Beit Safafa

In the Dinner story, written by the Israeli-Palestinian author Sayed Kashua, we’re introduced to a number of wealthy Palestinians living in the Beit Safafa neighborhood of Jerusalem. Nabil is a civil lawyer, Sonya is a former nurse, Samir is a gynecologist, and Nili is a principal at a school. Kashua describes Beit Safafa as a rich and highly educated neighborhood for Palestinian immigrants from the north (Kashua). While the Palestinians in Beit Safafa don’t have full Israeli citizenship, they have resident status. 

I found it interesting that this neighborhood, Beit Safafa, “barely participated in the First Intifada and didn’t stage a single protest march during the second one,” yet considered Palestinians who collaborated with the Israeli government traitors (Kashua). The First Intifada was led by Palestinians frustrated over Israel’s military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The Second Intifada, triggered by the failed Camp David Summit, began where the First Intifada left off–as a protest against the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory. So, the question remaining is why are the wealthy and well educated Palestinians of Beit Safafa sitting out of political protests that would show their solidarity to their people? 

According to Human Rights Watch, Israel has revoked the resident status of 15,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem over the last 50 years for failing to meet requirements to maintain their status (HRW). Additionally, Israel has also “revoked resident status to punish Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis and as collective punishment against relatives of suspected assailants” (HRW). As a result, Palestinians with Israeli resident status are fearful of the repercussions of protesting because it could mean loss of a job, inability to visit family, and inability to receive social welfare benefits (HRW).  

The wealthy Palestinians in Beit Safafa face legal barriers from the Israeli government that discriminate against them and prohibit them from exercising their political rights. They fear that their participation in protests will lead the Israeli government to revoke their resident status. 

What should be the solution? Should you be quiet when you see injustice and work within the Israeli system to–possibly–create change or do you protest?

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/08/08/israel-jerusalem-palestinians-stripped-status