2000 Trees to be uprooted in Wadi Kana

Two Thousand Olive Trees are to be uprooted in Palestine

The trees have been planted by farmers on their own lands in the area of Wadi Kana. This valley has been designated as a nature reserve by the Civil administration (The Israeli military-based administration of the Palestinian occupied territories). The farmers had no say in the creation of the nature reserve on their land; there was no process that took into account their needs.

The farmers have already passed the deadline of the order to uproot their own trees, now the Israeli army may come any day to uproot them and charge the farmers for the work carried out.

Meanwhile no action has been taken to remove 22 buildings of the illegal Jewish outpost of Alonei Shiloh all of which is entirely in the area of the nature reserve. In addition to this, 123 buildings from the neighbouring Jewish settlements are within the nature reserve. Some of these buildings have demolition orders, some even for some time, but no action has been taken.

It is appalling that the Civil administration is planning to enforce the uprooting of 2000 olive trees. This is an act of destruction with no consideration of the farmers hard work and the consequences to their livelihoods.

For some of the farmers this is not the first time they are having trees uprooted, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to fund the replanting of their orchards.

We are asking for your help to stop this happening.

We have composed a letter to send to the relevant people in the Civil Administration, IDF, Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Ministry of Defence. We feel that the more of us who send this letter the more attention this issue will receive.

To read and / or send the letter

על מנת לקרוא ולשלוח את המכתב בעברית הקישו כאן

As a further act of solidarity and support for the livelihoods of the farmers, consider buying them a young olive tree. It is surprisingly cheap.

One Olive tree costs 15 Shekels. ($ 4, € 3, £ 2.50)

All the money raised will go directly to the farmers, we will cover all fees, and will take no percentage.

To add a little spice, we have set up a way to buy an olive tree on behalf of Ehud Barak, the Israeli Minister of Defence.

The tree will still go to the farmers of Wadi Kana. But we will inform Ehud Barak that you have done this kind act on his behalf.

Naturally we will also let the farmers know that you have bought them a tree!

This way the Wadi Kana farmers will get the support they need, while the Minister of Defence will get a very clear message.

It is possible to do all of this anonymously, or with your real name and email.

To buy an Olive tree for the farmers of Wadi Kana

After you buy the tree through PayPal you will be redirected to a page where you can choose to let Ehud Barak know what you have done.

Feel free to skip this stage if you wish.

Here is what the email will say:

Subject: "YourName" wants you to stop the uprooting of 2000 Olive Trees

Hello Ehud Barak

2000 trees are scheduled to be uprooted in Wadi Kana.

You have the power to stop this.

To help I've bought you an Olive tree, but I've given it on your behalf to the farmers of Wadi Kana.

I think they need it more than you do.

I hope you will be part of the solution.

שלום אהוד ברק,

אלפיים עצים מועדים לכריתה בואדי קנה

בידיך הכח לעצור את כריתתם

כאקט של תמיכה קניתי לך שתיל עץ זית, והענקתי אותו בשמך לחקלאים מואדי קנה

תחושתי שהם זקוקים לו כרגע יותר ממך

,בוא נחזיר את התקווה לאזורינו, בוא נפעל יחד למען השלום והצדק

מאת "YourName"

עקירת 2000 עצי זית בשטחים הכבושים

העצים נטעו על ידי חקלאים פלשתינאיים מהכפר דיר איסטיה על אדמותהם

הפרטיות בואדי קנה. הואדי הוכרז כשמורת טבע על ידי המנהל האזרחי. בניגוד

לנוהל הכרזת שמורת טבע בתוך הקו הירוק, לא היה דיון

עם החקלאים בעלי האדמות, צרכיהם לא נשמעו ולכן גם לא הובאו בחשבון בתכנון השמורה.

לחקלאים ניתן עד ה 1.5.2012 לעקור את העצים בעצמם. משעבר תאריך זה, הצבא

יכול להגיע בכל עת ולבצע את העקירה, עליה יידרשו החקלאים לשלם.

בו בזמן לא ננקט כל צעד להתמודד עם מאחז אלוני שילה שנבנה בתוך תחומי

השמורה. במאחז גרות כ-20 משפחות ב22 מבנים. בנוסף יש כ-120 מבנים

בהתנחלויות סמוכות שנבנו בתוך תחומי השמורה. על חלקם יש צווי הריסה שאינם

מוצאים לפועל.

כוונת המנהל האזרחי לעקור את 2000 עצי הזית בקונטקסט הקיים היא מזעזעת

ומטרידה. בנוסף לאפליה הבוטה בין יהודים לפלשתינאים, יש כאן התעלמות

מוחלטת מעבודת הכפיים הקשה של החקלאים והעובדה שפרנסתם תלוייה בעבודת

כפיים זו. לחלקם זו הפעם השלישית שעציהם נכרתים.

אנו מבקשים את עזרכתם לעצור את העקירה

ניסחנו מכתב לבעלי התפקידים הרלוונטיים במנהל האזרחי, בצה"ל, ברשות הטבע

והגנים ובמשרד הבטחון. ככל שיתקבלו יותר מכתבים יזכה הנושא לתשומת לב

רצינית ורבה יותר.

על מנת לקרוא ולשלוח את המכתב

כצעד נוסף של תמיכה בחקלאים וסולידריות עמם, תוכלו לקנות להם שתיל עץ זית.

עלות שתיל אחד 15 ש"ח. כל הכסף שייתרם יועבר לחקלאים בואדי קנה.

להוסיף מעט תבלון פוליטי, תוכלו לקנות את השתיל עבור שר הבטחון אהוד ברק

ולשלוח אותו בשמו לחקלאים. אנו ניידע את אהוד ברק על כך שביצעתם אקט נדיב

זה בשמו. כמו כן ניידע את החקלאים כמובן!

בדרך זו ייקבלו החקלאים מואדי קנה את התמיכה לה הם זקוקים, ושר הבטחון

יקבל מסר ברור.

לקניית שתיל עץ זית עבור חקלאי ואדי קנה

לאחר השלמת התשלום אלקטרוני תופנו לדף בו תוכלו לבחור ליידע את אהוד ברק

על רכישתכם

להלן נוסח המייל שיישלח לאהוד ברק

שלום אהוד ברק,

אלפיים עצים מועדים לכריתה בואדי קנה

בידיך הכח לעצור את כריתתם

כאקט של תמיכה קניתי לך שתיל עץ זית, והענקתי אותו בשמך לחקלאים מואדי קנה

תחושתי שהם זקוקים לו כרגע יותר ממך

,בוא נחזיר את התקווה לאזורינו, בוא נפעל יחד למען השלום והצדק

מאת "YourName"

Send by Fax: A call to cancel the order to uproot Two Thousand olive trees.

At the bottom of the page is a translation, from Hebrew into English, of the letter: A call to cancel the order to uproot 2000 olive trees.

And here is the instructions on how to send the letter as a fax for free.

1).

You will need to Download the letter here http://engagedharma.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/d79cd7a2d7a6d795d7a8-d790d7aa-d7a2d7a7d799d7a8d7aa-d794d7a2d7a6d799d79d.doc

2).

The file is called

d79cd7a2d7a6d795d7a8-d790d7aa-d7a2d7a7d799d7a8d7aa-d794d7a2d7a6d799d79d.doc

Open it in Word or Open Office and add your name, telephone (optional) and email address (optional).

It is in Hebrew, so an explanation with a little translation is required, scroll to the bottom of the letter, the last three lines are

Name is שם:

Telephone is טלפון:

Email is דוא"ל:

Add your details, in your own language, and save the file to your desktop, or somewhere else convenient. Choose "Save As" you can call it anything you like.

3).

Open this page

http://www.freefax.co.il/upload.php

in your web browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome, or what ever you normally use)

Again it is in Hebrew, but you are doing great, and we're nearly done, hang in there.

Luckily you will see "Choose file" is in English.

Click that and upload the letter you just saved to your desktop

There is a check box above the number 5, that is correct. It means you can send 5 faxes for free right now.

Now you have 2 or 3 text boxes below that, insert two or three, of the 6 fax numbers listed here. Just the numbers, not the name. The name is just to let you know who you are sending to.

Ehud Barak; Minister of Defence: 036976218

General Eitan Dangut; Coordinator of Activities in the Occupied Territories: 036976306

Shaul Goldstein; CEO of Israel Nature and Parks Authority: 025005433

Moti Almuz; Head of Civil Administration: 029977341

Eli Bar-On; Civil Administration Legal Advisor: 029977326

Moti Shefi; Staff Officer of the Nature and Parks Authority: 026259783

The lowest text box is for your email, you can use yours or ours; info(at)sanghaseva.org

-Here is a strange bit-

If you only see two text boxes above the email text box then once you put in two of the fax numbers, you will see another text box appear. This is for the third fax number.

Click the check box below that, to show you have read the terms and conditions, otherwise you can't proceed.

Click the button at the very bottom to send.

That is it !

If you can spare the time and enjoyment to send the letter to the other 3 people, revisit the instructions from point 3).

Thank you so much for your great support.

An English Translation of the letter

TO:

Ehud Barak; Minister of Defence: 036976218

General Eitan Dangut; Coordinator of Activities in the Occupied Territories: 036976306

Shaul Goldstein; CEO of Israel Nature and Parks Authority: 025005433

Moti Almuz; Head of Civil Administration: 029977341

Eli Bar-On; Civil Administration Legal Advisor: 029977326

Moti Shefi; Staff Officer of the Nature and Parks Authority: 026259783

Subject: A call to cancel the orders to uproot 2000 olive trees planted by residents of Deir Istya on their lands in the area of Wadi Kana designated as a nature reserve

Dear Sir,

I would like to protest against the orders to uproot 2000 olive trees on lands belonging to Deir Istya village.

These orders were issued by the Israeli Parks and Nature Authority and were left on some of the trees in the olive orchards. They were found by the 10 affected farmers on April 25th 2012. The uprooting of these trees, some of which are now bearing fruit, opposes the spirit of Israeli law and gravely undermines the property rights of farmers as well as their ability to support their families. I am asking you to act immediately to cancel these orders.

The lands in question, in Wadi Kana, have been cultivated by the village for generations. Israel declared the area as a nature reserve without taking into considerations that the land is privately owned and is used for agriculture, providing an essential income to the owners. Through this action the right of the farmers to cultivate their land has been severely limited.

Here are additional reasons to cancel the orders:

The trees were planted between 2 and 7 years ago. There is proof of this in aerial photos, and in the actual size of the trees. It is not the custom to uproot trees that are more than a year old, and certainly not once they have started bearing fruit.

Further more, the illegal outpost of Alonei Shiloh, with 22 buildings, was built entirely in the area of the nature reserve. No action has been taken to remove it. In neighbouring Jewish settlements, there are 123 buildings that were built within the nature reserve. The intention to uproot 2000 olive trees while ignoring the outpost and the said buildings in the settlements consists a blatant discrimination between Palestinians and Jews and is unlikely to be upheld in a court of law.

Additionally, olive trees do not harm nature. They are a local tree, not an exotic import. In a 2002 report by a committee of experts commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of the Environment ( Policies and tools for maintaining open zones ) it is clearly stated that agricultural land can sometimes contribute to nature conservation as much as nature reserves. In a recent Ha'Aretz article a scientific study was quoted stating that it is the traditional agriculture in the

South Mount Hebron region that has ensured the survival of rare plant species that have disappeared from other parts of the region, including nature reserves.

I was shocked to hear that the Civil administration is planning to enforce the uprooting of 2000 olive trees. Such an act of destruction, with no consideration of the farmers hard work and the consequences to their livelihoods is inconceivable to me. This action violates the spirit of Israeli law which forbids uprooting olive trees. (The 1926 Forestry order, section 15)

It is also in violation of Jewish tradition, as expressed in Deuteronomy 20, verse 19:

''When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?''

The planned uprooting will have a detrimental effect on the livelihood and lifestyle of the farmers, on their relationship to the civil administration, and on nature, whom the orders are meant to protect.

Therefore I ask you to delay the uprooting of the trees and to work towards cancelling these orders altogether. Cancelling the orders will be an expression of the Civil administration's moral discretion and I am sure it will be appreciated by the village residents, the Israeli public and the international organisations that are working to prevent to uprooting of the trees.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter,

Best wishes,

NAME:

TELEPHONE:

EMAIL: