Members of Rabbis for Human Rights, Taayush and Anarchists Against the Wall joined Palestinians in Qaryut in securing them and helping them work their land. The day began normally, the farmers take wheat seeds, throw them around and turn the ground with tractors. There is something magical in connecting to earth (even with the filters of technology) that I don’t get much of in the city.

Two settlers arrive after an hour and tell us to go away. They totally ignore the Palestinian, since according to their line of thought it is the leftists that instigate the whole event, while the Palestinian are passive actors with no wishes or goals of their own (other than killing Jews). A settler explains to us that God gave him this land. Memorizing selective sentences from the bible, he informs us that when it comes to “rescuing” the land of Israel, Jaws cannot show any mercy, “or the anger of god will be upon them.” He accuses us of not being real Jews, since I’m a secular Jew and Rabbi Asherman is a Reform Jew. He ends with noting that after all, we are receiving money from European countries, who would like to subsidize this kind of anti-Semitic activity. I tell Moshe that I do not receive any European money (unlike the state of Israel) and ask him if he feels more comfortable taking money from evangelical Christians in the US, who propagate Anti-Semitic ideology (while supporting Israel), and believe that by donating to Israel’s most extreme forces, they can inflame the war between Palestinians and Jews to bring the end of time.

The settlers give up on convincing us and move to block the tractor with their vehicles. The military arrives, and does not do anything. The settlers get annoyed by the passive military action, and move to block the tractors with their bodies. One of them is standing on the right side of the tractor threatening to physically hurt the Palestinian or the tractor, while the other settler is standing in front of the tractor.

The police, more soldiers and medics arrive. The police proceeds to arrest the Palestinian farmer for assault, while not even questioning the settler. While the farmer is handcuffed and lead to a police car, the settler is having small talk and is shaking hands with military personals.

Another day of occupation.