Reply #24: Nonviolent activists have been deported, killed, jailed, tortured. [View All]

This is the record, it is not a question of who or what is "worse".

I think going through history and trying to quantify who has been more oppressed or to say who are the worst oppressors is not going to solve anything. I don't think such a thing can really be quantified or compared.

It is really a foolish argument.

My point is that a) Israel does well in suppressing expressions of nonviolent resistance effectively. 2) What is crucial in nonviolent campaigns is that the protests have an impact on those in supporting countries. I think Gandhi's campaign had an effect on Britain. Certainly King's campaign had an effect on White America. However, despite the high cost of the Palestinian campaign for justice, much of the public is really unaware of its existence.

A history lesson:
Mubarak Awad, a leading proponent of non-violent protest during the first intifada, encouraged Palestinians to refuse work on Israeli settlements, boycott Israeli goods and meetings, withhold tax payments, violate curfews and establish alternative institutions to supplant the Israeli administration. In response to his efforts, which helped popularize that intifada, Israel deported him.

International activists have been deported and jailed in Israel. In some instances, killed or wounded. We know Tom Hurndall, Rachel Corrie, Brian Avery. There have been many others who have been turned away.

Many Palestinian activists have been subject to "administrative detention" in their work. Some have been tortured.

I still believe in nonviolence and that it can be effective tool of change. The worse enemy's of such work is not those who believe in armed resistance, but those in the US who are too blind to see it happening daily in Palestine. It is not only the village of Bi'lin that is doing nonviolent resistance. Every time a Palestinian student goes to class it is an act of remarkable bravery. Every time a farmer harvests his crops it is an act of affirming that the resistance lives.

Despite the widespread ignorance of the current struggle in Palestine in the US, there is hope. We see signs the facade is cracking, and more are beginning to see the reality of the situation. Churches initiating divestment is one sign. Growing movements on University campuses is another. There is much to inspire hope.

Folks may want to consider these words from Tanya Reinhart. http://tomjoad.org/ReinhartWall.htm