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43 Beit Sahour I Intense, Long-Lasting Dialogue When Sa’ed and Yusra told me in 1988 that we’d have to discontinue the dialogues in Jericho, they both stressed the importance of the dialogues and encouraged me to find other communities with which we could carry on the work. I didn’t know how to find such groups, but through personal contacts I learned the name of a lawyer in the village of Beit Safafa in Jerusalem. I phoned him, despite feeling somewhat uncertain, but he was enthusiastic and suggested we meet at the entrance to the Diplomat Hotel —in ten minutes! We talked for about half an hour, and I could see how open he was to the idea of a dialogue. Two days later he called back to say that many people in the village supported the idea, but others opposed it, so to his disappointment they could not embark on such a project. Afteracoupleofweeksaprominentcivilrightslawyer,ShlomoLecker, called me. “I met someone who might be just right for you,” he said. “His name is Ghassan Andoni, from Beit Sahour.” Shlomo had come up with a perfectchoice.IsoonmetGhassan(pronouncedRas-SAN,rhymingwith “afan”)inBeitSahour,atownof12,000justeastofBethlehem.Ilikedhim right away: a wiry man in his late twenties with intense eyes, olive skin, a mustache, and a goatee. He was serious and fervent, but balanced and careful. Ghassan taught physics at Birzeit University in the West Bank. We talked about the idea of starting a dialogue, and he obviously liked the idea. He said that he would evaluate the situation after talking to several people representing all of the political parties in the town. He was very unusual in preferring to include the entire political spectrum rather than just friends from his own party. Ghassan needed the approval of the leadership of the intifada in Beit Sahour, but within just a few days, he gave me the OK. And thus started the most intense, successful, and long-lasting dialogue that I would experience . Because I was going to be away for several weeks, we arranged 44 A zionist among palestinians to start the dialogues when I returned. Just before I left, though, I saw a notice postedby anIsraeli groupcalled End the Occupation,encouraging peopletogotoBeitSahour.AyoungPalestiniannamedEdmundGhanem had been walking home with packages from the suq (market) when he was killed by a large rock which hurtled from a rooftop. Israeli soldiers had been stationed on the roof. Although the soldiers later claimed that the rock had blown off the roof, the Palestinians insisted that the soldiers had thrown it at Edmund. The Israeli group was going to participate in a memorial service for the young man. End the Occupation was too radical an organization for me, which is to say that while I could agree with many of their ideas, their style seemed excessively critical of Israel. There are Jews whose sympathy for the sufferings of the Palestinians renders them insensitive to, and unmoved by, the persecutions and oppression that have pursued our people throughout our lengthy exile and that led to the establishment of the State of Israel. Nonetheless, I decided to go along with them this one time, to get an initial look at Beit Sahour before getting involved in dialogue. The rented bus took us from Jerusalem to Beit Sahour. The organizers spotted an army jeep, and tried to drive around it on back roads to avoid being stopped, but suddenly another jeep blocked our road and the bus cametoahalt.Therewereonlytwoorthreehousesinthearea.TheIsraelis all got off the bus and started chatting with the Palestinian family in the closest house, while the organizers began negotiating with the army officer .Finally,thearmyallowedtenofustoattendthememorial,buttherest of us were told to stay near the bus. Soldiers would remain to guard those at the bus, even though there was no need for this since the Palestinians appreciated our support and were very friendly. By chance, the colonel in charge was the commander of my reserve regiment. I went up to him and introduced myself as one of Shammai’s NCOs. I assured him that there was no need for concern, and that we were all responsible citizens. (It was strange that I said that, since I didn’t know the other people.) The officer began treating me as a sort of liaison to the group, of which I was barely a member. The mayor of Beit Sahour, Abu-George, arrived and led us by foot for about ten minutes to the Roman Catholic church, where Edmund’s...

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