Witness in Palestine

By Candace, June 1, 2007

Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories, is a book by Anna Baltzer, a young American Jewish woman who visited the West Bank to self determine what was going on there. She grew up with the customary stories an American Jewish girl would receive in her culture. She came to have reason to question the stories she was raised with.  I met Anna last fall when she gave a presentation here in Denver, and found a dedicated marvelous young woman of great bravery, who discovered the truth about the Israel occupation of Palestine. Here is the material from the back cover of her book:

In 2003, Anna Baltzer, a young Jewish American, visited the West Bank to discover for herself the realities of daily life for Palestinians under the Occupation. What she found would change her outlook on the conflict forever. She wrote this book to give voice to the stories of the people who welcomed her with open arms as their lives crumbled around them.

For five months, Baltzer lived and worked with farmers, Palestinian and Israeli activists, and the families of political prisoners, traveling with them across endless checkpoints and roadblocks to reach hospitals, universities, and olive groves. Baltzer witnessed first hand the environmental devastation brought on by expanding settlements and outposts, and the destruction wrought by Israel’s “Security Fence”, which separates many families from each other, their communities, their land, and basic human services. What emerges from Baltzer’s journal is not a sensationalist tale of suicide bombers and conspiracies, but a compelling, trying and inspiring description of daily life under the Occupation.

Through an insider’s extensive interviews and documentation, Witness in Palestine reveals the truth about checkpoints, settlements, land confiscation, the Wall, and the countless everyday actions of nonviolent resistance that remain largely ignored by mainstream Western media. Baltzer’s probing and honest discussion of the Occupation and the pervasive spirit of nonviolence offers a fresh look at Palestine today.

I purchased her book, for it is a worthy read. She recently was sold out on it, and I don’t know if it has been republished or not, but she has the contents of her journal at her website, so you can read there. Please do go read there and see her photo albums. www.annainthemiddleeast.com  Also please consider a donation to her worthy cause.

When I purchased her book, it came with a map showing the conquest of Palestine between 1945 and 2000. This is not in her book, but can be found at: http://www.jewwatch.com/jew-genocide-palestinian-apartheidlaws-lossofpalestinianland1946to2000.html 

Anna is currently back in Palestine, as I write this today,  and her current journaling of this experience is on her website. Just click on “Writings.” She works with a group there called: IWPS, the International Women's Peace Service.