By Edith Garwood, Amnesty International USA Israel and Occupied Territories Specialist
Remarks made by Bono , New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof and President Barack Obama stating they hoped Palestinians would find their Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) or Gandhi completely ignore Palestinian nonviolent resistance to brutal oppression.
The presumption that the Palestinian struggle is mainly violent is disturbing. And the dismissal of the people who have sacrificed time, money and even their lives to fight injustice with nonviolence is callous.
Although Palestinian nonviolent resistance dates back to the early 1900's, the image of armed and violent Palestinians still prevails. In the 1970's and 80's, Palestinian refugees from camps in foreign countries, seeing no resolution after decades of displacement, chose armed struggle and more recent suicide bombings in Israel reinforced the perception.
Several factors have hindered a single, iconic figure from emerging or a cohesive civil disobedience movement from blooming despite its continued use by different sectors of Palestinian society.
Israeli policies are repressive and brutal. The use of live ammunition, beatings, destruction of property, rejection of building permits, constant threats, repeated administrative detentions and the escalation in arrests is discouraging and has been effectively obstructive.
Nongovernmental delegations, employees and individuals who are perceived as critical of Israel or sympathetic to Palestinians are increasingly denied entry or proper work permits for the Occupied Territories.
Sami Awad, Coordinator for the Holy Land Trust, a not-for-profit community support organization committed to nonviolence and the teachings of MLK and Gandhi, aptly points out, "Nonviolence is not something that happens overnight. It's not a means to end the conflict tomorrow. It's something that evolves over long periods of time."
Complicit too is the media's noncoverage of nonviolent direct actions and damaging comments by someone of Bono's stature that completely ignores the vital nonviolent struggle and committed activists.
Palestinian leaders like Ghassan Andoni, Mustapha Barghouti, Jamal Juma', Abdallah Abu Rahme, Mohammed Othman and Jean Zaru , among others, continue to speak publicly and organize direct actions to nonviolently protest injustices.
Israeli and Jewish activists join Palestinian initiatives regularly. Neta Golan, Jeff Halper, Rabbi Erik Ascherman and Ezra Nawi are just a few. "Internationals" from other countries also participate, facing beatings, arrest, bullets, teargas and even death from Israeli forces.
Many Palestinians have been killed while taking part in nonviolent protests including Basem Abu Rahme who was killed during a protest in Bil'in. Internationals have also been killed, including Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall. Tristan Anderson, an American, lies in a coma after being shot with a teargas canister.
Navigating children through militarized checkpoints, attempting to harvest crops while being attacked by Israeli settlers and living in a tent near the home recently taken over by settlers are all forms of nonviolence resistance or as the Palestinians call it "sumoud" or "steadfastness".
Bono, Kristof and President Obama should not discount the millions of Palestinians who are struggling against daily obstacles peacefully. Nonviolence resistance in addition to protests includes blogging, boycotts, and creating youtube videos.
It would benefit Bono, Kristof and President Obama to take the time to learn about Palestinian history and meet some of the living Palestinian and Israeli Gandhi's, MLK's and Aung San Suu Kyi's active today.
Follow Amnesty International on Twitter: www.twitter.com/amnesty
While the media and history is rife with stories about the specific Palestinians pursuing justice through non-violent means, there is no non-violence "leader," no one proclaiming "I have a dream" or going on a hunger strike to end the violence. Or at least no one who gets a bigger crowd than any funeral
The real question is would the Israelis permit these meetings.
As more and more of the non-violent protest leaders are placed into Administrative Detention the frustration against the Israeli government grows daily. Where once that frustration was only felt by the Palestinians, the world is now recognizing that Israel seems to be less than willing to give peace a chance. Imprisoning political dissenters, weakening Abbas politically by humiliating him internationally, protecting settlers who terrorize Palestinians, and continued settlement growth do nothing to convince the world that Israel truly wants peace.
Considering the history of the Israeli/American relationship there is no surprise that President Obama refused to acknowledge the peaceful resistance movement already present in Palestine. I would hope that Kristof and Bono would use their reputations to highlight the positive steps already being taken.
"We offer an alternative vision and outline for how nonviolence can be used effectively, though not exclusively, in resisting and overcoming occupation.
While we do not advocate adopting the methods of Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr., we do believe that learning from their experience and informing a Palestinian movement with this knowledge can be quite valuable and of great utility.
There is no guarantee that the use of nonviolence as a strategic element of resistance as part of a larger Intifada would end the occupation. It is simply a strategy, one that can be employed to attain specific, pre-determined goals.
The use of nonviolence is something that can be manipulated to present a story, a case or an image.
Let us reiterate, we accept that Palestinians have a right to resist with arms.
The Palestinian resistance must take on a variety of characteristics – both nonviolent and violent. But most importantly it must develop a strategy involving both aspects. No other successful nonviolent movement was able to achieve what it did without a concurrent violent movement – in India militants attacked British outposts and interests while Gandhi conducted his campaign, while the Black Panther Movement and its earlier incarnations existed side-by-side with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
Palestinians too should use any means necessary"
Just as the US and Israel feigned terrorist threats from Syria, while secretly sending Al-Qaeda members there for interrogation I'm beginning to believe the special interests affiliated with Israeli hardliners in the US absolutely do intend to keep Arabs in that region oppressed and contained.. permanetly. Why? It assures a steady supply of enemies to keep both Israel and USD markets well funded and busy.
Business 101.