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ISM Mission Statement
A CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE & FOR
A JUST & VIABLE
PEACE
Palestinians have lived under an illegal occupation for decades.
Through UN resolutions, the nations of the world have repeatedly
asked Israel to respect international law, to stop brutalising
Palestinians, and to end the Occupation of their land. Under
the protection of
its powerful ally and benefactor, the United States, Israel has
been able to continue the occupation, build illegal settlements,
deny
the most basic of human rights, and pursue policies aimed at
removing all Palestinians from their homeland.
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and the Bush administration say
that there can be no negotiations under violence. That is true.
However, what they do not admit is: The Occupation is violence.
The Occupation must end before there can be true progress toward
justice, and justice is the only basis there can be for true and
meaningful peace.
The Palestinian response over the years has been some attempts
at armed struggle (as is their right), but mostly peaceful protests,
demonstrations, and appeals to Israeli courts. The vast majority
of Palestinians are peaceful, and want only for the Israelis to
treat them with justice and respect, and to live in peace with
them as neighbours. Although Israel points to the occasional acts
of Palestinian violence as a grave problem, it is clear that the
Occupation itself is the overwhelming, and continuous act of collective
violence in the area.
Because Israeli violence against civilians in Palestine has worsened,
and the repression of the Occupation has tightened, many international
allies of the Palestinian cause want to do more than write letters,
demonstrate, present programs, form solidarity delegations, or
send humanitarian aid. They want to do something more dramatic
to stop Israeli attacks on Palestinian neighbourhoods and people
with bombs and bullets, or closures and curfews, and to stop the
United States from massively rewarding Israel for its brutality
and protecting its occupation of Palestine. They want to take direct
action that will oppose the Occupation and force Israel to withdraw
from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
If this describes your feelings, this call is for you.
An international citizen's peace-making campaign formed in August
2001, using the proactive tactics of non-violent direct action
epitomised by Gandhi, Archbishop Tutu, Dr. Martin Luther King,
and other practitioners of creative non-violent resistance.
This is an invitation to join that campaign, to support it financially,
or to join our efforts to influence the news media.
The International Solidarity Movement aims to do four things:
- to dramatise the terrible conditions under which Palestinians
live because of the Occupation, and to protect them from physical
violence from Israeli soldiers and settlers. We work under the
leadership of Palestinian peace activists, supporting them
in their creative resistance to the Occupation, and lending support
to Israeli
and other peace activist groups.
- to pressure International news media to focus on the illegality
and brutality of the Occupation, and to so change public opinion
that it demands that Israel respect international law, and
that America stops funding Israel with billions of dollars each
year.
- to recruit volunteers from other nations to undertake non-violent
resistance to the Occupation.
- to establish divestment campaigns in the US and Europe to
put economic pressure on Israel the same way the international
community put
pressure South Africa during the apartheid regimes.
SCOPE AND GROUND RULES
International activists have already played a significant role
in bringing attention to the Occupation, and protecting Palestinians
who try to protest Israeli brutality peacefully. The usual response
of the Israeli military to peaceful demonstrations by Palestinians
is to fire tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, and sometimes live
ammunition at the crowds.
For example: "Shedma" is an Israeli military base that
caused tremendous suffering for the peaceful people of Beit Sahour
during the first three months of the Intifada. More than 200 homes
were damaged, two mothers and a young man were killed, and ten
people were injured. On December 28th 2000, hundreds of Palestinians,
Israelis and Internationals marched together demanding an immediate
evacuation and dismantlement of this military base. The presence
of internationals kept the Israeli military from using violence.
Italian member of parliament Lousia Morgantini (member of the European
Parliament) and the Italian Peace association (Associazione per
la pace) deserve special thanks for being part of this and other
international actions.
The same thing has been true of demonstrations at checkpoints
and roadblocks, which are important targets for action because
they are examples of the Occupation's disruption of everyday life
for Palestinians. They prevent thousands of people from accessing
work, trade, basic services and even emergency medical treatment.
International observers prevent Israeli soldiers from committing
the usual harassments and brutalities done when only Palestinians
are present. An organisation, International Checkpoint Watch has
formed because of the success of this tactic. Internationals have
often participated in dismantling roadblocks with their bare hands.
They have prevented untold numbers of Palestinians from being wounded
or killed.
Another, very dramatic, tactic is to provide human shields against
Israeli military or settler attacks against Palestinians. An Israeli
woman, Neta Golan, did that very thing to protect Palestinians
from her own nation's troops and settlers, as they picked olives.
As the Christian Peacemaker Teams motto says, Neta "got in
the way" by putting her life on the line for true peace.
The International Solidarity Movement is also dedicated to creating
ongoing and continuous support for justice efforts there by encouraging
internationals to volunteer for ongoing programmes of civil disobedience
and development of Palestinian economic infrastructure, and in
other ways to work for justice in Palestine, an end to Israel's
occupation and its subsidisation by the United States, and a reconciliation
between the government and people of Israel with their Palestinian
neighbours.
The non-violence ground-rules for the ISM are as follows :-
- Our attitude will be one of sincerity and respect toward all
the people we encounter
- We will not engage in physical violence or verbal abuse toward
any individual
- We will carry no weapons
- We will not bring or use any alcohol or drugs other than for
medical purposes
- We will respect all the various agreements concerning the
actions
- We will act safely at all times and act responsibly to
ensure that no harm comes to any living being including
ourselves.
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