Did the perpetrators who kidnapped Israeli Defence Force soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit anticipate the collective punishment that would be meted out to Palestinians? Perhaps they hoped it would provoke a greater uprising, or that their (changing) demands would actually be met. Or perhaps the consequences were in fact unseen.
It has been argued that the kidnapping was in reprisal for the assassination of Hamas government official Jamal Abu Samhadana; whatever, the fact is that the Israeli…
As the crisis in Palestine deepens, civil society groups in the UK have been drawing attention to the plight of the Palestinian people...using somewhat differing methods. As well as the 24 June boycott day, in which pickets and demos took place in 18 locations including Liverpool, Brighton, London and Manchester, the Pales-tine Fair Trade Association and Zaytoun - an ethical business selling Palestinian olive oil - and the Olive Co-operative, has launched “Trees For Life - Planting Peace in…
Amidst the horrors visited on the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza, the fate of the “Palestinian citizens of Israel” is often forgotten, by those who see Israel solely as the Jewish state it aspires to be, and by those working to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians. Even organisations such as Sindyanna, a fair trade co-operative of Palestinian and Jewish Israeli women in the Galilee, have appeared on the boycott lists of less enlightened solidarity organisations.
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The movement for ethical investment met with success as the Church of England decided in February to pull its #2.2 million shares from the construction equipment company Caterpillar.
The General Synod voted on 6 February to “divest from companies profiting from the illegal occupation [of Palestinian territories], such as Caterpillar Inc, until they change their policies”. The Church was recently criticised by groups such as War on Want for its previous inaction in the matter. The…
At the end of December I attended the international Celebrating Nonviolence conference in Bethlehem, representing the War Resisters' International and our new Nonviolence Programme.
This was my second time in Israel-Palestine; the first time I visited they had me waiting for three hours in the airport for “security” reasons, so this time I was a bit nervous of what was going to happen, especially after hearing the news about the three international activists who -- hoping to attend…
Katharine von Schubert's book tells the story of a period of a year and half, when this young woman joined Quaker Peace and Social Witness's human rights observation programme in the West Bank. As such, I approached it with some trepidation. In the last few years, a number of volumes have emerged recounting the experiences of international activists in Palestine, from the International Solidarity Movement, Christian Peacemaker Teams and a range of other groups. Some have been very good, and…
Suicide in Palestine: Narratives of Despair is the first book to deal with the increase in suicide among ordinary Palestinians living under occupation.
It is not about so-called suicide bombers, although this phenomenon is also examined by way of contrast. This work is about individuals in the general population, and the various circumstances which lead them to become depressed and, in greater numbers than in the past, commit suicide. This is what the author Dr Nadia Dabbagh refers…
On 13 April, activists all over the world held demonstrations to oppose the sale of bulldozers to Israel by the US multinational Caterpillar.
Caterpillar equipment sold to the Israeli army destroys Palestinian homes, schools and agricultural land in the occupied territories. It has also been employed in the construction of the separation wall, which has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice.
Mainstream criticismThe day of action was called to coincide…
Israeli forces continue to put pressure on ISM activists through office raids and arrests.
On 9 May, Israeli forces raided the ISM media office in Beit Sahour, confiscating equipment and destroying the groups office space. The strong-arm operation was carried out by dozens of soldiers, border police and civilian police officers, who had surrounded the office with around 20 military vehicles.
Israeli forces also seized all the computers in the nearby office of the…
A UN report released on 30 July found that economic and living conditions in all Palestinian areas had deteriorated, with 63% of Palestinians now living in poverty.
The UN report concluded, “The sustainable option for addressing the current economic and social deprivation lies in lifting the occupation of Palestinian territory.”
ICJ RulingIn July judges from the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Israel's separation wall is illegal under International…
“Can you dance your tragedies? Can you dance your dreams? If you are Palestinian, you almost have no choice but to try doing both, for if you do one without the other, you choose to indulge in obsessive victimness or naive illusion” [From the introduction to El-Funoun's latest production]
On 9 March 2004, El-Funoun will celebrate its Silver Jubilee. For a quarter of a century, El-Funoun has indeed danced some of the Palestinian tragedies and dreams, challenges and ambitions. But…
I spent last summer as a volunteer on the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. Participants in this World Council of Churches initiative spend three months living in the region to try to learn more how the conflict affects ordinary people.
On a day-to-day basis we were monitor-ing violations of human rights and international law, providing protection by our presence, and supporting both Israelis and Palestinians in their non-violent acts of resistance to the…
As a Palestinian dance choreographer working in the midst of conflict, I am often asked: what is the rationale of your artistic engagement under the circumstances?
If “engagement” with something is interpreted in a passive sense, as a mere relation to that thing, then the question implies a certain degree of volition in deciding whether or not to relate to issues of conflict and trauma. I personally do not think that in a situation of conflict artists have a choice of whether or…
In January 2004 Rudi Friedrich met Gush Shalom activist and member of the Refuser Parents Forum Adam Keller at his home. A few days earlier five refusers, Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Noam Bahat, Adam Maor and Shimri Tzamaret were sentenced to prison terms of one year by a military court - after more than 14 months' detention already - for their refusal to “serve” in the Occupied Territories. Rudi asked Adam to discuss the situation and relevance of the refuser movement.
RF: How…
It is January 2004, the sun is shining and it feels like a warm day in Jerusalem. We are starting our journey early in the morning, to meet up with Ghassan Andoni from the Palestinian Centre For Rapprochement Between People, based in Beit Sahour. He has invited us to come to Bir Zeit, a Palestinian University close to Ramal-lah, where he is a professor of physics.
Ramallah is not far away from Jerusalem, just 20 kilometres. The town is located in the occupied territories and can…
