WAGING NONVIOLENCE - A New Coalition of Diaspora, Israeli Jews and Palestinians is Confronting Israeli Military Violence
By Rafi Ellenson - Waging
Nonviolence
When diaspora Jews and those living in Israel join
with Palestinians, they forge a more powerful and just movement to end the
occupation. I watched the Israeli
Defense Forces throw several stun grenades - one right after the other - deep
into a crowd of my friends earlier this month. I saw people dear to me get
choked by soldiers, thrown forcefully onto the ground and dragged away by their
limbs. Following this, the army arrested 17 people — including many Jewish
activists from around the world, two Palestinian journalists and three Palestinian
residents from the area.
The crime? Presumably,
the IDF’s harsh punishment would be because our protest turned violent.
However, we were steadfastly nonviolent. We were simply fixing a dirt road that
would enable Palestinians in the area to access food, water and basic supplies. The IDF’s behavior in
this situation is sadly not shocking nor inconceivable, but to see it up close
with my own eyes was deeply unsettling and upsetting.
The rehabilitation of
this road was planned by a
broad coalition of groups. Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills
assembled a wide array of Palestinian partners. Meanwhile, the anti-occupation
collective All That’s Left organized diaspora Jews based in Israel-Palestine,
and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence brought 40 North American Jews to the
action as part of a nine-day delegation to Israel-Palestine to learn about the
occupation. I know the sting of
xenophobia, anti-Semitism and otherness, so I must work to ensure that no one
else ever feels it... read more:
https://www.juancole.com/2019/05/coalition-palestinians-confronting.html