nonviolence

Destroyed houses from the October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel, April 7, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Six months after October 7, a lament for the paths not chosen

I write to Israelis who believe they have no place in their hearts for Gaza, to understand how we got to this terrible war — and how we must get out of it.

By Haggai Matar April 18, 2024

Palestinian activist Issa Amro poses for a photo in the West Bank city of Hebron, December 2, 2014. (Activestills)

For this Hebron activist, every protest could end in a trial

Israel's conviction of Palestinian activist Issa Amro shows that there can never be justice when the judge and prosecutor wear the same army uniform.

By Oren Ziv February 11, 2021

A Palestinian student from Birzeit University uses a slingshot to throw stones at Israeli troops during clashes with soldiers at the Atara checkpoint as they protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip. November 19, 2012. (Issam Rimawi / FLASH90)

Why the Israeli left’s obsession with nonviolence reinforces the occupation

By promoting a narrow view of legitimate resistance, the left is unwittingly justifying Israel's repression of Palestinian protests.

By Dan Owen January 22, 2020

Latest

Protesters at the Great Return March in Gaza, April 27, 2018. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘We’re dying slowly in Gaza, it’s better to die along the fence trying to be free’

In the days leading up to the culmination of the Great Return March, in which organizers expect masses to breach the Gaza border fence, we speak with three Gazans about what the protests have accomplished, what hope they carry, and where they have disappointed. By Meron Rapoport The organizers of the Great March of Return…

By +972 Magazine May 14, 2018

Basel al-Araj, a Palestinian who was killed during a gunfight with 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

Palestinian youths climb the Israeli separation barrier in Bil’in, February 17, 2017. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

12 years strong: Hundreds march against Israel’s wall in Bil’in

Perhaps finally learning the value of nonviolence from the villagers, the Israeli army did not disperse the weekly protest on Friday. Youth manage to pry open gate in the wall. Some 300 people — Palestinians, Israelis and internationals — took part in a protest march Friday from the West Bank village of Bil’in to Israel’s separation…

By Haggai Matar February 17, 2017

Issa Amro (Screenshot)

WATCH: ‘They want to get rid of the idea of nonviolent resistance’

The Israeli army really wants to see Palestinian nonviolent activist Issa Amro in prison. We ask Issa why he’s facing 18 charges now, and what ‘winning’ would mean for him. Video by A. Daniel Roth, Aaron Rotenberg Nonviolent Palestinian organizer Issa Amro has been practicing and teaching nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience in the occupied city of Hebron…

By +972 Magazine September 25, 2016

Palestinian residents of Shuafat stand above the body of Muhammad Abu Khdeir during his funeral. (photo: Activestills)

An open letter to the family of Mohammed Abu Khdeir

As Israel and the Palestinians descend further into open violence, concerned Israelis challenge their fellow citizens in an attempt to forge a joint Israel-Palestinian resistance to violence. (Translated from Hebrew by Idit Arad and Matan Kaminer) Our hands shed this blood, our hands set Mohammed Abu Khdeir on fire, our hands fanned the flames. We…

By Haokets July 16, 2014

An Israeli settlement water tank stands near the Ibrahimi Mosque or Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Settlements as punishment prove Palestinian lives are bargaining chip

By using settlements as a punitive response to Palestinian political actions, Israel proves they come at the direct expense of Palestinian statehood, and that it holds all the power in this conflict. Here we go again. Palestinians do something Israel doesn’t approve of, and Israel retaliates by using its unchecked power and leverage to block…

By Mairav Zonszein June 6, 2014

African asylum seekers hold press conference in south Tel Aviv's Levinsky Park, where they announce that they will continue striking. (photo: Activestills.org)

African asylum seekers: We will continue to strike until demands are met

African asylum seekers held a press conference Tuesday in south Tel Aviv, where they announced that they will continue their “Strike For Freedom” until further notice. Representatives of the community from Sudan, Eritrea and Central African Republic spoke in both Hebrew and English about why they have been on strike and holding protests, and outlined…

By Mairav Zonszein January 7, 2014

Palestinian activist Mohammad Brijiah and his twin 3-year-old sons confront Israeli forces blocking the road from their West Bank village of Al Ma'sara during a weekly demonstration against the separation barrier, September 6, 2013. If built as planned, the wall would cut off the village from its agricultural lands.

PHOTOS: Israeli army arrests Palestinian activist at nonviolent demonstration

At one of the most consistently peaceful weekly demonstrations against the Israeli occupation, soldiers arrest a Palestinian activist in front of his three-year-old twin sons. Friday, September 6, Israeli forces arrested Palestinian activist Mohammad Brijiah at the weekly demonstration against the separation wall in the West Bank village of Al Ma’sara. Brijiah’s twin three-year-old sons…

By Activestills September 7, 2013

Palestinian youth throw stones near Ofer Military Prison [illustrative], May 15, 2012 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Settlers accuse ‘Haaretz’ of calling for violence against them

Fallout from Amira Hass’s article on Palestinian stone-throwing shows that as far as Israelis are concerned, any and every form of resistance against the occupation is illegitimate. The Yesha Council – the regional council for West Bank settlements, which operates also as the settlers’ political and lobbying arm – filed a complaint with the Jerusalem Police…

By Noam Sheizaf April 3, 2013

Palestinian activists lifting the Palestinian flag in the "Bab Al-Shams" village. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills)

In Bab Al-Shams, Palestinians create new facts on the ground

‘What made Bab Al-Shams significant was the fact that it asserted that Palestinian activists would not simply react to injustices the occupation laid at our doorstep, but that we were determined to create our own realities on the ground.’ By Irene Nasser Last week, I witnessed a remarkable victory for Palestinian unarmed civil resistance. Over…

By +972 Magazine January 25, 2013