Farid Esack Open Letter to the Palestinian People

I went to Israel and the West Bank in November of 2010 to see the situation first hand: to meet with people and hear their stories; to get a sense of the reality of everyday life, both throughout Israel and throughout the West Bank.

One day while en route from one meeting in Jerusalem to another near Ramallah, the road took us beside the cold, gray wall of separation erected by Israel. As we drove, I began to notice that there was a text near the top which extended in both directions as far as the eye could see. It seemed to a message talking about apartheid. We turned the car around, went back to the beginning, and filmed it in its entirety. As it turned out, it is an open letter to the people of Palestine from South African theologian Dr. Farid Esack. What follows is that message.

If you would like to see this portion of the wall in person, it is north of Jerusalem, along Highway 60 in Al Ramm, close to the Qalandiya checkpoint.

• Category

  News & Politics

[Todd Boyle]

Awesome!! Good clarity too.  I wish we could watch it in higher frame rate (smoother)!

[awestruckbigtime]

We slowed it down to match Mr. Esack's reading of his letter AND in order to be able to actually read it. If I had known more about video production, we would have driven slowly while filming it. Oh well...

[Theresa Berwick]

The struggle of South Africa is more similar to that of the Jews really. I am writing on my wife's wall, Israeli's lives were being blown to shreds from one coffee shop and bus to another, and for years. When the wall came up, Israelis did not have to fear as much fro their lives and the Jihadists had a more difficult time getting through. I was there and I witnessed the end to the murdering because of this wall, as ugly as it is.

[aipacsucks]

It needs to be written on the side of the wall that faces the TERRORIST OPPRESSORS TOO!

[littlebrit1961]

wow...powerful words' .... people need to see this.. Thank-you for doing this.. xox

[WhiteTiger333]

Wow - art at its best - the text, putting it on the wall, all the other art on the wall and your filming of it. It would be interesting to know what's on the 'free side' of that same wall section.

[fa7she88]

AMAZING!

[Oktay Amiry]

Amen !!