“Non-violent grassroots actions by Israelis and Palestinians need support if they are to succeed and grow.”
Julia Bacha, filmmaker and Media Director at Just Vision, blogs about their new short film series telling the stories of Israelis and Palestinians involved in an ongoing non-violent campaign in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem.
With non-violent Palestinian activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah facing a possible extension of his prison sentence, The Elders - who met Abu Rahmah during their last visit to the region - call on the Israeli authorities to release him immediately, without conditions.
Palestinian activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah, who greatly impressed the Elders during their visit to the West Bank with his commitment to peaceful protest, was convicted by an Israeli military court for his involvement in non-violent demonstrations against the separation barrier that divides the people of Bil'in from their land.
February 19th saw a double celebration at the weekly protest that has become the hallmark of the popular struggle against the Wall and the settlements. Emily Schaeffer describes this major victory for the movement and explains why the non-violent demonstrations will continue.
Jimmy Carter describes the courage of the activists involved in non-violent protests in the West Bank and argues that the response of the Israeli authorities contravenes international human rights law.
Emily Schaeffer, an American-Israeli human rights lawyer, accompanied the Elders on their visit to the Palestinian village of Bil'in in the West Bank. Here, she describes how the villagers are using non-violent protest as a means to oppose the Israeli soldiers' acts of brutality.
"Non-violence is the only way of cleansing society of the tiredness, brutalisation and despondency it has been forced into." Ela Bhatt
During their first visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory in August 2009, the Elders visit peaceful protestors in the West Bank village of Bil'in, a Palestinian family living on the pavement after being evicted from their Jerusalem home, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
The village of Bilin in the West Bank has transformed from an anonymous farming village into a symbol of Palestinian civil disobedience. During their visit to the village, the Elders talk to Ethan Bronner of The New York Times about achieving freedom through nonviolent struggle.
