12 October 2005
From October 14 � November 15, 2005, Palestinian Ayed Morrar and Israeli Jonathan Pollak will be touring the United States speaking about Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine. The tour will visit New York, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Olympia Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida and Philadelphia. Click here for a complete tour schedule.
Ayed and Jonathan are friends and among the major figures in the Palestinian-led nonviolent struggle against Israel�s military occupation. Ayed, a community leader from the West Bank village of Budrus, and Jonathan, an activist from Tel Aviv, stand for a new vision of Palestinian/Israeli partnership based in human rights for all, regardless of race or religion.
While world leaders praise Israel�s withdrawal from Gaza as a step toward peace, and demand that the Palestinian Authority harshly suppress armed resistance to Israel�s military occupation, activists on the ground like Ayed and Jonathan report that Israel has stepped up its brutal repression of Palestinian and Israeli activists who are struggling nonviolently against the escalating occupation in the West Bank.
Largely unreported by the media, thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis are waging a major grassroots nonviolent campaign of resistance to the construction of Israel�s Wall. Palestinian farmers, workers, mothers, and students, together with Israeli and international volunteers, are braving teargas, beatings, bullets, arrest, and even death to block the construction of the Wall with their bodies. In 2004 the International Court of Justice ruled that the Wall is a violation of international law because it cuts through the West Bank appropriating Palestinan land and destroying Palestinian villages to make way for further Israeli settlement.
Ayed led his village of Budrus in a victory for nonviolence over the Israeli military in 2003-2004. Through a campaign of 50 protests, the village of Budrus pushed the Wall�s path off village land and to the Green Line. Day after day, Budrus� men, women and children blocked the destruction of their land and construction of the Wall by marching to the land, despite soldiers� attempts to stop them, and placing their bodies in front of the bulldozers.
Hundreds of residents were injured during the campaign by clubs, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Ayed was jailed for eight days by Israeli authorities, but was eventually released due to international outcry and because his only offense was organizing nonviolent protests. Two of Ayed�s brothers were also arrested for organizing protests, but eventually released.
Budrus� resistance was supported by activists from ISM and from Israeli groups like the Anarchists Against the Wall. Budrus� strategy and achievements have served as a model for other Palestinian communities attempting to nonviolently resist Israel�s military occupation and the confiscation of Palestinian land. Ayed continues to work with other communities and organizations to support the development of a broader strategy for Palestinian nonviolent resistance.
Jonathan was one of the first Israelis to begin protesting regularly in the West Bank with Palestinians and internationals against the construction of the Wall in 2002. He is one of the founders of the Israeli group Anarchists Against the Wall which has played a vital role in supporting Palestinians in nonviolent protest over the last two years.
Since 2002 Jonathan has participated in over 200 West Bank protests, and mobilized hundreds of Israelis to join Palestinians in resisting the Wall and the Occupation. As a result, Jonathan has been jailed repeatedly by Israeli authorities. In April 2005 during a quiet protest in the village of Bil�in he was shot in the head from 40 meters by an Israeli soldier with a tear gas canister fired from an M16 rifle. He had internal hemorrhaging and wounds requiring 23 stitches. Jonathan appears frequently in the Israeli media commenting on West Bank protests and nonviolent resistance.
Despite Israeli government efforts to stop them, Ayed, Jonathan and their Palestinian, Israeli and international colleagues remain determined to continue their joint, nonviolent campaign against Israeli occupation and the denial of rights of the Palestinian people.
The national Nonviolent Resistance Speaking Tour is organized by ISM-USA, the US network of support groups of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Palestine. ISM is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent direct action.
NEW YORK CITY AREA, OCT 14TH-16TH
Friday October 14th
Unitarian Church of All Souls
1157 Lexington Ave at 80th Street, Manhattan
7:00 PM
Saturday October 15th
Community Unitarian Church
468 Rosedale Ave, White Plains, NY
2:30 PM
Activist Ramadan Break-the-Fast Event
Alwan for the Arts
16 Beaver Street, 4th Floor, Manhattan
6:00 PM
Sunday October 16th
Salam Arabic Lutheran Church
345 Ovington Ave (between 3rd and 4th Ave), Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
2:00 PM
Catholic Center
58 Washington Square Park South, Manhattan
7:15 PM
Contact
Email: ism_nyc@hotmail.com
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NORTH CAROLINA, OCT. 17TH & 18TH
Monday October 17th
Duke University Campus
Social Sciences Building, Room 136
8:00 PM
Tuesday October 18th
UNC Chapel Hill
The speakers will be meeting with classes at the Unversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Contact
Email: palestinesolidarity@gmail.com
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WASHINGTON D.C., OCT 20TH & 21ST
Thursday October 20th
Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
12:00 Noon
George Washington University
8:00 PM
Ramadan Break-the-Fast event at American University
Location & time TBA
Contact
Huwaida Arraf
Email: huwaida@palsolidarity.org
Phone: (202) 494-0112
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CHICAGO, OCT 22ND & 23RD
New World Resource Center
1300 N. Western Avenue
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Saturday October 22nd
North Park Covenant Church
5250 N. Christiana, Chicago, IL
7:00 PM
Sunday October 23rd
Water Tower Park (Michigan & Pearson)
Join Ayed and Jonathan at the at the weekly vigil against the occupation sponsored by Not In My Name
12:00 Noon
Potluck Dinner Fundraiser
Cornerstone United Methodist Church
171 N. Cuyler Avenue, Oak Park
5:30 PM
Contact
Email: ISMinChicago@aol.com
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LOS ANGELES, OCT 24TH - 26TH
Monday October 24th
Cal State University-LA
King Hall D-138
5154 State University Drive, Los Angeles 90032
7:30 PM
Tuesday October 25th
Peace Center at United University Church - USC
817 34th Street, Los Angeles 90007 (Corner of Hoover and Jefferson)
7:30 PM
Wednesday October 26th
Cal State University - Fullerton
Langsdorf Hall 321
2555 E. Nutwood Ave, Fullerton, CA 92831
7:30 PM
Contact
Email: info@iwitnesspalestine.org
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THE BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA, OCT 27TH - NOV 1ST
Thursday, October 27th
Unitarian Church
Palo Alto
(time TBA)
AK Press
674-A 23rd St, Oakland
7:00 PM
Saturday, October 29th
Calvery Presbyterian
2515 Fillmore Street, San Fransisco
7:00 PM
Sunday, October 30th
U.S. Labor Against War
SEIU Local 790, 100 Oak Street, Oakland
7:00 PM
Monday, October 31st
San Fransisco State University
Location TBA
4:00 PM
Tuesday, November 1st
St John�s Presbyterian Church
2727 College Ave., Berkeley
7:00 PM
Contact
Email: info@norcalism.org
Phone: (510)236-4250
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SEATTLE, NOV 3RD & 4TH
Thursday, November 3rd
University of Washington
Gowen Hall, Room 301
7:00 PM
Friday November 4th
Event TBA
Contact
Email: pl52ip@hotmail.com
Phone: (206) 285 2154
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MICHIGAN, NOV 5TH - 7TH
Saturday, November 5th
Event TBA
Sunday, November 6th
Event TBA
Monday, November 7th
Event TBA
Contact
Email: duggan@umich.edu
Phone: (313) 945-9661
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MINNEAPOLIS AREA, NOV 8TH - NOV 11TH
Tuesday, November 8th
St Cloud State University
St Cloud, Minnesota
2:00 PM
Thursday November 10th
De LaSalle Highschool
St Paul, Minnesota
7:15 AM
Human Geography Lecture
University of Minnesota
11:15 AM
St Joan of Arc Church
4537 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis
7:00 PM
Friday November 11th
Political Science Lecture
University of Minnesota
1:00 PM
Macalester College
1600 Grand Ave, St Paul
(time TBA)
Dinner Party
8:00 PM
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FLORIDA, NOV 12TH & 13TH
Saturday, November 12th
Miami event TBA
Sunday, November 13th
Gainsville event TBA
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PHILADELPHIA, NOV 14TH
Monday, November 14th
Event TBA
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POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, NOV 15TH
Tuesday, November 15th
Vassar College
Rocky, Room 300
7:30 PM
Contact
Email: mashmookler@vassar.edu
Phone: (h) (845) 452-5126
Phone: (c) (610) 217-4766
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