Coloradans challenge Israeli occupation
Group will journey to Israel to support Palestinian families
By JESSIKA FRUCHTER
Colorado
Daily Staff Writer
December 7, 2001
Despite escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians, a group of Coloradans will head to the West Bank and Gaza next week to join hundreds of other western-international delegates in an effort to facilitate peace.
The Colorado group consists of a Palestinian-American, a freelance reporter, a labor organizer, a peace activist, and a student, all of whom are from the Boulder-Denver area.
The Colorado group will join other members of the "International Solidarity Movement" on Dec. 14, and will stay with Palestinian families as well as in hostels, returning to the United States on Jan. 9.
The trip is being funded by the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace in conjunction with private funds and is expected to cost an estimated $2000 per person.
The mission, delegates say, is to use non-violent direct action and their privilege as western-international delegates to dissuade the Israeli military from its "usual repression" of Palestinians.
"We'll be doing a mix of actions, though things are pretty fluid right now. It'll depend on the circumstances," said Mark Schneider, a coordinator and delegate. "One of the things we're planning is a candlelight procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Day."
Schneider said the motivation behind the procession is to escort Palestinians to Jerusalem on a holy day.
"They wouldn't be able to go otherwise," he said. "There's no guarantee that our presence will make a difference, but we're hoping that our presence, and with the media being there, we'll get the Israeli military to back off."
Other actions are set to include removing roadblocks from entryways to towns and villages that restrict the movement of Palestinians.
"We're also thinking of non-violently taking over military check points," Schneider added. "Every day a large number of foreigners move through those check points, if you're a Palestinian you're not likely to get though."
Schneider said the delegation was not only protesting Israeli policy, but also the United States' support of Israel.
"If the U.S. stopped giving Israel four billion dollars in aid, they (Israel) wouldn't have as much power and they would have to negotiate (with the Palestinians)," he added. "(It would also give the United States) more credibility in the Arab world.
The U.S. should be supporting freedom struggles, not the suppression."
Beth Daoud, another delegate participating in the upcoming mission, has seen the circumstance Schneider describes, first-hand.
Daoud, who has participated in solidarity movements before, visited Palestine last August.
She says the Israeli occupation is of particular importance to her because she has family in Palestine, some of who were killed by Israeli soldiers.
"I just want the Israeli government to know that what they're doing is wrong, I want them to see us keep coming back," Daoud said of her motivation. "We're not going to stop. People need to see and hear about what we're doing.
"People (here) need to know what's really going on over there."
While delegates concede they don't know what to expect from their visit, they say they're not any more concerned about safety than they were before last weekend's Hama suicide bombings in Israel, which killed more than two dozen people.
"Things are a little more intense," Daoud said. "But, I'm more nervous for the Palestinians than I am for our own safety."
"Israel is finding any excuse to be more violent," she added. "Especially after last weekend."
Schneider echoed Daoud's sentiments, noting that three of the five delegates had previously been to Palestine for similar actions.
"This past weekend was not really an exception," Schneider said. "It's just that the mainstream media really paid attention to this, suddenly it's a hot story and suddenly we're getting press and our message is important. A few weeks ago no one cared (we were going)," she said.