated fact of life, and not at all unusual in the Kafkaesque dealings of Palestinians under occupation with the so-called "civil" administration.

When the meal wound down, I asked to see Lena, and she entered the room together with her mother. I was surprised by what a beautiful girl she is, not having noticed then, with long dark hair spread over her shoulders and down to her waist. Lena sat next to me and shyly answered my questions. She's in 9th grade now, but her grades have fallen since her home was destroyed. From a grade point average of 97, she now averages 75. But, yes, she loves school and hopes to grow up to be a teacher of Arabic. I could see she found it hard to have this conversation. I just tortured her with one more thing -- I gave her the dove of the Israeli women's peace movement -- kissed her on both cheeks, and let her escape out of the room. Maybe some day she'll teach Arabic to me or my grandchildren, insh'Allah.

(3) THE BINGO KING

Finally, today's events. For those who may not yet have heard of him, Irwin Moskowitz is a Miami resident who continues to make millions of dollars off the poor in California by running "non-profit" bingo parlors in low-income neighborhoods. Moscowitz's business was credited by the IRS as a nonprofit, even though he never used the money to improve the local neighborhoods, but instead supports the most extremist right-wing elements in Israel -- the fanatic settlers of Ateret Cohanim and Elad. (If anyone can pin a rap on this man with the IRS, s/he would be doing humanity a great service.)

Moscowitz is in Israel surveying his new property in Ras al-Ammud -- a totally Palestinian section of East Jerusalem (the Palestinian side), where Moskowitz plans to build a new Jewish settlement. At Bat Shalom, we had a call from Peace Now saying that Moskowitz would be at Ras al-Ammud in 30 minutes, and could we join them for a demonstration. Veteran picketers that we are, we lettered a bunch of signs and arrived at Ras al-Ammud just in time to meet him.

I liked our signs. The two I held said, "Take your corruption back to Miami" and "Jerusalem ain't bingo -- Beat it!" Not polite. Nor is the violence that will ensue if this settlement goes up in the midst of this Palestinian neighborhood.

Not surprisingly, the police did not like where I was standing with my signs: on Moskowitz's property. They informed me of such, and I moved just outside the fence. But from there, I was not willing to move. There was a difference of opinion, I peacefully resisted and explained my right to demonstrate. The police disagreed, and I was dragged away to the van. They were less gentle than they could have been, but it also could have been worse. I was arrested, charges were filed for "disturbing the public order" and "resisting arrest", and I was released on bail when Ronni Livni from Peace Now came back to the police station to co-sign the bail note. Thank you, Ronni.

And this is a good moment to point out the cooperation of all the peace organizations these days. It hasn't always been so. But I extend my personal and organizational gratitude to all the organizations that have worked together so well in recent months. And to our allies among the Palestinians who work together with us, non-violently, to make life better, ultimately, for both sides.

Gila