“This is going to happen as long as we are occupiers,” says Seidemann.
Daniel Seidemann, center, in the West Bank.
Via peacenow.org
For Daniel Seidemann, the drive along the circuitous roads that connect Palestinian and Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem is a regular occurrence. The Israeli-American attorney, a leading foe of Israeli development in East Jerusalem, regularly crosses between the two worlds, even at a time when belief in coexistence and a peace process is at an all time low.
On Saturday, drove to visit a friend in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sur Bahir, about a kilometer from his home. He wrote:
When we took leave of one another, I headed home in my car. I had the misfortune of ending up in a traffic jam in the center of the village, just as school was getting out. I didn't see it coming, but should have: I was a sitting duck. The rock was probably thrown at point blank range; it smashed the side window with enough force to leave a deep gash in the back of my head. I was fortunate: I did not lose consciousness, nor my sense of orientation. Thankfully, the traffic jam loosened up a bit. Within a minute or so I was out of danger and on my way to get treatment.
His reaction, posted on the liberal Israeli site +972 Magazine, inspired backers of Palestinian rights, and infuriated some Israelis and their American allies:
The rock that hit me yesterday was not directed at me, personally. Most likely, it was hurled because I am an Israeli – the occupier. It's also possible that it's because I am a Jew, irrespective of the occupation. We will never know. But the wonderful people who visited me today are living under occupation. My occupation. I deserve no special dispensation for my "good behavior." They owe me no apologies. As long as the occupation exists, events like this will happen and no one is exempt from them. I don't romanticize the prick that cracked my head open. But I don't find it particularly important if he is or is not apprehended. (OK – I do fear that he might have just been practicing on me, and that more deadly violence can be expected of him in the future). But this ends not when Palestinians behave better, or when our Shin Bet becomes more efficient. It ends when occupation ends. Until then, I remain a symbol of that occupation, and not without reason. And no good deeds, as it were, will redeem me or protect me.
