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Article published in “Forget Fear” – 7th Berlin Biennale’s Book

Posted on by Alis
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To protest Israel’s occupation of Palestine (and occupation everywhere), I teamed up with Khaled Jarrar to stamp my passport and raise my pen. Now Khaled’s work is being shown at the 7th Berlin Bienalle and my article has been published in the Bienalle’s book (yes, it’s my first print publication with ISBN number)!

FORGET FEAR

THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THE 7TH BERLIN BIENNALE

edited by Artur Żmijewski and Joanna Warsza.

“The first publication of the 7th Berlin Biennale—Forget Fear—is a report on real action within culture, on the uses of artistic pragmatism. It is about concrete dealings by artists, curators, and politicians that lead to visible effects. We’re interested in finding answers, not asking questions. We’re interested in situations where art acts for real and solutions are proposed and implemented responsibly. We are interested neither in preserving artistic immunity nor in distancing ourselves from society. We consider politics to be among the most complex and difficult of human activities. We sought out people—artists, activists, politicians—who engage in substantive politics through art.

Forget Fear includes texts and conversations with political leaders such as Antanas Mockus, former mayor of Bogotá, who has significantly contributed to social change with a political theory stemming from art; theater-maker Árpád Schilling, who abandoned bourgeois theater to act directly within the political context of right-wing Hungary; Voina Group, who doesn’t believe in art without engagement; Tímea Junghaus, who uses art in a struggle against the oppression of the Roma people in Europe; the Brazilian underclass tagger groups Pixadores, who attacked the Sao Paolo Biennale; and the Icelandic Best Party, which came to power after the financial crash in 2008. All these actors use performative tools in order to make their cases, and to reveal the social and political forces and interests lurking in the background. With this first publication, we present leftist engagement not only as a critical, self-referential condition, but also as a proposition for empowerment and a productive set of political practices.”

With contributions (amongst others) by Paweł Althamer, Gábor Bakos, Yael Bartana, Einar Örn Benediktsson, Daniel Blatman, Christian Boltanski, Galit Eilat, Olafur Eliasson, Julián García, Jón Gnarr, Jan Tomasz Gross, Jerzy Hausner, Péter Juhász, Gideon Levy, Renzo Martens, Antanas Mockus, Joanna Mytkowska, Luis Ospina, the Pixadores, Srđa Popović, Alison Ramer, Dorota Sajewska, Árpád Schilling, Marcin Śliwa, Igor Stokfiszewski, Hans-Christian Täubrich, Joanna Tokarska-Bakir, Fernando Vallejo, the art collective Voina, Zofia Waślicka and Rafał Żurek as well as a CD by Teresa Margolles.

To read the forward, written by Artur Żmijewski, click here.

“Little Red” Video Art and Short Story

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By: Alis, Motaz and Issa

Song: “Twisted Nerve” – Kill Bill Soundtrack

This is the second draft of a video art piece that I made in the 12 hours bridging my last day as 24 and my first day as 25. It is a gift to my friends, family.

The photographs used for this stop-motion video were shot on an incomplete part of the Separation Wall in Bethlehem, 20 minutes from downtown Jerusalem. Sitting atop the highest mountain, next to the famous Everest Hotel, this location has some of the most beautiful, sweeping views of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

My friend Motaz, who grew up in and lives in Bethlehem (Beit Jalla), showed me the site before the wall was constructed — it was a natural wonder where we could escape all occupations. Over the course of the last year, we spent many afternoons sitting on the olive terraces, breathing in the fresh air — finding peace in such a noisy place.

Like a new building that blocks your view, the birth of the wall was ugly, violent and threatened the natural beauty of the land. In response, sometimes I tried to push on the wall — as if I could make it move just a bit. Other times, I let go of the physical space and pretended to have a magic wand that could make it all disappear.

Both my imaginary and physical responses to the wall were insufficient — after I let the wall hurt me so terribly I had to change first how I felt about the wall, before I could change it.

There, in a dance with the wall and my friend, we found Little Red and together, we made beautiful memories.

Follow-up: 

Shortly after I posted this story I wrote this short story, an adaptation of “Little Red Riding Hood” or “Layle” (Palestinian version).

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl who was loved by everyone who met her. Her mind was as wide as the sea, she was fertile, resilient, kind and welcoming.

For centuries, suitors came from near and far to try and marry her. But every time, she refused. Even with all their promises of freedom and security, Little Red knew that the only way she could truly be free was if she freed herself.

One day, a suitor came to Little Red’s house. She lived with her parents in her grandmother’s home on a beautiful mountain overlooking a wide valley. The suitor wanted to marry her, but she refused. “You will not take away my freedom,” she said.

The suitor was insulted. “The only way you will ever be free is if you marry me,” he said.

“I will not accept,” said Little Red. And with that, the suitor murdered her mother and fled the house.

After her mother was killed, Little Red and her father left the mountain to make a new home. They tried to get her grandmother to come, but she refused, and so they went to make their home on the other side of the valley.

But this was not enough for the suitor. He still wanted revenge. So to make Little Red’s life more difficult, he filled the valley with soldiers and made a rule that no women could pass without their husbands.

One day, Little Red’s father became very sick. He begged her to go to the mountain and pick herbs to make him healthy again. But when Little Red went to the mountain, she found that the suitor had burned all of the mountain side, and that only the mountain on the other side of the valley was still fertile.

Knowing that she had to save her father, she decided to go to the otherside of the valley to her grandmother’s house. Before she reached the valley filled with soldiers, she met a wolf. She had never met this kind of creature before, so she was not afraid of him.

“Hello, Little Red,” he said.

“Hello, Wolf,” she said.

“Where are you going?”

“To my grandmother’s house.”

“Across the valley?”

“Yes, across the valley.”

“But how will you cross? You aren’t married and the soldiers never allow women to cross by themselves.”

“Thank you for your kindness wolf, but I will find my way,” she said.

But she was so beautiful that the wolf couldn’t let her go. He wanted her for himself. He knew that if he had her, he would be the most powerful suitor in all of The Land.

“Well, I happen to be going the same way,” he said. “So I will just walk beside you for a short time.”

Even though Little Red wanted to be alone, she was glad for the wolf’s company, since it made it easier for her to cross the valley of soldiers. And together they passed without one soldier turning his head.

Eventually, Little Red was far enough from the soldiers that she wanted to be alone. “Thank you wolf,” she said. “I must go now and pick some herbs.” So she started to climb the rocky olive terraces looking for herbs and whenever she saw a patch of herbs on a higher terrace, she climbed higher and higher, until she was far from the wolf.

In the meantime, the wolf ran straight to her grandmother’s house and knocked on the door.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

“Who’s there?” called the grandmother from inside.

“Little Red,” replied the wolf. “I am free Grandma! I have come home!”

“Come in! Come in!” cried her grandmother. “I am too weak to get up, but come in and we shall celebrate!”

The wolf opened the door and went into the grandmother’s house. Surprised to see a wolf, the grandmother screamed. The wolf became frightened that the soldiers would hear him, so he stripped, gagged and blindfolded the grandmother and then, devoured her. He put on her clothes, climbed into bed and waited for Little Red to arrive.

In the meantime, Little Red, picked so much mint, maramiya and zatar that her hands were full, she started to make her way her grandmother’s house. But when she arrived, she was surprised to find the door of the house open. She went inside and found her grandmother curled up in the bed, the blankets covering her face.

“Oh grandmother,” she said. “I am here! I am here! I am sorry it took me so long, but the way wasn’t easy.”

She sat on the bed next to her grandmother and put her hand on her grandmother’s shoulder. Suddenly, the wolf uncovered himself and threw the blanket over Little Red. Unable to see or move, he swallowed her in one bite.

After his second big meal, the wolf was tired and he fell asleep in the bed without a thought.

But Little Red was still alive. Her grandmother, weak and tired, was sleeping in the stomach of the wolf, but Little Red yearned to be free. Around her grandmother’s neck, she found a key. The key she had been carrying for years and years. Although it was dull and rusted, Little Red knew that it was her only hope. So she took the key and started carving out the inside of the wolf’s stomach.

The wolf started to wrestle, for now his stomach was making noise.

“Oh, won’t you just be quiet,” he said to his stomach. “I’ve been deprived of a good for a meal for so long, I deserve to have this one!”

But Little Red wouldn’t stop. She just kept pushing the key further and further into his stomach until she had carved out several little holes all in a row. These holes made the wolf nauseous, and even though he was too fat to move, he rose from the bed and went to the door to get some fresh air.

There he was greeted by a visitor from a far land, who upon seeing the door open, came to the grandmother’s house to check on her.

“What’s happening here?” asked the visitor.

“Nothing, nothing” said the wolf, holding his stomach. “Everything’s fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” said the visitor. “Do you live here by yourself?”

“Yes, yes,” said the wolf. “Of course, thousands.”

When Little Red heard the visitor, she felt she had a chance. She jammed the key into the first hole of the wolf’s stomach and pulled it straight down to connect all the holes and make an opening for herself. She then jumped out of the wolf’s stomach, pulling her grandmother behind her.

The visitor, frightened to see Little Red and the grandmother come out of the wolf’s stomach, beat the wolf over the head with his briefcase and the wolf fell to the ground dead.

The visitor was happy to see Little Red and the grandmother free, for he had witnessed what he though was a miracle.

The grandmother was happy to be freed by her granddaughter, who she had missed for so many years.

But happiest was Little Red, who liberated herself from the wolf’s stomach. Surely her grandmother inspired her and the visitor gave her courage – but it was her, who liberated herself, and from this she knew she was truly free.

Veto Obama

Posted on by Alis
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Yes, I know … it’s political. Obama is up for re-election. But that doesn’t mean that America isn’t making a big mistake by announcing that they will veto the Palestinian’s bid for statehood in September. We’re talking about the world vs. the USA, Germany and Israel. Not good for any of these nations’ interests in the Middle East — or the world.

So please, if you’re still in denial about the situation — or more importantly, you know someone who is — take the time to share this video with them.

Love,

Alison
from Jerusalem

New State of Palestine VISA

Posted on by Alis
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I am the proud carrier of a new “State of Palestine” VISA. No, I am not proud that we have IDs that must be stamped at all. In fact, if this conflict has taught me anything, it is that it is part of my duty as a human being to make those “borders” less powerful. To create a world where gender, religion and national identities are no longer life threatening issues, where being a human being is enough to guarantee your human rights.

But in the meantime, I’m going to use my American and Israeli passports to advocate for human rights by stamping them with a new State of Palestine VISA, issued by Ramallah based artists Khaled Jarrar. Even though 100 states recognize the State of Palestine, the PA does not issue a VISA. What does that say about their thinking? Who is more powerful — 100 states or the Israeli occupiers?

I don’t know why the PA hasn’t issued VISAs. But I do know why I am going to be carrying one:

At conception, I was given two identities: human being and female — not woman. When I emerged from my mother’s womb, my parent’s gave me a gendered name and the state gave me a national identity. I was raised as a Jew and at thirteen, given the choice to be in or out. I chose to be in, had a party (Bat Mitzvah) and joined the Jew Crew for life — or so they say.

By 21, this Jewish identity ran into Zionism — and a Zionist narrative that uses the horrors of Jewish genocide and the power of Judaism to mobilize Jewish people for a nationalist cause. As a result of my Birthright journey, I became the Zionist dream, used the racist Right of Return for Jewish people and became an Israeli citizen. Boy, Jews can be stupid sometimes.

But if I’m a little easier on myself, in some respects it was a practical, adolescent decision. I was empowered by the Zionist narrative which took me out of the Jewish minority in America and placed me in the Jewish majority in Israel. I wanted to further explore my American relationship with Israel, a state which receives more American military aid than any other nation and which claims to be representing the Jewish people. The Israeli government made this easy by offering cash, subsidies, tax breaks and other privileges – Jewish organizations also chipped in and offer to fly and ship a bunch of your worldly belongings at no cost to the “Jewish Homeland”. And so, in the land where national identity, ID cards and passports are life or death issues, I naively became an Israeli citizen.

After living for three years in Tel Aviv, enjoying the beach, boys and booze,  my bubble was burst by the Israeli War in (and on) Gaza (2009) and I felt a need to see another face of Israel. I became a border crosser, leaving the seemingly occupation free Tel Aviv for more thorny territories (Israeli soldiers, walls and checkpoints–Oh my!), and lived behind the wall in Palestinian villages — Nabi Saleh (Ramallah) and Beit Ummar (Hebron), Beit Jalla (Bethlehem) and Al – Ram (Al – Quds or Jerusalem). Over the course of two years, I  lived with Palestinian families and engaged Palestinian officials and taxi drivers, artists and accountants to see Israel from their’ eyes.

Rarely was there a day when someone carrying a machine gun didn’t require me to show him or her my ID. “Where are you going? What do you do there? Where are you from?”, all common questions along the journey which determine your fate. But more powerful than the words you say, the disposition you hold or the attitude you carry, was my ID.

To my surprise, my Israeli ID is the easiest to move with. Like all IDs, it provokes questions. When I spoke Hebrew or English to the soldiers, they asked me if I was Jewish. When I started to speak Arabic to them, I got a lot less questions — in fact, life was easier, for this cute, secular dressing girl. Other girl friends of mine, who look more Arab and cover their hair, have a much harder time and boys — well they have it the worst.

Over the past two years, my American passport has become increasingly difficult to move with, since I no longer carry a VISA. A year ago, soldiers would just wave me through — it seemed to be a courtesy to tourists. Now, foreigners enjoy heavier harassment as the Israeli government attempts to intimidate international activists. Deportation of human rights activists has become common place and as a result elaborate schemes have been devised to visit Palestine, even if activists will never go to 1967 Israeli territory.

As a Jewish Israeli citizen, it is illegal for me to enter what was deemed by the Oslo Accords as Area A — all of the cities in the Palestinian territories. If I am arrested by the Israeli Occupation Forces, I can face thousands of dollars in fines and possibly jail time. However, I can move about Area B and C freely — areas that are still under Israeli military control, but were supposed to transition into full Palestinian control within five years. This freedom has enabled settlers to colonize the West Bank and so — in these areas settlers and Palestinians live side by side.

My Israeli passport is by far the easiest to move with since it doesn’t have any indication of my Jewish identity on it.  My Israeli ID on the other hand, has my mother’s Hebrew name on it. In the recent past, the IDs used to explicitly state your religion, while today the identification is more discreet. Of course, this doesn’t stop soldiers from asking questions about my identity and in protest, I answer the question “Are you Jewish?” by telling them that I’m Christian, Muslim and Jewish. Granted that this harassment is nothing compared to what Palestinians  carrying green Palestinian or blue Israeli IDs (Israeli – Arabs) experience, it touches on how powerful an ID is here in a place no larger than New Jersey.

Aside from daily harassment and intimidation, many people face incredibly difficult life-long struggles to stay in their homeland, where they were born, or to return to the land of their parent’s and grandparents. IDs become a weapon which the Israeli government uses to deem who is in and who is out. And of course, this isn’t some haphazard plan — it is an incredibly systematic way to displace Palestinians, win the “demographic dilemma” and to construct the Zionist myth that Israel was “a land without a people, for a people without a land”.

Since I have the inhumane and unwarranted privilege of crossing checkpoints daily, my ID has become one of the most essential objects I carry daily. When Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar approached me (in Ramallah) with his “State of Palestine” VISA and invited me to stamp my passport I was ecstatic. It enables me to make fun of the current border control system and to create contradictions that the official system doesn’t have a protocol for — yet.  His project provides me with a new tool for protesting the Israeli occupation and an outlet for freedom of expression that was unavailable before.

Luckily, I had the perfect place for the stamp — directly above my Israeli immigration ID, which the Israeli Ministry of Interior put in my American passport. Even though many of my Palestinian friends also carry two passports, due to their green ID registration, the Israeli Occupation Forces will not let them pass the wall into many Palestinian cities (most notably Al Quds / Jerusalem).

American passport with "State of Palestine" VISA (top, left) above Israeli immigration document

Next week I will have my Israeli passport stamped and will be leaving and entering Israel with the State of Palestine VISA in June. Additionally, I will be publishing the numerous stories that I am sure will be prompted by this eloquent project here.

If you would like to have your passport stamped or be involved with the project on other levels, please contact Khaled Jarrar. Additionally, you can support the project by liking the facebook page, “Live and work in Palestine” (which in 24 hours got 500 likes!) and add the State of Palestine VISA to your profile pictures.

How Outsourcing to Palestine Furthers the Israeli Occupation

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My most recent piece in PolicyMic represents a new direction for my writing which is focused on development and based of my experience working in Palestinian civil society for six months now. Feedback is welcome — enjoy!

There’s so much bad news around here, people look for anything “good.” But these days, when I read between the lines of the “good news,” I often find that it is subversive “bad news” – even grimmer than the blatant.

Take for example, the news that an “Israeli-Palestinian Duo is Opening a West Bank Venture Capital Fund.” Initiated by Harvard-educated businessman Yadin Kaufmann and Palestinian software entrepreneur Saed Nashef, the two have recruited an initial $28.7 million from companies like Google and Cisco Systems, with the aim of building a robust Palestinian economy for an eventual independent state.

At first glance, this appears to be positive news for Palestine; a boost for the emerging economy, an increase in job opportunities, much-needed investment capital, etc. From Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to American Philanthropist George Soros, all of the articles I read about the new fund are full of positive quotes praising the project. However, if we put this project andothers that emphasize Israeli outsourcing to Palestine into a broader context, it becomes clear that these efforts are in fact counterproductive to Palestinians’ struggle to build a just and free state and furthers the Israeli occupation…(more).

 

Now writing for PolicyMic

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I’m excited to announce that I will now be writing for PolicyMic, “an online political platform that promotes high-quality political discussion amongst young thinkers.” PolicyMic is still in beta, but I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far. You can check out my article “Netenyahu Institutionalizes Settlers’ Price Tagging Policy” on the site or read PolicyMic’s brochure here.

Since it’s March 15th, the day of Palestinian Unity, I also want to call attention to Fadi Quran’s article, which was published on PolicyMic last week, “On Shuhada Street, a Non-Violent Revolution in Palestine?“. Fadi and others have been working to bring the democratic revolution to Palestine — calling for unity and an end to the occupation — and I wanted to wish them, and all the Palestinian youth, the best today.

 

Thoughts on the Fogel family and their murderer

Posted on by Alis
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Berkeley, CA – All weekend, as I attempted to submerge myself in the Network of Spiritual Progressives at Tikkun Magazine’s 25th Anniversary, the murder of the Fogel family was laying heavily on my mind. The shocking initial news reports, followed by the high turn out (20,000 people) to the Jerusalem funeral and then the incredibly disappointing “emergency” decision of the Israeli government to approve 500 more homes in settlements, all left me nauseous – to say the least.

But it wasn’t until Sunday afternoon, when a facebook contact posted a Google Album of the murdered family on my wall that I started to write this entry. These images, while graphic and incredibly disturbing, will come to represent thousands of words people will write, say and think about this tragedy and the tragedies that are following.

That being said, it is the caption that my friend used when posting the link that inspired my response. He said:

X has hesitated, but decided to share the link exposing the corps of the Israeli family slaughtered by a terrorist this weekend. These are very disturbing images of what Israel’s enemies are capable of.

Firstly, these are the photographs of a family that was murdered this weekend. They are human beings, who were murdered by another human being — being a victim or murderer is a human experience that goes beyond national identity.

Calling this family an “Israeli family” and the person who murdered them a “terrorist” only furthers the type of violence that resulted in this murder. Arguing that these images are “of what Israel’s enemies are capable of” colludes an already dangerous, violent narrative  of “us” vs. “them” with nationalism.

I understand, that in moments like these — where we are shocked into disgust and anger — that we feel the need to bunker up, to know who is “us” and who is “them”. In fact, I think that’s a part of human nature. But this part of our human nature does not serve our needs as human beings. Distinguishing between the “victim” and the “murderer” will not help us end the cycle of violence that inspired this act.

In the future, we will probably come to know the Fogel family more — we will see pictures and videos of their children and their family. We will hear from their neighbors, friends and maybe even their remaining children. Surely, official representatives of both the Israeli and Palestinian nations will use their names to make political statements and hopefully to try and call for an end to this violent cycle that we are trapped in.

But one voice that I think is most important for us to hear, a voice that will probably be silenced, is the voice of the murderer and his / her family. What led this person to commit such a terrible crime? What message were they trying to send to the majority of Palestinians and Israelis who are working to end this cycle of violence? And most importantly, but surely difficult to ask is how is this murderer a victim?

Both the Fogel family and the murderer were highly dedicated to their national causes. The Fogels felt so strongly about their either national or religious convictions that they became a part of the settler movement — a movement that’s central values deny others their basic human rights and are far from the values of most Israelis. The murderer felt so strongly that the situation in which he / she was living in was so unjust that he / she had to take justice into their own hands and break one of the most central commandments G-d gave to all people — something most Palestinians would never dream of doing.

So on this eve, of yet another tragedy in our Holyland, may we find the courage to move beyond “us” and “them,” may we come together now and in the future against murder — Israeli and Palestinian alike — and never forget, to look beyond the binary.

Leader of the Popular Struggle Abducted from Nabi Saleh

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Update: At 1pm Bassam Tamimi was released. According to Bassam, he was beaten by the Israeli Army before being released. The where abouts of the two fifteen year old boys, one from Nabi Saleh and one from the nearby village of Darin Dam, is still unknown.

According to eye witnesses, today at 12 pm today, the Israeli Army abducted (or “arrested” as the Israeli Army calls it) Bassam Tamimi, one of the leaders of the Popular Struggle in Nabi Saleh, and two fifteen year old boys. “They beat Bassam very cruely,” said a villager who did not want to reveal his name for fear of being targetted. “They were looking for another person, who is a videographer for B’Tselem, and when they realized that they had the wrong person they said, ‘It’s ok, we want him too.’” His family does not know where he is and has contacted Israeli lawyers.

Bassam Tamimi, one of the leaders of the Popular Struggle, was abducted by the Israeli Army.

Yesterday, a ten year old boy was abducted and seven hours later, after an Israeli law firm intervened, he was released into his father’s custody. He is the brother of fourteen year old Islam Saleh, who was abducted in the middle of the night by the Israeli Army two days earlier, on January 23rd.

One year ago, the village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied Palestinian Territories, joined the unarmed resistance and Popular Struggle against the Israeli occupation. After years of countless acres of their land being stolen by Israeli settlers and no action being taken by Israeli Military or Civil Administration, when the only fresh water spring on their land was also stolen, the village started demonstrating weekly.

Bassam Tamimi has been the charismatic leader of this struggle and the Israeli Army’s decision to abduct him falls in line with their policy of arresting peaceful Palestinian activists like Abdallah Abu Rahmah, who was sentenced to 12 months in prison for organizing demonstrations against the wall in Bil’in. Amnesty International and the EU have publicly criticized the Israeli military court for their decision, yet Israel extended his time in prison by three months.

The Palestine Papers and the Road “Home”

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With The Palestine Papers on my mind, I start my journey “home” from “work” in al-Ram, on the other side of the separation wall. I climb on the Palestinian taxi and we drive along the road lined with grim realities on both side; to the left massive concrete blocks and agonizing graffiti block our view, on the right ghostly shops ravaged by the separation wall’s presence stand counting the days.

Picture of the wall in Al-Ram before it was sealed off from the rest of Occupied Jerusalem. Photo Credit: Newsifact.com

Qalandia checkpoint—I get off the bus, press past children selling black market goods for a quarter or two, squeeze between the metal human corrals and gates built by Jews, x-ray myself and my bags with Tel Aviv technology and prove that I’m a “legal” human being to teenagers with M16s.

Once validated, I escape to the safety of a Palestinian bus with Israeli license plates. I pay my ticket fare to the “Arab-Israeli” driver, slip on my headphones and try to disappear into Fairuz. We start making our way towards Jerusalem, past the same concrete blocks that cast shadows on the other side–on this side the wall is empty and silent. Passengers divert their gaze as we make our way past the Israeli checkpoint guarding the illegal Jewish settlement of Givat Zeev, the new light rail cutting through occupied East Jerusalem, the demolished Shephard Hotel in Sheik Jarrah… until we reach Damascus gate.

Now at the junction, waiting for a green light at the cross walk where settlers and Palestinians freeze, up the hill across the former green line, huffing and puffing I make it to the Israeli Interrogation Center a block from my house. I pull out the keys to my tiny apartment on Yaffa Street kiss them unconsciously and drag them across the iron prison fence. Past the coffee shop packed with American-Jews drinking cocoa, into the alley lined with Jerusalem’s best bars and up the stairs to apartment 18.

Here, the road “home” is never easy.

We Have a Dream – My Palestinian Partner and I’s Plea for Peace

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Two years ago, I graduated from Mount Holyoke College and took Mary Lyon’s famous words to heart, “Go where no one will go. Do what no one else will do.” With thousands of dollars of college debt, I moved back to Israel and then to the occupied Palestinian Territories on a journey to know every face of the Jewish State. I became a border crosser, one of the very few Jewish-Israelis who dared to live in Palestinian villages from Hebron to Nablus — and on the way I met many partners for peace.

Anas Maloul at home in the occupied Palestinian Territories

One of these partners happens to be my former classmate, Anas Maloul, a Palestinian politics student from Hampshire College who left his job in the United States and returned to Palestine to support his home in their struggle for freedom. In the heat of the summer, sitting in a dusty, neglected Nablus park, we spoke of the new non-violent movement which has engulfed Palestinians and their Israeli and international supporters–from Sheik Jarrah to Budrus, Bi’lin, Nilin, Nabi Saleh and more—something new is happening in Palestine.

Realizing that our destiny is inextricably linked, we dreamt of making a difference, of having the opportunity to apply all our years of study to the ground and to struggle together for Palestinian freedom and Israeli security. Our dream was contagious and shortly after, one of Palestine’s non-violent leaders invited us to join Al Tariq, a grassroots Palestinian organization working for development, democracy and non-violence.

Over the past year I worked tirelessly to take our dreams from the sky to the ground. I’ve documented the unarmed struggle against the occupation in the tiny village of Nabi Saleh, organized a Peace Day in the village, secured seedling funding for a sewing machine cooperative for Palestinian widows and brought hundreds of internationals and journalists to see the situation in Palestine first hand. In Al Tariq’s tiny office outside of Ramallah, Anas and I have developed several new projects which we believe address the most critical issues facing Palestine today. From non-violence summer camps for children, to service scholarship programs for young ambitious Palestinians — we have a dream.

Villagers in Nabi Saleh lead a non-violent demonstration - Summer 2010

We’ve come to realize that freedom and equality in Palestine won’t be achieved without American’s support. We need your help every step of the way. Freedom for Palestinians and true security for Israel will not come from politicians sitting in five-star hotels–it’s going to take people power, on the ground in Palestine, Israel, America and nations across the world. Its going to take courageous acts of support–non-violent demonstration, unarmed resistance, boycott, divestment and sanctions, speaking with supporters and skeptics, being compassionate and being unyielding. But in the end, we’re going to make — there’s no other way.

Now, we’re trying to take our message of freedom, justice and non-violence to “every hill and mountaintop” and get from Jerusalem to JStreet to attend JStreet’s historic second national conference, lobby with the Interfaith Peace Builders in Washington D.C. and to encourage churches, congregations, college students and courageous supporters across America to join us. Throughout the trip, I’ll be live blogging and sharing our message with as many people as possible.

Join our struggle — contribute to the financial costs of the journey to the USA, organize a fundraising event in your community or donate to our work being done on the ground. You can donate an amount of your choice here or support one of the projects listed below.

Help us get to the place, where we too can say, “Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty we’re free at last.”

Now is the time.





Projects on the Ground in Palestine


$1000: “Golden Fabric” Project – Empower a Widow and Her Family



Sewing and embroidery cooperative

We are starting sewing and embroidery cooperatives in Nabi Saleh and Dahashe refugee camp to serve the most vulnerable women in Palestine — women who are widows or their husbands are in prison, sick or unemployed for more than six months. Since there is no social welfare in Palestine, 73% of widows and their families live in deep poverty, more than 50% below the poverty line.

Each sewing machine costs $1000 and can provide $7000 of income to a woman in a year. For uneducated Palestinian women, who have nearly no opportunities to work, this is an incredible opportunity to strengthen them and their families.

Already, individuals in the UK are organizing to fundraise for one sewing machine for Nabi Saleh. Get on board and change the future of Palestine one woman at a time.


$500: Give a Young Person the Chance to Be Leader



Palestinian and Israeli Young Leaders

Our Young Leaders project gives Palestinian and Israelis young leaders the opportunity to meet the “other” for the first time and learn how to engage in meaningful dialogue. After the first encounter, our young leaders continue on to participate in a range of national and bi-national activities which further education about the two societies and promote non-violent conflict resolution.

$500 will enable us to invite another young Palestinian or Israeli to join our group and become an active member of Al Tariq. They will write you letters throughout the year about their experience and how meeting the other and developing relationships with them has changed their perspective of themselves and their future. You’ll also be able to keep up to date with national and bi-national meetings through our news feed, which we update regularly.




$250: Cultural Resistance – Give a Palestinian Writer a Voice




Support cultural resistance

Today in Palestine, education is mostly based on memorization and there is nearly no funding for the arts. However we believe that arts — and particularly writing — is one of the most important ways that young people can deal with their trauma and learn to communicate.

A gift of $250 will provide an emerging Palestinian writer the opportunity to participate in a creative writing session. At the end of the year, we’ll be publishing a book of the young writer’s works and will share them with you.



 

$100: Non-Violence Summer Camps – Teach a Child Non-Violence




Non Violence Summer Camp for children

Our programs for the children, who make up almost half of the Palestinian population, focus on enabling them to deal with the trauma and developmental problems that they have due to the conflict, through non-violent means. Since 2006 we have organized 2-week summer camps for children during their summer vacations. These camps are attended by large number of children from villages and cities alike.

A gift of $100 will enable a child to participate in summer camp and learn about non-violence. For most Palestinian children and their parents, this is the first time that they have ever participated in a summer camp. Give the gift of non-violent education to the future of Palestine.