Event reports
“Breaking the Silence” is an organisation founded by (i.a. former) Israeli soldiers who have concluded their military service in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They report about their experience on the ground. The target groups are Israelis and foreigners from all over the world.
On August 05, 2011, the students of the Henri-Nannen-School for Journalism planned to visit the Palestinian city of Hebron. But the Israeli police gave no permission for the tour. Hence, Noam Chayut, co-founder of “Breaking the Silence”, organised a tour to the “South Hebron Hills”. The police explained their decision with the tense security situation on the first Friday of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The focal point of the tour was the destiny of a village and his inhabitants. Susiya, a small village in the south of Hebron which is inhabited by Bedouins, stands symbolically for the Middle East conflict. The Bedouins of Susiya were always farmers and were living for hundreds of years in desert caves. Because of the military conflicts between Israelis and Arabs during the Israeli Independence War (1948) and the Six-Day-War (1967) they had to flee from their land. During the Second Intifada, which began in the year 2000, the caves of the Bedouins were destroyed by the Israeli army. After a constant repetition of escape and return, only a few families are still following the way of life of their ancestors. The destiny of these people moved the students of the Henri-Nannen-School in a stark way.