The Boycott and the Security of Israeli Citizens Amos Gvirtz The Palestinians will not give up their lands, their homes and their country without a struggle. And if we are fated to be in a struggle, the option of Palestinian non-violence will guarantee our security, since none of us will be physically hurt by their struggle: not civilians, not soldiers, not even settlers. A non-violent Palestinian struggle will expose the fact that territorial expansion is more important for our government than our security. Violent struggle differs from non-violent struggle in the modes of pressure it wages against its adversaries. The former threatens the lives and existence of the other side, and the pressure is based on existential fear. Non-violent struggle is based on abstaining from violating the life and existence of the other side. Here the power is based on the liberation from existential fear. This is the reason that Hamas does not adopt non-violence. Several years ago a rumor spread that Hamas intended to send hundreds of thousands of refugees from Gaza in the direction of their former homes in Israel. The anxiety in Israel was great: How could we prevent a non-violent march of hundreds of thousands of refugees to Israel without causing terrible damage to Israels international standing? In the end Hamas didnt put the plan into action, for a simple reason. A non-violent struggle would mean that they didnt intend to hurt us or to threaten our existence, but rather that they were demanding justice for themselves. The moment that Palestinians turn to non-violent struggle against the occupation, its a sign that they have come to terms with the existence of Israel and are, in turn, demanding that Israel come to terms with their existence, in a state of their own. There is a deep argument within Palestinian society concerning their mode of struggle against Israel and the occupation. I have experienced this in a number of joint Palestinian-Israeli non-violent actions. The Palestinian organizers decided on non-violent actions, but there were young Palestinians who opposed this. They joined the actions and started to throw stones at the nearby Israeli soldiers, thereby forcing themselves and their way upon us. We can see this in the struggle that Palestinian villages wage against the separation barrier, which was built on their lands in violation of international law and which separates them from their agricultural lands. The popular committees against the barrier and the occupation usually announce a non-violent struggle, but their opponents exploit the demonstrations and force themselves on them. They throw stones at the soldiers and give them legitimation to attack the non-violent protesters. The President of the Palestinian Authority Abu Mazen opposed the violent intifada and called at the time for a popular intifada. At the present time as well he does all he can to prevent terrorist acts against Israel. Palestinian civil society organizations, in the spirit of non-violence, initiated an international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, as long as the occupation continues. The result is that as long as the level of Palestinian violence against Israel is low, there is greater and greater assent by the international community to the campaign. If the Palestinians return to violent struggle, to terrorist attacks and massive rocket fire against Israel, this will lead to the end of the boycott activities against Israel. So there is pressure here not only on Israel but on the Palestinians as well, not to return to violent struggle against Israel. Non-violent struggle gives the opposing side the option of ending the struggle whenever they choose. The moment Israel decides to end the occupation and allow the Palestinians to establish their state, the boycott actions will end as well. For us Israelis, it is very easy to demand that Palestinians adopt non-violent means against us, but every Israeli who is concerned about our security and who opposes the occupation and its crimes, must also act for Israeli non-violence. In other words, must encourage an escalation of non-violence in the relations between our peoples. This is the path of those who refuse military service in the occupied territories; who abstain from buying goods produced in the settlements; who come to serve as human shields for Palestinians during demonstrations, olive harvests, the replanting of uprooted trees, and more. Likewise, this is the path of Israelis who support the boycott: They arent doing this against Israel, they are doing it against the occupation and for our security! Only those for whom the occupation is more important than our security could propose legislation in the Knesset which would punish Israeli patriots who are acting on behalf of our security, our image, and our future.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:23:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015