Civil Disobedience

Hundreds of American Jews protest against ICE raids at an Amazon store in New York City, August 11, 2019. (Gili Getz)

Thousands of Jews protest ICE raids across U.S., 44 arrested in NYC

A growing movement of American Jews is mobilizing against U.S. immigration policy across the country. ‘We’re fighting for the soul of our country, for our very humanity.’ NEW YORK CITY — Hundreds of American Jewish demonstrators staged a sit-in at one of Amazon’s flagship stores in New York on Sunday, to protest the company’s ties…

By Joshua Leifer August 12, 2019

Dozens of Muslim worshippers hold a mass prayer outside the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound in Jerusalem's Old City, July 16, 2017.

Palestinians are reviving their agency in Jerusalem

After years of oppression and fragmentation, Palestinians in the occupied city are remobilizing around a common political goal. After days of deliberations, the Israeli government finally removed metal detectors from the entrances of the Aqsa compound on Monday evening. Reports say the decision may have been linked to an agreement reached with Jordan’s King Abdullah,…

By Amjad Iraqi July 26, 2017

Israeli police arrest Activestills photographer Faiz Abu Rmeleh at the Lions Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, July 25, 2017. (Screenshot)

WATCH: Israeli police arrest, rough up Activestills photojournalist

Journalists were standing off to the side of a mass prayer action that devolved into light clashes when police charged at them, singling out Faiz Abu Rmeleh, later beating and harassing him, he says. By Oren Ziv and Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man Israeli police roughed up and detained Activestills photojournalist Faiz Abu Rmeleh Tuesday night while…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 26, 2017

Latest

Mass protests over Temple Mount carve out unique civil disobedience

Six things that must be said about the violence in Jerusalem and West Bank

There can be no justification for murder, the violence in Jerusalem isn’t about metal detectors, and there is a way out of this. Tensions in Jerusalem exploded last week in a bloody day that left four Palestinians and three Israelis dead. Israeli security forces killed two Palestinians during demonstrations outside Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday, while a third Palestinian…

By Haggai Matar July 23, 2017

Activists with the Center for Jewish Non-Violence accompany Palestinian residents of Susya into the archeological site where the latter’s village once stood, South Hebron Hills, July 14, 2016. (Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man)

WATCH: A new brand of Jewish nonviolence in Palestine

What happens when dozens of Jewish American activists come to Palestine to practice civil disobedience alongside Palestinians struggling against the occupation? In the summer of 2016, dozens of Jews from the U.S. and other countries came to Palestine, at the request of Palestinian activists, to use nonviolence, civil disobedience, and their privilege as Jews to…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man November 30, 2016

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 protesters marching and chanting during a Nakba Day demonstration near the Israeli military checkpoint at Qalandiya, West Bank, May 15, 2011. Nakba, Arabic for "catastrophe," is the term given to the forced displacement of some 750,000 Palestinian refugees from 500 communities by Zionist forces before, during and after the 1948 War. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

‘As long as we choose violence Israel will always defeat us’

Mubarak Awad, one of the main organizers of nonviolent resistance during the First Intifada until Israel exiled him, talks about why only nonviolence can defeat the occupation, how Palestinians must convince Israelis that peace is their own interest, and his fears that without a new nonviolent movement more and more Palestinian youths will be drawn…

By +972 Magazine October 31, 2015

Israeli tanks on the Israel-Gaza border. (photo: Activestills.org)

Who are the Israelis refusing the call of Protective Edge?

On Saturday evening, another anti-war demonstration was held in Tel Aviv. A few hundred people marched and chanted and hoped that rumors of a drawdown were true. With minimal numbers and attention, the demonstrations have had little impact. But there doesn’t seem much else that those opposed to the war can do. Soldiers and reservists…

By Dahlia Scheindlin August 4, 2014

African asylum seekers march to Canadian embassy, calling on the international community to support their struggle against Israel's asylum policies. (photo: Activestills.org)

Day 2 of African asylum seeker protest: What do they want?

African asylum seekers are holding their second of a three-day national protest. On Monday, thousands of asylum seekers, most of whom are employed by hotels and restaurants, went on strike and held large rallies in front of Western and African embassies. The protesters are calling on the international community to make sure Israel respects its commitments under…

By Noam Sheizaf January 6, 2014

Israeli soldiers search a Palestinian at an IDF checkpoint. (photo: Breaking the Silence)

‘How speaking out about the occupation nearly landed me in jail’

When even reporting an immoral act by a senior officer carries with it a serious price, it becomes clear that one cannot win against the army. Been there, done that. In July 1989, as a young, bored soldier in the IDF’s main draft base in Tel Ha’Shomer, I asked my colonel to be transferred to…

By Yossi Gurvitz June 16, 2013

J14 clashes show growing trend of civil disobedience

Israelis employing provocative civil actions to draw attention to a struggle are commonplace in the West Bank. But scores getting violently arrested in the center of Tel Aviv over non-Occupation issues are a relatively new sight, signalling civil disobedience may be a trend on the rise within Israel While reading reports in the top stories…

By Mairav Zonszein September 7, 2011

To the Knesset: How dare you not vote on the boycott bill

I know that most of our dignified and thoughtful elected representatives are ashamed that the ignominious “boycott bill” would even be debated in our proud democracy. I know this because so many of them – 35 in total – protested by refusing to show their faces at the vote. Only 85 of our 120 members…

By Dahlia Scheindlin July 13, 2011

This absurd act of rebellion: why did we publicly violate the law

Poet Klil Zisapel was one of twelve Israeli women that took a group of Palestinian women and children on a fun outing to Tel Aviv, knowingly violating the Entry into Israel Act. In an interview to +972mag Klil explains her own reasons for taking part in this initiative, and shares some of the experiences of…

By Noam Sheizaf September 7, 2010