Israel’s supreme court has ruled that the barrier surrounding the village of Bil’in must be rerouted. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6977400.stm

During the Boomchucka tour of Israel and Palestine we performed in the village of Bil’in.  The next day we partook in the 2 year anniversary of weekly protests against the barrier which cuts the villagers from more than half of its land.

The supreme court ruling is proof of the effectiveness of persistent cross community non-violent protest.  It is a major success for Palestinian, Israeli and International cooperation in undermining the illegal construction of a barrier which negatively affects thousands of peaceful Palestinians.  Together we can take down the walls that separate us.

I wish all the best for the future to the villagers of Bil’in.

At our recent fundraising push at Glastonbury the clowns of Circus2Iraq braved the lakes of mud to bring back £740!   This is a sure sign that clowns are the true alchemists of our time – making gold from muck and then turning that gold it to smiles.

You too can help this assorted band of fools by donating yourself.  See Circus2Iraq website for more info.

Our friend Graeme has published his collection of stunning pictures of our time in Palestine.  Be sure to check them out and look out for my cheeky grin

www.photo-g.co.uk and look under projects

Why not sponsor him on his walk and raise money for circus2iraq

The Boomchucka 2007 tour of Palestine and Israel.
See some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80015558@N00/

For more info: www.circus2iraq.org

That’s it.  After 40 shows to 7000 kids and 20 workshops teaching circus skills – the 2007 Boomchucka circus tour has ended.  Relief (it had been very hard work) is mixed with great sadness – we have only done so little.  There is also hope, because during our time in the West Bank we have met many people who are actively working to ensure a healthy future for circus in Palestine.  To mention only a few: The Palestinian Circus School in Ramallah, The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, The Children of Bethany in East Jerusalem and Shirra Circus in Bethlehem.

As for hope for a resolution to the deteriorating conditions of the Palestinian people – well that’s harded to find.  Perhaps one has to look either to the small but growing number of activists within Israel who are beginning to question they government over its actions or the residents of Bil’in who continue their nonviolent protests.  But maybe we have to go further afield to the US, where the publication by President Jimmy Carter of Palestine: Peace not Apartheid has (in my opinion) helpfully added the concept of Apartheid into the debate.  Or perhaps to the UK where a recent commons select committee has questioned the EU preferential trade deal despite Israel’s continual breaking of conditions.

Hope is sometimes a rare thing; it must be nurtured for it to blossom into peace and freedom.  One must by continually vigilant to water and feed what hope we can find.

We had been invited to Bil’in, a village just North of Ramallah, to make a show.  Bil’in is famous for the weekly protest held there against The Wall (actually here a fence with loads of barbed wire) which separates the village from more than half of its land.  On land previously used for grazing and olive trees sits an Israeli settlement.  For more details on the situation in Bil’in there are a few videos available.

Our show was the day before the 2nd anniversary of weekly non-violent protests against The Wall in Bil’in.  While we were setting up in the local show the tension in the air was palpable, however in the end it was one of our best shows with loads of crowd heckling and participation.  I like to think that we helped to release some of the tension through fun and laughter.

We had decided to attend the protest (as individuals not as a circus) the following day.  I did so as an act of solidarity for the people of Bil’in and the rest of Palestine, and to show the Israeli authorities that the International community was concerned about their breaking of international law.

Protest day started with the setting up of a photo gallery of previous protests; we also played circus skills with some of the village children.  Slowly more and more Palestinians, Israeli and international protesters filled the village.  The march started directly after the main friday prayers.  We walked through the village and out towards The Wall.  At one point it was possible to see across the valley towards the head of the march; it was a high turnout with approximately as many protesters as people in the village (1,800), comprising men, women and children.  At the gate the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) had a reasonable presence – they stated that we were in a military controlled zone (despite being in Palestinian territory).

The protesters stood their side of the gate across the road and sung and chanted.  A few men climbed the gate and waved the Palestinian flag.  Down the hill a number of people started cutting away at the barbed wire in front of the fence.  Suddenly, triggered by one event or another, stones started flying and things went bad.  The IDF let off sound bombs and started firing teargas.  Most people scattered across the terraced hill and between olive trees.  From the cover of the trees youths used sling shots to pelt the IDF with stones.  A number of soldiers moved down the road to the brow of a hill and continued to fire rubber bullets and teargas at the stone throwers.

Back at the gate the non violent protest continued and a number of protesters held a sit-in infront of the gate.  This continued with a number of flash points causing injuries by water cannon or teargas cans and some people getting arrested.  Eventually, with the promise that those arrested would be released, the protest returned to the village.

The protest was covered by Al Jazeera, Reuters and Associated Press(click the links to read the stories) – so in terms of publicity the protest was a success.  It is unfortunate that it resorted to stone throwing by the youth and the subsequent retaliation by the IDF.  But it was encouraging to see the community leaders continue to use the non violent means to publicise the wrongs they suffer.

Travelling through the West Bank you don’t go far without spotting an Israeli Settlement; modern buildings, in regimented rows with red roofs.  Located on hill tops they are heavily heavily fortified and have something of the medieval castle about them.

The means by which the are created and the reasons for their development are highly controversial and a major stumbling block along the road to peace.  The following is the summation told to me, separately, by a number of International volunteers who have spent many years in the West Bank:

In the middle of the night ideological settlers (Zionists driven by the belief that the land belongs to the Jewish people) park their mobile homes on a hill top.  This land has, generally, been used or cultivated by Palestinians for many hundreds of years.  The collection of mobile homes are set up in a defensive formation and is called an Outpost.  Outposts are illegal under Israeli law, however in practice the State is either unable or unwilling to stop their creation.  These Settlers are aggressive towards the local Palestinians as a means to drive them from their villages and seal their claim over the land.  I was told of stories of harassment, beatings, poisoning of livestock and water sources, shootings and killings.

Once an outpost has become established the Settlers start to demand amenities from the Israeli authorities – water, electricity, roads and schools.  Over time an Outpost turns into a fully fledged settlement with full Israeli government backing.  Established Settlements are supported by the Israeli state by giving people economic benefits to live their – thus creating a new breed of Settler – the Economic Settler.

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Last week we made 9 shows in and around the small town of Salfit which is located just South of the second largest Settlement in the West Bank – Aerial population 30,000.  Looking at a map of the West Bank (for more details) you can see Aeiral Settlement is the nail of a finger sticking out into Northern West Bank almost cutting the territory in two.

Travelling to villages in the Salfit area meant that we would very often have to go many miles out of our way to traverse the length of the finger, and when we got to the tip there was a check point to keep track of movements.  Another feature of the development of Settlements is the construction of segregated roads.  Palestinian plates?  Drive on narrow, winding, damaged roads.  Israeli plates? Please use straight, smooth, duel carriage ways.  The new road to Aeiral mans that the residents can commute to Tel Aviv in under an hour.

It was great to get out to some small villages and make some great intimate shows.  At one village called, literally, Little Chicken we had a film crew from Al-Jazeera Children record the show and us teaching some skills.  Watch this space for a clip!