While much of what I’ve experienced during my time in Palestine and Israel has made me angry, sad, frustrated or a jumble of those and other troubling emotions, I’ve also come across many amazing people and brilliant organizations who give me great hope.
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Nakba Day 2011 in Ramallah (pic by the groovy Goeran S.) |
This is just a sample of people who have inspired me, surprised me or who I just wanted to include for their work for Palestine.
This incredible group is comprised of former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters, who are now committed to non-violence and more amazingly to working with people who used to literally try to kill them. Their motto is: ‘only by joining forces, will we be able to end the cycle of violence’.
I first wrote about them in March after a group of us had the privilege of meeting Wael and Tamar and hearing first-hand from them about the group and their stories (see also my photo here). More of the incredible personal stories can be found here. Check out this story from an Israeli perspective, and this for a Palestinian just as two beautiful examples of changed lives.
I mentioned ICHAD in my last post, after having met with one of their staff on a really insightful tour of parts of Jerusalem a couple of months ago - check out their staff page for a brief bio on Jeff Halper and a couple of his great colleagues. These folk are another great example of Israelis and Palestinians working together, and especially of Israelis standing against their own government’s policies, and working in solidarity with Palestinians.
While this group works across a broad range of issues they are particularly concerned with the occupation and have a specific department working on this - check out the stories at this link.
It's been really inspiring to find a group of Jewish religious leaders so willing to confront their own people with injustice - here’s a quote from their website:
‘. . . the injustice to Palestinians in the area under Israeli rule is blatant and as rabbis we feel it our religious duty to counter the powerful lobbies of fundamentalists, both Jewish and Christian, in our work with the Israeli authorities. Our understanding of Torah is that it legislates justice and equality before the law, and that the land was promised to the Jewish people on condition that those are the values by which it would be ruled.’
This is a courageous group of former soldiers speaking out about their experiences in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and the truth about what happens to the Palestinians under occupation. Often decried as traitors, they have an amazing amount of testimonials from the very people tasked with Israel's occupation activities.
From their website:
Founded in March 2004 by a group of soldiers who served in Hebron, Breaking the Silence has since acquired a special standing in the eyes of the Israeli public and in the media, as it is unique in giving voice to the experience of soldiers. To date, the organization has collected more than 700 testimonies from soldiers who represent all strata of Israeli society and cover nearly all units that operate in the Territories. All the testimonies we publish are meticulously researched, and all facts are cross-checked with additional eye-witnesses and/or the archives of other human rights organizations also active in the field. Every soldier who gives a testimony to Breaking the Silence knows the aims of the organization and the interview. Most soldiers choose to remain anonymous, due to various pressures from official military persons and society at large. Our first priority is to the soldiers who choose to testify to the public about their service.
Check out their publications which can be downloaded directly from here on their site.
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The face of the future - a young Israeli activist standing in solidarity with an even younger Palestinian |
Often this conflict is described as intractable; hopeless; never-ending, and so on. And I can admit to sometimes feeling this despair myself. But I was also incredibly surprised at how hopeful many of these people and groups made me as I was meeting them or witnessing them in action; if people literally surrounded daily by the conflict can be so committed to peace, how can I doubt?
I hope this gives you hope too – and perhaps inspires you to take some small action to help end the occupation.
(Feel free to post a comment or email me if you need any hints for action. Of course, you could start by writing a letter).
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