Sharon demolishes, Angela Rebuilds

A four-day international symposium, on one of the most important human rights projects, including new tactics to protect them, was held in Ankara. In the symposium dubbed "The Human Rights Olympics," in terms of the variety of the participants, almost 100 projects were put forward. The participants, belonging to different religions, ethnicities and cultures, evaluated human rights advocacy in their own way. Visiting Ankara for the symposium that was held between September 29 and October 2, Angela Godfrey, an Israeli woman, voiced out the Palestinian people’s grievances and hopes for peace from the perspective of an Israeli. Contrary to others of the same gender oppressing the Palestinian people, this outstanding Israeli woman declared that the Palestinian people do not deserve such tyranny and she has consolidated her support by performing the role of the "goodness angel." Angela’s sensitivity is infinite, but first of all she tries to rebuild the Palestinian houses demolished by the Israeli government. The 54-year-old Godfrey, saying, "I work for peace and freedom. I want peace not only for the Palestinians, but also for the Israelis," has dedicated her life to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Believing peace would definitely come one day, even though she does not predict when, Godfrey works with an organization called, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. In addition to her support for the Palestinian Intifadah and efforts to make her voice heard, Godfrey is also a human rights advocate. With no profession other than human rights activism, her most important duty is rebuilding Palestinian houses demolished by the Israeli government. Being one of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions executives, she and her organization support the Palestinian Intifadah.

They are Following Israeli Government Step by Step

Saying that they try to rebuild a house demolished by the Israeli government after following the developments, Godfrey complains about their not being able to enter the Gaza Strip. That’s why they observe the inside from the check points and then try to follow the actions from there: " When we see bulldozers demolishing houses, we try to stop them. We call the press by telephone and form a resistance. Sometimes we succeed in preventing them. At times the court order comes late, in that case the house is demolished." She says she started these activities 2. 5 years ago, adding, "During this period several houses have been demolished. Because of financial shortages we have been able to rebuild only 15-20 houses. The restoration of a house requires $4,000." Godfrey notes that they find it difficult getting the necessary funds for restoration. Therefore, the work is carried out through voluntary donations and assistance from the international community collected via the Internet.

Living in Jerusalem, the 54-year-old human rights advocate has no one in her life apart from her family. Her parents have died. Because Angela is single, she lives alone. She has dedicated her whole life to the Palestinian Intifadah and to the restoration of demolished Palestinian houses. In spite being Israeli, her taking sides with Palestinians is ‘tolerated’ by her friends. Godfrey says that until now, she has not received any big reaction from her close circle.

Israeli Government Does not Reflect the Reality

Reacting against the Israeli government, Godfrey says, " Israeli officials do not reflect the realities we witness. I want to declare the realities of the occupation." She goes on, " We are aware of the fact that Palestine is under occupation. It does not have a professional army like Israel. It faces death and destruction everyday. We want to save these people through peaceful means." Godfrey wants peace for her people as well. In her opinion, the Oslo Peace Process did not produce a just policy for Palestine. Unjust and domineering decisions were made, and based on these decisions, Palestinian people were squeezed into a corner. She adds, "We might be successful in our peace efforts, but the Israeli government’s utterances are different from the realities. We want to attract the society’s attention to this difference." Meanwhile, her saying that apart from a small minority, they receive the support of the Israeli society, does not overlap with what we have reported. Godfrey also confirms that these groups are accepted as "marginal" by the Israeli government. Her main target is Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government’s policies. Calling on the international community to end the occupation and bring peace, Godfrey advocates a solution based on the return of refugees to their homelands, cessation of polarization and Israeli-Palestinian territorial integrity. She wants that the West Bank wall to be pulled down, Israelis living in East Jerusalem to return to their lands, Palestinians to move back to their own lands and the rights of Palestinian people be protected. Difficult but not impossible? According to Godfrey, peace is possible…