The Man Who Brought The Mahatma To Palestine

In between all the violence, Mubarak Awad has slowly brought the Gandhian way to bear…

by Robert Hirschfield,

Mubarak Awad

LINK TO ARTICLE

Gandhis Of Olive Country

Another path to peace? Palestinians revel in Gandhi and the nonviolent struggle.

by Aimee Ginsburg,

 

LINK TO ARTICLE

2nd Annual Home Rebuilding Summer Camp

Join people from across the globe in this incredible and moving expereince; be personally invovled in re-building a home for a family that has suffered so much.

Why come to Palestine this Summer???

I know it may seem cold now, but summer will eventually be here and many of you are planning their vacations. Some will travel to traditional tourist locations, get a nice tan and a T-shirt they will be too embarrassed to wear at home, others will want more than to be tourists and will seek for an opportunity to change their life and to the lives of those they meet.

Let me therefore ask you a few question….

• Would you like to experience the Holy Land in a way that does not only introduce you to its rich history but also to its present situation?

• Are you interested in truly knowing what life is like in the Palestine and learn about its culture and traditions?

• Are you interested in learning about the political conflict in the Middle East from those who are living it and are working on resolving it?

• Are you interested in increasing your role in achieving peace in the Middle East when you return home?

• Are you interested in volunteering and truly helping a community in need?

• Are you interested in learning Arabic and even get college credit for that?

• Are you interested in living with a local family and to have a second home in Palestine where you will always be welcomed for a traditional meal and some good coffee?

If the answer is “NO” then maybe, just maybe, what you are really interested in is to learn the traditional Palestinian line dance called the “Dabkeh.”

 

 

If you got Happy Feet after watching this youtube and your answer is now “YES” then visit the Palestine Summer Encounter Program website… and join us for a life changing experience….

Santa Comes To Bethlehem for Nonviolent Protest

Even though he is very busy this time of year giving gifts to children all around the world; this Christmas season Santa Claus took some time of and came on an early visit to Palestine.  He did not come with gifts but came to stand in solidarity and bring hope to Palestinians suffering from the continued occupation of their land.  He came to bring hope to the people of Bethlehem where on a daily basis farmers and villagers are having their land stolen for the building of the Separation Wall and the expanding of illegal settlements.

On the 21st of December Santa joined the weekly nonviolent protest.  This protest takes place in the Southern villages of Bethlehem every Friday and it includes Palestinians, internationals and Israeli nonviolent activists working together to oppose the military occupation. Every Friday, the nonviolent protest is faced with tens (sometimes hundreds) of heavily armed Israeli soldiers. This Christmas Friday was not any different and even Santa was not surprised.

Christmas in Bethlehem; a time for Joy and Resilience

The colored strings of lights are now decorating its streets. As you drive past homes you now see Christmas trees proudly placed in front of windows so that all may see. Manger Street is full of traffic at night but no one is complaining for everyone is waiting their turn to receive candy from one of the many Santa Clauses dancing with joy in the street. Everywhere you go you hear Christmas songs played from small radios placed in front of stores or on balconies. In Manger Square, the main Christmas tree shines with bright colors and decorations. The joy is doubled in this holy city this year as both the Palestinian Christians and the Muslim communities celebrate. Christmas and Eid Al-Adha (the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice) have come together this year.

Realizing God’s dream for the Holy Land

By Desmond Tutu | October 26, 2007

WHENEVER I am asked if I am optimistic about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I say that I am not. Optimism requires clear signs that things are changing - meaningful words and unambiguous actions that point to real progress. I do not yet hear enough meaningful words, nor do I yet see enough unambiguous deeds to justify optimism.

However, that does not mean I am without hope. I am a Christian. I am constrained by my faith to hope against hope, placing my trust in things as yet unseen. Hope persists in the face of evidence to the contrary, undeterred by setbacks and disappointment. Hoping against hope, then, I do believe that a resolution will be found. It will not be perfect, but it can be just; and if it is just, it will usher in a future of peace.

Victory for the residents of Bil’in village

The following is a the press release regarding the victory of Bil’in in its nonviolent resistance to the Apartheid Wall.  A moment of pride for the Palestinian resistance movement to end the occupation.

Victory for the residents of Bil’in village
4th September 2007:

Following popular nonviolent resistance through joint struggle between Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, a court decision has been made in favor of the petition by Bilin village to change the current route of the Apartheid Wall. The court decision dictates that the military are obliged to plan and implement a new route for the wall. It has been ordered that the new path will allow for all Palestinian agricultural land to be on the Palestinian side. Furthermore, the court has ordered that the state should not take into consideration the area earmarked for Stage B of the planned expansion of Matityahu East.

During the proceedings, it was of note that the court made a rarely heard reference to military considerations and security. The court stated that in respect of security considerations, the current route of the wall runs in a topographically inferior path thus indicating that the original route had been planned with the prime consideration being the planned expansion of the settlement rather than of security.
The Supreme Court decision comes after years of continued struggle and resistance to the illegal confiscation of village lands. It is seen as a victory for the path of non-violent resistance and joint initiative from both the Palestinian and Israeli participants.

Although today’s decision is seen a victory in the struggle against oppressive consequences of the Israeli Occupation and a victory for the villagers of Bilin, it is important to recognize that the route of the wall still deviates from internationally recognized armistice lines and is still in violation of international law, resolutions and advisories made within the International Court of Justice and within the UN Security Council.

For more information please go to the Israeli Supreme Court Website, www.court.gov.il
(unfortunately the decision is only in Hebrew) Alternatively please contact:
Neta Golan: 059 8 184169
Attorney Michael Sfard: 0544 713930 alternatively 03 607 345
Mohammed Khatib : 0 894 135 3636
Jonathan Pollock: 054 632 7736
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“…then they fight you, then you win…”

August 17, 2007

As the nonviolent protests and demonstrations against the Apartheid wall continue to gain momentum and strength in the Palestinian community in general and in villages in particular we are seeing even greater violent response and threat by the Israeli army. This is not new, in villages like Bil’in, the army has for two years responded to almost every nonviolent action with appalling violence.

As I have witnessed these actions grow, I remember the famous quote by Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”

In some actions we have seen the soldiers ignore the protestors completely, they would not even come down from their army base to see what the protestors were doing, and once they ignored the protestors the goals of the actions were always achieved.

In some actions we saw Israeli soldiers ridicule and taunt the protestors, everything from commenting on how silly and insignificant the protests were, to trying to discourage and threaten the protestors, to using foul and obscene language.

In other cases and as a growing tactic, we are seeing greater movement by the Israeli army to fight, quell, and crush these nonviolent protests and actions.

This is what we witnessed in this Friday’s demonstration against the building of the Apartheid Wall in the village of Wallaja. Tens of villagers and Muslim worshippers from nearby areas conducted Friday prayer near a land that had for several days experienced the tragic uprooting and destruction of over 400 trees. More than 1,800 forest, olive, and fruit trees will be destroyed in order to build a section of the wall that will engulf the entire village.

After prayer the protestors moved to the land where we witnessed the tragic destruction taking place there. Once the protest on the land was over, the demonstrators began their return to the village on a path created for the heavy Israel bulldozers that are used to destroy the trees. The Israeli soldiers used tremendous violence against the protestors. Some of the soldiers blocked the protestors and pushed them including the women on the rocks causing many injuries. At least one of the soldiers loaded his machine gun threatening to use that type of force to suppress the nonviolent action. Even though there were many who were injured and one arrested (released later that afternoon), this action has truly empowered the villagers to break down the barrier of fear that has existed in their community. 

Yes, it has been easy for those who are engaging in nonviolent action to withstand the Israeli army “ignoring” them and even “mocking” them, but now is the time to stand strong in the face of an Israeli army that recognizes the failure of these tactics and is now ready to “fight” those who engage in nonviolence…

The great thing about Gandhi’s quote is the fact he did not say “…then they fight you, then they lose …” He said “… then you win.” In nonviolence there are no losers, only winners and this is what the Israeli soldiers will one day realize.

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Um Salamona and Walaja

August 10, 2007

This week marks the 62nd anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the southern villages of Bethlehem, the Committee to Resist the Wall declared this week’s protest a commemoration to this tragic incident in human history, demand the international community to open and expose the Israeli nuclear program (not only to focus on countries that the US does not befriend), and demand an end to all current acts of violence and destruction such as the occupation and the building of the Apartheid Wall.

Palestinian, Israeli and international nonviolent activists, some who came from Japan to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians, participated in this weeks nonviolent actions in both Um Salamona and Walaja. The Japanese as well as the Palestinian flags were raised in this activity that included going to Palestinian farming land and helping farmers harvest the grapes. The land where the protest took place in Um Salamona was part of a new 250 dunum (over 50 acre) private property recently confiscated for expanding the Ifrat settlement.

As the protestors began removing a portion of a new separation fence that would prevent farmers from reaching the land, the Israeli army responded with violence and arrested one of the Israeli activists.

It was incredible to engage in discussions with some of these soldiers as we protested the arrest, many of the soldiers were new to such actions and used foul language and mocking statements to provoke the protestors. One of the soldiers insisted that this land is for the Jews and he is ready and willing to live in war all his life. In addition to his words he (and others) tried very hard to provoke us into a physical confrontation.  It was truly sad and upsetting to hear and see this from fellow human beings.

Only one quote came to my mind then, Gandhi’s “first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Friday prayers were held in the village of Walaja where the Israeli occupation forces are building a wall to completely surround the village and isolate it from its farm land and nearby towns and villages. The same soldiers who were at the morning activity in Um Salamona were there to stop us in Walaja. At one point our vehicles were actually driving behind each other as we all left one area to go to the next.

More villages in the Bethlehem area specifically and the West Bank in general are now engaging in these weekly nonviolent actions against the building of the Apartheid Wall.

It is important for us to remember, heal, and learn from the tragedies we created in the past, so that our grandchildren would not have to say such similar words.