From October 14 - November 15, 2005, Palestinian Ayed Morrar from Budrus and Israeli Jonathan Pollak of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative will be touring the United States speaking about Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine. The tour will visit New York, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Olympia Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida and Philadelphia. Click here for a complete tour schedule. Ayed and Jonathan are friends and among the major figures in the Palestinian led nonviolent struggle against Israel's military occupation. Ayed, a community leader from the West Bank village of Budrus, and Jonathan, an activist from Tel Aviv, stand for a new vision of Palestinian/Israeli partnership based in human rights for all, regardless of race or religion.
While world leaders praise Israel's withdrawal from Gaza as a step toward peace, and demand that the Palestinian Authority harshly suppress armed resistance to Israel's military occupation, activists on the ground like Ayed and Jonathan report that Israel has stepped up its brutal repression of Palestinian and Israeli activists who are struggling nonviolently against the escalating occupation in the West Bank.
Largely unreported by the media, thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis are waging a major grassroots nonviolent campaign of resistance to the construction of Israel's Wall. Palestinian farmers, workers, mothers, and students, together with Israeli and international volunteers, are braving teargas, beatings, bullets, arrest, and even death to block the construction of the Wall with their bodies. In 2004 the International Court of Justice ruled that the Wall is a violation of international law because it cuts through the West Bank appropriating Palestinan land and destroying Palestinian villages to make way for further Israeli settlement.
Ayed led his village of Budrus in a victory for nonviolence over the Israeli military in 2003-2004. Through a campaign of 50 protests, the village of Budrus pushed the Wall's path off village land and to the Green Line. Day after day, Budrus' men, women and children blocked the destruction of their land and construction of the Wall by marching to the land, despite soldiers' attempts to stop them, and placing their bodies in front of the bulldozers.
Hundreds of residents were injured during the campaign by clubs, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Ayed was jailed for eight days by Israeli authorities, but was eventually released due to international outcry and because his only offense was organizing nonviolent protests. Two of Ayed's brothers were also arrested for organizing protests, but eventually released.
Budrus' resistance was supported by activists from ISM and from Israeli groups like the Anarchists Against the Wall. Budrus' strategy and achievements have served as a model for other Palestinian communities attempting to nonviolently resist Israel's military occupation and the confiscation of Palestinian land. Ayed continues to work with other communities and organizations to support the development of a broader strategy for Palestinian nonviolent resistance.
Jonathan was one of the first Israelis to begin protesting regularly in the West Bank with Palestinians and internationals against the construction of the Wall in 2002. He is one of the founders of the Israeli group Anarchists Against the Wall which has played a vital role in supporting Palestinians in nonviolent protest over the last two years.
Since 2002 Jonathan has participated in over 200 West Bank protests, and mobilized hundreds of Israelis to join Palestinians in resisting the Wall and the Occupation. As a result, Jonathan has been jailed repeatedly by Israeli authorities. In April 2005 during a quiet protest in the village of Bil'in he was shot in the head from 40 meters by an Israeli soldier with a tear gas canister fired from an M16 rifle. He had internal hemorrhaging and wounds requiring 23 stitches. Jonathan appears frequently in the Israeli media commenting on West Bank protests and nonviolent resistance.
Despite Israeli government efforts to stop them, Ayed, Jonathan and their Palestinian, Israeli and international colleagues remain determined to continue their joint, nonviolent campaign against Israeli occupation and the denial of rights of the Palestinian people.
The national Nonviolent Resistance Speaking Tour is organized by ISM-USA, the US network of support groups of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Palestine. ISM is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent direct action.
TOUR SCHEDULE
NEW YORK CITY AREA, OCT 14TH-16TH
Friday October 14th Unitarian Church of All Souls 1157 Lexington Ave at 80th Street, Manhattan 7:00 PM
Saturday October 15th Community Unitarian Church 468 Rosedale Ave, White Plains, NY 2:30 PM
Activist Ramadan Break-the-Fast Event Alwan for the Arts 16 Beaver Street, 4th Floor, Manhattan 6:00 PM
Sunday October 16th Salam Arabic Lutheran Church 345 Ovington Ave (between 3rd and 4th Ave), Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 2:00 PM
Catholic Center 58 Washington Square Park South, Manhattan 7:15 PM
Contact Email: ism_nyc@hotmail.com
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NORTH CAROLINA, OCT. 17TH & 18TH
Monday October 17th Duke University Campus Social Sciences Building, Room 136 8:00 PM
Tuesday October 18th UNC Chapel Hill The speakers will be meeting with classes at the Unversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Contact Email: palestinesolidarity@gmail.com
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WASHINGTON D.C., OCT 20TH & 21ST
Thursday October 20th Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies 12:00 Noon
George Washington University 8:00 PM
Ramadan Break-the-Fast event at American University Location & time TBA
Contact
Huwaida Arraf Email: huwaida@palsolidarity.org Phone: (202) 494-0112
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CHICAGO, OCT 22ND & 23RD
Saturday October 22nd Presentation to Chicago Anarchist Network and DePaul students Site to be determined. 1:00 PM
North Park Covenant Church 5250 N. Christiana, Chicago, IL 7:00 PM
Sunday October 23rd Water Tower Park (Michigan & Pearson) Join Ayed and Jonathan at the at the weekly vigil against the occupation sponsored by Not In My Name 12:00 Noon
Potluck Dinner Fundraiser Cornerstone United Methodist Church 171 N. Cuyler Avenue, Oak Park 5:30 PM
Contact Email: ISMinChicago@aol.com
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LOS ANGELES, OCT 24TH - 26TH
Monday October 24th Cal State University-LA King Hall D-138 5154 State University Drive, Los Angeles 90032 7:30 PM
Tuesday October 25th Peace Center at United University Church - USC 817 34th Street, Los Angeles 90007 (Corner of Hoover and Jefferson) 7:30 PM
Wednesday October 26th Cal State University - Fullerton Langsdorf Hall 321 2555 E. Nutwood Ave, Fullerton, CA 92831 7:30 PM
Contact Email: info@iwitnesspalestine.org
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THE BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA, OCT 27TH - NOV 1ST
Thursday, October 27th Unitarian Church Palo Alto (time TBA)
Friday, October 28th Skyline High School (tentative) 12250 Skyline Blvd, Oakland 2:00 PM
AK Press 674-A 23rd St, Oakland 7:00 PM
Saturday, October 29th Calvery Presbyterian 2515 Fillmore Street, San Fransisco 7:00 PM
Sunday, October 30th U.S. Labor Against War SEIU Local 790, 100 Oak Street, Oakland 7:00 PM
Monday, October 31st St Ignatius School 2001 37th Ave, San Fransisco 12:35 PM
San Fransisco State University Location TBA 4:00 PM
Tuesday, November 1st Law Students for Justice in Palestine UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall 12:45 PM
St John's Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave., Berkeley 7:00 PM
Contact Email: info@norcalism.org Phone: (510)236-4250
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SEATTLE, NOV 3RD & 4TH
Thursday, November 3rd University of Washington Gowen Hall, Room 301 7:00 PM
Friday November 4th Event TBA
Contact Email: pl52ip@hotmail.com Phone: (206) 285 2154
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MICHIGAN, NOV 5TH - 7TH
Saturday, November 5th Event TBA
Sunday, November 6th Event TBA
Monday, November 7th Event TBA
Contact Email: duggan@umich.edu Phone: (313) 945-9661
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MINNEAPOLIS AREA, NOV 8TH - NOV 11TH
Tuesday, November 8th St Cloud State University St Cloud, Minnesota 2:00 PM
Thursday November 10th De LaSalle Highschool St Paul, Minnesota 7:15 AM
Human Geography Lecture University of Minnesota 11:15 AM
St Joan of Arc Church 4537 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis 7:00 PM
Friday November 11th Political Science Lecture University of Minnesota 1:00 PM
Macalester College 1600 Grand Ave, St Paul (time TBA)
Dinner Party 8:00 PM
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FLORIDA, NOV 12TH & 13TH
Saturday, November 12th Miami event TBA
Sunday, November 13th Gainsville event TBA
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PHILADELPHIA, NOV 14TH
Monday, November 14th Event TBA
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POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, NOV 15TH
Tuesday, November 15th Vassar College Rocky, Room 300 7:30 PM
Contact Email: mashmookler@vassar.edu Phone: (h) (845) 452-5126 Phone: (c) (610) 217-4766 ======================================= * You can find lot of references to the present struggles by doing google.com search on "Bil'in + anarchists" (17,300) and search on "Bil'in" alone (about 300,000).
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