A few weeks ago the police abruptly came to my house in Jerusalem on two different occasions. The first visit they paid was at 3:30 in the morning; six officers came and banged on the doors and windows until my four roommates and I woke up.
My roommates and I were suspected of having drawn graffiti earlier that night in central Jerusalem. The graffiti in question was a part of a wider campaign to raise awareness about Masafer Yatta, an area in the South Hebron Hills that Israel declared a military training area (Firing Zone 918) in the early 1980s. In March, the Israeli Supreme Court will decide whether the Israeli army can expel the 12 Palestinian villages and hundreds of residents that live there.
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Over the past year, I have seen and been a part of an inspiring growth in Jewish-Palestinian solidarity in support of Masafer Yatta. Where previously international volunteers supported the villages in the South Hebron Hills, the travel closures from the pandemic have inadvertently nurtured local relationships, as Israelis have taken the place of volunteers documenting settler violence and escorting children to school. While the Israeli state works to keep Jews and Palestinians separate, we commit ourselves together to building a better and shared future.
There has predictably been a crackdown on the Jewish activists who have dared to stand with Palestinians and build these connections. In Jerusalem, Jewish-Israeli activists were detained in the night after putting up posters about what is happening in Masafer Yatta. The same day I was arrested, three additional Jewish-Israeli activists were also arrested and two more detained after an altercation between a settler and a Palestinian near a-Tuwani, a village in the South Hebron Hills. The home where the activists had been staying in a-Tuwani was raided by Israeli police and military, who confiscated laptops, cameras, and cellphones belonging to the home’s resident, in addition to a Jeep that belonged to the activists.
The intensity of these efforts to shut down our solidarity demonstrates just how potent it is. Now, when Israeli authorities are ramping up their efforts to suppress cooperation between us, is the time to deepen our connections, renew our efforts and take stronger stands against the system of occupation Palestinians live under every day.
We are attacked because we are feared, because we have a fighting chance of stopping the onslaught of violence, suppression and expulsion being carried out by Israel every day. Now is not the time to let up.
Many of us are searching for realistic reasons for hope in these hard times.
I often find taking action in solidarity with others can help.
I am grateful to be able to raise up important recent developments with our wonderful partner US Boats to Gaza.
No Distance Will Ever Divide Us: Palestine Is In the Heart
The great Alice Walker just posted about our partner US Boats to Gaza and raised up our co-founder Jonathan Kuttab
She celebrates the ambulances that have just arrived in Gaza - thanks, in part, to our generous donors - and challenges the dangerous and false designation of respected human rights groups being labeled as "terrorists."
Please see her beautiful and moving blog at Alice's Garden.
Please consider making a donation to support their important work.
On Sunday, December 5, 2021, Sultana Khaya, and her sister, mother and brother were attacked in Western Sahara in their home by Moroccan authorities. Below are short and longer videos that show them speaking out about the attack (which included sexual assaults) and confronting the perpetrators on the street outside their home.
Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco in violation of international law and UN resolutions, but the Moroccan king gets enormous military and political support from the US, France, and Spain. The Khaya family nonviolently waves the Western Sahara flag on their townhouse roof everyday, enraging the Moroccan authorities. They do this under a siege of more than 1 year in which their electricity and water are turned off, and they have been repeatedly attacked, sodomized and sexually assaulted, and had household items stolen and destroyed. Yet their resistance continues.
Sultana Khaya
The international and US media is not covering this siege or the resistance of these sisters.
Posted below are the videos describing the December 5th attacks on the Khaya family:
The True Face of the Moroccan Kingdom (4 min) *There is no graphic violence in this video*
Moroccan Brutality on Human Rights Defender (22 min)
In March, NVI broadcast a webinar (Webinar: Nonviolence Resistance to Occupations) in which Sultana spoke live. Note the 22-minute mark, at which Sultana Khaya dramatically confronts those who besiege her house.
Additionally, see Sultana Khaya’s op-ed in CNN (Morocco: Western Sahara Activist Raped)...and yet the attacks continue.
Please Take Action with us to support these activists:
Mubarak Awad & Jonathan Kuttab in Western Sahara
NVI has been helping on the WS issue for 3 decades. Mubarak Awad and Jonathan Kuttab are some of the few Palestinians and Americans who have gone and done solidarity work with them in the occupied territory.
Michael Beer co-wrote a critical article (Michael Beer's Op-Ed Calling for an End to the Conflict in Western Sahara) encouraging the US Government to change it policies towards Western Sahara.
Nonviolence International supports international law and opposes the unlawful and violent occupations of its neighbors by Israel, Morocco and Russia.
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How Agent Provocateurs Harm Our Movements by Steve Chase, Published by the International Center on Nonviolence Conflict, 2021
Steve Chase has produced a 45 page book on government supported agent provocateurs. He begins by providing a short snapshot of examples of agent provocateurs from Guatemala, Thailand, Syria, Sudan, Poland, Britain, Canada, United States, and Tibet. He then shares a deeply disturbing story of US government sabotage and use of agent provocateurs in weakening the US Black Liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s. This story has been made possible because of a daring citizen initiative to raid an FBI office for its documents that were then the basis for a legislative branch investigation that exposed much information about the COINTELPRO program supporting provocateurs. He then explains important research from Omar Wasow, Sharon Erickson, and Erica Chenoweth that debunk the myth that “diversity of tactics” is a successful campaign strategy. Diversity of Tactics is a term which encourages the simultaneous or parallel use of nonviolent and violent tactics, particularly in street protests. Chase also criticizes nonviolent campaigners who fail to confront those who seek to use violence to accomplish goals on strategic or principled grounds.
He concludes with a short chapter on Responding Effectively, suggesting ways to deal with agent provocateurs. Some of these ideas include prompting more evidence-based social science research, deploying tactics that are less susceptible to agent provocateur incitement, provide trainings in nonviolent discipline, and staying focused on clear goals among other recommendations.
Some additional recommendations that Nonviolence International has given over the years includes:
His book reveals the need for more research based on government documents and whistleblowers with stories to tell on social movement sabotage. This sabotage goes well beyond what we typically think of as agent provocateurs including informers, kidnappers, quiet intimidators, and assassins. This book also shows the need for a more comprehensive look at agent provocateurs that are also sponsored by corporations and non-state political actors.
This book’s most important contribution is to challenge those advocating for diversity of tactics and violent revolutionary flanks.
Chase concludes with his finest observation that “I find it painfully telling that no agent provocateur has even been documented encouraging a movement to adopt a disciplined civil resistance strategy.”
In this Spotlight on Nonviolence, I had the great privilege of talking with David Hartsough, a Quaker, lifelong peace activist and author of the memoir Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist. In Part 1, David and I discuss his experience participating in civil rights sit-ins in Maryland and Virginia as a college student at Howard University, the difficulty of staying committed to nonviolence in the face of violence and intimidation, and how his Quaker faith has inspired and sustained him in his nonviolent activism. In Part 2, David and I discuss his experience traveling to Iran to engage in citizen diplomacy, his critique of economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool, and his vision of the end of US empire. Though it's hard to tell height over Zoom, David struck me as a gentle giant, humble and kind, soft-spoken but firm in his convictions, with a smile that I'm sure has lit up many rooms. Bathed in the soft white glow of his room, he seemed almost saintly. Though David is currently battling cancer, he found the time to grace me with his presence and it was an absolute pleasure to engage in a wide-ranging conversation with this extraordinary leader.
I found David's story of how he and some fellow college students successfully challenged desegregation deeply moving, a great reminder of the power of a group of young people to change the world. Even more impressive is how David has remained committed to nonviolence, putting his body in harm's way multiple times. I am in awe of his immense courage. As someone who studied US foreign policy as a political science student, I enjoyed learning about David's decades-long anti-war activism. Unlike pundits in DC who cheer on the war machine, David has traveled to so-called "enemy" countries and seen the devastating impact of US policy on civilians. I admire David's complete rejection of an "us vs. them" mentality, his embrace of the entire human family. As a young person in my early 20's, I'm still figuring out what exactly I want to do with my time on Earth- but I know for a fact that I want to live a life as beautiful, meaningful, and impactful as David Hartsough's. David told me that we can all influence other people through our example. As we fight against the same forces David did- the three evils of racism, war and poverty-we would do well to follow his shining path. I found our conversation deeply inspiring and insightful and I hope you will too.
PART 1
PART 2
Learn more about World Beyond War here- https://worldbeyondwar.org/
Learn more about Nonviolent Peaceforce here- https://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org/
Learn more about the Poor People's Campaign here- https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/
A few years ago we were told that computer algorithms would serve us. Now we have learned that we serve them. So, we are compelled to ask you to “please like and subscribe” to our new YouTube channel so that others will be introduced to the work you already support.
NVI is lucky to have three new wonderful cohosts for our Spotlight Series. Nimesh and Paige are two of our new interns. Paige is a senior at Wittenberg University while Nimesh is a recent graduate of George Washington University. Kate is a graduate student at Cambridge University who has graciously offered to volunteer her time and serve as a cohost alongside Nimesh and Paige. Learn more about these impressive young leaders in the videos below.
Nimesh's Intro Video
Paige's Intro Video
Kate's Intro Video
Please read Kate's article "Cambridge's Imperial Connections and Me" where she shares her reflections on race, cross-cultural experiences, and being Bangladeshi in Cambridge
A few years ago we were told that computer algorithms would serve us. Now we have learned that we serve them. So, we are compelled to ask you to “please like and subscribe” to our new YouTube channel so that others will be introduced to the work you already support.
In this Spotlight on Nonviolence, I had the opportunity to speak with Joanne Sheehan, a long-time nonviolence activist, trainer, and educator. During her career, Joanne has worked as a member of War Resisters' International, co-founder of the War Resisters' League Office in New England, and chair of Voluntown Peace Trust. Some of Joanne's most recent works include: We need to strategically eliminate fascism, not hollow calls for peace (written with Shiyam Galyan) January 22, 2021, in Waging Nonviolence and The roots of revolutionary nonviolence in the United States are in the Black community February 15, 2021, in Waging Nonviolence.
In our interview, we tackled topics such as feminism, the role of education/training in nonviolent activism, what can nonviolent resistance movements of today learn from other generations of nonviolent activists, and nonviolence activism in the Black community. Joanne began her activism in the 1960s and 1970s during the rise of feminism and with influence from feminist and nonviolent protest advocate Barbara Deming. We then talk about the elements of nonviolence training Joanne has gathered from her education and experience, including Gandhi's idea of a constructive program. Bringing all of this into our current world, Joanne and I conclude with thoughts on present-day nonviolent movements and what advice she can offer the next generation of nonviolent leaders.
Talking to Joanne was truly a pleasure. She brought so much of her experience in nonviolent activism to this interview. Our discussion made me consider how we construct and empower nonviolent movements. I hope you take the time to watch our interview and that it is just as impactful for you as it was for me.
Check out the Spotlight Interview with Joanne Sheehan here
Learn more about War Resisters' International: https://wri-irg.org/en
Learn more about War Resisters' New England Office: https://www.warresisters.org/new-england-office
Learn more about Voluntown Peace Trust: http://www.voluntownpeacetrust.org/
Learn more about Barbara Deming: https://demingfund.org/
Learn more about Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
A few years ago we were told that computer algorithms would serve us. Now we have learned that we serve them. So, we are compelled to ask you to “please like and subscribe” to our new YouTube channel so that others will be introduced to the work you already support.
Nonviolence International believes that in this time of crisis, we must find a way to craft solutions that are capable of responding to the massive challenges before us. Typical delay and compromise politics are not sufficient to the reality of the moment. The time for small ideas is over. As is the time when we can allow our broken system to define our vision. When politicians receive funding from those actively destroying our precious planet, we must find another way to respond to the climate crisis.
The exceptional young leaders of the Sunrise movement have tried a variety of approaches including education, letter writing, public protests, and direct action. They have even engaged in the dangerous often corrupt world of electoral politics. They have found that even after the vast coalition you represent plays a key role in getting leaders into office, they mostly follow. As usual, elected leaders must be pushed to fulfill key promises made during campaigns.
Now brave young people seeking to claim a livable future have begun a hunger strike. Extinction Rebellion UK just asked if this is the most important fortnight in history. They note that previous massive well-publicized conferences have not produced the change we need. We share the sense of urgency and know we will need each other even more after both the upcoming conference and the legislative process underway in Washington, DC fail to grasp the enormity of the moment. These young leaders understand the nature of the crisis we face, know well that US is by far the greatest historical polluter causing climate change, and deserve our active support.
To learn more about each of these leaders and find ways you can help, please see the information below from Sunrise.
See also further explanation of this powerful nonviolent tactic in NVI's online database.
PRESS CONTACT
Nikayla Jefferson
619-961-6080
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HUNGER STRIKE FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE |
Biden, deliver on your climate justice promises.
Pass the full scope of the reconciliation bill to ensure the United States reduces emissions at least 50% by 2030 while advancing justice and creating millions of new good union jobs.
The bill must include a Civilian Climate Corps, direct investments in public schools, housing, transit, and clean energy to reduce emissions across major sectors and improve our communities. No investments towards fossil fuels.
Write or Call the White House
Go to https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/write-or-call/ to bring our demands and our story directly to the White House.
Call your Members of Congress
Go to CallForTheGND.org to call your Representative and Senators!
Phonebank
You can join an upcoming phonebank hosted by Sunrise Movement. (http://smvmt.org/gnd)
Donate to our GoFundMe
Help us pay for water, supplies, transportation, housing, etc. Please help us out! (https://www.gofundme.com/f/hunger-strike-for-climate-justice)
Share this document (bit.ly/hungerstrike4climate) or the links above with your friends with a personal note!
Hey, there’s 5 young ppl on hunger strike rn for climate change. They’re only drinking water til the gov passes the first part of the green new deal, and it could totally happen. They’re asking ppl to support them. I’m doing [], would u wanna join me?? See here bit.ly/hungerstrike4climate
On Wednesday, our team launched a hunger strike; help amplify by sharing and following on social media:
KALW - Youth Climate Activists are on Hunger Strike Outside the White House
Al Jazeera - Climate Activists Go on Hunger Strike near White House
Yahoo News - After Manchin nixes clean energy budget provision, youth climate change activists go on hunger strike
The Guardian - Climate Activists Launch Hunger Strike Outside White House
Teen Vogue - Hunger Strike for Climate Justice Begins in DC
Democracy Now - Climate Activists Start Hunger Strike from White House
The New York Times - Biden Backs Compromise to Win Vast Social Agenda
New Republic - Climate Activists are Going on Hunger Strike
Rachel Maddow Show - It’s Been a Busy Week of Direct Action All Over the Country
Joe Manchin is trying to purge climate policy from the $3.5T Build Back Better Act. The most crucial pieces for federal climate action: the Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), pieces of the GND for Public Housing could be gone if Manchin and his corporate donors get their way. These policies are more than just acronyms – a CEPP means clean air and water. A CCC means jobs and opportunities for our generation. A robust reconciliation package means less human suffering. Joe Biden has the power to make this a reality right now, but has conceded control of the White House, the Democratic Party, and the future of this country to Joe Manchin and his fossil fuel fortune. Now, everything we’ve fought for is on the line.
That’s why on Wednesday, October 20, five brave young people began a hunger strike in the fight for what we need. It’s all hands on deck now and we need you in this fight.
We must pass the full scope of this bill or we will spiral deeper into the climate crisis. The urgency of now cannot be understated: This could be our last chance to pass federal climate policy for the rest of the decade and we won’t back down without a fight.
The time is now and we have nothing to lose. No climate, no deal.
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WEDNESDAY 10/20: HUNGER STRIKE LAUNCH |
Starting Wednesday morning outside of the White House, five young people will begin a hunger strike until Joe Biden and Democrats pass the full scope of the Build Back Better Act to combat the climate emergency. Our names are Kidus, Abby, Paul, Ema, and Julie and we are risking our bodies to demand Democrats deliver on their elected climate commitments, and pass the first pieces of the Green New Deal for climate justice.
Why a hunger strike?
The stakes of this moment are greater than our lives: the United States is at a crossroad on climate, and the Democrats have a choice between mass human suffering or mass human survival. Hunger strikes and fasting are tactics that have been used by social movements throughout history to draw attention to certain issues, underscore the moral authority of participants and put pressure on key targets. We hope our hunger strike can appeal to Joe Biden, bring more people into our movement and emphasize what is at stake -- future life on this planet -- in this bill.
MEET THE STRIKE TEAM |
Kidus, 26, Dallas, TX
I’m hunger striking because I believe we can win. I’m fighting for my mom who is an in-home caregiver, the people in Texas who died during the TX Freeze, and my future children. I’m fighting for a Dallas that invests in green public housing in immigrant neighborhoods like my first home, Vickery Meadow. I’m going on a hunger strike because we all deserve clean air, good jobs, and a livable future. I’m striking for everyone I've ever loved and I won’t back down until Biden invests in us, our futures and his own agenda. Twitter: @Kidus_GirmaB Tiktok: kidusgirma460 Instagram: kidusgirma460
Paul Campion, he/him, 24, Chicago, IL
On Saturdays with my neighbors I pack and deliver groceries to other neighbors. On warm summer nights, I love to bike along Lake Michigan looking at the bright Chicago lights and the stars that poke through. I’m going on hunger strike because I want to live a full, beautiful life. I want to have carefree days where I can play in the park with my future children and evenings when I can invite friends and family over for dinners, a bonfire, and singing. I’m going on hunger strike to remind Joe Biden of the promise he’s made to tackle the climate crisis and the responsibility he has to follow through -- to not shrink & compromise away my generation’s future. I’m striking to remind him that it’s alway worth it to do all that we can to prevent pain, suffering, and death. I’m striking to remind him that love ought to show itself in deeds more than in words. He must deliver strong federal climate legislation, paid family leave, and the full scope of his Build Back Better agenda so that I and the people I love can live full, beautiful lives.
Twitter: @_paulcampion
Ema, she/her, 18, Santa Rosa, CA:
I’m going on a hunger strike because I am terrified about what the climate crisis is doing and will do to the people and places I love. This summer I marched hundreds of miles across California to demand action that meets the scale of the climate crisis. But paid-off politicians are refusing to take my generation seriously, despite wildfires spreading and our homes burning. We need to invest boldly in climate now, for my family and so that I have a chance at a livable future. Insta: @ema.govea
Julia Paramo, she/ella, 24, Dallas, TX:
I’m hunger striking for my Tejano community. My community has to rely on itself because the government currently won’t fight for us. I will fight for my people. Mi comnunidad looks like community gardens, urban farming, and working people who live in food-deserts putting in hours to only get cents back. I want a future where I can laugh and dance with my friends without the fear of being outside. So, I’m striking to carry on la lucha of my ancestors, for my parents who came to this country with false promises of the “American Dream,” only to fight tooth and nail out of poverty to barely land in the working class. We have abused mother-nature for too long, our communities are hurting. I do not want this earth to die the way I already see my neighborhoods suffer everyday. I’m hunger striking because Joe Biden owes my community what he ran on. To show Biden the pain an entire generation faces if he and his administration fail to deliver on their promises.
Insta: @julieahp
Twitter: @julie_ahp
Abby Leedy, she/her, 20, Philadelphia, PA:
I want to keep living in West Philly. I want to have a home here one day, with my mom, my wife and my kids. I want to have a garden and go to church every week. I’m hunger striking because that future means everything to me, and I’ll risk everything I have to make it real. I believe we can stop climate change, that there’s a future where Philly is above water, where my family can live with dignity, and peace, and joy. I don’t have millions of dollars to pay our politicians off to make that happen. I just have my life. Instagram: @abby.leedy
Tiktok: @notabbyfromqueereye
Check out this short powerful video from Greta Thunberg
