After six days of packed actions I am finally having the chance to sit down and write a short update on our incredible trip in Israel so far. This will be a far too short update but I want you to know that we arrived (well quite a few days ago actually) and are doing well (thought intensely processing this heart-filled and heart-breaking witness). The moment we landed Infinity and I felt compelled to go to the Old City in Jerusalem for sunrise. Entering the familiar and ancient walls felt both sacred and profane. How can my people pray to a wall that separates us from another holy site, the beautiful Dome of the Rock? And how long will we stuff our tiny paper prayers into the crevices of rock before they billow and catch in the wind and rise above this wall?

Last Friday we began our delegation with an opening orientation that was both joyous and somber as only hours later a Palestinian activist in Nil’in had been killed by the IDF. This is the reality of being here in Israel–feeling surrounded in one moment by happy, laughing families in a cafe, and just over the hill knowing there are people starving and in desperate need of life-saving medicines, trapped behind a concrete wall. Medea, Ann, and the rest of the folks coming from the Egypt-Gaza delegation to join us in Israel were detained for 8 hours at the border between Egypt and Israel. With some quick pink work, thanks to Jodie, Congresspeople called the Israeli Embassy to support them getting into Israel, and by Saturday night they reunited with our delegation. With their exception, everyone else on the delegation got into Israel with ease. Before I go any farther, I want to say that the best way to get the gist of what we are doing here is to see the photos and there is a group pool of vibrant shots.

Saturday morning we had a legal briefing to know our rights as activists; we met with a Palestinian Member of the Israeli Parliament who talked about how there can be no peace without equal rights; we held a clowning workshop with famous doctor-clown Patch Adams and the Israeli radical clowning troupe (I learned lots of fun new mixers and ice breakers!) (see more pics); and in the early evening we attended a demonstration as Saturday was the anniversary of the 1967 war. Our CODEPINK contingent added a bright pink splash to the stream of activists marching through the streets of Tel Aviv. Saturday night we boarded our bus and journeyed south to the Adamama farm in Nir Moshe an hour and a half to the south of Tel Aviv, where we’ve been staying for the past three nights. Adamama is a rustic ecovillage with a strawbale house, large tents, and a sweet staff who live on the property and make delicious meals (a vibrant array of peppers and tabouli and homemade rugelach). From our Adamama base camp, we have gone out every day to take a stand for freedom in Gaza at the checkpoints. On Sunday we arrived with our humanitarian aid for the children, including a bright playground and school supplies, and submitted our passports for entry. Patch and the clowns hammed it up in front of the border guards and even got them to smile quite a bit. In the end we were not allowed in and so we held a rocking vigil outside the gate, complete with an Israeli samba troupe, Kasamba.

Read about the Erez Border action on YNet news.

Sunday afternoon we participated in workshops organized by our Israeli delegation partners, the Coalition of Women for Peace, and great orgs like Physicians for Human Rights and Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement. In the evening a small group of us went to Sderot to meet with folks who lived there and were enjoying a film festival, and to listen to their stories of living in constant stress and fear of attack. Monday we went again to the Erez checkpoint, this time carrying with us contraband items that are not allowed into Gaza. Scary, dangerous items like pencils, coffee, chocolate, paper, pumpkins, and light bulbs! We did a street theater action with the goods and then headed onward to Kerem Shalom checkpoint where we again brought out the contraband, this time including our playground. Kerem Shalom is where the trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza. We created an altar at the gate with all the goods and sang songs loudly while fastening tea bags (also totally not okay in Gaza!) and balloons (another no-no) to the fence. Under the hot sun, we managed to hold quite a presence at the checkpoint that we had thought would be very militant and confrontational. During our morning actions Ann Wright heard back from the Israeli authorities that we had been officially denied entry into Gaza. This was disappointing, though highly expectable, news to our delegation and we took action at once contacting congress and trying to push the issue. We returned to Adamama in the afternoon for two excellent workshops, one from Who Profits? on corporate illegal operations in occupied Palestine and successful boycott campaigns, and the other on radical feminist activism. In the evening we had the amazing opportunity to listen to a panel of shministiot–the brave young women (shministim means 12th graders) who refused to serve in the Army. Their words were incredibly inspiring and down to earth and we hope to create a tour for them in the US.

Today, Tuesday, was an absolutely remarkable day. By 10 pm tonight we had done three actions, heard a presentation on Gaza, and packed our bags to depart for Jerusalem tomorrow morning. We started the day with a demonstration with kites at the Erez checkpoint, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza who organized hundreds of people to demonstrate at the border with kites as well. It was beautiful to see the kites, constructed in the West Bank, soaring high above the concrete walls surrounding the open air imprisonment that the Israelis have created out of the seaside land of Gaza. After flying kites we wrote notes to the people on the other side of the wall and ritually tied them to the chain fence around the gate, with flowers and more balloons. We were joined by Israeli activists and were able to talk on the phone with the people protesting on the other side. From Erez we went to Tel Aviv where a group of 15 people from our delegation met with the US Embassy to vocalize outrage about not being able to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via Israel, and discuss the siege and the US role in occupation. A smaller group of PINKs created a vigil outside the embassy with free gaza and end military aid signs.

This afternoon we staged our first ever protest action inside an Ahava store! Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories is a privately held Israeli cosmetics company that manufactures products using minerals and mud from the Dead Sea. The Hebrew word “Ahava” means love, but there is nothing loving about what the company is doing in the Occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. The Ahava store in Tel Aviv is located in the oceanfront fancy Hilton hotel. Six of us women covered our bodies with mud and then put our nice clothes on over, so that we could disrobe in the store to bare our signs and mud. Our chants included: “Ahava you can’t hide/We can see your dirty side!” “Your product’s made in stolen lands/We’re here to show your dirty hands!” “Don’t Buy Ahava!” Meanwhile the other members of our delegation swarmed into the hotel mall area outside Ahava, and posed as tourists gawking at our action, flashmob style. We had a good turn out of press photographers and journalists (many of whom took boob shots of my “No Ahava” mud job) and made such a splash in the hotel that security came and SHUT DOWN Ahava for the rest of the day! (If I only had to put on mud and wear a bikini to get a military recruiting center to shut down!)

Check out this great Ahava action video on Israeli news. And there are great photos on the local activist media flickr page.

It felt really powerful to be taking a stand against occupation in this very tangible way. We chanted and marched out of the hotel and continued to hold a muddy vigil outside the hotel for quite some time. When I was a teenager traveling to Israel on delegations I used to think Ahava was a cool gift to bring back for friends and family at home, and standing in such drastic opposition today made me realize just how much my awareness has changed, transformed.

There is so much to say about the incredible people on our delegation, the hard-working outstanding organizers at the Coalition of Women for Peace and their member groups, and even the way that we have been treated by Israeli police and soldiers. Our joy, humor, and creativity seems to slice through meanness at each turn; after all, we are CODEPINK activists. While I know that we enjoy the privileges of these fun-filled actions, there is an ever-present awareness of the reality for the people who are suffering at the hands of occupation, and actually the people on all sides who are involved in a battle that fewer and fewer people seem to see a peaceful or amenable end to.

I so look forward to sharing our action stories, and the stories of the people we are meeting, with you when we return. Helping to lead the logistics on this trip definitely keeps me busy. You can find our delegate blogs at www.codepinkalert.org/blog. For now it is approaching one am so I am going to send you all love from southern Israel and bid you laila tov, good night!

xx
Rae

If you are an American living in New York, educated and angry about the Iraq war, what options of protest or dissent do you have? Write a letter to your congressman, go to a protest, and attend a Noam Chomsky lecture. It is beyond the imagination to travel to Iraq and monitor the situation yourself. That is not the case in Israel. If you understand the gravity of the occupation and live in Tel Aviv, you can travel forty minutes by car and make yourself a presence. If you live in Jerusalem, you can literally venture out of your neighborhood. This is a privilege and I am saddened that more people do not take advantage of it. Please do not get me wrong, there are plenty of Israelis that stand up to this challenge and engage in direct action. The group I am addressing is the mainstream left or those that define themselves as mainstream left. It would be easy for people that vote Hadash or Meretz in Tel Aviv to give up one Saturday and go experience the reality of the West Bank. This would send a message to society that we have had enough with the double standards and routine deceit of the occupation. If it does not start from these people, the mainstream political and social left, then where is it going to start?

To quote an esteemed mentor, activism (direct action) is the new frontier in combating the occupation. I am not trying to decry my fellow Israelis rather I think that the lack of direct action in the West Bank is an interesting window into our political and moral culture. I think that we can see a tacit approval of the occupation through our collective unwillingness to act out against it. The greatest danger facing Israelis that want to make their presence against the occupation known in the West Bank is the IDF and settlers. We should be asking ourselves why this is the case and do something about it.

I will say this again; I am not trying to decry my fellow Israelis. The opposite, I think that we have enough people in this country that understand the problems to make a profound difference. In fact, two weeks ago Ta’ayush joined Combatants for Peace for a tour of Palestinian Susya; you can read my recount of the day, which ended in violence. During the tour, our group with well over eighty people including at least thirty for Tel Aviv, decided to have a look at the well of the land owner only to be faced with a ‘closed military zone’ by the IDF. Of course, settlers from Susya joined the scene and the army did not threaten them with arrest or evacuation. This is standard fare in the southern West Bank for Israeli peace activists. Here are videos with English translation.

Combatants for peace decided that they were unwilling to get arrested and as such everyone left and obeyed the order expect of course the settlers. It was great that many Tel Avivians were able to see firsthand the reality of the rule of law as it pertains to non-settler Israelis. Collectively though we could have had an act of civil disobedience that surely would have made waves in the media in Israel and possibly elsewhere. According to my knowledge, actions of civil disobedience like this one is what it is going to take in order to create a sea change in the Israeli mindset that will save Israel from itself. Few are willing to take the risk. Maybe it is the predatory American capitalist sprit which has slowly invaded Israeli culture that is to blame for our collective display of selfishness. It is clear that the international community is not going to coerce Israel into behaving rationally; it is only up to the citizens to change the course that we are on. Given the almost sadistic nature of the last Gaza campaign, what are we waiting for? What is it going to take for people to get out there and make a difference? Don’t Israelis want to live in a democratic society ruled by laws that have moral foundations? Are we so accustomed to the lies of the state that direct action in numbers is unattainable?

I think that protests in Tel Aviv are great but are not nearly enough to combat the settler movement and occupation. Anyway, when was the last major anti-occupation protest in Tel Aviv? Coincidentally, the settlers are well organized and willing, albeit with insane fever, to group together in numbers in direct actions against the Palestinians, the leftists, the IDF and ultimately the Israeli public. Where is the response? How can we defend ourselves and the laws of the State of Israel? I understand that we have lives and someone actually has to work in society unlike the settlers but the point is clear. Have we let our collective lies scare us from action? Most of us have been in the Army and many have seen the occupation as soldiers. Despite our collective attempt to banish those experiences from our minds with cheap drugs and travel in India the residue stays behind. In the words of Primo Levi, “someone who, accustomed to lying publicly, ends by lying in private too, to himself, and building for himself a comforting truth which allows him to live in peace.”

Joseph Dana works with the Israeli peace organization, Ta’ayush and is currently finishing a master degree in Jewish thought at the Hebrew University. He blogs at ibnezra.wordpress.com.

This article was first printed in News From Within in August 2004, yet the article still remains as timely and relevant as it did in 2004.

When looking to extend our effectiveness in the struggle for a new future free of oppression in Palestine/Israel we need to examine where our resources are and make full usage of them. We are very busy resisting occupation in many ways but forget sometimes to examine whether our resistance is at all effective and long lasting. Ineffective resistance is a bit like throwing rocks at a tank; it may make us feel good for a little while, but is highly ineffective in any real sense. Effective resistance tackles the core of the real issues which cause us suffering and creates an alternative to our old ways.

So in looking to make a real impact we want to start looking at which groups are disempowered in society and ready to be empowered. One such group in Israeli society is our youth. The youth in Israel is a kind of “wasted commodity”. It is trained to produce the same catastrophic results that the previous generation created. Israel’s youth are educated to be unquestionably patriotic, “achievement” oriented and consume with a passion. There is a real void in true substance in the lives of our young people leaving them feeling empty, bored, cheated and lacking any real hope, power or positive direction.

There is a system of disempowerment working 24/7 on our youth. It starts with consumer culture, probably the most destructive force in the world today, and prevalent in every part of Israeli society. The urge to consume, fueled by advertisement, media propaganda, social pressure and encompassed in almost every norm and value in our society sucks all substance out of life. It creates young people who are blind to the joys and agonies of themselves and others, living in an isolated world where everything around them, as well as they themselves, are reduced to nothing more then merchandise to be dealt and acquired by those who can afford it. Consumerism leaves lives completely lacking substance; Zionist militarism fills that void by telling our youth that they can be important people by defending their country from the ever present enemy.

Militaristic education is everywhere in society. From Kindergarten plays where children play brave, heroic Israeli soldiers, to high school’s mandatory preparation workshops, as well as billboards, commercials and dinner table discussions about who did what when they were in the army. Zionism provides the (very shaky) moral grounds on which this education grows. You, as a young Israeli, are to be “fighting for the survival of the Jewish people, it is your god given country and, anyways, have no choice in the matter of war because it was forced on us by the savage Arabs.” All this has an 18 year old very excited to be going to the army where he or she can give of herself to her people, fulfill their adult potential, and gain credentials as a “successful” Israeli civilian. Thus we have an education of violence, forcefulness and compliance officially sponsored by the state and embraced by much of its citizens. Our disempowered youth are completely reliant on the existing social order to provide them with some much sought after strength.

Thus, providing true substance and ample answers to young people’s burning questions is a very high priority for us. There are a steadily growing number of young people who are questioning the “truths” manufactured to them by the army generals and corporate elite. A burning desire for truthful answers, real substance and respect drives much of our youth to splinter from societies’ mainstream and seek alternatives. Often this finds it’s expression in drugs, violence and other destructive phenomenon. We can attribute much of this to the inability of adults in society, especially educators and social activists, to offer accessible alternatives to our youth. Such alternatives, when practiced with commitment, passion, and patience are hugely in demand. Every school I go to, on buses, and in the streets, I find young people who are asking questions and seeking answers and alternatives. Such is an immense strength that must be harnessed and empowered in order to create a new foundation for a just society.

Last year I had the privilege of guiding over fifty young people who were contemplating their army service through intensive seminars lasting two whole days (Thursday Night until Saturday night). Three such seminars were held with the support of New Profile, the feminist movement to bring about a civil, as opposed to militaristic, society in Israel.

In Israel conscription is mandatory for Jewish males and females (approximately 80 percent of the population). Male soldiers are obliged to serve a term of three years, plus reserve duty, and for woman it’s two years of mandatory service. Although the rate of conscription is steadily decreasing (only about 50 percent of Israeli young people will complete their army service) among Jewish Israelis army service is still a the norm. The seminar’s purpose was to provide much needed alternative education and community to those young people who seek it. It provided young people with deep, interesting and varied perspectives on the issue of conscription (and other related issues), while allowing them to contemplate these together in an open and safe environment.

The seminars were composed of about seven two-to-three hour sessions hosted by different people and addressing a variety of issues such as: the pros and cons of army service, the Israeli Occupation resulting from the war of 1967, the Nakba (Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948), militarization, martyrdom, feminism, Judaism, Zionism (movement of Jewish Nationalism) and many more. We had esteemed university professors come talk to us, spoke to heads of pre-army programs, religious figures, soldiers who had refused, as well as those are still enlisted, went on tours with the Arab Counsel of Jaffa (part of modern day Tel Aviv which was ethnically cleansed of Palestinians in 1948 and today houses a majority Jewish population alongside a minority of Arabs), and many others. Through these encounters we raised issues that are neither presented nor discussed in schools, youth groups or most other parts of Israeli society. We also incorporated leisurely types of activities such as meditation, joint meals, games and free time at the beach.

The seminar placed its young participants at its center. All activities were centered on their internal world. We attempted to reach and touch them in new ways, to keep them involved and challenged. The seminar was built so that each view being presented would be confronted by another, letting no perspective, thought, or opinion go unchallenged. This process flooded and excited the participants, which made them eager to share, to debate, and to express their doubts, dilemmas and newfound perspectives. We would hold much of our discussion in small groups which allowed us to discuss freely with each other, encouraging each and every one to express his or her self and allowing them the time and space to do so. Through this process every participant began to form their own personal perspective; new and distinct from their former views, as well as give rise to collective thoughts and views.

The basis of our participation in the seminar was listening and active participation. It allowed us to form relationships of respect, cooperation, interest and curiosity with each other and with our special visitors. Every aspect of the seminars was geared to create new awareness, thought and participation: from the topics of discussion, joint planning and running of the seminar, small discussion groups and special rules and regulations, to the vegan food, meditation, games and more. We made sure that people felt comfortable and cared for. One of our rules, for example, was that “no one stays alone,” which meant that we constantly care for one another and make sure that each and every one of us is supported, cared for and is making the most of the experience.

Our thinking deeply about the participants and the results they can achieve had them feel safe and respected in the environment of the seminar. We were able to create a sense of freedom of expression and imagination that is so lacking in our ordinary lives. This left us open to one another and to new thoughts and ideas. We created a space where people wanted to be, and where they could be listened to and be truly present. The seminar provided not only alternative content and discussion but also alternative ways of being within a group and as individuals. We did not just debate and discuss possible alternatives; we practiced and fulfilled them at the same time. This gave great strength to our experience and elevated it beyond our everyday experience.

Such an experience had inspiring, and sometimes surprising results. No one who participated, including the guest speakers, came out the way they came in. Through our two days together we became present and aware of the strength we have as a group and as individuals. A good example was the conversations we had, on three separate occasions, with soldiers who came to speak at the seminar (the last conversation of the seminar was always with a soldier). They were amazing and unique conversations in their honesty and intensity. Twice we brought experienced officers, who have been in the army for a long time yet on all occasions the soldiers transformed right before our eyes from their initial self assured position to a much more varied, attentive and contemplative way of being (mirroring our own way of being).

The soldiers contemplated questions like “Do you feel like you are an occupier?”, “do you think that what you are fighting for is just?”, “don’t you think there is another way?”. The participants were asked questions like “would we survive without an army?” “How do you suppose we stop terrorist attacks?”, “Isn’t it better to change the system from within?”, “Do you really believe peace is possible?”. These conversations are so rare and unique for young people in our societies because usually when soldiers come and speak at schools they are regarded as heroes and students who want to ask them hard questions have to face a whole classroom of their unsympathetic peers. In the conversations we had in the seminars, though, the young people were the equals of the soldiers and treated them as such (even though they could have used their power to oppress the soldiers had that been their intention). It was truly something to be seen: how deeply a group of high school students, together for only two days, could touch these soldiers who had come speak with them for a few hours. It all goes to show that when you provide young people with the information, tools, and space to make their own choices magical things will happen.

In an ironic twist the seminars (especially after the conversations with the soldiers) typically ended with the participants being more confused then when they came in. The difference was that they were now contemplating much bigger questions and had met many friends who will contemplate these questions with them. Participants wanted to know “what now”. They were eager to continue their search for answers and to engage in meaningful actions.

This resulted in many different actions taken by participants such as organizing tours, seminars, graphite and other actions to educate and raise awareness amongst their peers about their right to refuse army service and other social injustices. There was also a group of eight young men, formed through the seminar experience, that met regularly over the course of a year and supported each other through the refusal process Many of the participants created quite a stir in their schools and communities’ with their actions like not standing at the national anthem, chaining themselves to the gate of their school to prevent an army officer from speaking there, breaking into the school at night to hang anti-militaristic slogans and more. These actions were an example of what true bravery is: standing up for what you believe to be right even if it’s a very unpopular thing to do.

There were also some unexpected results like participants who reported that they had formed closer relationships with their disapproving parents following the seminar. This is a truly unique phenomenon since most participant’s parents (as well as brothers and extended family) were soldiers themselves at some point. The issue of army service is still taboo in many of these families and is extremely hard to raise. The seminar empowered it’s participants in doing so by introducing them to other like-minded young people and deepening their understanding of fundamental issues of society as well as helping them develop better listening and communication skills.

Many of the young people who participated in the seminars are now working, along with many others, to create a mass movement of critical and creative young people. They are slowly building the foundations for a viable movement, able to address the needs of our society in the face of great adversity. The creation of such a movement requires the active participation of the entire movement for social justice in Palestine/Israel as well as the support of our friends from abroad. It will take much time, effort and commitment and will require that we, young people and adults, go beyond what we have been able to achieve so far. Creating a worthy future our future generations is the ultimate challenge and it demands that we rise to it.