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On the Other Side

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On the Other Side

19.01.2009

When Natasha Mozgovaya, a well-known journalist, was asked what she, a Russian-speaking Israeli, thought about the state of affairs in Russian Palestine, she replied without hesitation, “the country we live in is Israel” and “‘Russian Palestine’ most likely means the Russian wives of Palestinians.”

Israelis generally do not reflect on how this Palestine lives. On the one hand, since the beginning of the intifada, Israelis generally do not enter the Arab towns in the West Bank and the Gaza strip, save for those on active military duty. The Russian wives of Palestinian Arabs are hardly ever employed in Israel and thus do not enter the Green Line. The fact that Russians live in Ramallah or Gaza is usually only remembered during times of escalated conflict when those carrying foreign passports begin to leave the hot spots.

Such was the case this time when on the eve of Operation Cast Lead Israel allowed foreigners to leave Gaza.

Some Russian women have ended up in Palestine because of circumstances worthy of a good adventure series. Such is the story of Irina Polishchuk, for example, who came to Israel in order to work in the world’s oldest profession. On the job itself, she met her future husband, a Palestinian by the name of Ibrahim Sarhana. It later turned out that Sarhana was a member of a terrorist group. That didn’t stop Irina, however. She not only chose to marry Sarhana and give birth to a child, but she also joined the same underground organization. The happy couple soon took part in a terrorist act by bringing a suicide bomber to the town of Rishon LeZion.

Such exciting stories are the exception rather than the rule. For the most part, everything happens much more conventionally. Having come to Russia for study or work, Palestinians have often become involved with local girls and returned to Ramallah, Jenin or Gaza with new wives.

Life in Palestine for Russian women differs depending on the person. Economically, many are well off. Palestinians who return with a Soviet or Russian diploma generally manage to find solid employment. Russian women themselves often develop respectable careers. One of the best gynecologists in the area is a Russian woman by the name of Tatiana, who arrived in Ramallah in 1997. In general, though, one could hardly call the lives of Russian Palestinian women easy or pleasant.

The Palestinian Authority is one of the poorest regions on the planet. Even in relatively prosperous Ramallah, conditions are generally poorer and more tedious than in Moscow or St. Petersburg. In Gaza, most inhabitants live in poverty. Secondly, not everyone is able to fit into the new Muslim environment. It is true, though, that many Palestinian spouses of Russian women are quite secular and modern in their outlook. Some even prefer that everyone, including the children, speak Russian at home. Some women find themselves in strict Muslim environments where they have to put up with numerous prohibitions and restrictions.

And, most importantly, the persistent attempts by Palestinians to achieve their goals through violence and terror have led to massive Israeli attacks. In 2002, Judea and Samaria were under attack. In 2009, it was Gaza’s turn after eight years of continuous rocket fire into Israel.

Describing in detail how people live in cities plagued by street battles seems unnecessary. The bombs and missiles are far from the only problem facing Russian women during this escalation in the conflict. The Palestinian Authority is not an independent state and as such, all entry and exit documents during peacetime are drawn up in Israel. During times of war, obviously, they are not processed anywhere. As a result, dozens of Palestinian Russians don’t have the opportunity to leave to visit their parents, as leaving on a Russian or Ukrainian passport will make it impossible for them to return.

Additional problems have arisen for those living in Gaza, where Hamas seized power following a military coup. The Palestinian spouses of Russian women have rarely sympathized with Islamic fundamentalism. On the contrary, many of them have been in one way or another connected with the secular regime of the Fatah Party, whose supporters were the victims of mass repression at the hands of Islamists. The first Russian women began to leave in the summer of 2007 immediately after the coup. Certainly not all of them left, however, and many chose to remain despite the Hamas regime. Some women remained in Gaza, sometimes by choice and sometimes due to the resilience of Palestinian families.

Perhaps the lives of many Russian Palestinians would be easier if they were able to freely communicate with Russian-speaking Israelis, who number nearly a million in the country. In the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such contacts, of course, are virtually impossible. There doesn’t seem to be much desire for contact on either side, especially given the fact that most Russian Israelis hold rightist political ideals while those on the Palestinian side often fully support the armed struggle, including terrorist attacks against civilians.

Common cultural and linguistic traditions sometimes trump political differences, however, which means that some contact occasionally does occur. Usually it takes place through the mediation of sociopolitical organizations that have unsuccessfully tried to establish an Arab-Israeli dialogue. One such meeting took place near Jerusalem before Operation Cast Lead began. On the Israeli side an organization by the name of Morashteinu (Our Heritage) was formed in order to unite Russian-speaking intellectuals of leftist political persuasions.

Several months ago at the Tel Aviv club “What? Where? When?” an email was unexpectedly received from Ramallah. Several local teams had asked to participate in the tournament that was being organized by the club. In further correspondence it became clear that for several years now there have been “What? Where? When?” clubs in Ramallah. Their members include Arabs who studied in Russia and their Russian wives.

No one in Tel Aviv objected to their absentee participation, but the Palestinians wanted to arrive in person, saying that they were tired of not having proper communication with other Russians. This proposal caused disagreements, as there were those who feared that  under the guise of a participant a terrorist could enter Israel. In the end, however, most believed that if the Palestinian enthusiasts were allowed to cross the border, there would be little objection to their participation. This was how things ended, however, as the main initiator on the Palestinian side soon left for St. Petersburg. As of yet, full-fledged meetings between Israeli and Palestinian enthusiasts have not yet taken place.

It would be good to end this article on an optimistic note. Recently, the Israeli press has reported that Russians in Gaza were unable to celebrate the New Year due to ... a lack of beets. Local farmers do not grow them, and humanitarian convoys deliver only medicines and basic foodstuffs. The New Year’s table of many former Soviet residents living in Gaza will not contain a number of the familiar dishes.

I would like to express my sincere hope that in the future, the absence of beets will be the most important problem facing Russians living in the Palestinian territories. I am afraid, though, to live in such a beautiful time...

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