Freedom Rides

Basel al-Araj, a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli soldiers on March 6, 2017, is seen in November 2011 during a Freedom Ride on a settler-only bus in the West Bank. (Activestills.org)

Coming to terms with the death of a former partner in struggle

Before he was killed in a gunfight with Israeli forces, Basel al-Araj was a nonviolent activist who fought for his village. His transition from nonviolence to armed struggle feels like a personal defeat for me. By Aviv Tatarsky Earlier this week, as I sat in my car in the morning, I overheard on the radio that soldiers…

By +972 Magazine March 9, 2017

Reframing non-violent resistance: An act of moral piracy

When we allow non-violence to be distorted as illegitimate, we fail to uphold our most cherished principles. It is not a strange phenomenon for morality to be the object of contestation. Competing groups often battle for the moral high ground when presenting their case to the outside world in a customary appeal for support. Far…

By Omar H. Rahman January 10, 2012

Palestinian activist taking part in Freedom Ride action taken off an Israeli bus in the entrance to Jerusalem, November 15 2011 (photo: activestills.org)

Palestinian Freedom Rides and the US Civil Rights movement

In last week’s Freedom Rides, West Bank Palestinians demanded equal access to settler roads and buses. Like African-Americans in the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, they seek to call attention to an inherently oppressive system and demand that it be dismantled. By Ben Lorber The “Freedom Rides” held last week in the West…

By +972 Magazine November 20, 2011

Latest

Israeli reactions to Freedom Riders

The reaction of Israeli onlookers was overwhelmingly negative, with bystanders making racist remarks; after Israeli forces arrested the six activists, a Palestinian journalist was also detained After a short press conference in Ramallah early Tuesday afternoon, journalists followed a van of six Palestinian Freedom Riders to a bus stop in the Jewish settlement of Psagot,…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat November 15, 2011

PHOTOS: Palestinian ‘Freedom riders’ board settler-only bus in WB

On November 15, six Palestinian activists boarded an Israeli bus in the West Bank in effort to call attention to Israel’s policies of segregation and restricted freedom of movement for Palestinians. Drawing inspiration from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement’s “Freedom Rides” of the 1960s, the activists rode the bus before being forcibly removed by IDF soldiers.…

By +972 Magazine November 15, 2011

Palestinians are challenging the way we think about Israel/Palestine like never before Photo: Activestills.org

Replacing the peace narrative with discussion of rights

Non-violent methods being used by Palestinians and their international supporters are helping to reframe the conflict from a discussion of peace vs. violence, into a struggle for rights under Israeli occupation. Next week, a group of young Palestinians will board Israeli settler buses in the West Bank with the intention of traveling to East Jerusalem.…

By Joseph Dana November 9, 2011