Aseel Soldier - Occupied Jerusalem
At the beginning of Rashid Street, meters from the gate of the watchmaker, one of the doors of the old town of Jerusalem is still the headquarters of the political magazine Al-Bayader steadfast, and its editor-in-chief Jerusalem journalist Jack Khazmu still receives his guests despite the suspension of the paper version of the magazine two years ago.
A narrow staircase leads to the second floor of the building. As soon as you approach the entrance to the magazine, the bell rings as the guests pass by and Vazbel Khazmu approaches the door to greet them with a smile that hides behind them stories of success, steadfastness and disappointments that have passed through his career.
In the main corridor, a picture of the Dome of the Rock is set up opposite a room reserved for the paper magazine archives. The smell of the leaves is mixed with the old building. The visitor goes to Jacques Khazmou's office and feels that he returned to the 80's. He cares about their renovation and a leather chair in front of the office, which is devoid of computer hardware and is full of papers.
| The entrance of the headquarters of the journal Al Bayader political from abroad in a clear preservation of the scene on the day began more than three decades (Al Jazeera) |
The couple's way
Two other rooms at the headquarters, one dedicated to the printing and editing of the magazine and another to his wife Nada Khazmu, and between them a single female employee is still moving to her place of work, and ask guests from time to time what they want to eat.
The beginning of the success road for the Jerusalem couple was the publication of Al Bayader Literary Magazine in 1976, which contributed to the emergence of literary movement in the West Bank and Jerusalem and was the first to organize the Palestine Prize for Literature.
Five years later, they saw the need to create a political magazine in Jerusalem in the absence of this color of journalism and the spread of daily newspapers only. The first issue of the political magazine was published on April 1, 1981.
In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, 68-year-old Jack Khazmou spoke with a youthful voice as he recounted the history of the land and the story of a people who touched on his daily concerns and was keen to broadcast them in his weekly magazine.
"The magazine merged with the PLO's vision and distributed 40,000 copies a week. The military censor wiped out thousands of pages over the decades and sought to limit us by all means to close the magazine and did not give in. My wife and I were subjected to several assassination attempts, but we presented our press message on our personal safety and completed the road."
| Jack and Nady Khazmoo review the photo archive at the headquarters of the magazine (Al Jazeera) |
Military control
In his memory, many historic positions, including the 1982 edition of the magazine during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, have stirred up. He said that they went to raise the morale of the Palestinian people while the Israeli and Arab media broadcast a state of frustration and fear that the PLO had ended. The military censor summoned Khazmu for questioning.
"The interrogator told me that I read Maariv and Yediot Ahronot newspapers and then spread them on the table immediately to eat on them, while Bayader magazine keeps two copies of them for archival, one at the office and the other at home."
During the preparation of this article for Al Jazeera Net, we tried to explore the views of the Palestinian street on the magazine, and we were surprised by the extent of the emotional attachment to the Palestinians by this media means that they have contributed to the refinement of political awareness and mobilization and advocacy of issues of martyrs, prisoners and workers until they called it "Journal of the Palestinian masses" .
The occupation alerted to the importance of the role of Bayader and prevented its distribution in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for four years in the eighties, but those who did not surrender to the decision and Khazmu put thousands of copies in his car for delivery to the West Bank "The military checkpoints were at 6 am, The third dawn to the West immediately after the new edition of the printing press. "
| Jack Khazmou, Editor-in-Chief of Al Bayader Political Magazine, keeps a paper archive of his magazine Al- |
Restrictions and prosecutions
Al-Bayader conducted interviews with Israeli leaders, in which she was able to obtain statements that caused a great uproar in the Israeli street and had an impact on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The organizers were invited to all local meetings and international conferences related to the Palestinian cause.
Khazmu moved to the archive room and in its cupboards sailed through the scattered albums and pictures, carried them to his office and there he and his wife, Nada Shaker, watered the memories of Bayader. "This German consul is a farewell ceremony for the Spanish diplomat ... The top floor of the magazine was the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. And the diplomats who completed their mission in Palestine .. Put the flag of the state along with the flag of Palestine on the cake in the occupied capital, these memories occurred to me in particular. "
| The occupation was building barriers and confiscate the numbers of Bayader magazine, but narrowed the way the listers and became an electronic version only (the island) |
Support stopped
The Palestinian Authority gradually stopped supporting the magazine after the signing of the Oslo Accords, and the financial crisis began to hit this important Jerusalem journalist as international announcements and subscriptions declined, especially after the advent of the Internet.
Khazmu and Nada were forced to stop the paper and limited the appearance of the magazine's numbers on the website where Jack now publishes his articles, as well as a reporter in Gaza who provides them with daily news, after 65 families from Bayader lived in their recovery years.
Nada, who preferred not to interview her, did not ask herself when Jack asked what feelings she had when the paperback stopped 35 years later, interrupted him and said, "Let me answer that question."
"Bayader is our eldest daughter, we raised and built with her and we made a lot of adventures for her and put us at risk .. By stopping the paper copy, killing our entity and a piece of us ... that's what we feel."