By Lydia Aisenberg Before starting at Yale University last autumn Danielle Gilbert volunteered for a few months at the Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace. During this time Danielle became well acquainted not only with Givat Haviva but also with the surrounding Wadi Ara area in which the campus is situated. One of the places visited by Danielle during a get to know the region walkabout talkabout with a member of the International Department's staff was the rather special village of Barta'a. Divided by the Green Line l949-1967, Barta'a is in present times still very much a divided village, or as some would call it – a village with a split personality. One-third of the physical part of the village, where the vast majority of residents are members of the extended Kabha family, is inside the State of Israel and two-thirds 'over the Green Line' and these days part of Area B in the West Bank. "That short visit to Barta'a proved to be truly inspirational to me," Danielle Gilbert emailed prior to a recent return visit to Israel. During her first semester at Yale, Danielle took a course called "Nationalism" in the political science department. "As our final project each student had to analyze the national identities and national movement in some territorial unit to research and I chose Barta'a," explained Danielle, who arrived last week in order to carry out more research on the village that a border once physically ran through leaving a deep mark (a 3 meter wide ditch) not only on the landscape but on the complicated identity dilemmas of those who reside there. "I spent the semester reading all the research I could find at Yale, old demographic surveys, David Grossman's books, newspaper articles, etc. Ultimately this turned in to a 30 page research paper, but it didn't stop there," she continued. "My professor was so fascinated by my work on Barta'a that he suggested I apply for fellowships and attempt to return to the village to conduct more research, to turn this paper into something larger and more solid," said the Yale student of the rather daunting task she has taken on. Danielle secured not one but two fellowships to cover her travel and living costs in Israel whilst she undertakes interviews, hands out questionnaires and tallies up the evaluation of all the research at the end of a five week period. "What I am hoping to achieve with this project will include a large survey, filled out by as many residents as possible; more in-depth interviews with a smaller group of selected individuals from Barta'a; analyzing previously attained statistical data regarding voting records, employment and education of the members of both sides of Barta'a," Danielle continued to explain. After only a few days in the country, Danielle returned to Givat Haviva and together with staff of the International Department got the ball on her project rolling. A visit to the security fence and section that is wall at Baka al-Gharbiya with local lawyer Amir Gara brought home the stark realities of those who live immediately on either side of the physical divide in the Little Triangle (Wadi Ara) region. A section of the security fence passes behind East Barta'a therefore effectively cutting off the Palestinian residents from the rest of the West Bank which they can visit but have to queue for long stretches of time at an IDF controlled checkpoint.
Danielle Gilbert and local lawyer Amir Gara inspecting a section of the wall in Baka-al-Gharbiya At a meeting with the mayor of the local council Riad Kabha and council workers representing their in-house social and education services, tax collection and so forth, Danielle was told by Riad – who until taking up the post as mayor was the director of the Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace at Givat Haviva – that the council would fully support Danielle's quest to find out more about village residents and their rather special predicament.
Danielle Gilbert explaining her project to Mayor Riad Kabha (head of the table) and council employees
"I am sure that your research work will be of interest not only to those at Yale but also to those of us that live with the reality of daily life in our village," Riad told Danielle, who was then promptly invited to a wedding due to take place the following day at Barta'a. Guess there's no better way of meeting a lot of Kabha's than at a wedding within the 21,000 extended Kabha clan, over 8000 of whom live in East and West Barta'a. Givat Haviva will be assisting Danielle wherever possible during her stay in the region and hopefully a copy of her research paper will eventually find its way to the shelves of the Peace Library for reference by other researchers. June 2006
