Demonstrating near Orient House, August 10
Andy Clarno (see next page) sits second from right,
Israeli justic activist neta Golan sits in front of him holding Palestinian flag,
and ISM defense lawyer Allegra Pascheco stands in center with hand at (her own!) throat.

What is the ISM?

by Thom Saffold, Ann Arbor, MI

Thirty-five years ago, African Americans were fighting against a racist, oppressive system of segregation in the South. Forces including those led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used the tactics of nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action, and in less than a decade created a revolution that changed American society and government profoundly.

A defining moment in that struggle occurred during the Selma Campaign. Early in 1965, Dr. King issued a call to people of conscience to come to Selma and take part in resisting the segregationist forces of the government of that city and of the State of Alabama.

White people were especially challenged to come, not only because racism was a white institution that whites needed to take responsibility for, but because their presence provided some protection for Black activists and demonstrators.

Thousands of whites responded, knowing that there was tremendous physical risk of being arrested, beaten, or killed by the local police, the state police, or the Ku Klux Klan.

During that long campaign, innumerable Black and white demonstrators were beaten or jailed. And in addition to several Blacks who were killed, three whites—two male clerics and a female organizer from Detroit—were killed by the forces of racism and oppression.

This year, the spirit of the American Civil Rights Movement inspired about 20 Americans and other internationals to do the work of nonviolent resistance in Occupied Palestine. Together, we began a Campaign to Free Palestine with actions this August, which are described through articles in this issue of Agenda and on our web page, www.freepalestinecampaign.org.

We believe, along with our hundreds of supporters, tens of thousands of Americans, and a growing number of Israelis, that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians within its own borders, and particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza, is racist and oppressive.

We are tired of hearing the "Middle East Conflict" described as if Israeli is the victim of unthinking Palestinian violence, or as a war between comparably armed sides. Rather, Israel has imposed an illegal Occupation on Palestinian lands since 1967 no less brutal than the Nazi occupation of Western Europe. With the protection of the United States, Israel has violated Palestinians’ human rights extensively and continuously for decades, in violation of many UN resolutions and international treaties. The list of illegal acts it has perpetrated against Palestinians includes:

The International Solidarity Movement is committed to recruiting, training, and deploying Americans and other internationals every month to do principled, nonviolent direct action to resist Israel’s occupation and force an end to it.

Journey to a Forbidden Land (part 1)

by Naomi Calick, Fort Collins, CO

I am a US citizen and I am a Jew. All my life I was taught to support the state of Israel and to believe that Israel is the only country that is safe for Jews. I was told that the Jewish people are surrounded by enemies who want to kill us and that supporting Israel is the only way to survive.

"Who are these enemies? Why do they want to kill us?"

The answer was sweeping . . . sometimes, I was told that the whole world wants to kill the Jews. More often, the enemy was identified as the Arab nations who want to push Israel to the sea, and the group of Arabs called Palestinians who, they told me, hate Jews and dedicate themselves to destroying the Jewish State. But also, paradoxically, many times I was told that the Palestinians do not even exist.

"Who are these people, the Palestinians, who do not exist, but I’m supposed to fear and hate?"

Then one day, here in the state of Colorado, I met a Palestinian. He was my friend. I had worked with him for a year before finding out where he’s from. I knew he was a good worker and a nice man. But my mouth dropped open when I heard him say, "I’m from Hebron. I was born there, and my family has lived there for generations."

I was awestruck, tingling with wonder and amazement. A Palestinian ... he’s real! A living, breathing person, just like me. He has a wife and children. There are other workers in our company who are Palestinian-Americans, and I had never even noticed. Suddenly, the world was alive with Palestinians and with the Palestinian people.

And they did not want to kill me. They were people, just like me.

A year later I stepped off an airplane that landed in Israel and I rode in a Palestinian minivan headed east from Tel Aviv through West Jerusalem, through East Jerusalem, through the Bethlehem checkpoint (on foot—it is also a roadblock) and finally into the city of Bethlehem, Territory A, Palestine.

People in the US warned me not to go, telling me that I’d be killed. "Don’t go! They’ll just look at you and they’ll shoot you—because you are an American, or because you are a Jew, or because everyone there is violent and carries a gun!"

I went to Palestine nonetheless, drawn by an unsinkable need to meet this so-called enemy whom I’d been taught to fear. Within minutes of checking into the Paradise Hotel of Bethlehem, everyone knew I was Jewish. I kept no secrets and declared my Jewish background to all those around me.

Did anyone pull out a gun and take aim? Good heavens, of course not. The hotel staff, the young Palestinian woman who asked my name, the Palestinian man who coordinated our travel arrangements, everyone around me was friendly. I was exhausted and dazed, but they made me feel comfortable and safe. No one here wanted to hurt me. On the contrary, everyone was hospitable and kind.

The situation around us was desperately sad. Hope for peace seemed farther off than ever. But for me there was a small, personal triumph: no longer would I be afraid in my heart. The enemy was no enemy, but rather a friend!

Black and Blue
at the Orient House:
Report from a Very Unholy Land

by Charles Lenchner

Lenchner (the author) shows his bruises at the Paradise Hotel

Charles Lenchner is coordinator of Olive Tree Summer, an effort of Jewish internationals to participate in nonviolent resistance to the occupation alongside Israeli, Palestinian, and international peace organizations. He is an Israeli-American with dual citizenship, active in Israeli and American Jewish peace organizations. For more information, visit www.geocities.com/Jewishpeacemakers or call 972-56-566986. For more information on the Jewish peace movement, visit www.junity.org.

On Thursday, August 9, all hell broke loose; a suicide bomber blew himself up, with more than a hundred dead or wounded as a result. The Islamic Jihad took responsibility and promised more to come. But of course, this was hell primarily for the Israelis. Another kind of hell, the kind that produces suicide bombers in limitless supply, has been going on for many months in the Palestinian Territories. The bombing makes for many satisfied Palestinians, who support such actions by at least 70%. And it makes for very angry Israelis, who support assassinations, even when the targets are political leaders and the victims include innocent children, by a similar margin.

It is difficult to be an Israeli or Palestinian peace activist, who rejects these manifestations of hate and rage, even while sharing in many of the emotions of our respective peoples. My response to the bombing, sadly and as usual, was to be very, very cynical. I cannot really repeat the off-color comments that floated in my head. Of course, visiting the site of the bombing and witnessing the impromptu demonstration of [far-right-wing Israeli religious group] Kahana supporters did little to get me feeling pensive. Too much blood, too much dancing on the blood, too many things to do. Anyway, I was in a hurry: to join the activities of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and others, in support of nonviolent resistance to the occupation.

On Thursday evening, the day of the bombing, the Israeli police stormed the Orient House, known as the political representation for Palestinians in the city of Jerusalem. Minister of Internal Security, Uzi Landau, had wanted to shut it down since entering office five months ago. The bombing was used, cynically, as an excuse; no one had accused the Orient House of being anything other than a political headquarters for mainstream Palestinians.

On Friday morning [August 10], the ISM group of 30 or so Americans, Italians, French, Danish, and British peace activists made their way to the closed-off street that houses the Orient House, right next to the American Colony Hotel. We joined a small number of Palestinians, and a large number of journalists. Our strategy was to try nonviolently to open the street to the Orient House, and free many people within it, as well as staff and residents at a nearby orphanage, from what we considered illegal occupation of the neighborhood.

Repeatedly, we moved against the police barricade that sealed off the street. Occasionally demonstrators were able to push aside or pull a metal barricade, forcing the police to link arms and push the demonstrators back. Occasionally, police on horseback rode around menacingly, forcing the demonstrators to lie down, a tactic aimed at preventing the horses from kicking people.

One of our members, an English woman with all the glorious history of the British anti-nuclear movement radiating from her, insisted on entering the street. Her insistence paid off, and she was finally admitted and arrested. A bit later, as I was standing near the barricade, I saw that the police had opened it up and were massed along the breach. The protesters were not next to it, although I was. I turned around, and saw two policemen with an elderly Palestinian man between them being half carried, half dragged, coming towards me quickly. Stunned a bit by the escalation in mood and police tactics, I was motionless until the three had passed me and were crossing the barricades, some of which were on the ground.

The Palestinian man had tripped, or was shoved down, and was lying face down being beaten, as the police tried to get a better grip on him to drag him away. I instinctively, and perhaps foolishly, jumped on the lower part of his body to protect what I could from the blows. (This man looked about 60 years old.)

Seconds later I was dragged by my belt into the sealed off street, as an officer asked what should be done with me. A second later, someone else said authoritatively that I was to be arrested.

I was not given the chance to stand up, but carried by my belt and arms for the fifty meters or so to the police van, while I remained silent and in a fetal position. For the entire time, I was beaten by 5-7 police officers with batons, punches, and kicks. I was also dropped and kicked along the way. One officer was unable to reach me because the others were in his way, and he shoved his baton up my bottom as forcefully as possible, sometimes hitting my genitals. Upon reaching the police van, the police did their best to shove me in awkwardly, taking advantage of the metal doorway as leverage for more beating and punching. The most active participant was the plainclothes officer in a white t-shirt and earring who was also the one I saw hitting the Palestinian man I tried to protect.

After I was pushed all the way inside, I remained curled up in a fetal position, as I had been since being first picked up. I saw that same officer enter the van, shouting and pushing another Palestinian man, as well as a French man. At one point, the officer simply slapped the Palestinian man hard, unprovoked, and when the man tried to defend himself by shouting and pushing the officers hands away from his face, he was brutally beaten by at least three officers. The action was so intense, that I was carried out to give the police more space to beat up the occupants of the van. I think that I was carried out also because my behavior made it clear that I was willing to be completely submissive, unlike the Palestinian man, who made the mistake of protecting himself. While standing outside the van, I turned and spoke in Hebrew to the officers, informing them that I am an Israeli who is planning on submitting all that I have seen as evidence in a complaint of police brutality. The violence ended shortly thereafter, and did not continue. I suspect that my statement is the basis for being accused of assaulting the police.

All of this was done by policemen or border police, who serve professionally, not by conscripts or young officers. Most were men between the ages of 30-40. Many had insignia that showed them to be mid-level commissioned or non-commissioned officers. None of them was wearing a badge or name tag that allowed people to get their name or number. At least seven different ones hit me after I was arrested, and this was witnessed by at least twenty five police, including senior officers who seemed to be in charge of the situation.

We were duly handcuffed with plastic ties by an officer. A few minutes later, the plainclothes officer came in, and yanked all of our plastic ties with great force. A few minutes later, another officer came in and cut all the ties off. A few minutes later, that plainclothes officer came in and re-applied the dreaded plastic ties. This time I knew to hold my hands in such a way that the sudden tug wouldn’t leave my wrists bound too tightly. Nonetheless, I have scabs where they cut into my flesh.

At one point, that same plainclothes officer walked around the van, shutting the windows one by one from the outside, and shutting the back door of the van, the one on the other side of the security door that kept us locked up inside. He said in Hebrew to another officer that the arrestees should sweat as much as possible. As a result of the heat, I suffered a migraine headache, which forced me to seek medical attention afterwards. The doctor who examined me was convinced that my condition might be related to blows to my head. Perhaps she was right; I’m not sure that makes any difference. At the moment, my back is covered with large bruises, up to a foot long. Most of them are from police batons, although some could be kicks. They look quite shocking. I’m getting a perverse pleasure out of showing off my back to unsuspecting friends; none of them has ever seen such a battered piece of flesh as my back. In a few days the colors will fade, along with all the other pains, scratches, and bruises on my body. I will not forget.

The next day, the police were even more brutal, choosing to beat people both before and after arrest. The head of the Jerusalem police was filmed punching a Palestinian woman in the stomach, while she was pinned down by other burly policemen. On that day I got a call from a peace activist who had read the initial report of my arrest, and wanted to know what could be done on my behalf. I explained that this is the country we live in, and just because I was beaten severely today, does not give me much pause for thought. Other friends of mine were beaten at other times, and more will be beaten in the future. This is one of the many faces of Israel: a smirking cop shoving his baton into the ass of one of the citizens he has sworn to protect, another one shutting off the fresh air to a van full of detainees.

But please, do not discount my Israeli face, which I hope is also an important part of the picture. Some Jewish Israelis are deeply concerned about what we are doing to Palestinians, and are deeply concerned about the violence done to our own national soul as a people. Some Palestinians, facing incomparably more difficult circumstances, are trying to present a vision of the future that includes respect for both peoples. Whoever behaves with great violence and inhumanity, Israeli or Palestinian, is obviously suffering from severe psychological scars and intense fear. Without trying to promote an obviously false symmetry, let me say that all of us here, Israeli and Palestinian, need the active participation of the international community to resolve our conflict. We need it to come from a place of love and understanding, and we need it now more than ever before.

My Arrest and Detention by Israeli Police

by Andrew Clarno, U of Michigan Sociology Grad Student

On Saturday, August 11, 2001, at about 2:30 pm, Israeli police arrested me while I was standing on the sidewalk at the edge of the American Colony Hotel parking lot.

I had arrived at the American Colony Hotel at around 2:15 pm along with twenty to twenty five other members of the International Solidarity Movement in order to peacefully demonstrate our opposition to the recent Israeli invasion and seizure of the Orient House. For about ten minutes, we witnessed clashes between Orthodox Jews and Palestinian youth and then we began our non-violent protest. As we stood in a line on the sidewalk, holding signs and calling for justice and peace, we were attacked by the police. Without warning in either Arabic or English, the soldiers came towards us, tearing the signs out of the hands of international protesters, while [singling out and] violently pushing and grabbing at Palestinian protesters. We began to chant ‘No Violence, No Violence’—calling on the police to recognize the non-violent nature of our protest and reinforcing our commitment not to respond violently to the violence used against us by the police. But the assault by the police continued. Soon police were pushing us all down the hill towards the American Colony. I saw several protesters knocked to the ground and kicked by the police while I was being pushed down the sidewalk in a group of protesters.

I had nearly reached the driveway of the American Colony Hotel when a police officer grabbed the beltloop in the back of my jeans with one hand and my right shoulder with his other hand. Although I did not resist, he forcefully dragged me into the street and put my head in a violent chokehold. His tight grip on my neck made breathing nearly impossible as he carried me nearly 100 meters up the hill towards Abu Obeidah street. We turned onto Abu Obeidah street, where the officer shoved me into the back seat of an SUV, then leaned into the front seat and reached around to punch me in the face twice with his left hand.

In all, seven internationals and four Palestinians were arrested at the protest that afternoon. We were all taken to the [former] Russian Compound, [an Israeli area] notorious for the torturous methods of interrogation and the violence perpetrated against prisoners by Israeli guards. One of the Palestinians was then released and the rest of us were charged with illegal assembly. In a seemingly random manner, a few of us were given the additional charge of assaulting a police officer. We were taken to our cells where we were held until 11:00 pm when a judge heard our case and gave the police 24 hours to complete their investigation.

The following day, one Palestinian and one international were released without conditions and five internationals were offered release on condition of not returning to the area of the Orient House. [They reluctantly accepted this unjust offer, but only because their work on the outside is of such immediate importance.] The two Palestinians and I were brought before a judge and the police asked that we be held three days so that they could pursue their investigation of charges that the three of us had attacked police officers. The judge again offered the police 24 hours to produce enough evidence to bring charges against us, so we were returned to our cells and kept in prison another night. On Monday, August 13, 2001, the three of us were again brought before a judge. The police released one of the Palestinians on similar condition as those offered to the internationals the day before.

Regarding the other Palestinian and I, however, the police argued that they had enough evidence to charge us with assaulting the police officers. They asked that we be detained for four days so that they could file charges against us and begin the trial process. The police have taken testimony from a police officer who states that he witnessed me push another police officer. They also presented testimony from the officer that arrested me - the one who grabbed, choked, and punched me. He states that I ignored his requests that I disperse and that I attempted to choke him.

Our attorney, Lea Tsemel, challenged all of this evidence. She highlighted the fact that the arresting officer did not mention this alleged attack in his initial arrest report and that his testimony was taken only after the police had decided to charge me with assault.

Yesterday evening at 7:30 pm, the judge decided that there was enough evidence to charge the two of us with assaulting a police officer, but that there was not enough risk [of flight] to keep us in prison pending further investigation. Therefore, Mahmoud Q. Mahmoud and I were released last night on condition that we not return to the immediate vicinity of the Orient House for forty days and that we agree to show up for further questioning and trial. The police were given forty eight hours to file charges against us—which they have vowed to do.

I insist upon my innocence. I did not physically or in any other way assault or even threaten to assault a police officer or any other individual. I was never given orders to disperse and I did not resist arrest. I have always been a non-violent person and have supported struggles around the world for peace and justice. As part of the International Solidarity Movement Campaign to End the Occupation, I am committed to a program of non-violent actions in support of the Palestinian people in their struggle for national liberation and against the brutality of the Israeli occupation. The violence that day was perpetrated by the Israeli police - not by the protesters. The world has taken notice because the violence was directed against an American citizen and caught on film. But I guarantee that the charges are completely fabricated. I am convinced that they have been designed to undercut the non-violent campaign to end the occupation.

Please do not allow the Israeli police to portray and convict me as a violent offender. Please do not allow them to undermine our struggle for a just and non-violent resolution to this conflict. Thank you. I certify that the above is true to the best of my knowledge.

Journey to a Forbidden Land (part 2)

by Naomi Calick, Fort Collins, CO

For more info about ISM, see freepalestinecampaign.org or contact Thom Saffold, (tsaffold@provide.net or 734-668-1549).