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Cultural performance
at the Wall around Rachel’s Tomb,
Bethlehem
“UNDER THE
WATCHTOWER”
The
closing celebration of AEI’s summer
school
July 7, 2008 
Monday 7/7 at 18:00
in front of the sumud house
at Rachel’s Tomb: the closing
celebration of AEI’s summer school.
Imagine: a performance by a singer
accompanied on piano directly under
the military watchtower.
The performance was
by Belgian singer Evi de Jean, who
works and resides in Holland. Her
accompanier was Noubar
Vosgueritchian from Abu Dis. Both of
them had only three days to prepare
two songs of Evi. But the harmony
and interaction during the
performance suggested as if they had
always worked together.
 
And there was more.
Together with a group of young
Palestinians of AEI brought together
for the occasion, Evi had worked for
four days on an English-language
song she and her own Dutch pianist
Menno Theunissen had made in advance
of her visit. It was called Zeitun
or olive. It is a beautiful song
about a girl in an airplane inviting
an olive tree to join her. However,
the olive tree realizes that he is
connected to the land and chooses to
stay. Below you will find the full
text of the song.
 
Besides these
performances, there were other
elements to make this performance
into a memorable celebration of
culture and life opposed to the
death and separation for which the
Wall stands. A folklore story and a
poem by Mahmoud Darwish were recited
(see also below); wishes and prayers
from abroad were pronounced and
distributed among the audience; a
woman performed the traditional
trill (clicking with the tongue, as
during weddings), and last but not
least, de Artas Folklore Center
troupe performed a series of
fascinating dabke dances which
brought the audience into rhythmic
clapping mode.
 
The Mayor of
Bethlehem, Dr Victor Batarseh, was
so kind to speak a welcoming word
and praised the courage to conduct
such a cultural performance in front
of the watchtower and the Wall. Fuad
Giacaman, AEI’s director, spoke
about the meaning of sumud or
steadfastness, together with Arts
the main theme of this year’s summer
school.
Zeitun
(lyrics-Evi De Jean /
music-Evi De Jean and Menno
Theunissen)
Saw a plane flying
over today.
Saw a big fat plane flying right
over my head today.
It was huge.
It was bright blue with yellow and
ravishing red on its tail.
It flew over my head.
It almost got stuck in my hair.
While that plane flew
right over today.
Heard a small, soft voice. It was
calling, it was calling a name.
It was warm.
It was bright light with silver and
soft golden threads at its tail.
And while I listened
closer, my hairs stood up straight.
For the voice was calling my name.
chorus:
Zeitun, zeitun,
zeitun, zeitun
In the last window
there sat a girl.
With two big brown eyes, the biggest
brown eyes that I ever had seen.
They were huge like
deserts.
And in them I saw all the places
where I'd never been.
In these eyes I read.
She looked right at me and said
chorus:
Zeitun, why do you
stay Zeitun
On this dry land Zeitun
Come with me Zeitun
First I stared at the
girl in the plane.
With my big green eyes. I was nailed
to the ground, didn't know what to
say.
Than I started
thinking.
There must be a reason that's
grounded, for why I do stay.
Than I looked around.
I kneeled and touched the ground.
chorus:
Zeitun, why do I stay
Zeitun
On this dry land Zeitun
Zeitun
bridge:
My branches give
life.
My leaves they give shelter.
Been sharing my fruit for thousands
of years.
Known all generations.
Shared bad and shared happy.
My roots they are anchored deep into
this land.
chorus:
Sumud, that's why I
stay, Zeitun
It's my homeland Zeitun
Beautiful Zeitun
I looked up at the
girl in the plane.
She was gone...
On This Earth
Poem by Mahmoud Darwish
We have on this earth what makes life worth
living:
April's hesitation,
the aroma of bread at dawn,
a woman's point of view about men,
the works of Aeschylus,
the beginning of love,
grass on a stone,
mothers living on a flute's sigh and
the invaders' fear of memories.
We have on this earth what makes life worth
living:
the final days of September,
a woman keeping her apricots ripe
after forty,
the hour of sunlight in prison,
a cloud reflecting a swarm of
creatures,
the peoples' applause for those who
face death with a smile,
a tyrant's fear of songs.
We have on this earth what makes life worth
living:
on this earth,
the Lady of Earth,
mother of all beginnings and ends.
She was called Palestine.
Her name later became Palestine.
My Lady, because you are my Lady, I
deserve life.
(Translated by Munir Akash and
Carolyn Forché)
The Judge Karakash
Once there was a judge with the name
of Karakash who was widely known for
his peculiar verdicts. One case in
particular made him famous. It once
happened that a carpenter, while
repairing a door, broke his leg
because a stone fell from the roof.
The injured man wanted compensation
and went to Karakesh who requested
the landlord to come. The landlord
pointed to the builder as being
responsible. Karakesh summoned the
builder. The builder also denied
responsibility, explaining that when
putting down that particular brick
he was distracted by a girl who wore
a very bright cloth. This had
prevented him to put the brick in
the right place.
Karakash saw the point and summoned
the girl. When he accused her of
being responsible for the man's
broken leg, she too firmly denied
responsibility. "It was not my
fault, but the draper's. When I went
to buy that dress, he had only one
color." So the draper was summoned.
The draper contended that it was not
his fault, but the manufacturer's.
When he had ordered the cloths from
England the manufacturer had offered
him only one color. "What! You dog"
cried Karakash, "You bought from a
heathen?" And he ordered the draper
to be hanged from the highest lintel
of his house. However, the lintels
were low and the man rather tall.
The servants of justice asserted
that it was physically impossible to
hang him from his house's lintels.
Karakash told them: "Hang the first
short man you see. Justice must be
done!"
From: Moral Stories of Palestine, AEI-Open
Windows, Culture and Palestine
series, Bethlehem 1999
Bethlehem / from Journalist Mr.
George Zeinah. The Arab Educational
Institute (An Affiliated Branch of
the International Catholic Peace
Movement – Pax Christi) held a
festival on the occasion of the end
of its Summer School of
Communication. The title of the
summer school was "Arts & Sumud" and
it was held in the presence of his
Excellency Mayor of Bethlehem Dr.
Victor Batarsah and Mr. Mazen Laham,
Director of Burean of Education and
Mr. Abdallah Shakarnah, Director of
the Higher Education office in
Bethlehem. The Arab Educational
Institute, youth and adult groups
members in addition to some
international and local audience
participated in this celebration.
The festival was held near by the
separation wall at Rachel's Tomb /
Bilal Bin Rabah neighborhood in
front of AEI Sumud / Peace House.
There was a one minute silence and
then Mr. Anton Murra – the AEI
Assistant Director welcomed the
audience. Mr. Fuad Giacaman, General
Director greeted the invitees and
then said "We meet to celebrate the
Summer School of Communication ,
cultural, artistic, educational and
national activities entitled " Arts
and Sumud". The whole focus was on
culture especially Arts as a unique
form of peaceful resistance and as
one aspect of our Palestinian Sumud
or steadfastness. This sumud or
perseverance is being demonstrated
in the different artistic products,
wall tapestry, paintings, writings
stories, songs, music, and
educational workshops in the field
of peace building, nonviolence,
communication skills and
intercultural exchanges. Our
children, youth and women groups
members were helped in their
activities by the international
volunteers who sacrificed and
brought some rays of hope into the
minds, hearts of our members. These
volunteers have been a great support
and encouragement for our members in
connectedness, belonging and love to
our land. This reviving of the
heritage symbols are the sources of
our inspiration, sumud and
continuity in this life.
Today you are going to listen and
see some forms and aspects of our
Palestinian cultural life. Mr.
Giacaman spoke also about patience,
love of one's country, continuity
and hope as some forms of our
Palestinian perseverance or sumud.
At the end of his word, Mr. Fuad
thanked God, funders and
internationals and locals who made
this festival a success.
Dr. Victor Batarsah, the Mayor of
Bethlehem delivered a speech in
which he spoke highly of the AEI
work in holding such celebration
near the separation wall. He
elaborated more on the devastating
effect of the wall in swallowing
more land and destroying
Bethlehemites economic life too.
This construction of this wall – Dr.
Batarsah continued to say, is a
clear challenge and violation of the
international law and human rights
declaration. The Mayor spoke also
about the continued Israeli
occupation daily practices
represented in: closures, siege,
checkpoints, settlement building and
humiliation of human dignity. He
conveyed a message to the
international community through the
internationals and volunteers in the
festival to work for the ending of
occupation and making peace in this
region.
This festive celebration included:
a poem by Mahmoud Darwish read by
the student Ahmad Himad entitled
"Life is Worth Living". Mrs.
Lawrette Zoughby read a story
entitled "Karaghosh the Judge". Some
wishes and prayers sent by members
of the World Council of Churches
were read by the teacher: Mrs. Samia
Shahin. Miss. Evi De Jean – a Dutch
volunteer from Belgian origin, sang
two Dutch songs in accompaniment
with the local pianist Mr. Noubar
Vosgueritchian. Miss. Evi led also
the AEI Choir groups in singing a
song called "Zeitun- Olive" At the
end of the ceremony, Artas Folkloric
Center performed Palestinian Dabkah
dances.
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