WAGING NONVIOLENCE - A New Coalition of Diaspora, Israeli Jews and Palestinians is Confronting Israeli Military Violence

By Dilip -
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

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