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Searching Jenin: Eyewitness Accounts of the Israeli Invasion

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since the Israeli army invaded the refugee camp in Jenin, destroyed its houses, killed many of its inhabitants and committed one of the worst war crimes in this present Intifada, Intifada al-Aqsa. With a successful campaign of distortion and manipulation of evidence, the Israeli foreign ministry, with the help of the United States, succeeded in hiding from the world the horrors of Jenin, and even worse, in intimidating anyone daring to tell the truth about what had happened there.

This is the great significance and enormous importance of this book. "Searching Jenin" is the first systematic account, through eyewitness reports, on the events in April 2002. Two other books appeared in Arabic, but this is the first one in English. It puts the events in context and it highlights the true nature of the crime, while not falling into the pitfall laid by the Israelis who succeeded in drawing the UN inquiry commission into supposedly academic discussion of how to describe a massacre. As comes out vividly from this book, Jenin was not just a massacre, it was an inhuman act of unimaginable barbarism.

Noam Chomsky, in his introduction to the book, puts it in the context of crimes sponsored by America and he is someone who recorded meticulously these crimes in the past. Ramzy Baroud, in his preface, notes rightly that the book will not answer the question of how many people were killed, nor will it cover every aspect of the crime. But it does convey the message, as one of the witnesses put it that, 'what I haveseen are crimes; sometimes greater than an earthquake'. And this is not just an impression, as this book makes it all too clear: every aspect of the Israeli actions in Jenin can easily be identified as war crimes, according to the Hague convention.

Testimonies like the ones presented do not only help to shed light on many of the chapters hidden by the Israeli screening and news' manipulation, it also brings forcefully the emotions, sounds and smells of the catastrophe. The pain is still there in those telling the stories. The book conveys the lingering agony through the italic interventions of the editors. Through them, we learn that while witnesses recall the horror of April 2002, like Hussein Hammad, they have to stop several times - sometimes to repose and occasionally to weep, before able to resume, like Hammad does, their stories.

Sometimes the testimonies, at first glance, seem not to tell enough - as if the survivors wish to repress the horror rather then tell it in full. But the economy of words reveals quite often, even more about what had happened. Rafidia al-Jamal is very laconic in a way, in her testimony, but the full extent of the atrocity comes out in a very short sentence she utters. This is the case when she describes how she prevented desperately her husband - who had saved her life a moment earlier - from searching after his sister. "Don't go" I told him, "She is Dead". And then she reports dryly: 'my children have nightmares'.

Other witnesses, especially mothers, feel the need to expand when it comes to their children's nightmares. Each with her own way of coping with the persisting torment of their children. Mothers all over the West Bank, and not only in Jenin a year after the massacre, spent sleepless nights with terrified children who witnessed the brutality at first hand. In Jenin, Farid and Ali Hawashin are such typical victims of continued nightmares of fear, that according to their mother, haunt them even during daylight. For them it is mainly the noise the disturbs their peace of mind: that of the loudspeaker that arrived near midnight at their home, that of the brutal burst into the house, that of the men pleading with the soldiers before being thrown out to the street, and then, worst of all, that of shots, the groaning of wounded and the silence of the dead. Noise and death repeat themselves in the memories of everyone in this book.

With these memories of sound and vision, the search for Jenin continues throughout this powerful document. It is a search for truth, but for other things as well. It is a search for loved ones unaccounted for, long after the massacre ended, and then there is a search for a remedy to the pain of the nightmare, and these searches were far more important than the question of how many exactly died in Jenin. Even without this question being answered, there is a sense that this is the most authoritative report we will ever get.

Each reader will take something different from this book. For me as an Israeli, I find the description of the soldiers' conduct the most disturbing and most convincing part of the evidence. It is a story of the dehumanization that raged in Jenin. This is so well epitomized in the chronicles of Nidal Abu al-Hayjah as reported by Ihab Ayadi. After Nidal was wounded and lay crying for help, anyone who tried to come to his rescue was shot by Israeli snipers. He bled to death as so many others. Technically, he was not massacred, he was tortured to death. The deadly precision of the snipers as a means of deterring rescue operations is being reported in other testimonies in this book, such as that of Taha Zbyde, who was killed eventually by a sniper. This mode of action was and still is enacted wherever there is an Israeli operation in the occupied territories. It is part of the vicious repertoire of the inhuman occupation - the daily physical harassment and mental abuse at checkpoints, the prevention from pregnant mothers or the wounded to get to hospitals, the starvation and the confiscation of water. No wonder some Israelis felt this brings back memories from the darker days of the Second World War. I remembered Anna Frank's diary when I read Um Sirri's horrorific recollection of how women tried to swallow a cough that irritated the Israeli soldiers standing above them, pointing their loaded guns at them.

But there are ways of opposing the inhumanity of the occupier. This is why mothers in this collection talk proudly of babies born after the massacre. The expectant young Sana al-Sani decided to call her baby, if it is a girl, 'Zuhur', which means 'flowers'. This wish is expressed in the book after Sana recalls one of the most horrid memories brought in this collection. Her husband was slaughtered on his house's doorsteps, and yet it is not revenge or retribution that guides Sana, but a dream of having a different kind of life.

But can flowers such as Sana's daughter flourish once more in the 'camp of martyrs' as the survivors called what was once their home? The flowers will have to overcome the desolation and bareness. Most of the houses were destroyed during the invasion. The Israeli army, after it expelled the resistance forces, located its artillery near the mosque and shelled the camp indiscriminately. Moreover, for blooming to take place where death once reigned, the smell would have to evaporate first. An American volunteer, Jennifer Lowenstein, until today can not sleep as the odor of death still troubles her nights and the nights of those few westerners, who gave evidence in this book, and who were fortunate enough not to be killed. They helped to tell the world the truth of what had happened. One of them is Tevor Baumgartner, who is the one who revealed the existence of mass graves, an allegation that was refuted early on in the Israeli denial, a denial that was so eagerly accepted by the United States.

This is a must, albeit a very difficult, reading. The campaign against the continued dehumanization of the Palestinians in the occupied territories can not be based on slogans and general accusations. There is a need for indictments such as one provided here, which will hopefully very soon arise enough public indignation so as to vie governments around the world to take acting to save the Palestinian people before it is too late.

This is an excellent book which brings together some fresh thinking and reporting on a controversial subject matter. The massacre at Jenin has become the pawn of those playing politics, but this book tries to bring the reader back to the need to find the truth and to explore all aspects.

Ramzy Baroud is a well known columnist whose writings have explored many subjects that are often considered taboo by the mainstream "embedded" American media -- imagine the new ways that term will be used. I found the collection of essays to be a fascinating read that challenges the perceptions about what the Israeli military really did in Jenin and forces the reader to ask hard questions about the bigger picture of brutality and unfairness.

The goal is truth, not a political view. Ramzy Baroud's book helps to refocus the reader toward that goal and away from the partisan politics that plagues much of the writing that exists in other books.

Thanls Ray Hanania
www.hanania.com

Finaly a book that teels the truth. It teels how Israeli solidiers massacred Palestinians. It's a must read for everyone who wants to know the truth.

This book is an important addition to the literature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I recall reports of the Jenin invasion very well: it was massive, thorough and presented by the Israeli government as justified. Understandably, the residents did not see it that way. This book is an attempt by journalist and author Ramzy Baroud and his team to tell the survivors side of the story. Their stories do not make for easy reading nor, in my opinion, should they. They were, after all, the targets of the IDF's invasion. If you want to hear and understand what the experience was like for the Palestinian residents of the Jenin Refugee Camp, then this is a book I highly recommend.

What the Palestinians endure is shocking. From a wide range of observers, this book documents (as best as can be expected given the circumstances) war crimes by the IDF and what can only be called state sponsored terrorism by Israel. Ramzy Baroud deserves credit for his work.

This book is undoubtedly a must reading for anyone interested not only in the history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict but also specifically in what really happened in Jenin last year during the Israeli invasion of this martyred palestinian city by Sharon's army with its heavy tanks, missiles, Apache helicopters, bulldozers.

"Searching Jenin," an authoritative book which includes first hand testimonies from Palestinian victims and their relatives is the result of a collective effort of nearly 60 scholars, reporters, and activists, Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals, is edited by Ramzy Baroud, editor-in-chief of PalestineChronicle.com. The book includes a Forward by Noam Chomsky an honourable observer and critic of the pro-Israeli bias of US Middle East policy which has constituted a major obstacle to a peaceful solution of the conflict.

Many of the reporters commissioned for the book put their safety, and in some cases, their lives on the line to collect account after tragic account for this book. Because of their integrity and professionalism, they were able to interview many high profile figures that refused being interviewed by any other news agency."

Not only does the book include scores of telling accounts of residents who witnessed and survived the invasion, but it includes interviews with people such as the wife and the mother of Mahmud Tawalbe, the leader of the resistance in Jenin. Tawalbe was shot and killed by Israeli forces. The book also includes a detailed interview with the only eyewitness to the extra-judicial execution of Abu Jandal, the second in command of the Palestinian resistance in Jenin.

The courageous reporters who combed the streets of Jenin, interviewed medical personnel, resistance fighters, and even children, including an 8 year old girl named Rund, who complained that the army broke her only doll. Rund's father was later shot and killed by the army. They also interviewed an elderly widow who explained how she implored Israeli forces as they demolished her small home, burying her disabled son alive under the rubble. Her son's body was never recovered.

This book is a powerful indictment of the regime of Israel's Ariel Sharon. What happened in the town of Jenin, in early April, 2002, brought to my mind the wrong doings of Great Britain's Oliver Cromwell against the Irish people, at Drogheda, in 1649. I found the eyewitness accounts, by the local people of Jenin, that survived this tragedy, to be very credible and extremely moving. At least, 63 Palestinians died in the siege of the town by the Israeli armed forces. The military attacks lasted two weeks. It is long past the time, for the citizens of the world, to speak out against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. What occurred at Jenin, in April 2002, should be Exhibit "A" in their argument for that occupation to end.

WARNING: This book is very disturbing, as it provides detailed, first-hand accounts of a truly horrible act of terror from the victims who have witnessed and suffered through it.

This book allows the reader to experience this event from the eyes of the Palestinians (and internationals). Many of these eyewitnesses have lost their homes, children, spouses, or other loved ones from direct fire by the Isreali army. This book will not answer the great question of how many casulties resulted from this attack, but through these first-hand accounts, it portrays the the terror, the absolute hatred, and the complete disregard for humanity that the IDF demonstrates towards the Palestinian people (and continues to demonstrate today). Most of these victims were just regular civilians who had no involvement in the uprising or the suicide bombings. This is required reading for anyone who possesses this unfounded illusion of the Isreali forces as heros who are simply defending their own people.

Most of the reviews that I've read concerning this book made me wonder where the hell they were when the invasion happened! I'll tell you, they were all at home sleeping in their warm beds having lovely dreams about life, while the Palestinians are telling their prayers before being slaughtered on the hands of the Israeli army.

But let's not argue about what happened in Jenin, as most of you don't believe what happened there or may be don't want to believe what happened there, but can you argue with me about what happened in 1948, and I mean the massacre at Deir Yassin, or can you argue about what happened in 1994 and I mean the murder of forty Palestinian worshipers by Baruch Goldstein at a mosque in Hebron, or may be someone will dare to argue about what happened in Lebanon in 1982 and I mean the 20,000 civilians slaughtered by the Israeli air force in Beirut, on orders of Ariel Sharon (the current prime minister of Israel).

This book stats some horrible facts about the Israeli army, but when I thought about it I realized that there's nothing new about that, I mean I'm not surprised any more because Israel never respected the international laws and during the last 60 or 70 years Israel proved that it doesn't respect anything... laws, traditions or even religions.

It's a shame we are to ignore Israeli atrocity since they decided (and other Arab nations for political reasons) the Palestinians are going to be their Arab whipping boy forever. Why was the UN not allowed to enter the town immediately after the attack, if the IDF had nohing to hide? This book is a shocking, moving portrayal of a people (individuals! With NAMES!) who have negative rights, being trampled by a rogue nation in violation of numerous UN resolutions, much of it the result of Israeli apartheid policies which forbids the Jews becoming a minority in their own state. (Much like South Africa in the 80's.) It really is awful to say, but the Israelis learned well the lessons of WWII, and how to manipulate public opinion, especially here in the States, to be perceived as the victim. The last time I checked, the side fighting with the rocks was considered the victim/underdog, not the side with US supplied tanks, helicopters and bulldozers. Read the account of Red Crescent ambulance drivers shot at trying to pick up the wounded, young children, shot at for throwing stones at Israeli troops, the mothers and wives of men 16-40 taken away by the IDF becaue they were suspected of being terrorists. There was one depiction of IDF soldiers wrecking a mosque and a kindergarten, tearing up schoolbooks and urinating on the floors. I guarantee by the time you are halfway through, you will be saddened or angered by this endless cycle of violence allowed to proceed uninterrupted in the 21st century. A tragic account all the way around.