It is difficult at times to negotiate the role of allies, privilege, organizing experience, language, and whole truckload of issues that may come up but mish mushkulah -not a problem. One way or another we come up with ways to support local popular resistance. One tension that is real is the fact that as internationals we tend to be men and women engaging male committees. Palestinian women are the backbone of the home and the community but they are not present at the meetings we have attended, nor at the actions. International women are strategizing to at least meet with more local women.
While some of us were back in the Beit others were in court engaging in courtroom solidarity with Musa Abumariya, popular committee member and local ISM contact. He was beaten pretty badly and arrested my first day in town. A progressive Israeli lawyer took on his case and ISM paid his bail, now we have to develop his defense, but this doesn't hold back a fiery Musa. Prison does not scare him, he has been imprisoned before, and he will continue to organize.
All of the men we have been working with and getting to know have spent time in prison. Although I teach in jail back home, I am astonished at how pervasive incarceration is here; it reminds me of working-class communities in New York. Everyone knows someone currently in or who has been in. Maybe we can draw some connections... the South Bronx and Southside Jamaica Queens, in some ways, are occupied, Palestine is occupied. We need to free our sisters and brothers. We need to free the land!
So Tuesday night we decided that on Wednesday we would meet families of prisoners and others directly affected by the settler occupation, Thursday would be a meeting with the village council and Friday & Saturday we would support actions here and in other villages. We managed to drink tea with the family of Yusef Abumariya, a popular committee member from Beit Ummar who has been in prison for a short while.
His mother and his nieces and nephews miss him so much. So does the popular committee in Beit Ummar. Imprisonment is an effective tool in disrupting the organizing necessary to change the conditions here. That is why alliances between local organizers, progressive Israelis, and internationals are crucial. Together we can outsmart the Zionists.
Many of you are aware of the incredible bombing campaign Israel has launched on Gaza. Some may know it has something to do with an Israeli soldier being captured, but less may understand the roots of this particular conflict. There are around 9000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Over 1000 prisoners have not been charged but are in detention nonetheless. Numerous women and around 400 children under the age of 18 are a part of this lot. This is why an Israeli soldier was captured; Palestinians are demanding the release of women and children from Israeli prisons and are willing to release this soldier in exchange. As a man, a teacher, an anti-imperialist, and a witness to the silent terror of incareceration, I can understand the families' outrage and the nations demand. Can you?
4 comments:
I've been wondering if you've seen the Isreali women (I cant recall the name of their group) who stand at checkpoints and document everything the gaurds are doing.
I heard a BBC story on them about a year or so ago and I'm fascinated by their bravery (let's be honest, angry young men who are trained to kill and hate aren't really going to shrink under the eye of women). I was wondering if they are still working to end the abuses at checkpoints.
This is a wonderful blog. May Allah bless you.
Wasalaam
TMA
Yes I have. They still do this amazing work. Their name is Machsom Watch.
Tonite a group of us were asked to watch a checkpoint that was set up and being used by border police and military to harrass families on their way to and from Al-Khalil [Hebron].
I am not sure what they were looking for. It reminded me of the senseless racial profiling south asian and arab communities faced in the states post-9/11. We watched, mouthed off, deescaated tensions by drawing attention to ourselves and outwaited the soldiers. We also effectively watched a few groups of detainees be released. If we had not been there they may have spent more time detained. Mumkin, Maybe, maybe not.
All we know is that if they were detained longer that 45 minutes we could have called Machsom Watch to start making calls to get folks released... www.machsomwatch.org
Thanks for all the support, keep reading, share this blog, and join or start a Palestine solidarity organization in your community!
i totally understand and i wish everyone else did too. i'll be reading, take care.
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