February 8, 2009
By Anna Baltzer
The story of the destruction of a family in Gaza unfolds.
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When I first received Barbara Lubin's story from Gaza, I wrote her to ask how she, I, or someone on the ground could research the story to get all the facts. I just now received this response from her:
While I was away I told a story that was told to me by several people about a family in Gaza. This story received much attention and many people wanted more information so I contacted my friend Talal and asked him to research the story. Here is his response:
Dear Barbara,
It's the first time I have had internet. I hope you are O.K... you and all of our friends. I heard from Dr. Mona [El-Farra] that you are under great pressure because of the story you have published about the crime of that woman. [We] are ready to receive any investigation committee to check out the facts. But as you know during the wars and when death is very close, the popular memory interferes and colors the action with it's special details.
We all heard the story on the local radio as I narrated it to you. But when you wrote the story and you faced so much pressure I decided to investigate and caught the real story.
It's not so far from from what you reported because the victims are the same... the story happened in Bourij Camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip. The Israelis [army] called the woman, Manal Albatran, and told her that they wouldn't kill her or her husband Hussein Albatran, instead they would make them die of sadness because they would kill her children. The next day they shot her house with a rocket killing her and 5 of her children.
The dead:
Manal Albatran 30 years old
Walaa Albatran 12 years old
Islam Albatran 11 years old
Belal Albatran 10 years old
Ezz Albatran 8 years old
Ehsan Albatran 7 years old
The father who is an employee at an UNRWA school and the youngest child were saved. This is the real story and I hope the amount of victims will convince others to believe the crimes we face. Thanks a lot for your appreciated visit and I hope to see you again soon.
Regards,
Talal Abushawish
The facts uncovered by Mr. Abushawish are clearly different from those initially reported by Barbara. In contrast, the reality of hundreds of mothers and children killed and families destroyed in the massacre is no legend. We owe it to the victims to always make every effort to be accurate. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to seek the details of the story.
Authors Website: www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com
Authors Bio:Anna Baltzer is a Jewish-American Columbia graduate, former-Fulbright scholar, the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees, and an award-winning lecturer, author, and activist for Palestinian rights. As a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service in the West Bank, Baltzer documented human rights abuses and supported Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Occupation. Baltzer has appeared on television more than 100 times (including most recently "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," where she appeared alongside Palestinian presidential candidate and nonviolence leader Dr. Mustafa Barghouti) and lectured at more than 400 universities, schools, churches, mosques, and synagogues around the world with her acclaimed presentation, "Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos," and her full-color book, "Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories." In 2009, Baltzer received the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee's prestigious Annual Rachel Corrie Peace & Justice Award and a Certificate of Commendation from the Governor of Wisconsin for her commitment to justice in the Holy Land. She is a contributor to four upcoming books on the subject and serves on the Middle East committee of the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom and the Board of Directors of The Research Journalism Institute, Grassroots Jerusalem, and NewPolicy.org. For information about Baltzer's book, DVD, speaking tours, and eyewitness reports, visit her website.