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If it's Friday, it Must be a Demo in Bil'in

By Wynd Ahimsa

Nonviolence? In Palestine? As a matter of fact—yes! There are numerous examples of nonviolent resistance throughout the entire history of Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine.

When I first went to Palestine in 2002 as a volunteer with ISM, I anticipated that my activities would be akin to confronting Israeli tanks. Instead, I found myself in a small village helping out with a truly creative form of nonviolent resistance in the form of a children’s summer camp. During a four-month siege of the Western Ramallah region, a man from the village of Deir Ibzi’a organized the camp because he saw children traumatized and depressed. He requested international accompaniment to prevent harassment from the Israeli army. The situation reminded me of a wonderful quote by Edward Said:

“Under the worst possible circumstances, Palestinian society has neither been defeated nor has it crumbled completely. Kids still go to school, doctors and nurses still take care of their patients, men and women go to work, organizations have their meetings, and people continue to live, which seems to be an offense to Sharon and the other extremists who simply want Palestinians either imprisoned or driven away altogether.”

I returned to Palestine the following summer and gained my first-hand experience of nonviolent demonstrations protesting Israel’s construction of the so-called “security barrier”, more appropriately known as the Apartheid Wall or Annexation Wall. I was appalled by the brutality of the Israeli Army towards the peaceful and nonviolent demonstrators. Before a demonstrator could even get close to the Wall, soldiers would open fire with tear gas, rubber bullets and sound bombs.

When I returned this last summer I saw that the brutality of the Israeli Army had intensified. Five Palestinians have been killed in these demonstrations and many others seriously injured. Despite this, Palestinians have continued to organize peaceful and nonviolent demonstrations. And nowhere are the demonstrations more organized, nonviolent and creative than in the village of Bil’in.

Bil’in is approximately 10 km west of Ramallah. Every Friday, and some Wednesdays, the villagers accompanied by Israelis and internationals march to protest the construction of the Wall. They hope that their protests, along with a petition to Israel’s Supreme Court, will pressure Israel to build the Wall closer to the 1948 armistice line (the green line). Already the Wall has made deep cuts into the West Bank, essentially annexing approximately 10 % of it in order to encompass the largest Jewish settlements. More than half of Bil’in’s land (575 acres) has been confiscated to make a loop around the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer.

My first demonstration in Bil’in was on the occasion of the year anniversary of the decision of the International Court of Justice that ruled the Wall illegal and recommended that Israel dismantle it. The members of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in had created an incredible and enormous prop depicting the scales of justice. The world (a beach ball with the world map on it) was being weighed on one side and Israel (a ball with the Israeli flag wrapped around it) on the other. The U.S., symbolized by the U.S. flag, was tipping the balance in favor of Israel. The base of the scales was a coffin. On it was written, “RIP, international law and peace.” I was awestruck by the creativity, the craftsmanship and the amount of work that went into this prop. It was a very powerful and creative image that needed nothing else to explain the demonstration that day.

The following week’s demonstration had yet another creative theme. Dozens of masks were donned by the protesters with the face of Condoleezza Rice or George W. Bush. Each mask had an orange ribbon—the symbol of solidarity with the Gaza settlers—around the eyes to symbolize how the Gaza disengagement was blinding the U.S. leaders to the increasingly desperate situation in the West Bank. Again, no words were needed to get the message across, which probably explained the anger and excessive force used by the soldiers that day.

These amazing demonstrations in Bil’in continue, as well as in many other places of the West Bank. They need our support and witness. I feel fortunate that I was able to participate and observe the thought-provoking nonviolence that is taking place there. Perhaps you should consider going to see if for yourself. Be ready to be inspired!

Wynd is Jewish American from a pro-Zionist family. She is an engineer, teacher, mother and activist. She has been to Palestine working with ISM in 2002, 2003 and 2005.