Learning Nonviolence
As I prepared to move to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a friend of mine said, “If Palestinians could only learn the art of nonviolence then they could gain their freedom.” Upon arrival I was encouraged at what I found. The spirit of nonviolence was active across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Whenever a violent action hits Israel or Palestine, the media is quick to report it; however what is not reported is the nonviolent action that happens here on a weekly basis. Every weekend there is a host of demonstrations throughout the territories, often protesting the construction of the separation wall and settlements, the recent mistreatment at a checkpoint, or the abuse of prisoners in Israeli detention.
Every Saturday, folks in Hebron protest to open a settler-only road in the middle of the city to everyone and to allow Palestinian shops to open again in what once was a busy market.
Every Friday, villages such as Bil’in, Ni’lin, Wadi Rahal, Al Ma’sara, and Al-Walaja gather after the midday prayers to protest the construction of the wall and settlements on their village property. Often these nonviolent protesters, who are Palestinian with international and Israeli supporters, are met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and arrests.
It is not an easy decision to attend these protests, especially as a Palestinian. Consequences for attending can include being gassed, hit with rubber bullets, or roughly detained. Even worse, one’s family can also be targeted with threats and intimidation tactics. Yet despite the potential ramifications, Palestinians still gather.
For example, this week in Al-Walaja (a village just outside Bethlehem), approximately 60 Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals gathered to protest the construction of both the wall and a settlement built on Palestinian confiscated land, braving the 40-degree heat, even while many were fasting for the holy month of Ramadan. Men, women, and children marched, banging drums, chanting slogans, and waving flags. Children from Al-Walaja had created a large papier-mâché Palestinian who could be seen climbing the Wall.
Although soldiers were watching on a nearby hill and two Jeeps came driving up close to the protesters, they eventually turned around and kept their distance. The previous week local activists reported that the soldiers gave the protesters five minutes to disperse, and then five seconds later they started firing tear-gas.
Al-Walaja, sitting between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, is a village of Palestinians who in 1948 became refugees, many fleeing to camps throughout the West Bank and Jordan. In times of calm, many returned, preferring their rural village to life in the crowded camps. Yet continually the village has become victim to Israeli military action and settler activity.
The neighboring settlement and the wall now threaten their village. Upon the planned completion of the wall, Al-Walaja will become completely encircled by the barrier with only one access gate that will be controlled by the Israeli military.
Witnessing the creativity and determination of Palestinians protesting, I have come to believe that it is not the Palestinians that need to learn the art of nonviolence, but it is us from the West that need to learn to listen to the voices that our media and governments have silenced, to act in the face of injustice, and to sacrifice ourselves for peace even when the consequences are difficult to handle.
from http://mccpalestine.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/learning-nonviolence/
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I invite Muslims all over the globe to consecrate the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan as Al-Quds Day and to proclaim the international solidarity of Muslims in support of the legitimate rights of the Muslim people of Palestine.~ —Ruhollah Khomeini[9]
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