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Atta’s family has farmed the Baqa’a Valley in the West Bank for centuries, but since Israel’s 1967 occupation, their land has been confiscated piecemeal by Israeli settlers, their homes and ancient farming terraces attacked and demolished. Spanning 25 years of a farmer’s struggle to stay steadfast, this is a moving testimony to the depth of one man’s humanity in the face of intensifying settler violence and intimidation.
“I was born in this field. The soil is my life.” In 1962, Atta Jaber was born on his family’s land in the Baqa’a Valley. A line of generational farmers reaching back centuries, his mother didn’t have time to drive to the hospital or even run to the house, and Atta was born in the same fields he tends today. However, since Israel’s 1967 occupation, his land has been confiscated piece by piece, his home and ancient farming terraces attacked and demolished. In recent years, the harsh settler attacks have intensified, threatening his way of life. The normalisation of these attacks trouble Atta. “They come with their kids. They teach their children how to hate, how to occupy, how to confiscate land.” In spite of this, Atta remains steadfast, and refuses to give up hope for a more peaceful future. “My land is my paradise and my life. I continue to keep it and to stay in it. With peace, with freedom, with humanity. That’s all I want.”
