Adam and Nora
Note: Adam and Nora’s names, as well as all other names throughout their testimony, have been changed due to safety concerns.
Note II: Adam and Nora are fluent in both Spanish and English. Thus, their interview flips back and forth between the two languages rather seamlessly (frequently to ensure my understanding). In the moments in which they are speaking Spanish, I have included their original Spanish words and an English translation. When they speak English, I have done my best to also provide a Spanish translation.
-Lauren
Adam and Nora are siblings born during and just before the Nakba, respectively. They were both born in Bethlehem, Palestine. They lived in Palestine for ~10 years before migrating to Peru to flee Israeli occupation. As they discuss, despite living in the diaspora, their connection to Palestine remains strong. They have both returned to their occupied homelands on multiple occasions. In the following testimony, they share their own personal origin stories of being born into a warzone, their family reasons for fleeing, and their current feelings amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The siblings shared their story on the same day as did Shukri, in the same very full room. As such, there was a fair amount of audience member participation, which they responded to throughout the interview. They chose to have their interview presented in transcribed form for maximum anonymity. This interview took place in June 2024.
The beginning: Born during the Nakba
Lauren
¿Cómo se llaman?
What are your names?
Adam
Yo me llamo Adam y mi hermana Nora.
My name is Adam and my sister is Nora.
Lauren
¿Qué son tus conexiones a Palestina?
What are your connections to Palestine?
Adam
Bueno, nosotros somos, yo soy nacido en Belén en el año 48, en mayo. Y hemos vivido 10 años en Beit Jala, después de que se creó el Estado de Israel.
Well, we are, I was born in Bethlehem in the year 1948, in May. And we lived in Beit Jala for 10 years, after the State of Israel was created.
Adam
I was born on May [day], 1948. Israel was created on May 15th. So, I have the same age as Israel.
Nací el [día] de mayo de 1948. Israel fue creado el 15 de mayo. Entonces tengo la misma edad que Israel.
Nora
Si. Mientras el nacía, anunciaban la independencia de Israel. Entonces, mientras mi mama estaba dando a luz, en la clinica, traían a los heridos y a los muertos que estaban en los pasillos. Y mi mamá — Adam nació, y mi mamá estaba escuchando los gritos de los heridos. Un aterrador, realmente, fue, eso.
Yes. What I remember, on his birthday was that they were announcing Israel's independence while he was being born. So, while my mother was giving birth, they were bringing the wounded and the dead in the hallways. And my mom — Adam was born and my mom was listening to the cries of the wounded. It was a really scary thing, for her.
From life pre-nakba to the decision to flee
Lauren
Cuando eran joven, ¿alguna vez sus padres se hablaron de la vida antes de la Nakba?
When you both were young, did your parents ever tell you about life before the Nakba?
Adam
El tema fue lo siguiente, antes del Nakba. Mi papá trabajaba en una oficina de la propiedad de la familia [nombre]. Él era administrador de la propiedad con su tío y vivían bien. O sea, tenían amigos judíos, amigos franceses, alemanes, ingleses.
The story was the following, before the Nakba. My dad worked in an office on the [name] family property. He was a property manager with his uncle and they lived well. That is, they had Jewish friends, French, German, and English friends.
Lauren:
¿Y ustedes tenían amigos judios en su niñez?
And did you have Jewish friends when you were a child?
Adam
En mi caso, no. Porque yo nací en este año [1948]. Pero, mi papá tenía muchos amigos judios antes del Nakba. My papá trabajaba en Jerusalén, toda la epoca está del ‘30 hasta ‘47; en ‘48 ya no pudo. Pero el tenía muchos amigos judios. Algunos de ellos administraron a la propiedad de la familia. Entonces el hablaba hebreo, inglés, francés. O sea, se entendía con todos. Iba todos los días a almorzar al YMCA que está frente al hotel King David. Y vivía bien, tenía amigos, o sea, era una vida normal. Era un personaje. Pero cuando se crea el Estado de Israel y se desconecta—porque él se quede en Beit Jala. Porque yo recién estaba casado, yo había recién nacido.
In my case, no. Because I was born in that year [1948]. But, my dad had many Jewish friends before the Nakba. My dad worked in Jerusalem for the entire period between 1930 and 1947; in 1948 he couldn’t anymore. But he had many Jewish friends. Some of them managed the property of our family. So he spoke Hebrew, English, French. In other words, he could communicate with everyone. He had lunch every day at the YMCA that is in front of the King David Hotel. And he lived well, he had friends, that is, it was a normal life. He was a character. But when the State of Israel was created, he was disconnected, because he stayed in Beit Jala. After all, he was newly married and I had just been born.
Adam
Entonces, de esa fecha [el Nakba], hasta el año ‘58, que fueron 10 años, todos los años, todos los meses se reunían en la casa. Los tíos, el hermano del tío Shukri, con otros primos, se reunían en la casa y conversaban, y decían: "ya pronto se va a resolver este problema, vamos a regresar a nuestras casas, a nuestros trabajos, a nuestros negocios," lo que sea, y pasaba año de año, y no había solución, pero la familia ya tenía raíces en el Perú, entonces un tío, hermano de me abuelo, tio de mi papa, le dijo viene a Lima, y haber quizás un trabajo, necocio, algo. Y así es que esperaba 10 años, no había trabajo, no había que hacer, entonces ya con una familia de cuatro hijos, venimos al Perú. Esa es parte de nuestra historia. Hemos sido víctimas de esta situación, del conflicto Palestino/Israel.
So, from that date [the Nakba], until the year 1958, which was 10 years, every year, every month they met in the house. The uncles, Uncle Shukri's brother, with other cousins, would meet at the house and talk, and they would say: "Soon this problem will be solved, we are going to return to our homes, to our jobs, to our businesses," whatever, and year after year, and there was no solution, but the family already had roots in Peru, So an uncle, my grandfather's brother, my father's uncle, told him to come to Lima, and maybe there is a job, a business, something. And so I waited 10 years, there was no work, there was nothing to do, so with a family of four children, we came to Peru. That's part of our history. We have been victims of this situation, of the Palestinian/Israel conflict.
Visiting Palestine
Adam:
Original Spanish Transcription:
Ahora, si quieres que te cuente algo de mi experiencia última, porque yo estuve en en Palestina, en Beit Jala y casi recorrí un poco de “Israel,” era un poco conocer: mi palestina que nunca conocí. Entonces, era, bueno, la parte, la parte de Jerusalén, la parte antigua, la parte árabe, fui a conocerla. Yo me acuerdo porque había ido chico, tenía 7 o 8 años, pero ahora era conocerlo de nuevo, ir a la iglesia del santo sepulcro, conocer los sitios religiosos de la iglesia donde vivió Cristo y también conocer la parte comercial y fui a conocer la la propiedad de la familia en la calle. O sea, no me puedo quejar de que tuvimos algún problema o nada. Pero sí eran los famosos "checkpoints," nosotros salíamos de Beit Jala en un ómnibus que nos llevaba Jerusalén.
Entonces, pero sí hubo este, un incidente como para contarlo, ¿no? Nosotros estaban con mi hermana, mi otra hermana que vive en Chile, este, habíamos decidido ir a conocer a la ciudad de Nazareth, y de paso también la parte del lago de Galileja. Entonces, decidimos adquirir un auto, en Jerusalén, que viene con placa judía—con placa Israel—que te permite utilizar toda la infraestructura de las pistas que tiene Israel. Y entonces queríamos aprovechar el viaje, le invitamos que nos acompañe, a la hermana del tío, Bella, y su hija que nos acompañen a conocer el viaje.
Entonces, con Bella, que tenía 95 años, estábamos por la carretera y llegamos a un checkpoint, nos obligaron a parar, abre la maletera, abre el esto, chequea, bajen y tomen asiento y esperen.
¿Por qué?
Como nosotros teníamos pasaporte: mi hermana y la señora joven. Por la tía Bella, hay una ley para hacer un paréntesis de hoy, hay una ley que permite a todo palestino, mayor de 65 años, no necesita ningún documento para pasar a Israel.
Entonces, estaba Rosemary, que es la hija, ella no había problema, también tenía sus papeles, estaba en orden. Entonces nos esentamos ahí en una sala y pasa media hora, pasa una hora, pasa hora y media. Y nosotros estamos con la hora porque teníamos que llegar a Nazareth y regresar a Beit Jala con una señora de edad de 95 años estaba con nosotros!
Entonces yo le pregunto a la soldado, ¿qué está pasando? Ah, tenemos que ver, tenemos que pedir un permiso para la señora, la vieja señora, tenemos que tener un permiso para que ella pueda ir conmigo. Imagínate. Ella es de 95 años. Estamos ahí por 3 horas.
Spanish translation by Lauren Ryan:
Y la cosa fue que venía mucha gente, turistas y familias que venían de Nueva York y les preguntaban por qué venían, y entraban y salían. No se quedaron ni media hora, pero estábamos esperando. Así que finalmente nos dejaron ir. ¿Cuál fue la razón? Sólo por el diablo.
Y un dia, otro dia, estabamos con la hermana de “D.” Fuímos a Jerusalén de autobus. Llegamos allí, al puesto de control. Entonces todos bajaron y este soldado subió y pidió los papeles y yo le mostré mi pasaporte y mi primo le mostró su pasaporte y me dijo: "¿Dónde está tu visa?" [Mi prima] dijo: “Bueno, no lo traje porque pensé que era mejor así, pensé, y si lo pierdo en el camino”. [El soldado dijo]: "Está bien, pues baja, vamos a comprobarlo". Entonces él bajó y yo me quedé en el bus, y finalmente bajé a ver qué pasaba y me dijo que tenía que esperar porque le están revisando los papeles.
Entonces el conductor, el conductor del autobús, dijo, no puedo esperar más, tengo que irme. Y yo me quedé, y me quedé con él, y nos quedamos ahí dos horas, esperando, cada autobús pasa, se van, y los militares están “esperando que llegue la información”. Finalmente nos dejaron ir. Lo hicieron sólo para molestarnos, esa es la única razón, esa es la única razón, no había otra razón. Porque si alguien pasa por el aeropuerto y tiene visa, se registra temprano. Quiero decir, no es necesario tener ese trozo de papel.
Y un día íbamos al mercado en Jerusalén y escuché: estábamos pasando por la puerta principal y tenían un punto de control allí con unos tres o cuatro soldados. Y este campesino gritaba: "no hizo nada, no hizo nada". Llamaron a su amigo para que fuera al control y lo desnudaron delante de todos.
English translation by Lauren Ryan:
Now, if you want me to tell you something about my last experience, because I was in Palestine, in Beit Jala and I almost traveled a little bit of “Israel,” just to know: the parts of Palestine that I never got to know. So, it was, well, the part, the part of Jerusalem, the old part, the Arab part, I went to see it. I remember because I had gone when I was a kid, I was 7 or 8 years old, but now it was to meet it again, to go to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, to know the religious sites of the church where Christ lived and also to know the commercial part and I went to see the family’s property on the street. I mean, I can't complain that we had any problems or anything. But they were the famous "checkpoints," we left Beit Jala on a bus that took us to Jerusalem.
So, but there was this: an incident to tell. Right? We were with my sister, my other sister who lives in Chile, this one, we had decided to go to see the city of Nazareth, and by the way also the part of Lake Galileja. So, we decided to acquire a car, in Jerusalem, that comes with a Jewish plate—with an Israeli plate—which allows you to use all the infrastructure of the roads that Israel has. And so we wanted to take advantage of the trip, we invited my uncle’s sister, Bella, and her daughter to accompany us, to see the trip.
So, with Bella, who was 95 years old, Well, we were on the road and we arrived at a checkpoint, they forced us to stop, open the trunk, open the trunk, check, get off and take a seat and wait.
Why?!
My sisters and I and the young lady had passports. For aunt Bella, there is a law, there is a law that allows every Palestinian who is over 65 years of age, to not to need any document to pass into Israel.
So, there was Rosemary, who is the daughter, she was not the problem; she also had her papers, she was in order. So we sit there in a room and half an hour passes, an hour passes, an hour and a half passes. And we are short on time because we had to get to Nazareth and return to Beit Jala and we had a 95 year old lady with us!
So I ask the soldier, what's going on? She said: “Ah, we have to see, we have to ask for a permit for the lady, the old lady.” We had to have a permit so that she can go with me. Imagine. She is 95 years old. We were there for 3 hours.
*note: at this point, Adam switched to English to finish the story, and so the rest of this transcription is in English originally, with the left side being the translation
Original English Transcription:
And the thing was that a lot of people were coming by, tourists and the families coming from New York and they asked them why are they coming, and they came in and they came out. They didn't stay for, not even half an hour, but we were waiting. So finally, they finally let us go. What was the reason? Just for the heck.
And one day, another day, we were with D's brother. We went to Jerusalem, on a bus. We got there, to the checkpoint. So everybody went down and this soldier went up and he asked for the papers and I showed him my passport and my cousin showed him his passport and he said, “where's your visa?” [My cousin] said: "Well, I didn't bring it because I thought it's better like that, I thought, what if I lose it on the way." [The soldier said]: "okay, so come down, we are going to check it out." So, he went down and I stayed in the bus, and finally, I went down to see what's going on and he told me that he had to wait because they are checking on his papers.
Then the driver, the bus driver, he said, I can't wait anymore, I have to go. And I stayed, and I stayed with him, and we stayed there for two hours, waiting, each bus comes by, they go away, and the soldiers are “waiting for the information to get.” Finally, they let us go.
They did that just to bother us, that's the only thing, that's the only reason, there was no other reason. Because if somebody came through the airport and has a visa, you register early. I mean, you don't have to have that piece of paper.
And then one day we were going to the marketplace in Jerusalem and I heard—we were just going through the main door and they had a check point over there with about three or four soldiers. And this peasant was shouting, "he didn't do anything, he didn't do anything." They called his friend to go to the check point and they stripped him in front of everybody.
Stolen oranges, Stolen homes
Adam
Antes del 48, mi abuelo estaba preocupado por su familia. Entonces él decidió que mejor ir al Líbano, por un tiempo, hasta que se solucione los problemas.
Before '48, my grandfather was worried about his family. So he decided that it was better to go to Lebanon, for a while, until the problems were solved.
Audience member
¿Donde vivían ellos?
Where did they live?
Adam
En Yafa. Entonces Yafa es una de las ciudades que ha sido castigada por los sionistas, porque atacaron a la gente, lo botaron, lo maltrataron, mataron a muchos. En realidad mi abuelo tenía razón, que era mejor salir. Entonces él tenía cuatro negocios, o sea básicamente dos fábricas de jabón, y dos narajales, muy importante.
In Jaffa. So Jaffa is one of the cities that has been punished by the Zionists because they attacked the people, they threw them out, they mistreated them, and they killed many. In reality, my grandfather was right, that it was better to leave. So he had four businesses, that is, basically two soap factories, and two orange factories, very important.
Nora
Las naranjas que exporta Israel hoy son las naranjas de mi abuelo.
The oranges that Israel exports today are my grandfather's oranges.
Lauren
¿De la tierra de sus abuelos?
From your grandparents’ lands?
Nora
Sí, son las mismas, las mismas naranjas.
Yes, they are the same, the same oranges.
Adam
La naranja, la única naranja que se produjo en Israel hoy, es de Yaffa, porque es una naranja muy dulce. Es diferente a otras naranjas.
The orange, the only orange that was produced in Israel today, is from Jaffa, because it is a very sweet orange. It is different from other oranges.
Entonces, ¿qué sucedió? ¿Qué sucedió con mi abuelo? Él se organizó, él dejó a mi abuela con mis tios y él decidió irse solo. Cuando el tenía todo listo, él fue al vecino, en frente de la casa, y él dice a su vecino: “Te daré el llave a mi casa, cuéntenlo cuando me vuelva.”
So what happened? What happened to my grandfather? He organized, he left my grandmother with my uncles and he decided to leave by himself. When he had everything ready, he went to the neighbor, in front of his house, and he says, to his neighbor: “I'll give you the key to my house, tell me about everything when I come back.”
Él nunca podía volver, porque la frontera estaba cerrado, nadie podía volver de nuevo.
He could never go back, because the border was closed, no one could go back again.
Yo llegué a visitar la casa, a ver la casa. No pudé entrar allí, porque hoy hay sionistas viviendo allí.
I couldn't go in, because there are Zionists living there now.
Lauren
¿Cómo se llegaron allí?
How did they get there?
Adam (in English)
That was 5 years ago [his visit]. They stole it. And the only thing that I found out that they had built another floor, the house used to have two floors, they had built another floor on top of the house. But there is, they took everything. They took the house, they took the furniture, they took the clothes that were there, everything that was left in it. My grandfather had 21 properties. All those Palestinians who have left Palestine before the 48 and after the 48 have no right to their properties.
Eso fue hace 5 años [su visita]. Lo robaron. Y lo único que me enteré que habían construido otro piso, la casa antes tenía dos pisos, habían construido otro piso encima de la casa. Pero lo hay, se llevaron todo. Se llevaron la casa, se llevaron los muebles, se llevaron la ropa que había, todo lo que quedaba en ella. Mi abuelo tenía 21 propiedades. Todos aquellos palestinos que han abandonado Palestina antes del 48 y después del 48 no tienen derecho a sus propiedades.
Audience member
No pueden recuperar o recuperar su propeidad.
They cannot recover or recover their property.
Adam
No se pode recuperar.
It cannot be recovered.
Nora
Es una ley de los sionistas. En Yaffa teníamos 21 propeidades. 21 propeidades. Y ahora no están.
It is a law of the Zionists. In Jaffa we had 21 properties. 21 properties. And now they are not there.
Adam (in English)
You can't — only those Palestinians who were living outside Palestine before the 40s have the right to their property, to sell their property or to whatever. But those who left after 48 have no rights. Because it's a product of, a spoil of war.
No se puede — sólo los palestinos que vivían fuera de Palestina antes de los años 40 tienen derecho a sus propiedades, a venderlas o a lo que sea. Pero los que se fueron después de los 48 no tienen derechos. Porque es producto de un botín de guerra.
Destruction of Villages, Refugees and UNRWA
Adam
Ah! Una cosa importante sobre el cierre de la frontera y la creación del Estado, Israel. Habían 530 pueblos antes. 1 año más tarde quedaban solamente 30. Los masacraron a todos, los botaron a todos.
Ah! One important thing about the confinement of the border and the creation of the State of Israel. There were 530 villages before. One year later there were only 30 left. They massacred everyone. They threw them all out.
Nora
Borraron del mapa. Los borraron del mapa. Eso é importante.
Wiped them off the map. They wiped them off the map. That is important.
Lauren
¿Esta gente estaba en campos de refugiados o fueron exterminados?
Did the people in those villages end up in refugee camps or were they killed?
Adam
Habían exterminados y refugiados.
There were people exterminated and there were refugees.
Nora
Los que han sobrevivido, están en campos de refugiados hasta ahora, 75 años después.
The ones who have survived, have been in refugee camps so far, even today. 75 years later.
Adam
Bueno, también, hay una cosa importante que hay que resaltar: como Israel fue una trama entre Inglaterra, Estados Unidos, las Naciones Unidas de esa época, ellos crearon la UNRWA. La UNRWA es el único organismo para nuestro refugiados Palestinos. ¿Por qué? Porque a todos los refugiados que estaban en en Siria, en el Líbano, en Jordania, en todas partes, inclusive en Palestina, también esten Palestinos. En Beit Jala, por ejemplo, había un sitio donde estaba en le dieron un espacio para los refugiados. Y entonces, en esa época les pusieron carpas y le mandaban comida, algo así como algo así.
Well, there is also an important thing that must be highlighted: since Israel was a plot between England, the United States, and the United Nations of that time, they created the UNRWA. The UNRWA is the only organization for our Palestinian refugees. Why? Because all the refugees in Syria, in Lebanon, in Jordan, in all parts, including in Palestine, they are all Palestinian. In Beit Jala, for example, there was a place where they gave them a space for refugees and then at that time they put tents and sent them food, something like that.
Entonces. Le daban comida, le daban tranquilidad. Que ya esto sea yo me acuerdo. Yo me acuerdo que se veía en el mercado, a veces los sacos, los sacos que decía UNRWA.
So. They gave them food, they gave them peace of mind. I remember that. I remember that you saw in the market, sometimes, the bags, the bags that said UNRWA.
Lauren (in English)
UNRWA is separate from other refugee organizations?
¿La UNRWA está separada de otras organizaciones de refugiados?
Adam (in English)
Yes. It’s a special organization. It was created because of the Palestinian problem.
Sí. Es una organización especial. Fue creado debido al problema palestino.
Audience member (in English)
When this current problem started with October 7th, Israel said that some members of the UNRWA were involved with Hamas. But there was no proof that they were involved in the attack. And then the US didn't give money to the UNRWA.
Cuando este problema actual comenzó el 7 de octubre, Israel dijo que algunos miembros de la UNRWA estaban involucrados con Hamás. Pero no hubo pruebas de que estuvieran involucrados en el ataque. Y luego Estados Unidos no le dio dinero a la UNRWA.
Adam (in English)
And one important thing to mention about what [Audience member] is saying: the UNRWA employs 3500 persons and they claimed that 10! members of UNRWA were part of Hamas. But there is no proof.
Y una cosa importante que mencionar sobre lo que [miembro de la audiencia] está diciendo: ¡la UNRWA emplea a 3500 personas y afirmaron que eran 10! Los miembros de la UNRWA formaban parte de Hamás. Pero no hay pruebas.
Nora
No es cierto. Sarcásticamente: “sí, Hamás se está escondido en el UNRWA.” (sacude la cabeza) Es ridículo.
It is not true. Sarcastically: “yes, Hamas is hiding in the UNRWA.” (shakes head) It is ridiculous.
Adam
No hay miembros de Hamas en el UNRWA.
There are not Hamas members in the UNRWA.
Lauren (in English)
Why do you think people believe when Israel says someone is Hamas?
¿Por qué crees que la gente cree cuando Israel dice que alguien es Hamás?
Adam (in English)
Why? The Zionist project has a system of paying the representatives of the parliaments in Europe and in the States. And how could you imagine that a senator in the United States goes out in public and says we have to kill them all? He's worse than Netanyahu. Why?! Why would he say this?! Because, Zionist organizations pay them to say this.
¿Por qué? El proyecto sionista tiene un sistema de remuneración a los representantes de los parlamentos en Europa y en los Estados Unidos. ¿Y cómo se imaginan que un senador de Estados Unidos salga en público y diga que hay que matarlos a todos? Es peor que Netanyahu. ¡¿Por qué?! ¡¿Por qué diría esto?! Porque las organizaciones sionistas les pagan para que digan esto.
Audience member (in English)
The Americans should put that guy in jail.
Los americanos deberían meter a ese tipo en la cárcel.
Adam (in English)
There must be a change in those who are representing the American citizens in the government. There must be. There must be a big change.
Debe haber un cambio en quienes representan a los ciudadanos estadounidenses en el gobierno. Debe haberlo. Debe haber un gran cambio.
Nora
Ojala
I hope/I pray.
Adam (in English)
And I think that all those, all those students who are protesting today all, all over the United States, they are the future of the American citizens who are going to know what to do. Because what is happening now, I suppose, and I hope, is that Israel is going to become a pariah state.
Y creo que todos esos, todos esos estudiantes que están protestando hoy en todo Estados Unidos, son el futuro de los ciudadanos estadounidenses que sabrán qué hacer. Porque lo que está sucediendo ahora, supongo, y espero, es que Israel se va a convertir en un Estado paria.
Nora
Ojala que si
I hope so.
Adam (in English)
Because of what they're doing in Gaza. Not only in Gaza, in the West Bank too. What the settlers are doing against the Palestinians in the West Bank is also horrible, of course.
Por lo que están haciendo en Gaza. No sólo en Gaza, también en Cisjordania. Lo que los colonos están haciendo contra los palestinos en Cisjordania también es horrible, por supuesto.
Nora
Es difícil. No hay que esperar la la, la reacción del mundo. Tiene que haber un cambio en la postura de Estados Unidos porque ellos son los que lo mantienen. Y Europa igual. Si hay cambias de postura todo va a cambiar.
It's difficult. You don't have time to wait for the reaction of the world. There has to be a change in the United States' position because they are the ones who maintain it. And Europe, the same. If there is a change in position all this will change.
Adam (in English)
There’s a speech. There is an old speech about 30 years ago. There's a speech that Biden is speaking in Congress and he says: “if Israel didn’t exist, we’d have to invent one.” It is for his interests.
Hay un discurso. Hay un viejo discurso de hace unos 30 años. Hay un discurso que Biden está pronunciando en el Congreso y dice: "si Israel no existiera, tendríamos que inventar uno". Es por sus intereses.
Hoping For a Free Palestine
Lauren (in English)
How do you talk about being Palestinian to your friends here and other people?
¿Cómo hablan de ser palestino a sus amigos aquí y a otras personas?
Adam (in English)
Well, I have a lot of Peruvian friends who are— they...they just can't imagine what Israel is doing with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. They just ... because, this whole story has brought to light the reality of the Palestinian people, how they are treated and how they have been treated for the last 76 years. Many people didn't know about it because only propaganda was heard.
Bueno, tengo muchos amigos peruanos que... ellos... simplemente no pueden imaginar lo que Israel está haciendo con los palestinos en Gaza y Cisjordania. Simplemente... porque toda esta historia ha sacado a la luz la realidad del pueblo palestino, cómo se le trata y cómo se le ha tratado durante los últimos 76 años. Mucha gente no lo sabía porque sólo se escuchaba propaganda.
Audience member (in English)
They don’t want you to know. CNN and everything doesn’t show it.
No quieren que lo sepas. CNN y todo no lo demuestra.
Nora
Pero ha cambiando, ha cambiando bastante.
But it has changed, it has changed a lot.
Lauren (in English)
So, with everything being so horrible, how do you keep watching all the time?
Entonces, siendo todo tan horrible, ¿cómo pueden seguir mirando todo el tiempo?
Adam (in English)
How do I watch? I watch the news on, on, on Google. How do I feel about it? I'm terribly, I'm terribly bothered with all this. I'm, I can't, I can't imagine that something like this, these atrocities can happen on Earth today.
¿Cómo miro? Veo las noticias en Google. ¿Cómo me siento al respecto? Estoy terriblemente molesto con todo esto. No puedo, no puedo imaginar que algo como esto, estas atrocidades puedan suceder hoy en el mundo.
Nora
(Con tristeza): Y a nuestra gente.
(Sadly): And to our people.
Audience member
Y todo el mundo lo permita eso.
And the whole world has let this happen.
Lauren
¿Y qué son tus esperanzas para el mundo? ¿Para una Palestina libre?
And what are your wishes for the world? For a Free Palestine?
Adam
Palestina libre. Tiene que ser libre.
Free Palestine. It has to be free.
Lauren
¿Y como se vé?
And what would that look like?
Adam
I don’t know how. No sé como. Pero tiene que haber, pero tiene que haber una solución.
I don’t know how. I don’t know how. But it needs to happen. There needs to be a solution.
Nora
Que todos detendrán y miran lo que ha hecho Israel, entonces podemos tener cambios. Quiero que vivimos como antes.
That everyone stops and looks at what Israel has done, so that we can have changes. I want us to live like before.
O sea, que se vaya, que Israel se vaya. Porque gente no pueden vivir en Israel porque no es vida. La vida que están viviendo allí hoy, los judios y los palestinos, no es vida. Es un país que está en guerra. Entonces tienen que cambiar. Pero poco a poco, con paciencia, puede cambiar.
In other words, that it goes, that Israel goes. Because people cannot live under Israel because it is not life. The life that the Jews and the Palestinians are living today there is not life. It is a country that is at war. So they have to change. Little by little, with patience, it can change
Adam
Yo te digo una cosa, un ejemplo. Yo cuando fui a un "mall" en Tel Aviv, una cosa que realmente que tiene allí—es realmente diferente—para entrar al aparacimiento tienes soldados. Dentro del mall hay soldados. Soldados paseando dentro del mall de ellos. No es manera de vivir. No tienen paz.
I'll tell you one thing, an example. When I went to a “mall” in Tel Aviv, one thing they really have there—it's really different—to enter the mall you have soldiers. Inside the mall there are soldiers. Soldiers walking inside their mall. It is not a way to live. They don’t have peace.
Nora
Ah otra cosa, por ejemplo, toda la población del norte, del norte de Israel, que eso han sido evacuados más de 150,000 personas. Ahora están viviendo en los hoteles vacíos porque no tienen turistas. Esa gente nunca más va a poder regresar al norte porque es en batalla. Siempre va a bombardear Israel. Esa gente no va a volver. Poco a poco, se van a tener que ir igual que los del Sur, los que están cerca de Gaza.
Another thing, for example, the entire population of northern Israel, who have been evacuated more than 150,000 people, are now living in empty hotels because they have no tourists. Those people will never be able to return to the north because from the fence they will always bombard Israel. Those people are not going to come back. Little by little, they are going to have to leave, just like those in the south, those who are close to Gaza, too, are constantly bombed.
Lauren
¿Qué quiere decir a personas que piensan que la guerra es entre judeos y musulmanes?
What do you want to say to people who think that this is a war between Jews and Muslims?
Nora
No, no, eso. No es entre no. No es una guerra, y no es una guerra musulman. Es un genocidio.
No, not that. It is not between no. It is not a war, it is not a Muslim war. It is a genocide.
Adam
Este es un territorio. Es un territorio robado. Claro, todo, todo Israel lo han robado.
It is a territory. It is a stolen territory. Of course, all of Israel is stolen land.
Nora
Hay judios, musulmanes, y cristianos. Todos viven allá. No es una guerra musulman.
There are Jews, Muslims, and Christians. They all live there. It is not a Muslim war.
Adam
Un territorio robado. Y lo que ellos llaman hoy día este la guerra entre ¿entre Hamás y Israel? No, no es una guerra, no es guerra porque no puede ser guerra, porque Gaza no tiene un ejército. Es un ejército contra una población civil totalmente desarmada, pero unos cuantos que pertenecen a un movimiento de resistencia. Es un movimiento de resistencia; no son terroristas.
A stolen territory. And what they call a war today, between Hamas and Israel, it is not a war. It is not a war because it cannot be a war, because Gaza does not have an army. It is an army against a totally unarmed civilian population, and a few who belong to a resistance movement. It is a resistance movement; they are not terrorists.
Nora
Y que pelean con armas totalmente obsoletas.
And they fight with totally obsolete weapons.
Audience member (in English)
Homemade. Homemade weapons.
Caseras. Armas caseras.
Nora
No tienen tanques; no tienen nada.
They have no tanks; they have nothing.
Adam
Mira. ¿Cómo puedes tú convertir a una población civil bombardearla con aviación, con Ejército, con tanques?
Look. How can you turn against a civilian population, bombing them with airplanes, with the army, with tanks?!
Nora
Con fósforo.
With phosphorus.
Adam
Con bombas de 200 toneladas.
With 200 ton bombs.
Nora
¿Has escuchado esa noticia de la una madre que tenía un hijo? Su bebé en apoyado en su brazo. Lo bombardea y estas bombas, estas bombas de fósforo, el bebé se derritió en su brazo. No lo podían sacar, le tuvieron que cortar el brazo a la madre para sacarlo con el bebé. Esas son las atrocidades que están haciendo. Claro, y eso está en el Internet ahora.
Have you heard the news about the mother who had her child? She had her baby leaning on her arm. They bombed them, and the bombs, those phosphorus bombs, melted the baby in her arms. They couldn’t get the baby out of her arms. They had to cut the mothers arm to get the baby[‘s body] out of them. These are the atrocities that they are committing. And of course, that’s on the Internet now.
Nora
Un doctor de Gaza viviendo en Estados Unidos ha perdido 120 personas de su familia. Ciento viente. Se ha quedado solo. No tiene familia y como él, miles. Eso es lo que está haciendo Israel con la población Palestina. Y eso en algún momento se tiene que terminar porque no pueden seguir matando de esa forma. Yo creo—yo tengo la esperanza que en algún momento que sea cercano se acabe esto, ya haya una transformación en el mundo, porque no pueden dejar a los sionistas exterminar al pueblo palestino.
A doctor from Gaza living in the United States has lost 120 people in his family. One hundred and twenty. He has been left alone. He has no family and there are thousands like him. That is what Israel is doing to the Palestinian population. And at some point this has to end because they can't continue killing like this. I believe—I have hope that at some point soon this will end, there will be a transformation in the world, because they [the world population] cannot let the Zionists exterminate the Palestinian people.
Lauren
¿Y hay alguna otra cosa que ustedes quieran decir al mundo?
And is there anything else that you both would like to say to the world?
Nora
Que haya paz, que no haya guerra y que Palestina sea libre.
That there is peace, that there is not war, and that Palestine is free.
Adam
Esto tiene que terminar. Esto no puede continuar. Esto, nadie va a aceptar. Que esto no perdure más tiempo porque ya el hambre que hay en Gaza ya no se puede aguantar.
This has to end. This cannot continue. No one is going to accept this. This cannot last longer, because the hunger in Gaza can no longer be endured.
Lauren
Muchas gracias
Thank you.
Nora
A ti.
Thanks to you.