Village of Bil’in asks Norway to divest from Leviev’s Africa-Israel

April 21, 2009

 

 

 

The Council on Ethics

Norwegian Government Pension Fund

Government of Norway

 

 

 

Dear Members of the Council on Ethics,

 

 

 

It is with great dismay that we learned that Norway, a strong supporter ofhuman rights and peace in the Middle East, has invested its citizens’ pensionsin a company, Lev Leviev’s Africa-Israel, that is building Israeli settlementson our village’s land, and is destroying our olive groves and any hope forjustice and peace in Palestine. Our village of Bil’in has carried out a fouryear campaign of creative, nonviolent protests against the construction ofIsrael’s wall and the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East on our village’sland, Last Friday, one of our residents, 31 year-old Bassem Abu Rahma, was shotand killed by Israeli soldiers during a nonviolent protest in Bil’in. We havealso endured countless beatings from Israeli soldiers as a result of our protests,as well as bullets, teargas, invasions and arrests. We are sure that the peopleof Norway donot want to support the seizure of our farmland, and violence against ourcommunity. Therefore, we call on the government and people of Norwayto take decisive steps, as the government of the UnitedKingdom has recently done, to end allbusiness relationships with Lev Leviev due his companies’ construction ofsettlements.

Our nonviolent campaign to prevent the seizure of 57.5% of our village’s landfor the construction of the settlement of Mattityahu East (part of the Modi’inIllit settlement bloc:http://bilin-village.org/francais/xmedia/cartes/bilin-saffa.jpg) has includedmore than 250 creative protests over the last four years. We are joined inthese protests by Israeli and international supporters. Last week, Bassem AbuRahma, a committed nonviolent protester from Bil’in, was killed when an Israelsoldier shot him in the chest from about 30 meters with a high velocity teargascanister as Bassem was standing with a group of journalists who were filmingour peaceful protest to save our land. Also during the course of thesedemonstrations, the Israeli military has injured around 1,300 civilianprotesters, and arrested 60. Around 400 of those injured and 15 of those jailedwere children from Bil’in.

 

 

We have chosen a strategy that shows unequivocally who is the victim and who isthe victimizer. We know the Israeli army can choose to deal with our protestsin two ways. When the army chooses violence, everyone sees what we are upagainst. And should the army refrain from violence, we achieve our aim ofstopping their bulldozers. But even if the soldiers put down their weapons,which so far they haven’t done, that would not make us equals. We would alwaysbe stronger, because we have the power of justice on our side.

 

 

We are connected to this land. Our mothers took us to harvest olives before wecould speak. We remember playing under the olive trees which have since beenuprooted by the Israeli settlers who have moved here. There is now a huge andgrowing Israeli settlement bloc called Modi’in Illit, which includes thesettlement of Mattityahu East, where we played as children. It is hard for usto accept the idea that our children cannot play on the land where we played inour childhood.

 

 

Israeli settlements like Mattityahu East violate international law andcountless United Nations resolutions. Our village is currently suing theCanadian companies Green Parkand Green Mount in Canadian courts for War Crimes for the construction ofMattityahu East. According to numerous press accounts, Danya Cebus, asubsidiary of the company Africa-Israel, is building the homes in MattityahuEast for Green Parkand Green Mount. Media reports also say that Danya Cebus has built homes in thesettlements of Maale Adumim and Har Homa, settlements that separate the WestBank from East Jerusalem, our capital.

 

 

This week Bil’in hosts our Fourth International Conference on GrassrootsPopular Resistance. As a center of the popular nonviolent struggle against Israel’swall and settlement for the last four years, Bil’in has hosted thousands ofinternational and Israeli visitors who have come to witness, learn and join ourstruggle. We would welcome Norwegian representatives to visit us at any time inorder to learn about the terrible impacts of Africa-Israel’s settlement onBil’in and other communities.

 

 

It is unconscionable that Norwayis supporting a company that is helping to steal the landof Bil’in and other Palestinianvillages and is destroying hopes for peace. Please stand with us in ourstruggle for justice and divest from Africa-Israel.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements – Bil’in Village

Cc: Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Finance

The Office of the Prime Minister

Henriette Westhrin, Deputy Minister

Roger Sandum, Deputy Minister

Geir Axelsen, Deputy Minister

Roger Schjerva, Deputy Minister

Ole Morten Geving, Deputy Minister