livetestimonies from from the nonvi- olent resistance International SolidarityP Movementalestine Northern California Support GrouP V o l u m e 3 N o . 2 D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 5

Your Help Is Making a ference between going or not going, or staying an extra month. We are proud to have subsidized four- Difference in Palestine teen volunteers this year alone. The generous contributions that we received By Paul Larudee during the recent speaking tour of Ayed Morrar and Jonathan Pollak were very timely, but we are s I began to write this, four ISM volunteers still $5,000 short of our year-end commitment to were arrested in the With international and A Tel Rumeida district of Israeli support, the people Hebron in the Israeli-occupied of Bil’in hold their 50th Palestinian West Bank. Their demonstration to protest crime? To accompany Palestin- the construction of the Wall ians to school, shopping, work, or which will isolate more than friends’ homes. 60% of the village’s land. ISM volunteers document

Photo: Lisa Nessan the harassment of Palestinians, their delays at checkpoints and the denial of access to their own property. They film Israeli settlers who shout insults, throw bottles and other objects, and even beat Palestinians while soldiers stand idly by. The good news is that the presence of volunteers with cam- eras is often enough to reduce these crimes. The bad news is that filming is itself ISM-Palestine. The ISM media office has also asked often considered a crime. us to send a new laptop, video camera and 500 giga- Unfortunately, ISM volunteers are fewer than byte hard drive within the next month. Please use Contents ever, even though more Palestinian communities the donation envelope in this issue to help us make request them to support non-violent actions and our goal and give us a healthy start in 2006. “Settling” the provide protection against military and settler vio- The four volunteers were released, thanks to our Jerusalem Question lence. Equally important, volunteers help to inform lawyer, Gaby Lasky, and our supporters around the their home communities about the non-violent world who answered her request to call the Israeli If it’s Friday, it must movement in Palestine, which is almost never men- police and Interior Ministry. Unfortunately, Gaby be a demo in Bil’in tioned in the mainstream media. still has thousands of dollars in unpaid services on We need your donations to make our work pos- our behalf. Interview with sible. Your donations support volunteers with Some donations lessen the suffering. We try to Ayed Morrar and partial airfares, training, equipment, salaries for stop the cause. Please support nonviolent resis- Jonathan Pollack Palestinian coordinators and legal expenses. For tance to the Israeli occupation. ■ Qawawis: Settlers each of the last two years, the Northern California threaten an age-old ISM chapter has pledged $10,000 to ISM in Palestine Paul Larudee is a piano technician who lived and way of life for operating expenses and $5000 for the legal fund. worked in Arab countries for fourteen years as a We have also pledged another $10,000 for volunteers teacher and government advisor. He has been an traveling to Palestine. A mere $500 can be the dif- ISM volunteer in Palestine four times since 2002.

LIVE FROM PALESTINE  Sharon Moves to “Settle” the tional law, Israel then annexed this entire area; the U.N. Security Council (including the U.S.) declared Jerusalem Question this annexation “invalid,” and to this day few By Henry Norr nations recognize it. Those borders weren’t big enough for Sharon, though. In defining the route of the Wall, he has cre- o anyone passing through East Jerusalem or ated an even larger entity the Israelis call the “Jerusa- nearby sections of the West Bank in recent lem envelope,” which combines the post-1967 munici- Tmonths, it’s been painfully obvious that big pality with the large settlement blocks of Giv’at Ze’ev changes are under way—changes that could, if not to the north, Gush Etzion to the south (west of Beth- soon reversed, all but extinguish the lehem), and Ma’ale Adumim to the east. prospects for peace in the region. The eastern extension is especially notable. Ma’ale It’s not just the Wall, growing from Adumim itself, a settlement-city that looks like it day to day in all its concrete ugliness, as belongs in the San Fernando Valley, is the largest it snakes through the Palestinian towns Jewish colony in the West Bank, with a fast-rising and villages north, east, and south of population already totaling more than 30,000. But the city. It’s also the elaborate interna- the wall surrounding it will also take in the nearby tional-border-style “terminals” Israel is industrial park of Mishor Adumim and the currently building to replace the once-ramshackle undeveloped zone known as E-1, where Israel plans facilities at the major checkpoints at to build a giant police headquarters and a whole new Qalandia, on the road north to Ramal- town. Altogether, it will add another 60 square kilo- lah, and on the Hebron Road leading meters of Palestinian land to the “envelope.” south to Bethlehem. And the construc- What makes the Ma’ale Adumim salient significant tion cranes you see everywhere in the is not just its size, but also its location: extending hills to the east of the city, as settlements almost halfway from Jerusalem to the Jordanian bor- like Ma’ale Adumim and Har Homa der—at the point where the West Bank was already expand and giant new developments at its narrowest. In effect, it divides the West Bank like Nof Zion take shape. All in all, as the in two, making it easy for Israel to block movement head of the Israeli organization Settle- between Bethlehem and Hebron in the south and ment Watch put it recently, the Israelis Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin to the north. (Actually, are “building like maniacs” around there will soon be three parts, because the northern Jerusalem. section will soon be cut in half again when Israel In one sense, this is nothing new— finishes extending the Wall around the settlement of Israel has been building on Palestinian Ariel and completes a huge new checkpoint under lands around Jerusalem ever since its construction at Zaatara/Tappuah, between Ramallah soldiers seized the area 38 years ago. and Nablus.) Regardless of who’s in power—Labor or Likud in Surprisingly at first glance, the Wall’s route A reduced West Bank Israel, Republican or Democrat in Washington— leaves a few small pieces of post-1967 Jerusalem on after the Apartheid Wall and no matter what’s happening in the so-called the Palestinian side. Why? Apparently it’s because is completed: the black “peace process,” the Zionists have been busy estab- Israel’s goal is never just to maximize the amount line represents the sec­ lishing what they call “facts on the ground.” of Palestinian land it can steal; it’s also to minimize tions of the Wall already But if you put all the pieces together, you begin the number of Palestinians left within its boundar- constructed and approved to sense what’s different: Ariel Sharon evidently ies. In a few places, such as the densely populated for construction. The white thinks he has a unique opportunity, thanks to the Shu’afat refugee camp north of the city, the Israeli areas represent land within unstinting support of the U.S.A. and the illusions planners evidently decided they’d rather give up the the West Bank that Israel he created in some circles by pulling his settlers land than take its residents. has confiscated for settle­ out of Gaza, to impose a unilateral and irreversible In all, at least 55,000 Palestinians who now hold ments and agriculture. For solution—a final solution, you might say—to the Jerusalem ID cards will find themselves walled out more detailed maps, please question of Jerusalem, one of the most contentious of the city, while some 196,000 will be left on the see www.stopthewall.org issues between his country and the Palestinians. Israeli side. Shortly after occupying the Palestinian territo- This is a tragedy for both groups. Those who live ries in 1967, Israel redrew Jerusalem’s municipal on the Palestinian side will lose access to Jerusa- boundaries: to the 38 square kilometers of the city lem’s religious sites, schools, hospitals, jobs, and Israel had controlled since 1948 were added not markets, on which they’ve depended for decades; only Arab East Jerusalem (6.4 square kilometers) many will be cut off from friends and relatives. but also 64 square kilometers belonging to villages (Israel promises that it will build gates and create north, east, and south of the city. Defying interna- a system of permits to alleviate such problems, but

2 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Northern California Palestinians living near sections of the Wall already Adumim—are obstacles to “revitalizing built know how hollow such promises prove to be.) the peace process.” Meanwhile, the Palestinian Jerusalemites left on Shortly thereafter, the British press the Israeli side will be isolated from the rest of the reported that the European Union’s West Bank - not just by the Wall, but by the Jewish Council of Ministers was considering a settlements growing into a tight ring around them. confidential memorandum prepared by Their neighborhoods will no doubt face the same the British Foreign Office accusing Israel treatment they’ve been getting since 1968: grossly of attempting a de facto annexation of the inferior municipal services, denial of permits for whole Jerusalem area. (As a friend put it to new construction that’s desperately needed to me, a confidential memo to make this point accommodate population growth, and frequent is like “a secret document revealing that demolition of housing built without permits (or the earth is round.”) for any other pretext). And new settlers will keep For the moment, the political forces arriving, even within well-established Palestinian opposing Israel’s plan for the Jerusalem communities such as Silwan and even the Old City’s area are no match for the Sharon and his Muslim Quarter. (Many of these urban “in-fill” American allies. But with the Bush admin- settlements are financed an American Jewish doc- istration imploding, Israeli politics in tur- tor named Irving Moskowitz, whose millions come moil, and the world at last, perhaps, wak- largely from a casino he runs in a poor, predomi- ing up to the tragedy at hand, there’s still a nantly Latino section of Los Angeles County.) chance that the plan can be stopped. Israelis make no secret of the underlying objective If not, I think the conflict is bound to continue The Wall being constructed of their policy in these areas: sooner or later, they for years, perhaps generations, to come, because no in Abu Dis. hope, their Palestinian subjects will be so beaten one who knows Palestine believes its people will down that they’ll give up and move out. The Israelis accept a peace that excludes them from their his- even have a name for this process: “slow transfer.” toric and religious capital. ■ Although Palestinians, supported by the ISM, progressive Israelis, and other internationals, have An earlier version of this article appeared at the mounted non-violent demonstrations against the International Middle East Media Center (www. Wall in Abu Dis and other towns around Jerusalem, imemc.org). The Wall in Abu Dis is the area has not seen the kind of sustained grass- a huge impediment to roots campaign that has arisen in rural villages such Henry Norr, a journalist who was fired by the San people’s freedom of move­ as Bil’in today and Budrus and Jayyous in years past. Francisco Chronicle for participating in demonstra- ment. That may be starting to change - in recent weeks tions against the war in Iraq, has spent three and a (Nov. 2005) there have been major protests at the half months in Palestine over the last three years. Photo: www.machsomwatch.org Qalandia checkpoint and in Eizarya (Bethany), one of the towns hardest hit by the Wall. Given the present balance of power, though, it’s clear that Palestinians won’t be able to stop Sharon’s Jerusalem plan by themselves—the international community must step in. On this front, too, there are a few moder- ately encouraging signs: In August the International Crisis Group, an ultra-establishment NGO, issued a remarkably forthright analysis of the plan, appropriately entitled “The Jerusalem Powderkeg.” In November United Nations Secre- tary General Kofi Annan, usually wishy-washy on Palestine, issued a relatively forthright statement charging that further construction of the Wall and expansion of Israeli settlements—he singled out Ma’ale

LIVE FROM PALESTINE  International Solidarity Gives Us Hope who want to live peacefully with us as equals, not in a master/slave relationship. Secondly, we need Interview With Palestinian Leader Ayed international activists to be live witnesses to what is going on, and to spread the word once they return Morrar and Israeli Activist Jonathan Pollack home. All Palestinians feel very warmly towards people who take time away from their jobs and fami- By Jeff Pekrul lies, to come and protest in solidarity with us. Q: Is the success in Budrus spreading non-violent alestinian Ayed Morrar and Israeli Jonathan protest to other villages where the Wall is being Pollack are major figures in the Palestinian- built? led nonviolent struggle against Israel’s mili- P A: Yes. Actually similar tactics were used in many tary occupation. Ayed led his village of Budrus in a other villages before Budrus, but people often gave campaign of 50 non-violent protests in 2003–2004 up because the military retaliation was so brutal. which resulted in moving the Wall’s path off village The majority of the Palestinian people believe land and back to the Green in this approach. We depend a lot on diplomatic Line. Jonathan, from Tel efforts, but we also must depend on ourselves to Aviv, has mobilized hun- achieve our goals. With support from others, we dreds of Israeli activists to hope to see a light at the end of this tunnel soon. participate in nonviolent resistance alongside Pales- Interview with Jonathan Pollack tinians in the West Bank. Both Ayed and Jonathan Q: What the relationship between the Israeli anti- have been imprisoned by occupation movement and Palestinians? the Israelis for their non- A: The main point is that we Israeli activists are not violent resistance organiz- a force of colonial liberators. We’re there because ing. it’s also our struggle for freedom, and we struggle This fall, ISM sponsored against occupation as it’s being done in our name. a 12-city U.S. speaking tour The Palestinians are completely capable of strug- of the two activists. The following interview took gling for themselves. We don’t need to teach them Women from Budrus place after a presentation to two groups of high anything or show them anything. Everything is confront the Israeli soldiers school students in San Francisco. completely Palestinian-led; all strategic decisions are who protect the con­ made by and must be taken by Palestinians. We have struction of the wall. Interview with Ayed Morrar relationships with the Palestinians that are based on Photo: S’ra DeSantis; Vermonters for a our common goal of resistance to the occupation. Q: What are the goals of this speaking tour? Just Peace in Palestine/Israel, Working with Palestinians, we are trying to put an www.vtjp.org A: We are trying to get our message out, especially end to the occupation because freedom and equal- to people in the U.S., about the real situation in ity are not something you can grant and take away. Palestine. We believe that everyone can do some- These are universal rights and everyone deserves thing to help the Palestinian people achieve their them. Until all are free, no one is free. ■ freedom. The girls and boys at this school could help by asking their families to boycott Israeli-made Jeff Pekrul is a technology worker who resides in products when they shop at the store; the boycott San Francisco and is active in several health-related is a very big step in our struggle. They could also charities. Jeff was an ISM volunteer in Palestine write articles about Palestinian rights or political during the 2004 Olive Harvest Campaign. prisoners in the school newspaper. A four-year old girl attends Q: What is the role of non-Pales- a protest against the wall in tinian solidarity groups such as Some donations Budrus. Her house has been ISM, and Israelis in non-violent a consistent target by Israeli protest in Palestine? lessen the suffering. soldiers. A few days before A: Internationals are an important We try to stop this demonstration, Israeli part of our movement. First of all, it soldiers threw a tear-gas gives us hope to see that others are the cause. Please canister in her window, standing with us. It is especially where she and her important to have Israelis partici- support nonviolent 8-month sister pate in the protest; we used to see resistance to the were trapped. them only as soldiers and settlers, Photo: S’ra DeSantis but now we know that there are Israeli occupation. many good people among them

 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Northern California If it’s Friday, it must be a demo in Bil’in By Wynd Ahimsa

onviolence? In Palestine? As a matter of ments. More than half of Bil’in’s land (575 acres) has fact—yes! There are numerous examples of been confiscated to make a loop around the Jewish Nnonviolent resistance throughout the entire settlement of Kiryat Sefer. history of Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine. My first demonstration in Bil’in was on the occa- When I first went to Palestine in 2002 as a volun- sion of the year anniversary of the decision of the teer with ISM, I anticipated that my activities would International Court of Justice that ruled the Wall be akin to confronting Israeli tanks. Instead, I found illegal and recommended that myself in a small village helping out with a truly Israel dismantle it. The mem- creative form of nonviolent resistance in the form bers of the Popular Committee of a children’s summer camp. During a four-month Against the Wall in Bil’in had siege of the Western Ramallah region, a man from created an incredible and enor- the village of Deir Ibzi’a organized the camp because mous prop depicting the scales he saw children traumatized and depressed. He of justice. The world (a beach requested international accompaniment to prevent ball with the world map on it) harassment from the Israeli army. The situation was being weighed on one side reminded me of a wonderful quote by Edward Said: and Israel (a ball with the Israeli “Under the worst possible circumstances, Pales- flag wrapped around it) on the tinian society has neither been defeated nor has it other. The U.S., symbolized by crumbled completely. Kids still go to school, doctors the U.S. flag, was tipping the and nurses still take care of their patients, men and balance in favor of Israel. The women go to work, organizations have their meet- base of the scales was a coffin. ings, and people continue to live, which seems to be On it was written, “RIP, inter- an offense to Sharon and the other extremists who national law and peace.” I was simply want Palestinians either imprisoned or driven awestruck by the creativity, the away altogether.” craftsmanship and the amount I returned to Palestine the following summer of work that went into this prop. and gained my first-hand experience of nonviolent It was a very powerful and cre- demonstrations protesting Israel’s construction of ative image that needed nothing the so-called “security barrier”, more appropriately else to explain the demonstra- An example of the known as the Apartheid Wall or Annexation Wall. tion that day. excessive force ready to I was appalled by the brutality of the Israeli Army The following week’s demonstration had yet be employed against non­ towards the peaceful and nonviolent demonstrators. another creative theme. Dozens of masks were violent demonstrators.

Before a demonstrator could even get close to the donned by the protesters with the face of Condo- Photo: Wynd Ahimsa Wall, soldiers would open fire with tear gas, rubber leezza Rice or George W. Bush. Each mask had an bullets and sound bombs. orange ribbon—the symbol of solidarity with the When I returned this last summer I saw that the Gaza settlers—around the eyes to symbolize how brutality of the Israeli Army had intensified. Five the Gaza disengagement was blinding the U.S. lead- Palestinians have been killed in these demonstra- ers to the increasingly desperate situation in the tions and many others seriously injured. Despite this, West Bank. Again, no words were needed to get the Palestinians have continued to organize peaceful message across, which probably explained the anger and nonviolent demonstrations. And nowhere are and excessive force used by the soldiers that day. the demonstrations more organized, nonviolent and These amazing demonstrations in Bil’in continue, creative than in the village of Bil’in. as well as in many other places of the West Bank. Bil’in is approximately 10 km west of Ramallah. They need our support and witness. I feel fortu- Every Friday, and some Wednesdays, the villagers nate that I was able to participate and observe the accompanied by Israelis and internationals march thought-provoking nonviolence that is taking place to protest the construction of the Wall. They hope there. Perhaps you should consider going to see if for that their protests, along with a petition to Israel’s yourself. Be ready to be inspired! ■ Supreme Court, will pressure Israel to build the Wall closer to the 1948 armistice line (the green line). Wynd is Jewish American from a pro-Zionist family. Already the Wall has made deep cuts into the West She is an engineer, teacher, mother and activist. She Bank, essentially annexing approximately 10% of has been to Palestine working with ISM in 2002, 2003 it in order to encompass the largest Jewish settle- and 2005.

LIVE FROM PALESTINE  Qawawis: Settlers threaten groves and right past the caves. They didn’t stay long and caused no particular problem, but under an age-old way of life the circumstances, their very appearance on village By Henry Norr land was an act of intimidation. As I followed them, trying to snap their pictures, I could only imagine ife in the tiny Palestinian hamlet of Qawawis what would happen to a Palestinian who had the seems straight out of the Old Testament, temerity to approach the settlers’ outposts. L but that doesn’t stop the Jewish settlers in What really has Qawawis’s residents worried at the hilltop outposts that surround the place from the moment, however, is the threat to its always- doing their best to destroy it. And if something isn’t precarious water supply. In July, after a suicide done soon about the settlers’ latest threat—deny- bombing in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, the ing Qawawis’s shepherds access to watering holes settlers informed the villagers that they are no their flocks depend on—the villagers might have no longer permitted to graze their sheep and goats choice but to abandon their ancestral homes and within 150 meters of a road that leads to one of the lands. outposts. Qawawis, located near the southern tip of the That order, which appears to have no legal basis, occupied West Bank, south of the denies Qawawis a significant portion of its land. city of Hebron, is home to just But the immediate problem is that the prohibited four extended families and a few strip includes two watering holes to which the hundred sheep and goats. Only village’s herders taken their sheep and goats since one of the families has a house; time immemorial. To keep the animals alive in the the others live in caves carved— area’s stifling summer heat, the villagers have had originally by nature, later by to share the water from their own wells in the vil- human hand—out of the region’s lage. But the capacity of those wells is limited, and limestone hills. the villagers say it’s insufficient to supply both them Like their neighbors in nearby and their animals for long. At-Tuwani and dozens of other villages throughout the south Time standing still Hebron hills, the residents of At a glance, you might wonder why the settlers Qawawis have faced harassment bother with Qawawis. The population usually totals from the settlers since the 1980s. only about 20, though it sometimes rises to 50 or For a while things in Qawawis got 60, depending on how many offspring and relatives Daily life in Qawawis. so bad that the villagers had to move out altogether. are at home at a When they left, settlers promptly moved into their given moment, caves, until the Israeli military decided to clear as opposed to Settlers armed with everyone out (for “security reasons”) and brought staying in the machine guns on in bulldozers to seal the caves with rubble. nearby town of Qawawis land. But in March of this year, after winning an order Al-Karmel (a from Israel’s High Court confirming their right to 40-minute walk), their land, the villagers came back to Qawawis, sleeping in the cleaned up the mess left by the settlers and the army, hills with their and reclaimed their homes. In hopes of deterring set- flocks, or—as tler retaliation, the villagers requested help from pro- in the case of gressive Israelis and internationals, and ever since one young man the International Solidarity Movement has provided I met—studying a steady stream of volunteers to stay in the village electrical engineering at the university in Hebron. and accompany the shepherds to their fields. If you drive by on the highway that runs near the Neither the court order nor the international place, all you see are the solitary house (three bare presence has stopped the harassment, though. rooms, no plumbing or kitchen) and the stone walls At first the settlers showed up almost daily, often that surround the cave entrances and pens for the wearing masks, shouting insults and threats, wav- sheep and goats. ing guns and throwing rocks, sometimes attempt- There’s no running water, just a couple of wells. ing to enter the villagers’ caves, and beating locals Electricity arrived only this summer, in the form and internationals alike. of a generator provided by Ta’ayush, a progressive While I was in Qawawis in late July, the settlers Israeli organization with both Jewish and Arab came up with a new trick: two of them showed up members; the generator runs for just an hour and on horseback, galloping through the village’s olive a half or two every evening. Each cave now has a

 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Northern California bare light bulb and an outlet, but so far they have In addition to describing past incidents of harass- had no visible effect on the residents’ lifestyle: ment, the villagers explained the impending water there’s no radio, TV, or any other appliance except a crisis. The ICRC investigator tried hard video camera left by a visiting international. to get the villagers to give him exact fig- Daily life revolves around the sheep and goats, ures for Qawawis’s population as well as it has in this area for millennia. At sun-up, men as for the capacity in cubic meters of from each family take their flocks—about 30 or 40 each of the “water systems” in question. animals each—out to graze on the rocky fields that The men were unable to respond with surround the village, or sometimes to the adjoining the precision he wanted, but after much olive groves. The women, meanwhile, prepare the consultation among them, they arrived food and tend to the homes, crops, and kids. at the key conclusion: if the sheep and All in all, it’s a simple, peaceful life—or it would goats as well as the human residents be if not for the settlers and the warplanes con- have to use the village wells, they’ll stantly audible and occasionally visible overhead. likely run dry in as few as thirty days, (There’s apparently an Israeli air force training base or sometime around the end of August. nearby.) The planes, though, are easy to ignore. The The ICRC investigator promised to file an urgent settlers are not. The shepherds continually look report with the Israeli authorities. Whether that over their shoulders to see who might be sneaking will do any good remains to be seen. But unless up on them; the boys study each car that passes on someone intervenes, the residents of the settler road. Qawawis may again be forced to leave, and the settlers will have succeeded in Running dry cleansing another small piece of Pales- So far, the villagers have complied with the set- tine of its legitimate owners. tlers’ demand that they stay away from the road and Update: After this article was writ- the watering holes near it—though they seem to ten [in early August 2005], activists value the presence of the international volunteers, from the Israeli grassroots organization they obviously don’t believe that we’re capable of Ta’ayush brought a water tanker truck protecting them from the consequences of defying to Qawawis. With the activists stand- the order. ing by to deter settler interference, the The villagers have, however, tried to interest truck pumped a tankful of water out of international humanitarian organizations in the one of the prohibited watering holes, threat they face. While I was there, a jeep from the then into one of the wells the residents International Committee of the Red Cross pulled still have access to. up to the village, carrying an investigator, a transla- This emergency response has appar- tor, and a three-person film crew. At the time the ently eliminated the immediate threat to the sur- Qawawis women working family that owns the house was away, but one of vival of Qawawis, but it’s obviously not a long-term in the fields. the other elders had a key. The house was quickly solution. That, of course, would begin with the opened, and a half-dozen of the men, plus the two removal of all Israeli settlements from the occupied Young settlers threaten a internationals, assembled there to meet with the Palestinian territories, as required by the Fourth village elder in Qawawis. ICRC team. Geneva Convention, United Nations Security Coun- cil Resolution 242, and dozens of subsequent UN resolutions. ■ Speakers Available An earlier version of this article was published by ISM volunteers who have recently the International Middle East Media Center (www. returned from Palestine are available imemc.org) to make presentations to high school Henry Norr, a journalist who was fired by the San and college campuses, churches, Francisco Chronicle for participating in demonstra- ­organizations and house parties. tions against the war in Iraq, has spent three and a half months in Palestine over the last three years. Volunteers Needed The Northern California ISM Support All photos by Lisa Nessan. Lisa is a Bay Area Jewish Group needs volunteers to help with American activist and photographer who spent the local organizing activities. For more past three years living in the West Bank volunteer- information, call 510-236-4250 or email ing with ISM, supporting Palestinian nonviolent [email protected] resistance and direct action against the construc- tion of the Annexation Wall. http://freckle.blogs.com

LIVE FROM PALESTINE  We Await You in Palestine By Mansour Mansour

very day that we have a nonviolent demonstration or action, the sweat of Palestinians, internationals, and EIsraeli activists proves the reality of solidarity and the pos- sibility of coexistence between people. Force is not the language for peace. Unlike the coalition forces who claim to create democracy and global justice through their weapons and destructive technology, in Palestine, simple human beings with empty hands and full hearts face one of the strongest armies in the world, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). We won’t react towards the IOF by using the same means of violence that they use against us. We are not teachers or lecturers, but we have the experience of 57 years of resisting the Israeli In Bil’in, Palestinians, Occupation. By our continuous resistance and the hope we have maintained, we prove that force Internationals and Israelis hold and violence is the weapon of the loser. We need you, our friends, side by side with us, to work for hands and create a human that peace. We await you in Palestine. ■ wall in the path of the Wall to prevent the Israeli military from entering the village and to ISM is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and international activists working to raise prevent work on the Wall. awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. We utilize non- Photo: Lisa Nessan violent, direct action methods of resistance to confront and challenge illegal occupation forces and policies. For more information or to register: www.palsolidarity.org. ■

For more information or to register: www.palsolidarity.org

NORCAL ISM Support Group 405 Vista Heights Rd. El Cerrito, CA 94530 www.norcalism.org [email protected] 510 - 236 - 4250

Design & production donated by: Lisa Roth

 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT Northern California