WASHINGTON, DC: Imagine if journalists were to seek out the perspectives of non-violent civic leaders the way they seek out the views of militarists and militants. What would it mean if every week we heard from people committed to gaining security or freedom through constructive collective action instead of by force of arms? Unlike a missile strike or bus bombing, the perspectives that inform non-violent action can be more challenging to encapsulate in a single image. Yet they are of vital importance to the public.
Over the past eight months, three Palestinian bulldozer drivers from East Jerusalem received wall-to-wall coverage in Israel as well as internationally for separate, deplorable acts of violence against Israeli civilians. Yet non-violent demonstrations and prayer vigils in East Jerusalem against the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes have not been the subject of a single article in the mainstream American or Israeli press – despite the fact that these unarmed protests involve hundreds of people, are ongoing and have implications for tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Nearly 200 Palestinian-owned homes in Silwan, Al-Tur, Shoafat refugee camp and Sheikh Jarrah face the prospect of demolition. Since many of these houses are home to multiple members of extended families, in part due to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian building permits, some estimate that thousands of people would be affected by their destruction. Such demolitions are often carried out to expand illegal Jewish settlements or to establish parks that largely benefit Israeli Jews.
But Palestinian Muslim and Christian civic leaders are not standing idly by.
They are holding vigils and sit-ins at the targeted sites and even forgoing trips to Al-Aqsa mosque to conduct their Friday prayers in these houses.
They have erected tents for those who have already lost their homes, like the elderly al-Kurd family in Sheikh Jarrah. Mr. Mohammad al-Kurd died of a heart attack two weeks after being evicted from his home in November 2008, and his wife s protest tent has been torn down several times – yet she refuses to relocate.
These demonstrations are not emerging out of the blue. They follow on the heels of years of unarmed protests led by Palestinians, joined by internationals and Israelis as well, to stop expansionist policies in the West Bank villages of Masha, Al-Khader, Al-Ma sara, Bil in, Budrus and Ni ilin, where Israel has been erecting its separation barrier. They also arise as Israel accelerates its construction of new Jewish homes in Palestinian areas in East Jerusalem.
With the separation barrier cutting off access to the West Bank, and settlements closing in, Palestinians in East Jerusalem are using classic non-violent methods to express their needs. The media – especially in the West – should take notice. If the mainstream press were to cover instances where non-violent protests actually succeed – as in Budrus, for example, where unarmed residents waged a 10-month community-wide struggle to pressure Israel to change the route of the barrier and in so doing, saved their village from destruction – others might be inspired to get involved, and to believe in new strategic and powerful possibilities for pursuing their political and territorial goals without arms.
Repetition is power, as every advertising executive knows. The more often a message gets repeated, the more likely it is to stick. If the same logic applies to coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what is the cumulative impact of daily reports of militancy and militarism, images of violence and fiery rhetoric? What happens to our sense of possibility, our desire for involvement? The press need not reject journalistic standards in favor of agenda-driven peace journalism . Yet journalists may need to assess why those who draw blood – even if they represent fringe groups or act alone – receive headlines, while unarmed movements advancing messages with profound political implications in one of the world s geopolitical epicentres are ignored.
Ronit Avni is the executive director of the NGO Just Vision, and director of the documentary film Encounter Point . She is producing a film about strategic non-violence in Budrus. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
